Bandit on your six!!

Jeff15 · May 2, 2023

A very good shot.....

jeffashman · May 2, 2023

Very nice!

ndcisiv · May 2, 2023

Excellent!

MitchP · May 3, 2023

Thanks! The blackbirds are in full berserker mode right now. Saw them going after a duck today. Sheesh.

wobe · May 3, 2023

Wonderful shot!- Top Gun in the natural world!

May sound a stupid question but I assume you use a tripod and Continuous AF with Tracking for this sort of shot? - Excuse my ignorance but I'm new to wildlife/action shots and only just started looking at this AF option, not sure my camera will be up to the job of many 'in flight' shots but it has this option and have started trying it (without success!)

stapo49 · May 3, 2023

Great shot and caption.

MitchP · May 3, 2023

wobe said:
Wonderful shot!- Top Gun in the natural world!

May sound a stupid question but I assume you use a tripod and Continuous AF with Tracking for this sort of shot? - Excuse my ignorance but I'm new to wildlife/action shots and only just started looking at this AF option, not sure my camera will be up to the job of many 'in flight' shots but it has this option and have started trying it (without success!)

Not a stupid question! I don't use a tripod for BIF, I found it just gets in the way. If I was using a huge fast prime I would probably use one, but my telephoto zoom is light enough to hand hold. I have 2 Custom settings on the camera - one set up for BIF, and the other for BOAS (bird on a stick).

My technique is based on raising the lens and getting the subject in frame and in focus as fast as possible. That requires some compromise and relying on automated features.

The BIF custom setting is set at 1/2500s, auto ISO, servo AF, wide area with animal tracking. Tracking sensitivity is dependent on your environment and shooting style. Most of my BIF encounters last less than 3 seconds, and happen very suddenly. I'll adjust as needed , but I want to avoid any motion blur (not that I'm successful). With bigger birds I can slow my shutter speed. I limit my upper Auto ISO to 6400. I can fix exposure in post, but nothing will fix motion blur. Aperture as wide as I can set it. But back when I was using a Sigma 150-600, I had it set to f/11 for sharpest image quality (full frame). It varies with which lens you use.

The Bird On A Stick custom setting is set on aperture priority, single point and shot, auto ISO, Servo AF, Animal tracking with eye AF. The lens still wide open. It's a relatively calmer scenario, so I can pay more attention to exposure. Still unpredictable, so I want to get the shot quickly and not spend a lot of time adjusting the camera. I've had good luck with aperture priority, so why not let the camera do its job? Darned skittish birds! Easy to miss the shot if you're fiddling with the camera - a split second can mean missing the shot. I have enough to worry about just keeping the bird in frame!

Stabilization is a must for the slower shutter speeds, but at 2500s it's not a big deal. I've found that a DSLR will find focus much faster than a mirrorless, but a mirrorless is more accurate (generally speaking). They each require different techniques.

Sorry for the long winded post, I need to cut back on the caffeine!

wobe · May 3, 2023

MitchP said:
Not a stupid question! I don't use a tripod for BIF, I found it just gets in the way. If I was using a huge fast prime I would probably use one, but my telephoto zoom is light enough to hand hold. I have 2 Custom settings on the camera - one set up for BIF, and the other for BOAS (bird on a stick).

My technique is based on raising the lens and getting the subject in frame and in focus as fast as possible. That requires some compromise and relying on automated features.

The BIF custom setting is set at 1/2500s, auto ISO, servo AF, wide area with animal tracking. Tracking sensitivity is dependent on your environment and shooting style. Most of my BIF encounters last less than 3 seconds, and happen very suddenly. I'll adjust as needed , but I want to avoid any motion blur (not that I'm successful). With bigger birds I can slow my shutter speed. I limit my upper Auto ISO to 6400. I can fix exposure in post, but nothing will fix motion blur. Aperture as wide as I can set it. But back when I was using a Sigma 150-600, I had it set to f/11 for sharpest image quality (full frame). It varies with which lens you use.

The Bird On A Stick custom setting is set on aperture priority, single point and shot, auto ISO, Servo AF, Animal tracking with eye AF. The lens still wide open. It's a relatively calmer scenario, so I can pay more attention to exposure. Still unpredictable, so I want to get the shot quickly and not spend a lot of time adjusting the camera. I've had good luck with aperture priority, so why not let the camera do its job? Darned skittish birds! Easy to miss the shot if you're fiddling with the camera - a split second can mean missing the shot. I have enough to worry about just keeping the bird in frame!

Stabilization is a must for the slower shutter speeds, but at 2500s it's not a big deal. I've found that a DSLR will find focus much faster than a mirrorless, but a mirrorless is more accurate (generally speaking). They each require different techniques.

Sorry for the long winded post, I need to cut back on the caffeine!

Many thanks for the detailed response, I will set up the camera as you suggest and have a go, hopefully tomorrow!
Much appreciated - has given me some very useful info.