Post your Bird Portraits (2)

Some Osprey eating on a cool and cloudy morning at Port Mahon. Conditions weren't ideal unfortunately as the skies were pretty much overcast (forecast said mostly sunny).

Photo from David_MC's gallery.

Photo from David_MC's gallery.

Wood Duck...

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.

Lame-Duck wrote in post #19268928
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.

Results of yesterday's a6400 BIF test...
First, the above settings worked very well.
We received much-needed rain in AZ in the past 3 weeks which raised the lake's water level, causing the Osprey to "fish" well away from the pier, but a few birds were kind enough to fly by my station.

The a6400 and 200-600mm combo (at f/6.3) worked better than expected. The results were comparable to my a9 with 200-600mm and 1.4 TC (at f/9). I'd much rather shoot the a9 for several reasons, though.
1. The small, light form factor of the 6400 made keeping the bird in the frame difficult...as if the small camera and big lens combo was out of balance.
2. The location of the viewfinder didn't allow me to keep both eyes open to find and focus on the bird, making that process longer and causing me to miss some shots. This is a BIG deal to me.
3. For flight shots I like shooting at 20 fps which the a6400 can't match.

Other notes...
1. The a6400's focusing is fast and accurate...right there with the a9.
2. I shot 100% manual (including ISO) because the metering systems of both cameras are unable compensate for fast moving birds crossing light and dark backgrounds as well as flying above and below the tree line. All my shots were about 1/3 stop over exposed. I shot 1/3200 at f/6.3 and ISO 800. I should have set the ISO to 640.
3. To get a similar equivalent focal length with my a9 I'd need to add a 1.4 teleconverter (which costs 1 full stop) and then double the ISO.
3. I don't use Lightroom's sharpening or noise reduction, preferring to run my raw images through Topaz AI Clear. It does a slightly better job than the built-in Lightroom tools.
4. LD asked why the Sony gurus say not to use tracking for BIF. The answer is that the only time to use tracking is if someone or something will temporarily block your moving subject. I've gotten better results since I started following that advice.
5. The 4th and 5th shots show the original and then the cropped version of an Osprey in the distance.

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …i-JStgHWZ-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …i-jwntWxS-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …i-HX9396j-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …i-fXqvt36-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …i-3nRjRkM-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A

Thanks! Its the magic of a 200-600mm lens for the Robin and 70-180 for the peacock which wasn't far away.

BlueTraveler wrote in post #19269467
Results of yesterday's a6400 BIF test...
First, the above settings worked very well.
We received much-needed rain in AZ in the past 3 weeks which raised the lake's water level, causing the Osprey to "fish" well away from the pier, but a few birds were kind enough to fly by my station.

The a6400 and 200-600mm combo (at f/6.3) worked better than expected. The results were comparable to my a9 with 200-600mm and 1.4 TC (at f/9). I'd much rather shoot the a9 for several reasons, though.
1. The small, light form factor of the 6400 made keeping the bird in the frame difficult...as if the small camera and big lens combo was out of balance.
2. The location of the viewfinder didn't allow me to keep both eyes open to find and focus on the bird, making that process longer and causing me to miss some shots. This is a BIG deal to me.
3. For flight shots I like shooting at 20 fps which the a6400 can't match.

Other notes...
1. The a6400's focusing is fast and accurate...right there with the a9.
2. I shot 100% manual (including ISO) because the metering systems of both cameras are unable compensate for fast moving birds crossing light and dark backgrounds as well as flying above and below the tree line. All my shots were about 1/3 stop over exposed. I shot 1/3200 at f/6.3 and ISO 800. I should have set the ISO to 640.
3. To get a similar equivalent focal length with my a9 I'd need to add a 1.4 teleconverter (which costs 1 full stop) and then double the ISO.
3. I don't use Lightroom's sharpening or noise reduction, preferring to run my raw images through Topaz AI Clear. It does a slightly better job than the built-in Lightroom tools.
4. LD asked why the Sony gurus say not to use tracking for BIF. The answer is that the only time to use tracking is if someone or something will temporarily block your moving subject. I've gotten better results since I started following that advice.
5. The 4th and 5th shots show the original and then the cropped version of an Osprey in the distance.

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …i-JStgHWZ-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …i-jwntWxS-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …i-HX9396j-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …i-fXqvt36-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

https://photos.smugmug​.com …i-3nRjRkM-X3.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

Impressive, so the 6400 gives you a 1.5 crop factor, where as the A9 you need to add the 1.4 costing you 1 stop of light.

So are you just using single point and tracking manually?

You're correct about the crop factor and 1 stop penalty. I use the Zone focus area, which encompasses about 2/3 of the viewfinder (on a Sony).

shooz wrote in post #19268721

Indigo bunting

I love this picture Dave. Absolutely stunning!

Tom in Arizona wrote in post #19269027
Greater Roadrunner...

Hosted photo: posted by Tom in Arizona in
./showthread.php?p=192​69027&i=i115089455
forum: Birds

Great shot Tom! I love this!

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #19269302

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2mfU​jp9 Little sentinel copy by MedicineMan4040, on Flickr

Beautiful! Great picture!

Phoenixuk wrote in post #19269506
Great shot Tom! I love this!

Thanks very much Mark. I appreciate the comment.

Tom

American Crow

Lame-Duck wrote in post #19268194
Beautifully done shots, Stephen! Terrific sharpness!

Thanks very much Mike!