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**Ironwood** · 21-10-2018, 11:23 AM

First off, I guess is selecting a focal length to suit your subject and how close you can get to it, and the closer you can get the better off you are, even with a long lens. I see you used 70mm on those shots, a fair bit short for all but the tamest of birds. A long lens will also give you that “ out of focus “ background that we all desire.
The biggest revelation I have had with my bird photography, is buying and learning to use the Better Beamer. It has turned what was a very frustrating pursuit, where I could often end up with no keepers for the day, to ussually getting shots that are worth keeping. There is a learning curve with these things, and it does add a bit of weight to an already heavy rig. But for me it is really worth it to get that fill light onto the bird that is often shaded and backlit .
A good fast long lens is not cheap , the better Beamer makes up for a couple of stops of light, so my relatively cheaper zoom which needs to be f8 or narrower for sharpish photos can do the job with a bit of effort.

Thats my take, obviously others will have different ideas.
Interesting topic John, I hope to hear from everyone else too, so I can learn as well, as I am still very much a novice compared to the real birders.

Edit- I should thank Stephen Davey AKA avkomp, for enlightening me about the Better Beamer.

**Isac** · 21-10-2018, 11:42 AM

Hi John, It's not quite what you asked for but I have the 7D as you do and I set my C3 and C2 modes to the following and don't have much of a problem for bird shots.
fast shutter speeds are the way to go for me but others seem to get away with less. These may a good starting point.

Here's other settings I use:

**Grumpy John** · 21-10-2018, 12:39 PM

Originally posted by Ironwood View Post

First off, I guess is selecting a focal length to suit your subject and how close you can get to it, and the closer you can get the better off you are, even with a long lens. I see you used 70mm on those shots, a fair bit short for all but the tamest of birds. A long lens will also give you that “ out of focus “ background that we all desire.
The biggest revelation I have had with my bird photography, is buying and learning to use the Better Beamer. It has turned what was a very frustrating pursuit, where I could often end up with no keepers for the day, to ussually getting shots that are worth keeping. There is a learning curve with these things, and it does add a bit of weight to an already heavy rig. But for me it is really worth it to get that fill light onto the bird that is often shaded and backlit .
A good fast long lens is not cheap , the better Beamer makes up for a couple of stops of light, so my relatively cheaper zoom which needs to be f8 or narrower for sharpish photos can do the job with a bit of effort.

Thats my take, obviously others will have different ideas.
Interesting topic John, I hope to hear from everyone else too, so I can learn as well, as I am still very much a novice compared to the real birders.

Edit- I should thank Stephen Davey AKA avkomp, for enlightening me about the Better Beamer.

Thanks for the feedback Brad.
I have 2 70-200 zooms.
A Tamron 70-200 f2.8, no IS and:
A Sigma 70-200 f2.8 IS with a 2x converter.
The 7d gets pretty heavy with either of these lenses fitted and to and I find that I need at least a monopod to help steady the rig. That's the reason I purchased the Sigma as it has IS which is good for 3 stops.
Do you use a mono, or tripod for your bird shots?
What is the range of the Better Beamer?

Originally posted by Isac View Post

Hi John, It's not quite what you asked for but I have the 7D as you do and I set my C3 and C2 modes to the following and don't have much of a problem for bird shots.
fast shutter speeds are the way to go for me but others seem to get away with less. These may a good starting point.

Here's other settings I use:

Thanks for the chart Isac, every bit of information helps.
My C1 & C2 modes are already allocated for my HDR work. I still have C3 available so I could set it up for the Birds Still settings.
Same question for you Isac, do you use a mono, or tripod.

What lens/s are you guys using?

**Ironwood** · 21-10-2018, 01:27 PM

I don’t have a monopod, but I do use my heavy tripod occasionally, it does help, but 99% of the time I go handheld, it’s just easier and quicker.
I have the original Tamron 150-600, I wouldn’t recommend this model, it has AF problems, it loses communication between the camera and lens apparently. Nearly all of us with this lens on the Nikonites forum have problems with it. The G2 model is apparently much better, more expensive though. The biggest problem with all of these big zooms, is f6.3 at the long end, and they require to be stopped down to get the best out of them, so they need a lot of light. I go up to iso3200 if I need to, but the IQ suffers on my Camera, this was the thing that pushed me to try the Better Beamer.
I have tested the range out to about 40 meters with the Beamer, that’s a lot further than a realistic distance to be trying to photograph small birds IMO.

