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Birding and Bird Photography

Discussion in 'Sports, Hobbies & Interests' started by 92shawman, Jan 2, 2014.

  1. Jan 7, 2014 at 9:22 PM
    #41
    ian408

    ian408 Well-Known Member

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    I find if I shoot the 300 handheld, I have a better keeper rate without IS. I have shot the 5 handheld like once. It's heavy.
     
  2. Jan 7, 2014 at 9:27 PM
    #42
    92shawman

    92shawman [OP] Person

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    I know nothing about those other cameras, but I'll try to take some in flight photos with my 400 5.6 on my T2i. I tried with a Belted Kingfisher the other day and she was flying around so ridiculously fast she was impossible to track.

    Here's the best I got:
    [​IMG]
    Belted Kingfisher Landing by 92shawman, on Flickr

    The things you want with birds in flight, that I've found the most desirable, are fast shutter speed, zoom, and zero delay between pressing the shutter button and taking the picture (I forget if that has an official term). My advice would be to go to a camera/electronics store and try out the different cameras to see what works best for you in those regards.
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2014
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  3. Jan 7, 2014 at 9:54 PM
    #43
    ian408

    ian408 Well-Known Member

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    A bird that seeks cover in weeds or bushes almost needs manual or single point focus since the focusing system prefers things with excellent contrast. Like the branch or grasses between you and the bird.

    Shutter lag is the delay between the time you press the shutter and the camera actually fires. The shorter the lag, the easier it is to deal with. But you can learn to anticipate.

    Fast shutter speed requires high ISO and wide open aperture (like f/2.8). Older cameras often have issues above 800ISO so you'll need some bright light.

    Good luck!
     
  4. Jan 8, 2014 at 1:50 PM
    #44
    MTgirl

    MTgirl too many frogs, not enough princes... Moderator

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    Here's a few of my feathered encounters...
    A Great Grey who almost left talon marks in the hood of my truck as he swooped down from behind me as I was driving
    A crappy pic taken through my buggy windshield, he was perched on that sign about 2' from my bumper
    [​IMG]
    Then he flew into a tree and hung out while I got lots of pics of him
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Western Meadowlark, MT state bird
    [​IMG]
    A Homer, AK eagle....there was a lady in Homer who used to feed the birds in the winter and they would all flock into one area. 100's of eagles
    [​IMG]
    Great Blue Heron pair (they're pretty well camouflaged)
    _MG_3761_zps7c715870_0773b4757e60822ac11db9c9052bd8f82c34bb37.jpg
    _MG_3768_zps7ce4ff71_7a4b9e6b84f75be9a9af6ca4277079c443a92901.jpg
     
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  5. Jan 8, 2014 at 2:24 PM
    #45
    Cold Iron

    Cold Iron Well-Known Member

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    Thank you all very much for the assistance and guidance, it is appreciated! And for the link to Secrets of Digital Bird Photography m3bassman, what an awesome resource.

    The pentax leaves a lot to be desired in expansion options down the road and that concerns me some. But it is water resistant and reasonably priced but don't want to be wishing I would have purchased more down the road so will take a few more days researching. Makes it hard because the Sigma 150-500mm lens for it is also on sale at the exchange for half the price that Amazon sells it for. If I'm not working I'm researching right now. I think making a trip to the city this weekend to test some cameras out is worth it I just hate the try it someplace and buy someplace else thing. But hope to be out taking decent pictures sooner than later, thanks again!
     
  6. Jan 8, 2014 at 2:45 PM
    #46
    MTgirl

    MTgirl too many frogs, not enough princes... Moderator

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    FWIW.... I tried out a Sigma 150-500 lens on my Canon 7D and hated it. Couldn't hold it still to safe my life (not a big fan of tripods, I use them only when I absolutely have to), very slow response with auto focus and heavy as hell. I decided after 1 day with the sigma that I'd hold out and save up for a Canon 100-400 lens. It was more expensive but so worth it - its fast, super sharp, I can get great shots hand held and while its still heavy its not a terrible burden to lug around. Not sure how the Pentax version stacks up to the Canon version but that's my $0.02
     
  7. Jan 8, 2014 at 4:09 PM
    #47
    ian408

    ian408 Well-Known Member

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    People ding the 100-400 for being a push-pull lens. The thought being it sucks a lot of dust in. I've had mine for a long time and I don't see what they're talking about. OK, maybe if you're the color run/party environment where the powder being flung around is so fine. But it's a really nice lens.
     
