[BigMackCam]

I'm just starting to take my first tentative steps in trying to capture some birds in flight, and I'd be grateful for any tips or advice to get me started.

What little I think I know so far:

- AF-C autofocus (I am using back-button focusing)
- High shutter speed - 1/1000 or faster?
- Stopped down to get good depth of field - f/8 or thereabouts?
- Continuous shooting to capture multiple frames
- Shoot away from the sun if possible to avoid under-exposing the bird(s)
- Try to get level with, or even above, the bird(s), or wait for position where the side and/or back of the bird is more visible than the belly (generally)?

Some immediate questions I have:

- Exposure... auto, or manual (and if manual, how? take a reading of the expected area of capture first, without the bird there? seems hit and miss). For auto, TAv mode seems useful - or how about the P modes?
- Focus points - single or multiple?
- How much of the frame should I look to fill with the bird - presumably I should be leaving some room to avoid clipping edges as I track the subject?

I'm sure there's a lot more I should be considering too. Any pointers would be much appreciated - thanks in advance

[bertwert]

I've found this website nice and helpful for bird photography:
Secrets of Digital Bird Photography
Here's the page on BiF:
Secrets of Digital Bird Photography

There was another helpful website, but can't remember the address...

[jatrax]

Good site thanks for posting it.

[BigMackCam]

@bertwert - thanks, this is excellent!

[stargazer]

Excellent site, indispensable resources for birding! ( specially that it tells you that you should not only multiply the focal length but also the aperture by the crop factor of the sensor)! Thanks!bertwert!

[bertwert]

Good site thanks for posting it.

@bertwert - thanks, this is excellent!

Excellent site, indispensable resources for birding! ( specially that it tells you that you should not only multiply the focal length but also the aperture by the crop factor of the sensor)! Thanks!bertwert!

No problem

A lot of info on his site is relevant to wildlife photography in general, not just birds.

His section on printing and selling was also helpful.

[Giklab]

- exposure: Try Matrix +1/3 or 2/3EV (without AF point bias). P mode set to Sports with Auto ISO works, same goes for TaV. Otherwise just meter for a treetop or the sky +1EV.

- focus points: Extended center or 5-point if the sky is your background. Strict center or sigle-point select if it isn't

- framing: I've always tried to have the bird in between the "rear" points using the rule of thirds - that way there's empty space for the bird to "move into" and some room for me to react if the bird changes direction suddenly. You can always crop a bit.
If the bird is small or really far away, just use plain old dead center, because you'll have to crop anyway (also see 3rd point below).

Additional notes:
- The site linked above is excellent, have a read.

- Try to get as close as possible.

- Use the central 1/9 of the frame (using the rule of thirds) as a second viewfinder if you can't get the bird to fill the frame. That's the part of the lens that performs the best, because you. will. crop. How much you can crop depends on the camera and lens, but chances are if you can barely see the bird the results will be less than desirable.

[microlight]

Great site, thanks!

[audiobomber]

P mode set to Sports with Auto ISO works, same goes for TaV.

- focus points: Extended center or 5-point if the sky is your background. Strict center or sigle-point select if it isn't

I wouldn't trust P mode "Sport" to choose the most appropriate shutter speed and aperture. TAv mode lets you select both a shutter speed to freeze motion (or add selective blur) and the best aperture for appropriate DOF and sharpness.

Pentax finally added real tracking capability with AF Hold and Extended Area AF on the K-3 and K-3 II. It is a mistake not to use them IMO. If you don't have AF Hold on, the camera is simply re-focussing for every shot, which is not true tracking. Extended Area AF lets the camera follow the subject using adjacent points. Again, that is real tracking capability, where the camera uses predictive algorithms and a sophisticated 86,000-pixel RGB light-metering sensor to find your exact target.

The K-5 II and IIs don't have AF Hold but at least they have Extended Area autofocus, which will improve tracking.

[Giklab]

I only have the K-5II, so I can't really comment on AF Hold. The Sport program line did a nice job when I tried it, but of course TaV is better

[BigMackCam]

Thanks, guys - this is useful

[Paleo Pete]

I always use manual focus, it seems to work well. Auto focus will often "hunt" due to wing motion and often a small subject. It also might try to go back and forth between small subject and background.

I prefer at least a 200mm lens, 300 if I can ever get a good one...

I set my exposure myself, I haven't checked the auto exposure in ages, but then again I've been doing this for over 30 years, I can take a look around and get very close with a test shot. I normally shoot f8 or f11. ISO and shutter speed depend on conditions. For birds in flight I like to get at least a 1/250 shutter speed, 1/500 is better for stopping motion. 1/1000 is great on the odd occasion I can actually get it, but 1/500 will usually stop most motion except for wingtips at times. I always try to keep the ISO down to 200 if possible, which is why faster shutter speeds are uncommon.Usually I don't have time to reset things and go to ISO 400 or 800 for faster shutter speed, by that time the bird is long gone.

Follow through, don't try to hold the camera still. Track the bird as it flies, take the picture while still moving the camera, never stop following the bird. (same as shooting a shotgun for hunting game birds or ducks, if you're familiar with that process.)

Practice on larger and slower birds, like hawks and vultures or herons. Smaller ones like ducks, Doves and Cardinals move a lot faster and are much more difficult to shoot flying. Hummingbirds as they hover are good practice too. Sit near a feeder or some deep throated flowers they like. I've never been able to get one actually flying, they fly around 80MPH...way too fast for me to follow.

Be prepared to get a lot of blurry shots and a lot of motion blur. I've been at it for 10 years just with digital, I still get loads of bad shots. Probably one good one out of every 30 attempts.

Try to find a bird in the distance, follow it with the camera as it gets closer, and shoot as close as possible. They move fast, often you don't have 3 seconds.

I shoot all manual focus lenses so I keep focus confirmation (auto focus spot) centered.

You can also try Catch in Focus, it might work well but I haven't fooled with it much so I can't really offer much.

Practice a lot.

[BigMackCam]

Pete - thank you, this is great info. You've confirmed some of what I thought, corrected my understanding on other things, and given me some new information and advice I was missing. Much appreciated, sir!

[rkappleby]

I've found this website nice and helpful for bird photography:

Bertwert That is a useful site, however when I read section 2.4.1 I was surprised to learn that the only really suitable cameras for bird photographers are made by Nikon or Canon, Olympus is a distant 3rd and Sigma, Sony and Leica are also rans, Pentax is not worthy of mention
Well I beg to differ There is a lot of info there.....

[Giklab]

Oh, one thing I just remembered: it might help if you keep both eyes open while tracking birds (one through the viewfinder and one looking straight at the bird - especially useful if you lose the bird with a long lens).