It is actually lighter than the 600.
Thanks for your reply.
I am thinking of saving up for the Sigma 300-800mm.
Having tried this I would say it is good, but it is really really bulky and heavy.
Birdie shots
- Thread starter UncleFai
- Start date
It is actually lighter than the 600.
Thanks for your reply.
Having tried this I would say it is good, but it is really really bulky and heavy.
Then I'll need a Hookpak
Anyway, seriously, is there any advice for spotting birds? I'm a bit disheartened by the several occasions that I can hear the birds near me but I cannot even see them.
This is what I have. FYI I am learning still.
No. 1 advice is patience, go more, you will get better.
Ok. Bird spotting.
You hear it chirping. Don't move. Look up at the tree the chirps comes from. Seriously if it is a dense tree, then don't try too hard. Hard to spot, hard to get good photos anyway.
Usually the chirps are high pitch, that means small bird. Small bird likes to move around alot generally. It is possible to sense whether the bird is moving around from changes in its chirping.
case 1: bird moving.
So you just widen your view look up at the tree for shadows and branch movements.
cannot see. move closer and stop, don't keep going closer.
still cannot see? move side ways. you keep moving front, blind spots are still blind spots.
still cannot move closer again, eyes constantly on the tree. usually you cant see the bird it can see you. so it will definitely move.
So you must try to look out for movement as you move forward.
case 2: constant same same loudness and direction that means it is not moving.
look hard. rotate your head and hear clearly. see which angle the chirping is loudness. then the bird should be right in front. look at all the branches.
case 3: desperate? make your advances, big, noisy movements, scare the bird away. you can see it fly out and now you can see which idiotic bird giving you a hard time
Actually usually at the 3-4 time you visit you can somewhat identify chirpings of common birds so you may roughly know where to look.
Kindly tell me what works for you if you tried out.
note: my looking here refers to looking with naked eye. not through viewfinder
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This is what I have. FYI I am learning still.
No. 1 advice is patience, go more, you will get better.
Ok. Bird spotting.
You hear it chirping. Don't move. Look up at the tree the chirps comes from. Seriously if it is a dense tree, then don't try too hard. Hard to spot, hard to get good photos anyway.
Usually the chirps are high pitch, that means small bird. Small bird likes to move around alot generally. It is possible to sense whether the bird is moving around from changes in its chirping.
case 1: bird moving.
So you just widen your view look up at the tree for shadows and branch movements.
cannot see. move closer and stop, don't keep going closer.
still cannot see? move side ways. you keep moving front, blind spots are still blind spots.
still cannot move closer again, eyes constantly on the tree. usually you cant see the bird it can see you. so it will definitely move.
So you must try to look out for movement as you move forward.
case 2: constant same same loudness and direction that means it is not moving.
look hard. rotate your head and hear clearly. see which angle the chirping is loudness. then the bird should be right in front. look at all the branches.
case 3: desperate? make your advances, big, noisy movements, scare the bird away. you can see it fly out and now you can see which idiotic bird giving you a hard time
Actually usually at the 3-4 time you visit you can somewhat identify chirpings of common birds so you may roughly know where to look.
Kindly tell me what works for you if you tried out.
note: my looking here refers to looking with naked eye. not through viewfinder
Thanks! Sounds like a plausible solution. Will try it out for my next trip.
I've been shooting at Pasir Ris Park most of the time. Would like to change another location for birding. Tried Lorong Halus but not much luck (or I'm too noob to spot >_<") Was thinking SBG. Any other suggestion? (Please dun say jurong Bird park)
I am thinking of saving up for the Sigma 300-800mm.
This is a heavy monster. You need to save up for good tripod like gitzo 5 series and a wimberley head.