Your Sigma 70-200 + 2x TC gives you 400mm f5.6, as long as you don’t lose too much IQ with the TC and the AF doesn’t suffer , you should get pretty good results with that.

**Grumpy John** · 21-10-2018, 02:38 PM

A couple with the Tamron at Coolart Wetlands taken from a hide using the tripod. Big birds, not fast movers, my limit I'm afraid.

#1

EXIF data:
File Name: E:\Users\John\Pictures\Photoholics\Coolart-1.jpg
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 7D
Software: Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 7.2 (Windows)
Date/Time: 2012-12-03 10:51:29
Exposure Time: 1/1000 sec
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
F Number: F 2.8
Max Aperture: F 2.71
ISO Speed ratings: ISO 100
Flash: Flash did not fire [off]
Focal Length: 188 mm
35mm Equivalent:
Metering Mode: Center weighted average

#2

EXIF data:
File Name: E:\Users\John\Pictures\Photoholics\Coolart-2.jpg
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 7D
Software: Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 7.2 (Windows)
Date/Time: 2012-12-03 10:59:02
Exposure Time: 1/1600 sec
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
F Number: F 2.8
Max Aperture: F 2.71
ISO Speed ratings: ISO 100
Flash: Flash did not fire [off]
Focal Length: 200 mm
35mm Equivalent:
Metering Mode: Center weighted average

One of a family of 3 Tawny Frogmouth that nest in the carpark at Coolart Homestead. Captured from ground level with the Tamron.

#3

EXIF data:
File Name: E:\Users\John\Pictures\Photoholics\Coolart-3.jpg
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 7D
Software: Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 7.2 (Windows)
Date/Time: 2012-12-03 12:57:24
Exposure Time: 1/250 sec
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
F Number: F 4
Max Aperture: F 2.71
ISO Speed ratings: ISO 100
Flash: Flash did not fire [off]
Focal Length: 200 mm
35mm Equivalent:
Metering Mode: Center weighted average

**seaslug** · 21-10-2018, 02:49 PM

Hi John, I don't claim to be a bird photographer as such but I'm happy to be called a Nature photographer. The previous posts have covered the settings and lenses but in my opinion one of the most important aspects is to be where the good shots are. Now this sounds pretty basic but believe me once you learn to be observant and work out the birds behaviour, getting the shot is no different than any other.

I cut my teeth doing underwater photography with a full manual camera taking 35 mm slides. I had a maximum of one hour in the water usually much less, so you pretty quickly must learn to be where the fish are going to be to get a shot of them.

You learn that when smaller birds are really acting up, there is usually a predator around. You see birds coming back and forth to a particular spot there is most likely a nest or fledgling around. Birds will often favour a particular post or branch to sit on.. you need to be patient, watch and wait.. often rewarded.

I could go on and on, but that's how I work.

I've never used a tripod or monopod on birds and rarely a flash. I find that if a bird is among branches, the flash highlights the branches between you and the bird and spoils the shot, so you really need a clear shot to use it.

In summing up, you've got to be there.. with the right gear.. settings in place and above all, lens cap OFF well before you get to where the birds might be.

**Ironwood** · 21-10-2018, 03:41 PM

I just remember I had bookmarked this site a few years ago. It was written about 10 years ago by the look of it, so there has been changes in gear since then, but the basics remain the same.

http://digitalbirdphotography.com/windows/contents.html

Edit- I just quickly browsed the flash section, there is some pretty good info in the Flash Extender section if anyone is wondering about this Better Beamer I keep talking about.
I have been told there is a new product by Magmod, which is a bit more refined than the Beamer.

**wigz** · 21-10-2018, 03:47 PM

Hi John,

I struggle with the smaller birds and some of my shots are cropped so heavily that they are only suitable for web use or small prints.

I use a D800 and its 36 megapixels allows me to crop a lot and retain a usable image. For birds I have a Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 lens used with either a 1.4X or 2X teleconverter which gives 420 at f/4 and 600mm at f/5.6. The converters degrade the image quality somewhat but give a better result than scaling an image up.

This is a heavy rig and I use a tripod occasionally for static subjects (which is fairly rare).

