Bird Photography with Nikon D780

[mikemyers]

The Nikon D780 is two cameras in one - it's both a DSLR, and has the Nikon Z6 technology built in as well, when the camera is switched from using the viewfinder, to turning on "Live View". For right now, I'm mostly asking about using the camera viewfinder.

My first specific question, about photographing stationery birds, is what focus settings are best. Some people recommend single point, which is what I've been using. Others recommend the "four" points mode, so it covers a bit more area. I was wondering if using one of the "tracking" modes is a good idea. I'm sure I'll have more questions, but this one seems to be a good place to start.

I've been reading where a lot of people prefer a D? camera, D5 or D6 usually. I've got a D3. My D780 has 24 megapixels on the sensor, and the D3 has half of that - and is a rather old camera. The D3 is rugged, fast, and solid. I bought it new, what seems like a lifetime ago (after buying a D2x and using that for several years). For those who are familiar with the D3, is it a suitable camera for bird photography?

Anyway, the main point for this post is to find out what the best focus settings are for me.
I'm pretty sure I need AF-C (continuous), not AF-S (single).
One option is "area mode", where the camera looks all over to focus - or "spot" mode where the camera looks right in the center of the view.
I expect to try the "diamond" setting, with four spots surrounding the center of the viewfinder.

Not now, but later, I'd like to ask about how it will work for me if I use "mirrorless" mode (by switching on live view).

......and I need to add, it sounds much easier for me to shoot normally, with the viewfinder, than moving my head back and looking at the rear screen, for "mirrorless" shooting.

I've been on birdwatching trips twice, my latest one two days ago. I'll post one image I like from that trip:

 

[Cameron T]

Honestly, a lot of it comes down to how well you can track birds/how steady you can keep them in the viewfinder, and what conditions you're shooting in.

I generally tend to recommend the smallest box you can keep on the subject

 

[AlanB313]

Have you taken a look at Steve's ebooks? I really recommend this one if you haven't seen it. https://bcgwebstore.com/product/secrets-to-the-nikon-autofocus-system/
The dslr version has tons of information on how our cameras work and how to use them.
I apologize if I'm recommending something you already know about.
I'd add that it might help to know what lenses you are using. And what kind of bird photography you want to do. For perched birds, I may use single point AF, for birds in flight, different settings. And change them to suit the circumstances. Steve covers these in his books.

 

[mikemyers]

This was my first bird hunting trip, and I made all sorts of mistakes, correcting things as I went along.
I'll certainly check out "Steve's ebooks"; thanks for the link.
I have no idea what I want to capture - yet. Learning as go along.
I really need to learn about focusing.
I had one lens, a 70-300 Nikon "P" lens, and bought another yesterday at the camera shop that was working on my D3. Will post better information later today.
Don't apologize - I'm a beginner at this, and good advice is welcome!!

 

[mikemyers]

I wonder if this will work - it's a low-res screen capture from the other day.....

 

[mikemyers]

What size should photos be, that I post here?
I guess the best way is to use the "Attach files" box.
I can shrink my files to the proper size.

 

[AlanB313]

A good place to start is here; https://bcgforums.com/index.php?help/. It is under the Help & How-to tab at the top of the forum You can find answers on file size and guidelines for posting. Have fun out there....
A good place to start is to program for "back button focus" and use AF-C. Well covered in Steve's book. It was very helpful to me.

 

[DRwyoming]

What size should photos be, that I post here?
I guess the best way is to use the "Attach files" box.
I can shrink my files to the proper size.

There are several ways to embed photos into your posts. I typically resize images as exports from Lightroom but you can do that in other image editing programs, make sure they're saved as jpegs in sRGB color space. Once you have the file saved somewhere on your computer (e.g. the Desktop or a folder for saving images for web posting) then when you're composing your post hit Ctrl-P (Cmd-P on a Mac) and you'll get a pop up box where you can browse to the saved, correctly sized file and add it inline to your post. You'll then see a couple of boxes to add a Full Size or Thumbnail image, ignore those as hitting either button will add a second copy of the image to your post.

Here's the image sizing guidelines:

If you'd like to post an image to the forum (we hope you will), it needs to follow the guidelines below.

Pixel dimensions:

For horizontal images, no more than 2000 pixels across (let the number of vertical pixels fall where they may). The forum is locked in at 1400 pixels though, so we recommned a comfortable 1200px.

For verticals, you can technically go 2000 pixels wide as well, but we recommend 800 ~ 1200 wide - it just seems to look nicer and helps keep you from approaching the last limit - size.

File Size:

The file size limit is 2MB - usually far more than enough when using the recommended pixel dimensions above. (We have to limit size or our server's hard drive would become overwhelmed in short order).

 

[mikemyers]

Thank you for the links, and the advice.
Yes, I always use back button focus.
I've been setting the camera to AF-C.
I'll now check the link for other settings.
I've been trying to use single-point focus.
I read that if I change the focus to the "diamond shaped" 4 focus areas, that is likely to work better.
Focus seems to be quite accurate right now though - will post one image below.

I don't want to buy yet another book - I just bought two full books on the D780.
For right now, I just want to find some good focus settings to start with. I may have already accomplished this.

The Nikon D780 is two cameras in one box. It's a regular DSLR when I use the viewfinder.
It switches to the same mirrorless technology when I select "Live View", as is used in Nikon's Z6.