  8. Jan 8, 2014 at 6:02 PM
    #48
    MTgirl

    MTgirl too many frogs, not enough princes... Moderator

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    I love my 100-400 and have zero issues with it. Even dust...of course I baby it and keep it tucked in my camera bag as much as possible.

    My owl friend was pretty awesome...I'd never seen (up close) an owl in the wild before so I was thrilled to have that experience.

    Loved your eagle shots. The eagles around here are pretty wary of people. I spotted one eating a elk/deer carcass a few weeks back and it got spooked when I stopped. I sat on the side of the road in my truck for an hour hoping he/she would come back so I could get some pics but no luck.

    You'll love the 100-400. One general rule to it and other big lenses...you carry the lens and not the camera. Since the lens is so heavy you need to keep your grip on it to avoid unneeded stress on the mounting ring/joint.
     
  9. Jan 8, 2014 at 6:38 PM
    #49
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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    Not a photo , but I helped this little guy out this summer , he was in rough shape when I found him but I was able to get him sorted out and released him the next day


     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2014
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  10. Jan 8, 2014 at 6:41 PM
    #50
    Polymerhead

    Polymerhead Well-Known Member

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    Good on ya for that. Seriously.
     
  11. Jan 8, 2014 at 6:50 PM
    #51
    ian408

    ian408 Well-Known Member

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    I think the key is to take care of your stuff. If you shoot sports or something where the lens is constantly getting beat up, it won't last. Regardless of what brand.

    Another reminder about big lenses, if you drop a camera body and it hits the camera strap, there's a really good chance the momentum of the lens will rip the lens mount out of the body and the lens will hit the ground. So if you mount a super tele, be sure to use the strap on the lens. That's a lesson that you don't want to learn the hard way (I've seen it happen).:eek:
     
  12. Jan 8, 2014 at 6:51 PM
    #52
    MTgirl

    MTgirl too many frogs, not enough princes... Moderator

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    Awww... the great and powerful OZ has a heart after all ;)
     
  13. Jan 8, 2014 at 8:32 PM
    #53
    92shawman

    92shawman [OP] Person

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    Awesome great gray owl! I really want to see one of those. I maaaay have seen one on a project, but it was gone in an instant and it wasn't the right habitat at all. It was just huge.

    Yeah I have a 28-135 lens that has sucked a fair amount of dust in, but that's from when I was using it in the field and it zooming it with dust in the air. It's probably not as nice quality, either.

    So adorable! Yeah migration is pretty tough on those little guys. I'll have to pull up some statistics on them...
     
  14. Jan 8, 2014 at 8:34 PM
    #54
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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    The Annas live here all year
     
  15. Jan 8, 2014 at 8:36 PM
    #55
    92shawman

    92shawman [OP] Person

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    That looks like a Rufous or Allen's Hummingbird because of the orange, but I just reread your post and you said it was in the summer, so it wouldn't be during migration anyways. Huh, I wonder what happened to it?
     
  16. Jan 8, 2014 at 8:37 PM
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    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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    I think it was early in the summer IIRC
     
  17. Jan 8, 2014 at 8:44 PM
    #57
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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    After looking at an identification book , I think you are right about it being a Rufous

    We found him on the ground , we almost ran over him with a mini excavator , he was kinda shivering and lethargic , I was at a job site and i mixed a small amount of sugar and water and he drank a bit out of that bottle cap I'm holding , my wife came and took him to our local animal rescue shelter and they fed him and kept him for the night and called us to come get him the next day and we took him back to where I found him and he went whizzing off , right as rain
     
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  18. Jan 8, 2014 at 8:47 PM
    #58
    92shawman

    92shawman [OP] Person

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    Hmmm... so I believe it's a female rufous hummingbird (female because of the white on the outer tail feathers, rufous hummingbird because of the notch in one of the tail feathers), and the Birds Of North America Online species account says that they lay eggs between the 30th of March and the 10th of July. They will lay eggs about 2-3 days after arriving, so the absolute tail end of migration is roughly at the beginning of July (and that's really late). So it could be a very late migrater or she could have just been having a tough time or something, I don't know.
     
  19. Jan 8, 2014 at 8:48 PM
    #59
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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  20. Jan 8, 2014 at 8:49 PM
    #60
    92shawman

    92shawman [OP] Person

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    Nice! What a success story!
     
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