Typical settings using the 1.4x in reasonable light,

- Manual mode
- Shutter 1/1600 to 1/2500 depending on conditions
- f/5.6
- Auto ISO. The camera will vary the ISO to give correct exposure
- Matrix metering usually
- For white birds (or mostly white), up to -1 stop exposure adjustment

For small birds this sometimes works
- Walk slowly with camera set up and ready; stop when you see or hear a bird nearby.
- Stand still and wait for them to return or come closer. As Greg said, some will return to the same perch. I'm not very patient either.
- Take some shots
- Slowly take a step or two towards them
- Take some shots
- continue until the bird leaves.
- This mostly doesn't work but I get enough to keep me interested.

A comment on your shots of the Ibis and Frogmouth: these look very contrasty with some blown out areas - particularly the Frogmouths. I assume this is over-exposure rather than pp. I reduce exposure by up to a stop for white birds to try and avoid blowing out highlights. Mixed sun and shade often makes a decent shot impossible without flash. Shooting raw gives a bit of flexibility for recovering highlights.

Keep trying, vary your exposure and take lots of shots.

Hope this helps

**Grumpy John** · 21-10-2018, 04:29 PM

The original exposure.

**Grumpy John** · 21-10-2018, 05:49 PM

The adjustments made in ACR, I haven't done anything to it in Photoshop yet.

**wigz** · 21-10-2018, 07:05 PM

That looks good so far, John. Looks like you have some blocked shadow areas but that isn't necessarily a problem; I like to have some blacks in the final image.

To brighten only the face, you can use the Adjustment Brush in ACR, or open the image in Photoshop, select the area to be brightened then use Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves to only affect the selected area. There are many ways to do it. The advantage of using Adjustment Layers is that you can easily remove your changes or adjust them later, There are plenty of tutorials on the web. I certainly found Photoshop a steep learning curve.

Here is another way to get close to small birds (sometimes too close) - visit a national park where the locals are used to scrounging food. This is a cropped phone photo. It won't win any prizes, but shows how tame they can be. Just take care to exclude man-made objects from the image.

I don't feed the birds but it looks like other people do.

**Ozzie_Traveller** · 21-10-2018, 07:18 PM

G'day everyone

A decade or so back I was chatting with a US birdie and posed the Q regarding "when using 500mm of lens, how do you keep track if BIF- cos when I am doing it, once the bird has flown. it's gone" ... and I have to take my eye away, find the bird and start all over again. I was told that most birdies use an attachment called a Red-Dot Sight. It was mentioned that "most of the TV cameras following golf balls / cricket balls in flight use a RDS" to keep track of the ball, so I had my US mate post me one and I use it very regularly.

A few years later I tried to interest various Aussie photo houses to stock these devices - without success. The RDS is sold in Oz and elsewhere as a gun / rifle accessory [costs around $300], and therefore we need a gizmo to attach the sight onto the flash hot shoe. I then imported a dozen 'small / pistol' units with flash shoe attachments, complete for $100 all up, and have been showing them / selling them around Oz for the past couple of years

Here's some pics of my RDS device in use ...
a) the RDS fitted into the hot shoe

b) what you see when the RDS is in use

You will note that there's no lens magnification in the RDS - just a 'hollow' sight with a bright red dot [unless the battery goes flat coz you forgot to power-off]. In use you hold the camera away from your face and simply follow the moving bird / subject holding the red rot on the subject. The camera is on AF + whatever exposure settings you have preset

Phil

PS-
I now see that Nikon have released a RDS for Nikon cameras - here's the press release...
https://www.dpreview.com/news/172970...to-photography
Nikon offers optional Dot Sight accessory to aid telephoto photography

Alongside the official unveiling of the Nikkor 500mm F5.6E PF ED, Nikon has announced an optional Dot Sight accessory to help telephoto photographers better track moving subjects. The DF-M1 makes it easier to aim a super-telephoto lens like the 500mm at a fast-moving, distant subject by presenting a wider field-of-view and an illuminated dot target that moves relative to the lens. The Dot Sight accessory will cost $US175.

**Ironwood** · 22-10-2018, 06:36 AM

Very interesting device Phil. So the red dot lines up with your center focus point I take it. How accurately does it correspond to the focus point, do you end up with many out of focus shots?

One other point that no one has mentioned yet is, practice practice practice. You will learn to get the best out of your gear, your will learn the habits of your birds. There is a bit of luck involved in birding, but the more you do it, the luckier you will get.

**seaslug** · 22-10-2018, 08:18 AM

Another suggestion is to attract the birds to you. This is a Little Wattle Bird in my apple tree this morning.

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