Maybe in a week, with a lot of watching and reading, I will understand this better, but I want to first set the camera up as a DSLR. The Z6 technology will come later.

This was my second ever birdwatching trip.

Anybody here know what kind of bird this is?

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[ricardo00]

Thank you for the links, and the advice.
Yes, I always use back button focus.
I've been setting the camera to AF-C.
I'll now check the link for other settings.
I've been trying to use single-point focus.
I read that if I change the focus to the "diamond shaped" 4 focus areas, that is likely to work better.
Focus seems to be quite accurate right now though - will post one image below.

I don't want to buy yet another book - I just bought two full books on the D780.
For right now, I just want to find some good focus settings to start with. I may have already accomplished this.

The Nikon D780 is two cameras in one box. It's a regular DSLR when I use the viewfinder.
It switches to the same mirrorless technology when I select "Live View", as is used in Nikon's Z6.

Maybe in a week, with a lot of watching and reading, I will understand this better, but I want to first set the camera up as a DSLR. The Z6 technology will come later.

This was my second ever birdwatching trip.

Anybody here know what kind of bird this is?

View attachment 86158View attachment 86159

Think it is the red-winged blackbird. When asking for ID, it helps to know where a photo was taken. Also you might try to use an app like Merlin that can identify birds in the field by their calls.

 

[mikemyers]

Certainly!
Photo was taken at Wakodahatchee Wetlands, in South Florida. It's a huge area with a boardwalk that goes around the place in a large circle, with more birds and other wildlife to see than I've ever seen in one location in my life. It is free, no charge to enter.

I tried to find the bird using"Merlin Bird ID", but couldn't find it. The bird I thought it was, was not correct. This is the photo I used for trying to figure out what it was:

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[ricardo00]

Certainly!
Photo was taken at Wakodahatchee Wetlands, in South Florida. It's a huge area with a boardwalk that goes around the place in a large circle, with more birds and other wildlife to see than I've ever seen in one location in my life. It is free, no charge to enter.

I tried to find the bird using"Merlin Bird ID", but couldn't find it. The bird I thought it was, was not correct. This is the photo I used for trying to figure out what it was:

For me, Merlin said the red-winged blackbird, the female does look like this (maybe a younger one). What bird did you think? I meant to also use your Merlin when you were in the field since it can ID birds by their calls. By any chance did you record the call (ie. do video)?

 

[mikemyers]

Sorry, at that moment in time, I had not yet learned about Merlin. Yes, it was "calling", but I only took photos. Red-Winged Blackbird. I'll accept that for the answer for now.

I know nothing about birds, only photography.

Thank you!

 

[mikemyers]

A few updates. The Sigma 50-500 I bought was a fake - when I asked Sigma for any information, they told me my serial number was for a 150-500. Turns out some creep had painted out the "1" with a black magic marker - was obvious once I looked at it close up. The store that sold it was as astonished as I was. Anyway, I returned it, and got back my $500.

I'm finished with my editing - this is the last time I will "spray and pray". From now on, I plan to take one single image, and another if the bird gets into a better pose.
I plan to use the four focus "group" setting that looks like a diamond, which will give me a better chance of getting the right focus - but what I did last time was reasonably good already. Next time I'll also have my new monopod.

I also have a 12 megapixel Nikon D3 - it's going on 16 years old by now. It's very fast, but I think the D780 focus is faster and more precise. Might the D3 be acceptable for bird photos?

I am uploading one more photo, also from Wakodahatchee, same day, one of my last photos that day.
My forum friends want me to cut more off the right side, but since the bird is looking to the right, I felt I needed to give it "some room".

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[mikemyers]

One more photo to post - I saw this hawk, but it was too far away for my 300 lens, meaning I had to do a lot of cropping.

Is a photo like this good for posting here? I know it's starting to get pixelated, but until/unless I get a longer lens, I'm stuck. For me, I like the photo!! But for the forum????

Also, should I post photos in a larger size, or thumbnails in this forum?

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[JAJohnson]

Certainly!
Photo was taken at Wakodahatchee Wetlands, in South Florida. It's a huge area with a boardwalk that goes around the place in a large circle, with more birds and other wildlife to see than I've ever seen in one location in my life. It is free, no charge to enter.

I tried to find the bird using"Merlin Bird ID", but couldn't find it. The bird I thought it was, was not correct. This is the photo I used for trying to figure out what it was:

View attachment 86167

This is a red winged blackbird, either a mature female, or an immature male or female. I can’t judge its true size from the photo.

Merlin photo ID works well, and, if you have an iPhone, the Photos app will attempt to ID animals or plants which are subjects in a photo.

 

[mikemyers]

I've downloaded the app.
Thanks.
I'm a total beginner at this.
I love photography, but know next to nothing about birds.
How to post a photo, such that viewers can judge the size?
I don't think the EXIF data contains anything useful for that?

 

[JAJohnson]

I've downloaded the app.
Thanks.
I'm a total beginner at this.
I love photography, but know next to nothing about birds.
How to post a photo, such that viewers can judge the size?
I don't think the EXIF data contains anything useful for that?

EXIF data won’t be of help in judging the size of something in a photo. Sometimes a bird’s size will be obvious because it’s well known (Bald Eagle or American Robin) in other situations there’s not much you can do to help a viewer judge the size of a bird. I usually don’t worry about it.