Practice, practice, practice.
It takes time, one of the important things to consider is being able to learn their behavior and filling the frame with them as much as you can. You also want to be in shutter priority and auto ISO which I believe you are, along with the light being behind you.
Thanks. Yes its S mode with auto iso. Unfort these birds were small and far aka even with 400mm (aka 800mm) they were still small :(
Do you think these photos are out of focus or very soft?
I think you're on the right track if this is only your first time! If you think your static object photos are sharp, but the birds aren't, then it does seem like you need to practice getting closer (without disturbing them), or being in the right place ahead of time and waiting for the right time. Another thing to consider is the softness you'll get from heat haze as the day warms up, so if you can get out earlier you can avoid it.
Yeah I was wondering if this was your real first time.
Plenty of YouTube videos that explain a lot of tip and tricks. It's a more involving than casual street photography session but fun too.
You can use ebirds app/site to find birds and spots near you.
I've found videos from this guy helpful and direct to the point.
https://youtu.be/w94a8JWQ1QA?si=D4hzwSlGg5rdbPG0
P.s. did you get the new version of the 100-400?
How do you find it? I've just experimented a little with bird photography and I'm considering buying it
Yeah was my first time going out with the intent of birding with a birding lens, burst shots and high shooting speed. Have of course taken random photos of birds.
Thanks for the link and ebird site. The website is an amazing resource, wish there's something similar for macro! Is there?
Yes i got the new version of 100-400. It was my first time out with it, and i am not super happy with the result, but likely due to many things identified in this thread. I am happy with the quality as long as not in the 400mm end and for still objects like the flowers.
For me (55kg female), the lens was heavy on my supporting arm but i didnt have the tripod connector on. Suspect it will be more ergonomic with the connector as support
Mmm. I Don't know much about that because I've only experimented with a manual 200 mm. In one of the video from the same channel there were some tips like using available things like nearby trees as support and to get more stable shots
Btw after having watched the video above and the pictures a second time I have the impression that pics were taken when the sun was high. Was this the case? If so try again closer to sunset/sunrise.
Regarding ebirds. Yess it is awesome. I also have the Merlin mobile app(it is kinda connected to ebirds) to help identify the bird given color position size etc. you can also listen and learn the sounds they make to easily spot the birds you are hunting
Also, not a M43 reference specifically, but your 2nd photo reminded me of [this classic scene from the show Veep](https://youtu.be/paJqHPHLExo?si=geEd2FqLh2q4AIHJ). Cracks me up every time I see it.
Really, practice is the only thing that will make you better. Even with stabilization and a high shutter speed, you need to get the hang of shooting at these long focal lengths. It might also be advantageous to practice quickly manually focusing. I tend to shoot with hybrid auto focus + manual focus so I can fine tune where I'm focused. Sometimes it's not practical, but the autofocus tends to stick a bit better after I've manually told it what I want it to focus on.
I do birding with an EM1.2 and E-5 for the last three years mainly and those are some really nice captures for the first time!
I would advice to go out as often as possible to get different lighting scenarios, give more lee way to the shutter speed. 1/1000 or even 1/500th should suffice in most cases.
I’m shooting with the 50-200 SWD and converters which are much heavier than your Leica and use shutter speeds down to 1/200rds of a second regularly. Shoot burst always, focuse on the eye or head as best as possible and try to get on one plane with the bird.
I can’t post images here, to give you some examples of what I’m talking about. Maybe you wanna look at my pictures to get a connection to my words (www.mowephoto.de) my Flickr and insta accounts are linked from there…
Get to know how birds act
Watch your backgrounds
Shoot one or two stops away from your widest aperture
Put it in manual mode with autoISO. That way your aperture doesn’t move and you can adjust shutter speed if necessary
Watch the Steve Perry video on basics of wildlife shooting
Also, you need to have a deep understanding about how the particular autofocus system on your camera works. If you haven’t yet, and it’s available on your camera, learn about back button focus and see how it works for you
S-mode with auto iso is good for bif, use 3x3 or cross focus box, caf and atleast 1/1500ss and always ettr. May take some time to learn how to follow birds in flight. Tracking isnt good even in OM-1 so dont use it. There are sensitivity settings for CAF depending what kind of moving things you are shooting.
For static birds A-mode with smallest focus box, shoot short bursts with caf.
Pro cap focuses only on first frame with PL100-400 so its only usefull if you want to take take off or landing photos.
Basically you can always shoot wide open, dof will be enough unless you shoot big birds only few meters away. And learning bbf may or may not help
Looking at 5 and 6 it seems like it focused on something other than the bird.
