Trying birds in flight with GX8 Pre-Burst 4K

Well I had great fun 2 days ago trying to capture small fast birds flying towards a feeder using my GX8 in pre-burst 4k mode. Even with this fabulous feature I still have a lot to learn to do this well.

1. Shutter speed needs to be really high (1/4000 of faster), so this entails either sunlight (rare in the UK) or very high ISO. These were shot at iso1600, which birders will know is not ideal for retaining fine feather detail.

2. I tried using manual focus as I was shooting to the side of the feeder t try and capture the birds arriving, but of course with nothing to focus on meant I had to try manual focus. Normally this would be okay, but the next problem was ... Fast lenses with wide open F stops helps shutter speed a lot, but means a small depth of focus, and this meant that as the birds fly in from all angles, most shots were out of focus.

3. To ensure getting the bird in the frame I had to keep zoomed out a bit, which means the birds I did manage to get were small in the frame, hence these are heavy crops.

I am sure I will develop a far better technique after a bit more practice, however meanwhile here are a few from my first session..




Blue tit arriving at feeder.




Another Blue tit in flight.




I think this was a marsh tit.

The antics and acrobatics the birds go through to ensure they come in fast and accurate, yet managing to stop quickly was truly amazing to be able to analyze.

I think the 30fps 4K photo mode capturing 30 frames before I press the shutter is a stunning feature and will I am sure eventually provide some great results.





-
Adrian

Very good effort - really liking the second one out of those three.

I can see a GF8 in my future - and I'm no fortune teller

Very promising results. My experience with shooting birds is very limited. It's hard on normal conditions. With small, rapidly moving birds, this must be really hard to keep up. So this looks impressive to me.

I would imagine there would be problems with rolling shutter for such extremely fast movement, but I can't see any in your shots. Which is very good news. I thought that would be the most limiting factor for using 4K Photo mode.

Astrotripper said:

Very promising results. My experience with shooting birds is very limited. It's hard on normal conditions. With small, rapidly moving birds, this must be really hard to keep up. So this looks impressive to me.

I would imagine there would be problems with rolling shutter for such extremely fast movement, but I can't see any in your shots. Which is very good news. I thought that would be the most limiting factor for using 4K Photo mode.

Click to expand...

actually your comment on rolling shutter is a very good point and was one I was worried about but forgot on the day I did not pan with the birds but I should have done to eliminate rolling shutter however in some of the Birds i photographed their wings look in strange positions which may possibly be a rolling shutter effect.
--
Adrian

Exactly - rolling shutter is easy to see when your eye knows what shape something should be - a car for example does not lean over.

However, in these shots the subjects are organic (no right angles/verticals/horizontals) and further we are not normally able to see them in these poses - so distortion (assuming it exists) is not obvious.

Well you know how I feel about this Adrian, well done, pretty good start. You have confirmed what I have been saying it's about shutter speed which means it's all about light. 1/4000 is where I would ideally like to be but I don't want to go beyond my optimum aperture and I'm only prepared to push my ISO to 800 for 4K photo shots so you need all of your gods to be with you.

Based on my experience you are not seeing bad rolling shutter effects because you are side on and not seeing a lot of wing movement. Coming towards you or flying away the rolling shitter effect can be very noticeable although I prefer to think of it as interesting. I don't think panning is going to help much.

Please keep posting your experiences.

Adrian Harris said:

3. To ensure getting the bird in the frame I had to keep zoomed out a bit, which means the birds I did manage to get were small in the frame, hence these are heavy crops.

I think the 30fps 4K photo mode capturing 30 frames before I press the shutter is a stunning feature and will I am sure eventually provide some great results.

-
Adrian
http://www.majestyofsteam.com/

Click to expand...

Adrian,

I think your 4K bird photos are excellent. I'm betting you had fun taking them.

I read all these 4K threads. Seems I always learn something or am reminded of something I need to remember when using 4K.

I've struggled with "keeping the bird in the frame", especially when using my 100-300mm lens. You've reminded me that needing a heavy crop is a better option than not getting the shot.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Jack

These are just the type of image that I was thinking about when I started this thread


For reference material they give plenty of info, I just wonder how far it is possible to push the boundaries, say, for example, on larger birds in flight? I have managed to follow and manually focus my current setup (70D and 400 f5.6) on short eared owls flying through scrub. Of course, the difficulty is seeing when focus is correct on something moving and I wonder if there would possibly be an advantage to using the new digital viewfinders over optical?

The obvious solution would be to go for a bigger body with better viewfinder, e.g. 1DX, and 400 f2.8. Given that I am considering a G7 I'm sure that people can spot why I have an issue with the first solution :-D

I have looked through the G7 viewfinder and was impressed but has anybody got any thought/views on how good the digital viewfinders are in comparison to optical? Am I expecting far too much?

Incidentally, the 3rd shot is of a coal tit, identifiable by the white stripe on the nape. Marsh tits are a bigger, chubbier bird.

Paul

Very impressive! It is nice to see more examples of the k4. Not an easy mode to master. I tried it with my G7 with limited success last sommer. Unfortunately, I have to wait until spring to give it another try. Just love this camera.

Adrian Harris said:

Well I had great fun 2 days ago trying to capture small fast birds flying towards a feeder using my GX8 in pre-burst 4k mode. Even with this fabulous feature I still have a lot to learn to do this well.

1. Shutter speed needs to be really high (1/4000 of faster), so this entails either sunlight (rare in the UK) or very high ISO. These were shot at iso1600, which birders will know is not ideal for retaining fine feather detail.

2. I tried using manual focus as I was shooting to the side of the feeder t try and capture the birds arriving, but of course with nothing to focus on meant I had to try manual focus. Normally this would be okay, but the next problem was ... Fast lenses with wide open F stops helps shutter speed a lot, but means a small depth of focus, and this meant that as the birds fly in from all angles, most shots were out of focus.

3. To ensure getting the bird in the frame I had to keep zoomed out a bit, which means the birds I did manage to get were small in the frame, hence these are heavy crops.

I am sure I will develop a far better technique after a bit more practice, however meanwhile here are a few from my first session..


Blue tit arriving at feeder.


Another Blue tit in flight.


I think this was a marsh tit.

The antics and acrobatics the birds go through to ensure they come in fast and accurate, yet managing to stop quickly was truly amazing to be able to analyze.

I think the 30fps 4K photo mode capturing 30 frames before I press the shutter is a stunning feature and will I am sure eventually provide some great results.

-
Adrian
http://www.majestyofsteam.com/

Click to expand...

I find it a fascinating technique and feature Adrian. Under tough conditions, darn good IMO. Yes light is the key to higher shutter speeds and also fast lenses. Any ISO over ISO 400 I don't like on m4/3, but I can see why some get stuck. Fairly lucky here with the light I shoot in, so its not too bad.

These are looking great though and as you lean more about what it can do, the more you will nail them. Trevor takes some amazing shots using this feature and it works. So good on you and looking forward to more.

All the best Adrian, looking good.

Danny.

--
Birds, macro, motor sports.... http://www.birdsinaction.com
Flickr albums ..... https://www.flickr.com/photos/124733969@N06/sets/
The need for speed ..... https://www.flickr.com/photos/130646821@N03/