I asked OMDS if I could call in another lens for testing and photographing birds, so they sent me the Olympus 100-400mm f5-6.3 PRO lens. Indeed, this is a much better choice for photographing birds in the wild and even in cities like where I live. Where this got particularly fascinating is with a head to head test I did against the Sony a1 and Canon EOS R5.
Bird Hunter 2003 [UPDATED] Full Version.iso
With that I set up a bird feeder on my balcony which attracted various types of birds. But ultimately, it lead to pigeons fighting one another for bird seed. And the results I got were absolutely fascinating. With the OM System OM1 set to Bird AI, it increased the hit rate so much more. Further, I set the camera to Auto area AF, so it searched the scene by itself and then found the birds to focus on.
To test this, we set up bird feeders again on the balconies. This time we used a variety of seeds and suet and attracted many different species. Overall, I truly have to say that the OM SYSTEM OM1 has dramatically improved continuous autofocus capabilities. In fact, I think that a photographer could easily switch between this and Pro Capture Mode to get fantastic images. Further, it indeed is much better with tracking subjects like birds moving in and out of bird feeders.
Lastly, just to show you how good the AF is, the eye on this hawk is razor sharp (horrible photo, but it makes a point). For an AF system to pick up focus as fast as it did in this photo, and keep it on the bird with as cluttered a background as you see, is pretty remarkable.
I sent the R5 to canon for sensor realignment on Tuesday and received it back on Sunday. Not bad service at all. Canon states that my sensor meets factory guidelines but they did clean and micro adjust auto focusing. I'm relieved to find out the issues are my own. As per the many suggestions I received here I removed the filter and am now riding bareback. Today is not the best day for photos with a storm coming and no light to speak of but I shot a few birds and welcome any comments. I'll post a copy of cropped and untouched. Am looking forward to sun and Eagles. Thanks again to everyone.
The R5 has a very sophisticated AF system that's quite different from DSLRs and there's a bit of a learning curve with those newer AF systems. BIF are one of the most difficult subjects. There are a lot of videos on YouTube showing how people are setting up their R5, R6, R7 and R3 (all of which are similar) for wildlife and birds. Many people set up the AF On button for one form of back button focusing and the * button (AE Lock) for another such as animal eye detection, so that they can use the first to get the focus close, then switch to the 2nd to really lock onto the subject.
The next day I was treated to sunny skies and was excited to try out my new lens. I headed down to one of my favourite locations as I knew there would be plenty of birds present to photograph. My biggest concern with this lens was focus speed as I was used to the lightning-fast instantaneous focus of my Canon. After locating a few birds and firing some shots I was impressed with the focus speed. Does the Tamron focus as fast as my Canon? It is a hair slower, but honestly, the difference is marginal and night and day faster than a Canon 55-250mm kit lens. The Tamron focuses very fast. I did find on a few occasions the Tamron hunted for focus which did concern me. This was on account of the difference in close focusing distance between the Tamron and Canon and me getting used to the focus limiter switch. Now that I have grown accustomed to this I have no issues with the lens hunting.
Nico, there was no time to take the same photo of bird in flight with two different cameras. the SX 50 is very good but the Canon Mark IV is a very expensive pro camera that is miles above the SX 50. Love them both
Bird worthy. I have had no problem with the batteries. SX 40 lasts longer. SX. 50 I charge each night. The SX 50 is miles better then the SX 40, takes great photos just on smart auto, way better tracking ability and is faster. It makes birds in flight mush mush easier then the SX 40, just using Sports Mode.
I wish I had read this blog before purchasing a camera. I have a Nikon P510 which I'm totally impressed with. I've been able to get some awesome pictures of the Osprey and just recently the Eagle here at Lake Mitchell where we live. Love your blog. By the way I was a Stokes. Most of my Dad's people were from Andalusia Alabama. Love taking pictures of the birds, ducks and geese here on the lake.
