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BIF with a55
- Thread starter Condor99
- Start date
OldClicker
Senior Member
gil
Forum Pro
when in the office 
. I'll be going home soon. Thanks for the correction.
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Cheers,
gil - San Jose, CA
Cheap Lens, JPG and 100% Handholding Provocateur
Like happiness, photography is often better created than pursued.
. I'll be going home soon. Thanks for the correction. --
Cheers,
gil - San Jose, CA
Cheap Lens, JPG and 100% Handholding Provocateur
Like happiness, photography is often better created than pursued.
gil
Forum Pro
Cheers,
gil - San Jose, CA
Cheap Lens, JPG and 100% Handholding Provocateur
Like happiness, photography is often better created than pursued.
gil - San Jose, CA
Cheap Lens, JPG and 100% Handholding Provocateur
Like happiness, photography is often better created than pursued.
Klimt z
Forum Enthusiast
You get lots of practice and you shoot in auto. A Bird photographer after my own heart. It took me nearly a year to consistently nail skimmers, whilst skimming. I stubbornly shoot with a super-zoom bridge camera, hating to lug the dslr/300mm , but that is now destined to change. The A33/55 is made for BIF.
Have fun and keep them coming.
Klimt z
Have fun and keep them coming.
Klimt z
imarollingstone
Senior Member
Getting these great shots? I don't have the targets the two of you do, but would like to be able to improve my technique when the opportunity presents itself.
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Shawn
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Shawn
Ed at Ridersite
Forum Pro
Outstanding Gil! Those little fellows are hard to stop - even at 1/1600. Awesome shot of that sparrow! And, you are the master of the swallows.
BTW, the second Coot is really a Green Heron - and it's a beauty ;-)
I agree that the Pelicans are slow, but those are still some pretty nice shots - very crisp and perfectly exposed.
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AEH
http://aehass.zenfolio.com/
Question: What do you do all week?
Answer: Mon to Fri. Nothing, Sat & Sun I rest!
BTW, the second Coot is really a Green Heron - and it's a beauty ;-)
I agree that the Pelicans are slow, but those are still some pretty nice shots - very crisp and perfectly exposed.
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AEH
http://aehass.zenfolio.com/
Question: What do you do all week?
Answer: Mon to Fri. Nothing, Sat & Sun I rest!
Danny Williams
Leading Member
As a bird shooter, you might enjoy this site. williamswildlifeart.com It shows a different approach to bird photography.
OldClicker
Senior Member
Thank you for the link. - TF
It's like the old "How do you get to Carnagie Hall" joke, practice practice practice. If I take a few months off I get rusty and it takes me a day or two to get back in sync. So practice on any bird you see flying, big or small, close or far. I must have shot a million gulls, but when I see another one I can't resist.
Generally speaking, with a 500 mm it is very hard to track anything small or anything close to you, so with my lens I will zoom out to 200 for tracking and zoom in when I get an oppertuniity. That is why I love the 200-500 and Canon's 100-400. Everyone knows the 100-400 is a push pull zoom. Everyone knows the 200-500 is a twist zoom and it takes about 200 degrees to travel the full extent of the zoom. This is not easy since you must support the lens barrel with your left hand. This can make for some awkward positions. What most people don't know is that the 200-500 can also be zoomed with a push pull motion, and then you don't have to twist your left hand at all.
Getting the sun to hit you in the back of the head before you start shooting is critical to getting good BIF. Side lighting and back lighting really suck.
I have two cameras, an a330 with a wide angle and an a55 with the 200-500. I leave the 200-500 pall the time. I always leave it on the 10 fps mode. I always leave it on center spot focus. I am always prepared for any BIF moment that may occur, such as when I am driving down the road and suddenly a BIF appears. I can park, grab my camera and jump out.
If I can think of any more I will post them later, but it is my bedtime.
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Tom Seiler
My portfolio:
http://picasaweb.google.com/SeilerBird/MyPortfolio
Sony a330 Copper > Sony 18-55
Sony a55 > Tamron 200-500
Sony 75-300
jdonalds
Well-known member
Ditto. Thanks for posting and for your comments. I'm having a lot of fun with my A55. The camera has more capability than I do.
