I found a series of stormwater management ponds in an industrial area not far from my home so I decided to go there this morning to see what I could see. Turns out I managed to give the Z6II and Nikkor 200-500mm F/5.6 quite a workout and I was surprised with some of the results.

I found a beautiful little Yellow-rumped Warbler flitting among the shrubs and singing away. Hard to get close enough and to get an unobstructed view.






There were quite a few Northern Rough-winged Swallows doing their thing over the water. Zipping down, then up, left, right, fast greased lightning. Without expecting success I decided to try BIF with these little speedsters. AF-C Wide Small didn't work because I could not keep the small focus square on them while they were moving so erratically so I tried AF-C Wide Large. I managed a few instances where the lens locked on and stayed with the birds long enough to get a few decent shots. Who would have thought that's possible with a Z6II and a relatively slow-focusing lens?




While I was working with the swallows a GBH came flying along so I decided to follow it with the camera. In this case I had it in AF-C Wide Small. The bird flew past a building in the background, some power lines in the background, as well as some trees. Surprisingly the focus lock held and I got some good images. These are of no aesthetic value because of the stuff in the background but it illustrates the focus tracking capabilities using AF-C Wide Small.

Great images Rassie. If you're nailing Swallows in flight, even just a few, that's quite a testament to your skills and the camera's ability to acquire focus on fast moving subjects. Nicely done and great demo!

Thanks, Dave. I don't see myself with this gear becoming a swallow BIF expert anytime soon, but at least I proved to myself that for the right unique circumstances it's worth trying to get a shot rather than giving up without trying.

Those images speak well of both the machine and the operator.

Thanks, Woody. It's hard, with a low keeper rate, but at least it shows that I can get by until Nikon ups their game with fast AF tracking.

Nice shots, Rassie! I, too, have shot these swallows at a local lake, but with an D850 and the 200-500. Yes, a very low keeper rate but if you spend enough time with them you will get some terrific shots! Terrific IQ on the heron!

gaknott said:

Nice shots, Rassie! I, too, have shot these swallows at a local lake, but with an D850 and the 200-500. Yes, a very low keeper rate but if you spend enough time with them you will get some terrific shots! Terrific IQ on the heron!

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Thanks, Greg. Yeah, I was pretty happy with the IQ on the heron as well.

Rassie said:

I found a series of stormwater management ponds in an industrial area not far from my home so I decided to go there this morning to see what I could see. Turns out I managed to give the Z6II and Nikkor 200-500mm F/5.6 quite a workout and I was surprised with some of the results.

I found a beautiful little Yellow-rumped Warbler flitting among the shrubs and singing away. Hard to get close enough and to get an unobstructed view.

View attachment 18567

View attachment 18568

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What AF areas do you tend to use for the BITT (birds in the thicket)…and how much are these cropped from the full frame? Seems like you got pretty close to that warbler unless there's a considerable crop involved…but I guess if you were that close it was either single point or wide small.

Neil Laubenthal said:

What AF areas do you tend to use for the BITT (birds in the thicket)…and how much are these cropped from the full frame? Seems like you got pretty close to that warbler unless there's a considerable crop involved…but I guess if you were that close it was either single point or wide small.

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For BITT I used AF-C Single Point. The warbler images were cropped by at least 50%.

Great pictures

Rassie said:

For BITT I used AF-C Single Point. The warbler images were cropped by at least 50%.

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Thanks…but even cropped good job…or maybe luck…in getting that close to the warbler.

Nice shot Rassie

Neil Laubenthal said:

Thanks…but even cropped good job…or maybe luck…in getting that close to the warbler.

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I found with most wildlife they tend to move away as one approaches, but if you then stay put in one spot without moving too much they will often drift back. That's what I did here, and playing a recording of his song from the Audubon app on my phone also tends to make them come closer. They either want to come look for the new entrant into their territory or they believe if another bird of their kind is singing so close to where the human is standing then it must be OK. I'm not sure which, but it works.

Irap said:

Nice shot Rassie

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Thanks, Ira.

Rassie said:

I found with most wildlife they tend to move away as one approaches, but if you then stay put in one spot without moving too much they will often drift back. That's what I did here, and playing a recording of his song from the Audubon app on my phone also tends to make them come closer. They either want to come look for the new entrant into their territory or they believe if another bird of their kind is singing so close to where the human is standing then it must be OK. I'm not sure which, but it works.

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Good idea…I’ve used the stand still mode a lot but never thought of the playing the song idea…you learn something every day ‘round here.

Neil Laubenthal said:

Good idea…I’ve used the stand still mode a lot but never thought of the playing the song idea…you learn something every day ‘round here.

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Try that with a song sparrow and see how excited it gets.

Good Job !!

Well done Rassie. Hopefully Nikon will give some software updates improving the BIF abilities of these cameras. I keep trying with my Z6 II and when it locks on you can get some nice images. It's the low success rate that makes it so frustrating. Here is a shot of a Hobby I did manage to get last week.

Nice one.

Chasing a swallow BIF is a real challenge and you got a keeper there. I like the blue heron with the tilt up building in the background

Very very nice pictures

Niiice!