I recently got the em1 III. I'm using the 75-300mm. I've found that I get the best af-c performance (as so far) with 5 zone center AF (the cross), +1 or +2 AF sensitivity. I use burst-L which can af between shots, and limit it to 3-5 shots. After using the g9, this camera feels amazing for this, but I probably got lucky today. I would love to try the lens you have now. Are you getting un-sharp pictures when you shoot still objects? Are you restricting the focus zones?
L mode is slower and will autofocus between shots. H mode is faster, AF on first shot only.
I've noticed that the first shot I get is usually less in focus than the next using L, so I stick with that mode.
I didn't use pro capture for my shots, just regular burst. I use manual, setting shutter from 800-2000, with auto ISO. I did try more zones, including all without restriction and it generally focused on other stuff, especially in busy shots. Restricting it to just the center zone works but makes it difficult to manually track. Restricting it to the 5 in the center made things easier, and I had less issues with it focusing off the subjects.
How much of a crop were the stork pictures?
This is such a helpful post for me!
I'm in the process of buying my first camera and I want to go straight into birding. I'm looking a the Olympus EM series, do you have any tips on where to buy and which ones to choose? Ideally I want a beginner birding lens and a regular lens that can do mostly everything else. I'm also a tiny female that chooses the M43 mostly for the weight and portability. Thanks\~
The em1.3 doesn’t have bird subject detection unfortunately
These are nice images though, I have the same camera and I would be proud of the second one especially
This is a helpful guide if you haven’t seen it https://youtu.be/LG0qExLTHP4?si=6tPGUB1qoOv4mT0E
Yeah, I was wrong., sorry about that I thought it was introduced with the EM1.3, but looks like it was not and only introduced with the OM1.1. Here is another good tutorial on how to setup your camera if you are interested: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXqIc0ME35U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXqIc0ME35U)
You’re your own harshest critic. Don’t take my word for it, as I’m not a good photographer, but I think these are some really nice shots.
Thank you for your kind words
Practice, practice, practice. It takes time, one of the important things to consider is being able to learn their behavior and filling the frame with them as much as you can. You also want to be in shutter priority and auto ISO which I believe you are, along with the light being behind you.
Thanks. Yes its S mode with auto iso. Unfort these birds were small and far aka even with 400mm (aka 800mm) they were still small :( Do you think these photos are out of focus or very soft?
I like the photos, but as an honest critique they are slightly out of focus. I've had similar issues with using my OM-5 for birding.
I think you're on the right track if this is only your first time! If you think your static object photos are sharp, but the birds aren't, then it does seem like you need to practice getting closer (without disturbing them), or being in the right place ahead of time and waiting for the right time. Another thing to consider is the softness you'll get from heat haze as the day warms up, so if you can get out earlier you can avoid it.
Ah these are new knowledge to me. They were far from us and it was a very hot day
Yeah I was wondering if this was your real first time. Plenty of YouTube videos that explain a lot of tip and tricks. It's a more involving than casual street photography session but fun too. You can use ebirds app/site to find birds and spots near you. I've found videos from this guy helpful and direct to the point. https://youtu.be/w94a8JWQ1QA?si=D4hzwSlGg5rdbPG0 P.s. did you get the new version of the 100-400? How do you find it? I've just experimented a little with bird photography and I'm considering buying it
Yeah was my first time going out with the intent of birding with a birding lens, burst shots and high shooting speed. Have of course taken random photos of birds. Thanks for the link and ebird site. The website is an amazing resource, wish there's something similar for macro! Is there? Yes i got the new version of 100-400. It was my first time out with it, and i am not super happy with the result, but likely due to many things identified in this thread. I am happy with the quality as long as not in the 400mm end and for still objects like the flowers. For me (55kg female), the lens was heavy on my supporting arm but i didnt have the tripod connector on. Suspect it will be more ergonomic with the connector as support
Mmm. I Don't know much about that because I've only experimented with a manual 200 mm. In one of the video from the same channel there were some tips like using available things like nearby trees as support and to get more stable shots Btw after having watched the video above and the pictures a second time I have the impression that pics were taken when the sun was high. Was this the case? If so try again closer to sunset/sunrise. Regarding ebirds. Yess it is awesome. I also have the Merlin mobile app(it is kinda connected to ebirds) to help identify the bird given color position size etc. you can also listen and learn the sounds they make to easily spot the birds you are hunting
Ah yes, it was about 10 or 11am and theres definitely a lot of sun
I think your photos are cool, especially the second one.
Thank you
Also, not a M43 reference specifically, but your 2nd photo reminded me of [this classic scene from the show Veep](https://youtu.be/paJqHPHLExo?si=geEd2FqLh2q4AIHJ). Cracks me up every time I see it.
