The American bald eagle. I love birds of prey, but have been fascinated with the symbol of America since I was young boy. At 63 years young the fascination is still as strong.
Any Bird on the African continent, because it means I am on holiday, usually Safari. How I wish that was right now, the nearest I can get to that at the moment is to keep watching the Pangolin clips on You Tube....[free holiday please for the commercial?]
Green Bee Eater .. its full of color and behavioral part you will easily understand and it will give you lots of time to take various photos with various backgrounds and positions ❤️
One of the best pangolin videos to date and great that you’ve picked a theme to provide context around some of the camera settings and functions; even better that the detail is referred to in other videos and therefore the basics are on tap too. It’s gradually turning the whole video library into a well developed, fully integrated package that complements the safaris you offer. Great job.
That's why we are all out there trying and hoping to get that one great shot. Yes you are so wright Rod it does feel great when you go home and you have a few great ones. Absolutely correct.
Clear explanation, bravo Charls ! As one of your followers said, in Paris we don’t have the same choice in birds spycies. and that’s the reason why I plan to spend time with Pangolin safari team this year ! 😊😉
@@PangolinWildlife Charls a question regarding lenses. If I want to have a sharp image is it better to use a fixed focal lens rather than a zoom like the Canon 200-400 f/4 + 1,4 extender ? Thanks in advance
I've been doing bird photography for a while now, but still find these tips super helpful. I like the way you explained it slowly and in great details. Thanks!
Hi Charl. Good video. One thing I don't understand is why you have to take crop factor into account when using the 1/focal length rule for shutter speed. Could you find the time to explain the logic behind this?
Great video, thanks, very clear advice and easy to follow. In the UK it is difficult to find attractive birds, your bird pictures are stunning with a lot of variety. I have a choice of pigeons, ducks, geese, magpies, black birds, robins(yay ! colour) and the occasional migrating visitor. If I want anything more exotic or colourful I have to go to a zoo and work through wire fences and Avery mesh. :( When we are allowed to travel again (hopefully this year) I definitely have several locations in the world I will travel to and your bird photography tips will come in useful. I might even come to your location 🌞. I travel on my own so that always presents challenges for finding accommodation at a reasonable cost etc...
Ditto on the last part of this comment but I’ve found buddying up to be the way around this and the providers are usually happy to introduce individuals to support the buddying. It works here in the UK too. Whilst Chobe has the array, we do have some birds that present a challenge...... the local Kingfisher is doing all it can to avoid my camera that’s for sure, a little colour in those little critters.
Good one Charl! Pretty much my settings. Only difference is on my D850 I use d9 focus points and the main reason is birds in flight. Single point for me can work well for a take off shot, or a hovering shot, or if the bird is flying is a relatively straight line. Photographing birds in flights from a cliff top on an island with high winds moving the birds erratically, I find have a few more focus points gives a better hit rate. I can still place the centre point on the eye of the bird if the bird is perched in d9. Call it an insurance policy though I know a lot of wildlife photographers prefer single point(I started there). The other thing I rarely use is moving the focus point to compose, especially for birds. If using a zoom lens I would rather zoom out as much as needed and then focus on the eye which will still give me plenty of negative space to compose the subject at side of the frame required in PP. With a prime lens I just try and move further back for the same effect or in something like the photographic boat from the Pangolin Voyager, adjust to the fact that the boat is often drifting closer to the subject and start shooting earlier which will also give me plenty of negative space to work with in PP. So why, because birds rarely sit still long enough for you to compose and move the focus point across to the eye. I would have missed even more shots : ), if I hadn't quickly pointed the camera to the subject, attained focus and fired a burst before it took off. Secondly, on most occassions when I've composed and moved the focus point to the eye and gotten the shot, I've forgotten to move the focus point back to the centre and started shooting birds in flight or birds perched in the opposite direction and wondered while they were all out of focus(until I've checked later). So user error, but, if I just stick with the centre point in the centre of the viewfinder and use the methods described, I end up with a larger percentage of keepers. Cheers!
I own a Nikon D5500 with a Nikkor 70-300mm VR af-s f/4.5-5.6 and I always choose your preferred setting - Manual Mode with auto ISO. However, I like the f/8's depth of field. 😊 Thanks a lot! Great video! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thank you for such a comprehensive and well organized and educational discussion of techniques that improve bird photography. I look forward to a photo safari with Pangolin!
For birds in flight and other fast moving subjects the single AF point plus its 4 neighbour AF points may get better results as it is very easy for the moving subject to get out from the single point.
I'm am just starting with Bird/Wildlife Photography having done landscape and Macro photography for a while - I want to branch out - I purchased the Tamron 100-400 that fit my budget on my Canon 5D MK IV - This video has helped me 1000% to capture better shot and the explanation of the why is great - Thank you so very much!!!
I would be fascinated to learn how to keep a single autofocus point on the eye of a bird in flight! But then again I’m sure the new Sony a1 will give it a go Also I know there is much support for Manual & auto ISO which I agree with less hectic animal movements but with fast paced action surely Shutter speed priority and auto iso would get you there quicker!
Thank you for your input. I appreciate your preference for Shutter speed and Auto ISO but I still feel to have more control in Manual with auto ISO as I cannot only control my shutter speed but also the aperture at the same time. In the end what matters it what works for you as an individual.
I too would be interested with single autofocus. I only use single focus point with birds or animals that are more stationery and use Group focus with my Nikon gear when doing flight and action shots. I shot manual with Auto ISO so that I can choose my various settings. With Auto ISO you can track your subject from the dark into the light far quicker than you could ever do it manually. My stay at the Pangolin Lodge and day on the Chobe River was something that I wish to experience again once we get the pandemic under control world wide.
