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Of the feathered kind....
We've been doing lots of work in the garden and have set up a few feed stations for birds and it's getting quite busy.
We've got lots of blue tits, goldfinches etc but also have a very regular greater spotted woodpecker.
I'd like to take some decent photos of them.
Have a Canon SX30 which, although being quite old now, has a decent zoom so can get a good view. Problem is that the camera doesn't react quick enough on the 'auto' setting sometimes.
Any tips on what settings to use etc?
I'm no photographer but it sounds like you're having more trouble with timing the shot than with colour/exposures etc.
Do you have a burst shot mode? For birds moving around (in good light) I use that and pick the best of 10.
Man: Is, your uh, is your wife a SPORT, ay?
Squire: Um, she likes SPORT, yes!
Man: I bet she does, I bet she does!
Sorry couldn't resist! You should have a sport setting e.g. running man logo. Try that or whatever provides quick shutter speed.
A tripod if you have one
Turn the dial on the top to M and input your settings manually.
You can set the feeder as your focal point with manual focus
Use a medium to small aperture f8/9/10 to get a decent depth of field (the area that will be in focus) this is called zone focusing
Use a shutter speed of 250/500/1000
As low an ISO as possible/ auto ISO if necessary
Balance the above settings to get the +/- symbol on the screen to be 0.0
Shoot in burst mode and delete the blurry ones/ones you don't like
Edited
Do you pre focus. Half press to focus then full press when you take the photo?
Is it viewfinder lag? Most cameras are really fast to take a photo once focused. But often the viewfinder image is about delayed if its electronic. There is no way round this. Other than judging the moment with the other eye. I had a camera where this drove me mad.
It won't be waiting for the camera for to decide the exposure.
Hard to say without knowing the exact issue.
Many older cameras certainly, experienced some significant shutter lag in my experience, but I'm not sure if this remains an issue on any modern camera.
Most cameras do pre-focus by half pressing the shutter button, so make sure you're focused and ready to take the shot, either by half pressing the shutter, or focusing on a fixed object manually.
Personally I would use the Aperture Priority setting and use the smallest aperture, which will get your subject in focus and throw everything out of focus. It does mean accurate focusing becomes vital, but it also gives you access to higher shutter speeds which will freeze fast movements, flapping wings, etc.
It sounds most like a shutter lag is your problem,
Use Aperture priority on f2.7, teh camera wil shift it to f5.8 when you zoom in.
If you can stick the ISO up to 1000, maybe 2000, there will be an increase in noise compared to ISO 100 but it simulates increasing the sensitivity of teh sensor.
If you can prefocus that will help,
Alternatively if you have a feeder the birds use stick a stick in teh ground a few meters away with a pleasing background, birds often land somewhere safe, check the coast is clear and then move to the feeder.
Stick your camera on a tripod, put in manual focus to a point on the stick that the birds may land and get your shots while they are checking the coast is clear.
Another prop is a big old log stuck down and pack with peanuts, really jam them into cracks so teh birds have to work to ge them out, that'll keep them in place for a second longer.
use the smallest aperture
To clarify what I think Butcher means is use the smallest number aperture e.g.f2.8 rather than smallest physical aperture e.g f22
To clarify what I think Butcher means is use the smallest number aperture e.g.f2.8 rather than smallest physical aperture e.g f22
Yes, that's a fair point. Smallest number. Technically the largest aperture.
I'm sure the OP isn't confused at all by this point.
Compacts often suffer a bit more lag compared to SLRs. You've got the advantage of controlling where the birds are and the background and knowing the light conditions during the day so that helps with pre-focus. If you focus on the feeder and then manually lock it so the camera isn't trying to refocus, that'll speed things up. Need a tripod and then the camera can just be left in place.
The log is a good idea, woodpeckers love those, plus it looks more natural than a wire feeder.
And then just fire off as many shots as possible on the fastest shutter speed you can get away with. Many years ago, shooting film, I got through about 3 rolls and got maybe 5 decent bird pictures out of it. Got to be quite expensive....
I’m sure the OP isn’t confused at all by this point.
Yep, not confused at all..🤷🏼♂️
Thanks for the tips, I'll have a play later and see what comes out.