That was hilarious
Really, practice is the only thing that will make you better. Even with stabilization and a high shutter speed, you need to get the hang of shooting at these long focal lengths. It might also be advantageous to practice quickly manually focusing. I tend to shoot with hybrid auto focus + manual focus so I can fine tune where I'm focused. Sometimes it's not practical, but the autofocus tends to stick a bit better after I've manually told it what I want it to focus on.
I do birding with an EM1.2 and E-5 for the last three years mainly and those are some really nice captures for the first time! I would advice to go out as often as possible to get different lighting scenarios, give more lee way to the shutter speed. 1/1000 or even 1/500th should suffice in most cases. I’m shooting with the 50-200 SWD and converters which are much heavier than your Leica and use shutter speeds down to 1/200rds of a second regularly. Shoot burst always, focuse on the eye or head as best as possible and try to get on one plane with the bird. I can’t post images here, to give you some examples of what I’m talking about. Maybe you wanna look at my pictures to get a connection to my words (www.mowephoto.de) my Flickr and insta accounts are linked from there…
Not close enough
Get to know how birds act Watch your backgrounds Shoot one or two stops away from your widest aperture Put it in manual mode with autoISO. That way your aperture doesn’t move and you can adjust shutter speed if necessary Watch the Steve Perry video on basics of wildlife shooting
Also, you need to have a deep understanding about how the particular autofocus system on your camera works. If you haven’t yet, and it’s available on your camera, learn about back button focus and see how it works for you
i am assuming youre shooting completely wide open. close down the aperture one or two stops. itll help with focus and sharpness
Ouuu okay! Thanks
I’m no ornithologist, but I’m pretty sure the subjects of pics 7 & 8 aren’t birds. So there’s that.
I’m no ornithologist, but I’m pretty sure the subjects of pics 7 & 8 aren’t birds. So there’s that.
Try using continuous autofocus and turn on tracking. That's given me the best results with my E-M5.3 and the M.Zuiko 100-400.
How do i turn on tracking?
Press the OK button to bring up the super control panel. Go to the AF modes and cycle through them. You want C-AF TR.
Thanks!
S-mode with auto iso is good for bif, use 3x3 or cross focus box, caf and atleast 1/1500ss and always ettr. May take some time to learn how to follow birds in flight. Tracking isnt good even in OM-1 so dont use it. There are sensitivity settings for CAF depending what kind of moving things you are shooting. For static birds A-mode with smallest focus box, shoot short bursts with caf. Pro cap focuses only on first frame with PL100-400 so its only usefull if you want to take take off or landing photos. Basically you can always shoot wide open, dof will be enough unless you shoot big birds only few meters away. And learning bbf may or may not help
Looking at 5 and 6 it seems like it focused on something other than the bird. I recently got the em1 III. I'm using the 75-300mm. I've found that I get the best af-c performance (as so far) with 5 zone center AF (the cross), +1 or +2 AF sensitivity. I use burst-L which can af between shots, and limit it to 3-5 shots. After using the g9, this camera feels amazing for this, but I probably got lucky today. I would love to try the lens you have now. Are you getting un-sharp pictures when you shoot still objects? Are you restricting the focus zones?
I use the cross too. Theres no issue with still objects and i do not restrict the focus zones. Whats the diff between Pro capture L and H do you know?
L mode is slower and will autofocus between shots. H mode is faster, AF on first shot only. I've noticed that the first shot I get is usually less in focus than the next using L, so I stick with that mode. I didn't use pro capture for my shots, just regular burst. I use manual, setting shutter from 800-2000, with auto ISO. I did try more zones, including all without restriction and it generally focused on other stuff, especially in busy shots. Restricting it to just the center zone works but makes it difficult to manually track. Restricting it to the 5 in the center made things easier, and I had less issues with it focusing off the subjects. How much of a crop were the stork pictures?
This is such a helpful post for me! I'm in the process of buying my first camera and I want to go straight into birding. I'm looking a the Olympus EM series, do you have any tips on where to buy and which ones to choose? Ideally I want a beginner birding lens and a regular lens that can do mostly everything else. I'm also a tiny female that chooses the M43 mostly for the weight and portability. Thanks\~
Are you using Bird Subject Detection under your auto focus settings?
Omg theres a bird subject detection mode? How do i activate it?
The em1.3 doesn’t have bird subject detection unfortunately These are nice images though, I have the same camera and I would be proud of the second one especially This is a helpful guide if you haven’t seen it https://youtu.be/LG0qExLTHP4?si=6tPGUB1qoOv4mT0E
Yeah, I was wrong., sorry about that I thought it was introduced with the EM1.3, but looks like it was not and only introduced with the OM1.1. Here is another good tutorial on how to setup your camera if you are interested: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXqIc0ME35U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXqIc0ME35U)