Thank you Lillian and Don for a great presentation at Ding Darling on March 1. We got back to Illinois and bought the Canon camera...our first serious camera! My husband, who has never taken any photos, is now taking bird pics at our local forest preserves and enjoying it so. Can't wait until we can return to Sanibel and take pics of their fabulous birds....no more iPhone photos at Ding Darling!
Thank you both also for signing our Stokes field guide. We wish you continued success!
I read this post and told my wife that I wanted this for my birthday. I have had it for a week and am astounded. What a step up from digiscoping (most recently with my iPhone held without an adapter)! Focusing on little birds in the brush is hard, but when it works-WOW! Blows nearly every picture I have ever taken out of the water. I sent the blog post to my birding buddy and he will get one too. Some day I will read the manual and try out everything it can do, but Auto has worked well so far. Thanks for posting this!
yes it is a good camera .. I have it but I have question do you use HQ High Speed Burst or M setting
I have tryed M mode 1/1600 F 4.0 in sunny day .. can you give me some tips about birds photograph
Just came back from a weekend at McGee Marsh on lake Erie and saw a lot of birds but just as many crazy BIG cameras. We were just wondering what it took moneywise to see what they were seeing. I went online and found your blog post first thing (thankfully) and have already ordered the new SX50 for my wifes birthday.We are novices for sure and are looking forward to birding and vacations with our new camera..Thanks
Hi, I'm an amateur photographer and I bought recently the canon sx50 hs and I would like some tips about photographing birds from you, for example-in which mode should I shoot birds-if manual what will be the settings. Shoot RAW or JPEG and if RAW with what software to open it (photoshop CS6, picasa etc.) and more tips.
Really appreciate it!
I take a lot of long shots at "hawk specks" during our hawk migration here in the bay area. My Nikon 5100 with a 300mm telephoto struggles with focus on these distant specks in what is usually a blue sky, but often will find the birds. I would love to have a bit more magnification but the local camera shop says I'd be spending much more than budget allows. The price of a better telephoto on my dslr is just to steep for a retiree but my family is softening to getting me a "bridge" camera like this one.
This or the Nikon P520. In your experience how easily and clearly does a camera like the SX50 focus on a single distant bird in flight?
Occasionally I just want to take a photo of a distant bird, go home and see if my id is verifiable...not looking for art shots but hoping for some clarity and ease of use.
Thanks for your help, birthday has arrived and Xmas is close, so maybe a "bridge" camera is a more possible alternative to saving up for a few years and getting a good telephoto for my Nikon 5100.
The last tip is to look at databases. Depending on the country where you live, you can often access multiple databases like www.inaturalist.com. There you can access maps to see where species have been recorded. For birds in Germany, I also use www.ornitho.de. I record my sightings there to improve the data which is used for research purposes and to let other people know what I have spotted. I started to do that after I was sure enough about what I saw. Furthermore, you can find information about recently recorded birds in your area which can be very helpful.
For a hummingbird framed landscape with H=0.15m at f/9 DoF-> 0.02m. One way to increase the DoF is just to re-frame the subject with a bit more empty space (increase H). Also, viewing pics on a web page as presented here 24cycles/mm looks much better than pixel peeping or printing your own work (I think this thread covers that ).
Also keep in mind that a hovering bird will have points in its cyclic motion where its head is moving slowest or even still. Accordingly one can expect to have to shoot a good long burst to catch it in that spot. (I think I saw this mentioned somewhere on this site)
Ensuring sustainability of crop and timber production would mitigate the greatest drivers of terrestrial wildlife decline, responsible for 40% of the overall extinction risk of amphibians, birds and mammals, according to a paper published today in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
The Reddish Egret photograph above was created during an overcast day at Fort Desoto Park. Lately, I have worked at creating more black and white pieces. So, stay tuned to see more! Note that the color version went into the final round of the bird category at the prestigious 2015 BBC Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition.
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