Note that with crop sensor cameras the focal length does NOT change focal length of a lens...a 400mm lens is still a 400mm lens..its the field of view that changes as the sensor cannot see all the image such as in a full frame thereby giving the impression that the focal length has increased. I
Hi Carol. Did you see Janines video called Crop like a pro? We released it earlier this year and it will solve all you problems! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uEHmChy59f8.html
Glad I found this channel! Everything I have learnt about wild photography is from here. How about starting a discord server where followers can post their photos too and learn from each other? See if this suits you
That is a big question! I like all birds but to narrow it down, I would say Bald Eagles, hummingbirds and the Black & White Warblers (rare sight in AZ and very hard to capture as it moves a lot). After watching your video, I have most of the same settings as you mentioned. I am guessing my problem is getting it in focus, especially in flight birds from afar. How do we get it in focus? I have been photo shooting birds for only a year now. Before I started Birding, I was photo shooting other wildlife. What is the best advise to get the birds in flight in focus? Me- frustrating but not giving up- need help.
Hi Debra. First of all thank you for watching. I know birds in flight are hard but I guess exercise makes perfect and changing the tracking sensitivity and focus area can help a lot too. If you like you can watch this video of Sabine, explaining the different modes in detail: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TesyJSg9N9I.html We are currently also testing the animal eye tracking on Canon's mirrorless cameras so stay tuned for our review how well this performs on birds in flight. Cheers, Charl
Hi Charl thanks again for an informative video.I have an issue when a bird takes off my first and second photo is normally blurry.On my last trip I took a photo of a Martial Eagle I used manual auto iso.Set my speed 2500 of a second, had to adjust compensation 1 notch positive as lighting was not so good.My focus point was on the head.
Hi Nick. I could imagine that your setting for 1st and 2nd image priority might be off. You can check that in the pink AF menu 2nd tab under 1st and 2nd image priority. If you have set it to release on the 1st image it prioritizes taking the shot before focus is confirmed. So you could set it to focus rather and although it will take a bit longer, the camera will confirm focus first. Setting it to release does not necessarily mean that focus isn't achieved but the camera is given less time to confirm focus. I personally have set my 1st priority to release and second to focus and this works fine for me. But if you struggle it might be worth checking. Hope this helps, regards Charl.
Really nice tutorial maybe I’ll catch the kingfisher that has been teasing me with this information. Can you put the other links that you talk about in the comments.
@@PangolinWildlife Figured as much. The files from my x-t2 holds quite a big amount of color depth and I notice a clear difference when switching between primes and zooms. Can only imagine what it does with a big ass sensor. A little editing you say? With all respect for the trade secrets and craftsmanship. You really should make a video about "a little editing" 😉 Also. That accent! Like conditioner for the ears! 😍
Hi Charl, have you tried taking photos with a camera that has the animal eye detection, does this help with the autofocus selection point as it sort of takes that issue/worry away from the photographer. for e.g. a Canon R5 or R6
Hi yes I have and that animal tracking is amazing, it works well in most cases and will help a lot but its not perfect yet. Sure we will make a video about that animal tracking soon.
Great video into learning about bird photography. As a photographer myself, learning the particulars about bird behavior was most helpful. Experience is the best teacher. You just gave me that shortcut from many many many "practice" shots. Thanks.
Incredible tutorial. I started birding just under a year ago and I’ve been able to get some fantastic images, but can’t seem to get off of AF. I’ve watched all the tutorials on MF, but I’m still not understanding something. When on MF, does this mean you will need to manually focus on the bird by turning your focus ring on the lens? Or does the AF Tracking still work?
Hello, thanks for all these information. I really like your tutorials. Maybe you can help me with my question. I ve the 5D Mark IIII and the 100-400mm lense. Do you know if the 1,4 III converter works with this combination. Need a bit more mm for bird photography and thought about this option. Greetings Marina
Great video, however, a 400mm is ALWAYS a 400mm no matter if we use a full frame, asp-c or a micro 4/3 camera. If we use this or any other lens on an aps-c or a micro 4/3 camera, the resulting photo will be a CROP of the full frame photo which will give us more magnification, but the field of view will always be its original value, in your example 400mm.
Hi Fernando you are absolutely correct I should have used the term "Field of view" in my video. I tried to keep it very simple. Sorry for that will be more care full when choosing words next time. Charl
Hi! Pangolin...... I'm from kolkata,a city that situated at East India,I want to ask you, is that ok,if I shoot wildlife in programm Mode or Flexible Programm Mode?My thoughts behind the question is,because those situations are very much unpredictable,when we shoot wildlife,just for this,if I worng then give me a suggestion..... Thanking you.
Hi Charl, thank you a wonderful video, most informative. I need a bit of advice please. Recently i have had to photograph small birds (Pipits and Larks) on recently burnt fields. Firstly i find it difficult to focus on the subject because of the grey background and as the bird is moving between the tuffs of burnt grass. Secondly the DOF is just bad and horrible, the bird is in focus, but the background is like stringy. The worst is in post processing, the colours are just bad and again the background does not come out smooth. Can you give me some advice how to tackle photographing birds on burnt areas. By the way, i am using a Nikon Z6ii with a 200-500mm Lens on Manual. regards
Really interesting. Curious to what extent VR can reduce the "1/focal length" guideline. So for my 300mm lens with 1.5 crop factor but VR, what might be my minimum shutter speed?