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John
I never use in camera exposure compensation. I shoot at 0 and I shoot RAW so if there is an exposure problem I can fix it in PP. I did not change the exposure in any of these shots in PP. So far the a55 has been exposing perfectly.
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Tom Seiler
My portfolio:
http://picasaweb.google.com/SeilerBird/MyPortfolio
Sony a330 Copper > Sony 18-55
Sony a55 > Tamron 200-500
Sony 75-300
sam7028
Well-known member
Spectacular shots and something every BIF should aspire to.
Early in the thread you extol the virtues of having 10fps available. Later on, however, you state that you are shooting in near-unmodified P-mode. Since these two are mutually exclusive could you explain?
Many thanks.
Early in the thread you extol the virtues of having 10fps available. Later on, however, you state that you are shooting in near-unmodified P-mode. Since these two are mutually exclusive could you explain?
Many thanks.
By bad. I use the 10 fps mode only. I used to use the P mode only. Thanks for pointing out my error.
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Tom Seiler
My portfolio:
http://picasaweb.google.com/SeilerBird/MyPortfolio
Sony a330 Copper > Sony 18-55
Sony a55 > Tamron 200-500
Sony 75-300
imarollingstone
Senior Member
Thanks for the tips. I just picked up the Tamron 200-500 and nowhere in the manual does it mention the push pull capability, but I tried it and you are right. I have missed some shots trying to twist out to 500 mm, so that alone was very helpful.
Thanks for responding. Also good tip about making sure the sun is at your back.
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Shawn
Thanks for responding. Also good tip about making sure the sun is at your back.
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Shawn
Nordstjernen
Veteran Member
I think this really answer the question about using the A33/A55 EVF for sports and action photography. Thanks a lot for posting!
I found your thread very useful, as the "slide show" effect in the EVF during 10fps shooting is one of the major concerns that's keeping me from purchasing the A55.
I'm interested to know if you are able to track using purely the feedback you are getting from the EVF, or are you coping with it well because of your practice and experience.
In other words, are the EVF images useful for tracking BIF or can you get the same shots even with your eyes closed due to your previous experience?
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/manehead/
I'm interested to know if you are able to track using purely the feedback you are getting from the EVF, or are you coping with it well because of your practice and experience.
In other words, are the EVF images useful for tracking BIF or can you get the same shots even with your eyes closed due to your previous experience?
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/manehead/
I am relying heavily on my experience. BUT - if you don't have experience with tracking flying birds then it is going to be difficult with ANY camera and lens in existence, especially at 500mm. So if someone has never photographed flying birds and buys this camera and puts a 500mm on it they will be frustrated just as they would be with any long zoom on any camera.
The camera takes 19 shots to fill the buffer which takes two seconds. When you are tracking a flying bird and push the shutter I get the first 5 to 10 shots really easy. If the bird is heading towards me (don't shoot any wildlife going away from you cause you will never get their eye) I will get 19 out of 19. If it is traveling parallel to me I sometimes miss the last 9 shots. If it is flying erratically I will miss the last 9 shots. But generally getting the first 10 is good enough for me.
Always remember, if you are having a lot of trouble keeping the bird in the view finder then you are zoomed in too tight. The closer the bird is and the smaller the bird is and the more erratic the bird is the harder they are to track. In both situations you need to zoom out to make it easier.
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Tom Seiler
My portfolio:
http://picasaweb.google.com/SeilerBird/MyPortfolio
Sony a330 Copper > Sony 18-55
Sony a55 > Tamron 200-500
Sony 75-300
MarcelLuettmann
Forum Enthusiast
The battery life of the SLTs should be measured in hours, not in shots. Within one hour, you can easily take 500 photos and a few short videos and the battery still says, "50 %".
50 shots in the same time - I guess the battery will be below 70 %.
Marcel
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My gallery: http://www.turbogenial.de
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