Pasir Ris park is a good ground to shoot birds. I've encountered orioles,tailorbirds,woodpeckers,egrets and KF. as others have mentioned before, you've to got have patience and perseverence. not to mention a bit of basic understanding of how the birds react/behave upon seeing a 5-6 foot walking object(ie. you la). visual and audiometric observation plays a part too. try not to get excited and rush forward upon hearing a singing bird perching on a tree. naturally, those birds will fly off fast, faster than your autofocus:bsmilie: walk slowly with little drastic/sudden movements. natural lighting(which sometimes is low) will affect your focussing though. that's where manual set up comes in. otherwise you'll keep on hunting without locking on to the subject. this is where the quality of the lens makes a difference
i've ventured out @ MacRitchie, Chek Jawa(Pulau Ubin) and SBG in the early hours. Good for your physical workout too. Keep on shooting,you'll get the hang of it with lots of practice,patience and perseverence.
Cheap birding can be achieved with super-zoom prosumer camera like Canon SX30i. Can zoom to >800 mm with less than S$800 :bsmilie:
Due to the short distance between lens and sensor, you can even do handheld shooting where other dSLR+zoom lens already give unacceptable camera shake. So you will definitely have the mobility and reflex on your side.
But there is trade off: small sensor size and noise issue.
Due to the short distance between lens and sensor, you can even do handheld shooting where other dSLR+zoom lens already give unacceptable camera shake. So you will definitely have the mobility and reflex on your side.
But there is trade off: small sensor size and noise issue.
not many pple can handle the sigmonster... i not sure about the setup you mention... but my friend setup is still gitzo and wimberley for his sigmonster setup... in fact.. most of my friends are gitzo with wimberley or RRS with RRS....
Wow! Now that's commitment! *clap* *clap*
http://nikonrumors.com/2011/04/06/y..._campaign=Feed:+NikonRumors+(NikonRumors.com)
http://nikonrumors.com/2011/04/06/y..._campaign=Feed:+NikonRumors+(NikonRumors.com)
There are many places for birding. Important thing is to have patient. Sometimes luck do play a part also
Vultures? Hadn't the luck/unluck to meet one yet.
Here's my experience so far, in the neighborhood, I see a lot of pigeons and sparrow.
In parks, I see more of Sunbird and one of the kind that goes "U Aw" repeatedly, gets faster and higher pitch after each call.
At seaside, collared kingfisher are more common. Will once in a while see Grey heron fly by too.
Wetlands I see more Egret and the kiwi looking bird that always gather in a crowd.
And the bird I hated most... -_- Myna (sorry, not sure of spelling)
I had seen them making different types of sounds that makes me thought it's a different birds.
shrekguy said:
You can achieve reach, but you can't achieve speed. For e.g., using a 70-300mm @ 300mm F/5.6 versus a 300mm F/2.8. Both apply with 2x teleconverter. Both gets you 600mm but the 70-300mm will be shooting at F/11 while the 300mm will be shooting with a much better F/4 (or F/5.6) which is 2 to 3 stops of light faster. This gives you the advantage of faster shutter speed or more room to stop down light to achieve greater dof.
Hi all, I went shooting birds again today at pasir ris park this morning (without the bird suit ). Was quite lucky to meet a few birders and had a friendly chat. Although i was stealthier thanks to all you bros' advice, my shots today were terrible.
Could I upload a few pics later and get some feedbacks?
My gear was a D90 with Sigma 150-500mm OS HSM
). Was quite lucky to meet a few birders and had a friendly chat. Although i was stealthier thanks to all you bros' advice, my shots today were terrible. Could I upload a few pics later and get some feedbacks?
My gear was a D90 with Sigma 150-500mm OS HSM
PeaceL said:
Not too sure myself, but my guess is good IQ under high ISO (FX), versus longer reach (DX)
Yes, usually in the early morning and they are easily located by their chirping; however, they also move fast; hence you need to recee a few times on which trees they tend to go, and then position yourself there with tripod. You can't run after them; you won't find them sitting waiting for you. Also, if your background is the sky, then you are unlikely to get a good shot; you will get a silhouette. Anything less than 300mm will not get you good picture.
Than's why I wasn't there to shoot you....................:bsmilie: :bsmilie:Hi all, I went shooting birds again today at pasir ris park this morning (without the bird suit
