During a walk in the country I managed to get a few shots with the HD 55-300, wishing I had the 150-450... nevertheless, the outcome was not too bad. Here are some shots (disclaimer: no birds were harmed during this shooting )

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/65046-alexzav/albums/11732-nature/picture108372.jpg

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/65046-alexzav/albums/11732-nature/picture108373.jpg

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/65046-alexzav/albums/11732-nature/picture108374.jpg

[wildman]

Perhaps I totally misunderstand your intent but to me it looks like a little PP would go a long way ...

[AlexZav]

Perhaps I totally misunderstand your intent but to me it looks like a little PP would go a long way ...

Thanks. I totally understand your point. I did some detail enhancements in the second and third, and some exposure compensation in the third as well, but when I exported the files to jpeg and reduced their size, they all went darker.....

[photolady95]

Your f stop seems a bit too much for these shots. Lower it to f8 or lower, getting more light in but keeping details. Plus 1/320s isn't really fast enough for birds that move even if you can't see them twitch, they do. Consensus for a 300mm lens is 1.5 times 300mm gives you at least 1/450s. I usually shoot at 1/500s for a 300mm lens.

[normhead]

My preference ould be to shoot on a tripod. In terms of detail, I'm often more worried about loss of detail due to too high an ISO than bird twitch. I just shoot a burst and pick the one where the bird isn't moving.

Sometimes you just want o keep as much of the bird as possible in focus. Taking chance on ƒ11 in those circumstances isn't all that outrageous. It's always a compromise, do I shoot at a wider ƒ-stop and bring some areas that would otherwise be blurred into focus, of do I freeze any action but just agree to part of the bird being out of focus.

I have many bird images taken at 1/125s. Sure you throw a lot out, but the keepers are often better than the same image taken at a wider f-stop. With a DSLR, the ones you throw out don't cost you anything.

[AlexZav]

In these cases, I used AV mode and selected 9 AF. I haven't yet found the sweet spot of the lens, but was trying to get the most of the bird in focus. Also, was inside a car, so tripod was not an option. I know I have a lot of practice yet to do and appreciate all your comments and will try to have those in mind in future shots... sometimes it is so frustrating to see some shots here in these forums were focus is just there, even in simpler photos, and I can't seem to get it.... but practice will surely help as well your assistance...

[normhead]

I almost always shoot single focus point AF.s, focus priority off, and burst mode at 8 FPS. I find with small birds your keeper rate is going to be low. But with a fast burst, your odds of getting a couple of good ones are greatly increased.

A case for the supremacy of Pentax AF - PentaxForums.com

[boriscleto]

With a DSLR, the ones you throw out don't cost you anything.

Except click on the shutter and wear on the SD card