After reading this thread and seeing as I'm stuck at the computers screen all day I aimed my camera and 400mm lens at the bird feeder in the garden, nipped out and trimmed down some branches in the way and then set the focus on manual prefocussed on the feeder and waited.
And along came the usual suspects, including our new Jackdaws.
I notice a rat is now in the tree and go downstairs to point out to the landlady that she must be putting too much feed out and there is now a rat out there at which point she exclaimed "There's a Red Kite in the tree!"
And I missed it. Bloody thing was after the rat.
At least I got the Jackdaw.
400mm on a tripod, 1/320 second. f10 for a bit of depth of field.
Looking at the camera, it looks like it has a good zoom but as you zoom the aperture gets smaller - so less light on the sensor which increases the exposure time. This will probably result in blurry images as the bird moves while the photo is being taken.
You might be better off taking pictures zoomed out a little bit & cropping them later.
I would set the ISO to a reasonably high value - this will depend on how noisy your sensor is to some extent. I try not to use my compact camera above ISO400 as the images get unacceptably (to me) noisy. You could perhaps try 800 & go up or down depending on how the shots come out.
Pre-focussing on the feed station is definitely a good idea (half press of the shutter while aiming at the feed station), as it will mean the camera will react as fast as possible when you actually press the shutter to take the picture. Try to pre-focus on an area where the birds are landing so you get the best chance of the pics being in focus.
Change the shot mode from single to continuous. This will increase your chances of getting a shot that is both interesting & sharp - birds move so quickly, it can be hard to get the image you want.
The suggestion above of trying a 'sport' mode is a good idea and worth fiddling with
Wow, i think its great photos, i am not proffesional photographer but i think it looks nice
Man: Is, your uh, is your wife a SPORT, ay?
Squire: Um, she likes SPORT, yes!
Man: I bet she does, I bet she does!
🙂 was exactly my thought when I saw the title.
I was chatting to this chap last week:
https://www.instagram.com/ripley922/?hl=en
He was walking out of the woods as I finished my mandatory exercise.
Alex has recently gone full-time as a photographer and uses a Sony mirrorless camera. Gave me a detailed explanation of why he doesn't use a SLR (shutter too noisy etc). Anyway - just thought you lot might be interested,
Great stuff @eddiebaby
Great camera and lens. Sunny day. Focussed on one spot. Easy peasey.
The bloke that StirlingCripson linked to is professional. He wouldn't have missed the Red Kites.
I'm a professional lens smith. I've missed loads of stuff.
At one point this morning we had 6 pairs stacked over the house after the landlady put some old luncheon meat out. They were sat about 12ft away as these 2m span birds dropped in. SO mesmerising to watch that I nearly forgot to dig the camers out.
Used a more usual 24-70 zoom this time/
Eyes on the prize:
https://flic.kr/p/2j6oeYC
Grab:
https://flic.kr/p/2j6qPAB
And away, note the shredded meat falling to ground behind him:
https://flic.kr/p/2j6qQfc
Think Stevied has fleabayed his camera and bought a beginner's watercolour set!
Love the red kite pic's. You're very lucky to have that kind of birdlife around.
I’d agree with most of what has been said, adding in the suggestion to have a play with flash as the added light will reduce the need to up the iso too much and the light will add detail to the feathers. The majority of my wildlife photography uses flash.
https://www.instagram.com/tim_russon/?hl=en
Looks like that camera maxs out at 1600 iso, and is probably unacceptable well before that.
In terms of shutter lag, pre-focussing and switching to manual if you can might help or keep the shutter half pressed, both of which have been mentioned but are probably as much as you can do.
Got this lucky shot on Wednesday, hand held with a Nikon P900,
Had this with the same camera, day after I'd bought it (the fact that Owley was literally 15 yards away did help)
An ex boss of mine however, takes a lot of REALLY decent shots, but he's got a 'proper' camera with a big fat lens, & loads of patience.
For instance.
Think Stevied has fleabayed his camera and bought a beginner’s watercolour set!
Haha..no, just been trying to get some practice in. Nothing as good as some on here..
Came across this article the other day, thought it might be of interest...
https://visualwilderness.com/fieldwork/how-to-choose-shutter-speed-aperture-for-nature-photography
That photo of the bird with the fish is what I always see in my head when I go for a shot. Even having a baited feeding spot I still can’t get the timing right for the Kites.