Bird Shooting Tips and Tricks, Post Them Here.

I have looked around but haven't seen anything related to this (if there is ill let the admins do there jobs )

Ok so to get the thread rolling.

#1 ISO 400 is perfect for action shots and birds in flight

#2 If your shooting against an open sky and trying to get a hard target, Turn on all your focus points. You stand a much better chance of hitting the mark.

#3 AI SERVO mode to keep the focus right on the money OR single shot for static targets...

I know all the Veteran shooters here will know all this already, But these forums is what got me learning so quickly and maybe it could be for someone else too.

Thanks Guys

Dazzy.

I'm finding there are no hard and fast rules about what ISO to use. The lower the number, the less noise the final image will have so you would want to use 100 all the time if you could get away with it. Which is almost never the case.

I use to think high shutter speeds were the holy grail, but not after this last week of dark gray skies and thousands of test shots with no flash. I've found that when I use a tripod, I can shoot at ISO 200 or so and shutter speeds of well under 1/100s and sometimes as slow as 1/15s and still get excellent in-focus shots of small birds.

The only rule I swear by now is to shoot in RAW, always shoot in RAW.

AI Servo does not work well with the Bigma. It does work, but if you focus on a still subject and hold the button half way for a second, the lens starts hunting again. I have found that AI Focus works as well as AI Servo did when I used the Canon 400L. And I never use anything but the center focus mark.

I don't go anywhere without my Tripod and Grip Ballhead. Even when I shoot in my window blind, the camera is on the tripod.

Sorry Dazzy, I don't really agree with any of those!

400 ISO might be perfect for action and BIFs, but so might 200 ISO or 800 ISO. As Mitch says - no hard and fast rules;

I never, ever, ever use all focus points, even against a supposedly empty sky because of the likelihood that by the time you've framed your shot, the frame won't be as empty as it was when you started;

I use AI Servo 100% of the time, even for "statics", and a truly static bird is a rare thing indeed.

And for all that, I reckon my efforts stack up pretty well.

One recommendation I would endorse is "always shoot RAW".

But unlike Mitch, I've never used a tripod in my life except with my telescope!

Mitch, my tamron does the same with AI servo, just kills the battery doing the hokey pokey focus hunt.
As for ISO, I start with mine on 400 untill I see what I might be shooting, then adjust if I am going to have enough light, or not enough. I use iso 400 95% of the time, but in my case it is because of having a wide open AV on my birding lens of 6.3 makes it iffy for a good shutter speed on dark or cloudy days.

I havent seen this mentioned yet, so my tip is to learn Exposure compensation. It can save your shot esp. when shooting dark birds against bright backdrop, or when shooting all white, all dark, or subjects like eagles and goldeneyes that have both dark and white on them. Give your poor camera (who is trying like heck to expose for gray) a helping hand and dial in the EC.

Okay guys I'll wade in. These are all common sense things but sometimes anyone can forget the basics when you're looking for that shot.

1. Know your subjects! Birds are often most active from dawn until ~09:00 and from late afternoon until dusk. Also teh more I observe birds the more I've become familar with their behaviour. Even backyard birds can become predictable as to when they arrive each day. Be ready before they come so as not to disturb them when they arrive.

2. Be Patient. Approach very slowly or, let the birds come to you. We all get excited and want to get the shot but I've learned that good things come to those who wait.

3. Keep extra batteries and memory cards close at hand.

4. Respect the birds and your fellow photographers.

(Not hard and fast rules but they seem to work for me)

My $0.02 is similar to Trevor, I have some settings that I have found work in similar situations base on My camera Body and Lens I'm using. If I would give a tip it is to become familar with your camera and It's capabilities. For a 20D and my 500/f4 and my 300/4 I will start Av with ISO 400, and F8 and check shutter speed, then I will take a shot and read my Histogram to set EC My standard is -1/3. There are none of these settings fixed however I will check my LCD for detail being captured in the shot even during a shoot and change to get best result. There are no "RIGHT" way to take the picture you want unless you are willing to learn from others but in my case from mistakes. IMHO

Trevor, the Bigma is f/6.3 at 500mm wide open but f/6.3 it not very sharp so I have to use f/8 or f/9. Which is why I was playing with slow shutter speeds the last few days.

canonloader wrote in post #3174397
Trevor, the Bigma is f/6.3 at 500mm wide open but f/6.3 it not very sharp so I have to use f/8 or f/9. Which is why I was playing with slow shutter speeds the last few days.

Yeah, but if there is enough light for 6.3 you get the extra 200mm on me !

Stephen Stephen wrote in post #3174385
Okay guys I'll wade in. These are all common sense things but sometimes anyone can forget the basics when you're looking for that shot.

1. Know your subjects! Birds are often most active from dawn until ~09:00 and from late afternoon until dusk. Also teh more I observe birds the more I've become familar with their behaviour. Even backyard birds can become predictable as to when they arrive each day. Be ready before they come so as not to disturb them when they arrive.

2. Be Patient. Approach very slowly or, let the birds come to you. We all get excited and want to get the shot but I've learned that good things come to those who wait.

3. Keep extra batteries and memory cards close at hand.

4. Respect the birds and your fellow photographers.

(Not hard and fast rules but they seem to work for me)

There is a lot here that is worth understanding.

Jump shooting seldom works (Tail Shots)

Learn patterns of your subject

Give up a shot if it will scare the subject off. (It is better to give up one and get many)

Patience is a winner, it is only too bad it takes so long to obtain.

Use Light and wind to your advantange.

Luck is alway better if you have persistance.

Have Fun and Share experiances

I love this kind of thread! I'm in the dark about so much of this stuff and it really helps to read what others think about these different settings and methods. It might be interesting to post shots taken with the various settings mentioned, and then have a second shot of the same scene done with more standard exposures and shutter speeds. We could all learn from the next guy once in a while?

village idiot wrote in post #3174549
I love this kind of thread! I'm in the dark about so much of this stuff and it really helps to read what others think about these different settings and methods. It might be interesting to post shots taken with the various settings mentioned, and then have a second shot of the same scene done with more standard exposures and shutter speeds. We could all learn from the next guy once in a while?

Most pictures are posted with EXIF attached. Pick the one you like and open the file. It even helps when you open your own files as you may have changed setting during the shoot.

I'm not an expert bird shooter but I find that the general "get to your subject's eye level" works well with birds - as long as they're not flying of course

If a bird is on the ground and you're on your belly, the resulting bokeh is usually much nicer (as opposed to just pointing the camera down).

You might have seen this shot from the other day. I've been playing with slow shutter speeds but everything else is the same, to see what would happen. This is the most amazing example I got, but it can be done easily. All it takes is a steady tripod or beanbag.

1/15th of a second in the shadow of a tree on a dark gray day. ISO 160, f/9, Aperture Priority, no flash.

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Keith R wrote in post #3174216
Sorry Dazzy, I don't really agree with any of those!

400 ISO might be perfect for action and BIFs, but so might 200 ISO or 800 ISO. As Mitch says - no hard and fast rules;

I never, ever, ever use all focus points, even against a supposedly empty sky because of the likelihood that by the time you've framed your shot, the frame won't be as empty as it was when you started;

I use AI Servo 100% of the time, even for "statics", and a truly static bird is a rare thing indeed.

And for all that, I reckon my efforts stack up pretty well.

One recommendation I would endorse is "always shoot RAW".

But unlike Mitch, I've never used a tripod in my life except with my telescope!

Sorry i think you misunderstood me, I diddent say they were Rules, i mean it how it is. TIPS AND TRICKS.