Today’s Mistakes …..

[Larry S.]

I wanted to photograph the small speedy birds that fly to and from our feeders. These are the chickadees, nuthatches, finches and titmouse species. The feeder is 20 yards away and only one camera position had an acceptable background. The yellow box is the feeder location and pointed out by arrow.

Plan A:
Z9/600PF @ f/6.3 on tripod w/gimbal. Remote wireless trigger; Bag w/clay granules to dampen any vibrations.
Settings: f/6.3 - 1/2000 sec - iso auto - 10 shot continuous : manual focus on bird feeder and turn gimbal to left to exclude it from image but catch birds coming and going.
results: 150 shots later: horrible blurred images.

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I increased the shutter speed to 1/4000 sec to imrove the clarity and definition. It certainly did that. With the improved image came an iso of 12,800 which kills the shot. Nuthatches are fast but I got the background I wanted. A total re-think is in order to get this bird… and it’s still not tack sharp!

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Plan B:
Z8/9 w/70-200mm f/2.8 on tripod w/gimbal. Same as before. Remote trigger.
I have to come off the rear deck and close the distance of 60+ feet to approximately 12 feet and find a better camera position to give a comparable background as shown above.
Going from f/6.3 of the 600mm to f/2.8 of the 70-200mm will be a quantum leap to drop the iso. I will also try dropping the the shutter speed to 1/3200 sec to see if this works for thes birds.

I will follow up on my post should if I get presentable images…
I’m beginning to think the f/1.8 Plena may be the perfect lens for this….

 

[Butlerkid]

What focus mode are you using or are you simply in manual focus mode and focusing on the feeder? Pre-focusing on the feeder is not where the bird will be. It may be in front or behind the feeder relative to camera placement. The camera needs to acquire focus before the image is taken. Or are you using "Auto Capture" focus mode?

 

[Larry S.]

What focus mode are you using or are you simply in manual focus mode and focusing on the feeder? Pre-focusing on the feeder is not where the bird will be. It may be in front or behind the feeder relative to camera placement. The camera needs to acquire focus before the image is taken. Or are you using "Auto Capture" focus mode?

Karen, I focused on the landing stick on the front of the feeder where the birds perch. It’s in the same plane as their approach and departure. A tiny nudge on the gimbal moves the feeder out of the frame. Not using auto capture. Don’t know if it would work here. When I see one of these guys coming in or about to launch I hit the button and hopefully catch him in the frame. This silly looking cardinal crashed the party yesterday and points out many things that need fixing. The best thing is the background.

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[Ralph]

I wanted to photograph the small speedy birds that fly to and from our feeders. These are the chickadees, nuthatches, finches and titmouse species. The feeder is 20 yards away and only one camera position had an acceptable background. The yellow box is the feeder location and pointed out by arrow.

Plan A:
Z9/600PF @ f/6.3 on tripod w/gimbal. Remote wireless trigger; Bag w/clay granules to dampen any vibrations.
Settings: f/6.3 - 1/2000 sec - iso auto - 10 shot continuous : manual focus on bird feeder and turn gimbal to left to exclude it from image but catch birds coming and going.
results: 150 shots later: horrible blurred images.
View attachment 94907

I increased the shutter speed to 1/4000 sec to imrove the clarity and definition. It certainly did that. With the improved image came an iso of 12,800 which kills the shot. Nuthatches are fast but I got the background I wanted. A total re-think is in order to get this bird… and it’s still not tack sharp!
View attachment 94909

Plan B:
Z8/9 w/70-200mm f/2.8 on tripod w/gimbal. Same as before. Remote trigger.
I have to come off the rear deck and close the distance of 60+ feet to approximately 12 feet and find a better camera position to give a comparable background as shown above.
Going from f/6.3 of the 600mm to f/2.8 of the 70-200mm will be a quantum leap to drop the iso. I will also try dropping the the shutter speed to 1/3200 sec to see if this works for thes birds.

I will follow up on my post should if I get presentable images…
I’m beginning to think the f/1.8 Plena may be the perfect lens for this….

Larry, You are over thinking the situation. If the feeder has been there for some time and birds are freely going to the feeder, I would find a spot about 20-30 feet away possibly near a shrub and set up. If you want to catch them at the feeder, use single point. If you are trying to get them in flight use one of the subject detection modes( auto, 3d, etc or even dynamic) on your Z8 or 9. Set up a perch near the feeder where the birds can position themselves before they head to the feeder. If you are hoping for only inflight situations, set up a little further back. Good luck

 

[ninog]

Un gran reto... lo que debes hacer es poner una percha antes del comedero para tratar de que el vuelo sea predecible... al menos en la trayectoria... El vuelo desde la percha lo puedes ver cuando se produce el lanzamiento... y hacer un enfoque previo donde esperas capturar al ave... en enfoque manual... velocidad no menor a 1/4000 o mayor... cerrar el diafragma ayuda... hasta donde creas que el fondo no daña la imagen y luego presionar el obturador a 20 fps... muchas irán a la basura pero seguro alguna te puede dar satisfacción... te dejo algunas imágenes con esta técnica... espero que te sea de utilidad.

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[Butlerkid]

Un gran reto... lo que debes hacer es poner una percha antes del comedero para tratar de que el vuelo sea predecible... al menos en la trayectoria... El vuelo desde la percha lo puedes ver cuando se produce el lanzamiento... y hacer un enfoque previo donde esperas capturar al ave... en enfoque manual... velocidad no menor a 1/4000 o mayor... cerrar el diafragma ayuda... hasta donde creas que el fondo no daña la imagen y luego presionar el obturador a 20 fps... muchas irán a la basura pero seguro alguna te puede dar satisfacción... te dejo algunas imágenes con esta técnica... espero que te sea de utilidad.
View attachment 94915

EXCELLENT image!

Please reply in English so our members can benefit from your posting. You are welcome to use a translator if that makes it easier for you.

 

[Larry S.]

Larry, You are over thinking the situation. If the feeder has been there for some time and birds are freely going to the feeder, I would find a spot about 20-30 feet away possibly near a shrub and set up. If you want to catch them at the feeder, use single point. If you are trying to get them in flight use one of the subject detection modes( auto, 3d, etc or even dynamic) on your Z8 or 9. Set up a perch near the feeder where the birds can position themselves before they head to the feeder. If you are hoping for only inflight situations, set up a little further back. Good luck

Thanks Ralph! This feeder has been established before we moved here in 2018. The birds hide in the wax myrtle and launch to the feeder from both sides. It gets a bit frenetic when all the birds get hungry at once. Several will hover at and around the feeder. I don’t want feeder pictures, only BIF, coming and going, hopefully with a seed in its beak like the nuthatch. Tried to send pic from iPhone and “forum” said iPhone file type is invalid….don’t know what’s going on there… I am going to move to 12-15 feet and see if any of the subj det modes will work. These guys are really fast moving laterally, not jumping up and down so we’ll see how fast and well the focus system performs.