Post your Bird Portraits (2)

Lame-Duck wrote in post #19268789
Well Mike, I wish you the best of luck on your upcoming shooting trip. Any new tips that you can share on BIF performance would truly be welcomed. I'm sure others here would agree.

Thanks Mike. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.
The main changes that I made for Ospreys in flight (Sony a9 w/200-600mm lens) were:
1. Use the "Zone" focus area and NO tracking ( A couple of Sony gurus recommended this)
2. Set 200-600 lens on 10 meters to infinity, not Full. When the bird is below the tree line, "Full" often focuses on the background, not the bird. 10m to Inf. almost never does that.
3. Set image stabilization mode to "3"
4. Shoot at 1/3200 or faster. If you look at the crispest BIF images on this site, most were shot at 1/4000 or 1/5000.

I followed the above my last time out and got my best Osprey shots yet.

BlueTraveler wrote in post #19268870
Thanks Mike. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.
The main changes that I made for Ospreys in flight (Sony a9 w/200-600mm lens) were:
1. Use the "Zone" focus area and NO tracking ( A couple of Sony gurus recommended this)
2. Set 200-600 lens on 10 meters to infinity, not Full. When the bird is below the tree line, "Full" often focuses on the background, not the bird. 10m to Inf. almost never does that.
3. Set image stabilization mode to "3"
4. Shoot at 1/3200 or faster. If you look at the crispest BIF images on this site, most were shot at 1/4000 or 1/5000.

I followed the above my last time out and got my best Osprey shots yet.

Interesting Mike...I wonder why they recommended no tracking? I get shooting at 1/3200 except for the higher ISO. I generally shoot at 1/2000, but I am going to try shooting at faster shutter speeds. Setting image stabilization to 3 also puzzles me a bit. For birds in flight I turn IS off, or generally use the number 1 setting. I am definitely going to play around with the suggestions you mentioned. Thank you very much for taking the time to post this information. I appreciate your doing all this.

Lame-Duck wrote in post #19268831
Very nicely photographed, Sid! This image is so sharp and nicely composed!

Thanks very much Mike, cheers!

Lame-Duck wrote in post #19268793
Excellent work on both of these shots, Richard. They are sharp images and stand out nicely.
What a beauty, Richard! I love it.

Thanks Mike for your generous and encouraging words

shooz wrote in post #19268721
Indigo bunting

Wow! That is very striking and beautiful.
What a beautiful bird.

Tom in Arizona wrote in post #19268703
Female Northern Cardinal...

Tom that's an exceptional closeup and a lovely pose.

Weja wrote in post #19268690
Common shellduck male

Really beautiful. Certainly a pretty duck and you've captured that so nicely.
Beautiful composition.

robamy wrote in post #19268616
Greater Yellowlegs walking the surf

Flippy screen or not, this is really nice. A perspective that certainly is different and attractive.

Bill in Texas wrote in post #19268629
Ruby-throated hummingbird

steveb108 wrote in post #19268553
Thinking back, I can't remember getting a hummingbird perched on a vertical support before.

Bill & Steve these are two exceptionally nice photos.
Magnificent details and compositions.
Such clarity in them. Very nice indeed.

It's hard to keep abreast of all the posts here and I've no doubt missed others out.
Really great stuff being presented and enjoyable viewing.

Tasmanian Magpie

Greater Roadrunner...

A Robin and a Peacock.

avondale87 wrote in post #19268965
Tom that's an exceptional closeup and a lovely pose.

Thanks very much Richard.

Tom

Immature red-bellied woodpecker

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American Goldfinch

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2mfU​vom

robamy wrote in post #19268951

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2mfH​AJa Semipalmated Plover by A & R Photography, on Flickr

Very nice, Rob...lovely lighting!

avondale87 wrote in post #19268970
Tasmanian Magpie

Hosted photo: posted by avondale87 in
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forum: Birds

I love this shot, Richard! It's really an eye-popper!

Bill in Texas wrote in post #19269011

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Very nice, sharp image, Bill! Something up there definitely has this bird's attention.

Canonised wrote in post #19269032
A Robin and a Peacock.

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A couple of very nice close-ups, Harry!

Hammy74 wrote in post #19269201
American Goldfinch

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2mfU​vom POTN--4.jpg by Hammy74, on Flickr

This one is a beauty, Steve! Nicely captured.