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#3,301
steven kessel said:
I wish I could say I photographed this Gray Hawk in the wild. However, I took it yesterday at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum's superb Raptor Free Flight program. It's a must see for any serious wildlife photographer, the birds are allowed to fly free without restraints and only the promise of food lures them back.

5Diii, 70-200 f.4 L @ 200 mm, ISO 100, 1/1600 @ f8.
Click to expand...

Cool shot! I've only got to see a Gray Hawk once while 'touring' the Huachuca Mountains.
 
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#3,302
Hawk
Canon 60D 100-400

Sparrow
Canon 60D Efs 55-250

Quick question: I use center point focus AI Servo. Going to upgrade to either a 6D or 5D mark III. Would using the same setting on a 6D give the same results as the 60D. Those of you using a 5D mark III what are your settings as for as bird in flight.


Thanks.
 

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#3,303
Diablo - 90 % of my shots are birding with the 5D Mark III and the Canon 400mm 5.6 L. Settings really depend on a variety of circumstances but overall these are proven for my sake anyway: Faithful (stay off Standard to many changes to the actual photo - I've done tests where black in Standard look purplish - once I changed to Faithful no more problems with the reddish/purplish overcast). Auto ISO - no time to even think about this when you have literally a second or two - let the camera do the work. AI Servo 1st image priority with center choice (i.e slider) most of the time however if I know a bird will be stationary such as a Sapsucker I will revert back to One Shot mode and focus on the eye. I rarely use one focus point but am usually on either Expansion mode or Zone AF especially when tracking a bird in flight which sooner or later is bound to happen on a stationary bird. Since I don't want numerous shots of the bird in the same position and have to sift through numerous photos of the same pose I use Silent Continuous shooting to minimize the clicking. I also use Tv priority @ 1/1600 or higher especially with faster birds such as hummers as high as 1/6400 - since there's little time I've no time to fool with Manual mode as we're not doing landscape shots. Some may debate this - that's fine. I also push up the exposure somewhere between 2/3rds and 2 full stops if it is a backlit situation. Only shoot RAW as I can recover overblown shots with Highlight Priority in Adobe Lightroom rather easily. Typically Evaluative mode though sometimes Center weighted depending on scene. Case 2 tracking primarily, though with erratic birds such as Swallows I might choose Case 5 so its important to know what your subject matter is and their behaviors. This should hopefully help you get started. My shots can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/revup67 and or if you have an iPhone (soon for android) about 100+ photos of mine are in Birdseye NA http://birdseyebirding.com/index.php/birdseye-bird-finding/10-product-pages/56-the-birdseye-family-of-apps

Here's a shot I took today of a Red-breasted Sapsucker 11-18-13 - its a low res JPG of a master RAW file


Red-breasted Sapsucker #1 (11333) by Revup67, on Flickr
 
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#3,305
revup67,

Thanks for that detailed explanation. It'll come in handy if/when I upgrade to a second body.

I might add that lots is possible with the 6D. I use center point spot and that is virtually useless with BIF becasue it's too dificult to get the initial lock (talking 600mm here). By using all the points the focus will often not be where you'd prefer on the head/eye. The frames per second is a little slow but that's not as big a deal.

If a 6D was to be my only camera I wouldn't buy it without accepting the limitations that many have pointed out. However, I've had a very rewarding summer/fall season with that camera and acquired many beautiful shots, just not many BIF. I've posted more than enough to confirm that it's not a bad camera by any stretch.

Jack
 
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#3,306
Lorakeet - Aquarium of the Pacific - Long Beach

5DMKIII - 70-200 2.8L II

10921942364_a6f839c25b_b.jpg
 
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#3,317
Jack Douglas said:
This is disgusting. People taking pictures of beautiful songbirds and here I sit in Alberta with 10" of snow and -25C. It is sunny though and I do at least have Chickadees that visit me ;)

Jack
Click to expand...
That's some cold weather for November! I won't give you the details of my weather in Florida - instead I'll post a bird that makes my climate seem cold - with the caveat that it was captive (and I should get rid of that distracting bokeh spot):
_H2B3669_ID-L.jpg
 
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#3,318
mackguyver said:
Jack Douglas said:
This is disgusting. People taking pictures of beautiful songbirds and here I sit in Alberta with 10" of snow and -25C. It is sunny though and I do at least have Chickadees that visit me ;)

Jack
Click to expand...
That's some cold weather for November! I won't give you the details of my weather in Florida - instead I'll post a bird that makes my climate seem cold - with the caveat that it was captive (and I should get rid of that distracting bokeh spot):
_H2B3669_ID-L.jpg
Click to expand...

mackguyver,

Beautiful colors and nice sharp focus on the eye.
 
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