Equipment needed for bird
photography
By: Dries Cronje
The nice thing about bird photography is that it can
happen anywhere on our beautiful globe. The not so
nice thing is that birds are small or shy, and you
need to be able to get close enough with your
equipment. In this article, we will be looking at
the ideal equipment for bird photography. We will
also be having a quick look at how to use this
equipment.
 Camera
body
We live in the world of digital photography, and
therefore we will only be discussing digital camera
bodies. I am also a really big Canon fan, so I will
talk Canon, and you can translate it to other
manufacturers if you need to.
You will need a decent camera body that allows
you to set continuous focus while shooting images in
the raw image quality. The cheapest body allowing
you to do this is the Canon EOS 20D. However, it is
not really cheap. The reason for it being not too
affordable is that it is actually a very good
all-round camera body for the serious amateur or
professional. You cannot go wrong with this body...
Lenses
A lot of amateurs think that a really decent long
zoom lens will solve all their problems. I have been
there guys, and it does not. Do what the
professionals do and get that long prime lens.
I used the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
for a long time, and my results were decent but not
good enough. It is not the sharpest lens. If you
need to use a zoom rather stick with the Canon EF
70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM. It is pin sharp.
 I
now use the Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM and it is the
best thing that could have happened to my
photography. It is very sharp and very fast at the
same time. A bit heavy at times, but I need the
exercise! With this lens I mostly use a Canon
Extender 1.4x II for an effective focal length of 1
120 mm with autofocus! That is plenty for any bird,
and I cannot imagine getting a lot of good bird
photographs with anything shorter.
By the way, do not use manual focus. Today's
cameras were not built for manual focus as the
viewfinders are small and do not allow you to see
enough detail to manual focus effectively.
Photographing flying birds
Okay, now you have all the equipment and you are
heading into the field to get that award winning
photograph of a flying bird. You have to have enough
light entering your lens for a fast enough shutter
speed to freeze the action. You also want your
camera to focus where the bird is in that split
second you are going to give it before firing away.
So what do you do...?
 Set
you camera to an ISO speed of 400. In sunshine this
ought to be fast enough. The reason for not using
ISO 100 or 200 is that you are photographing action
and you do not want anything to blur.
You must also make sure your lens is open at its
maximum aperture. A Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens
coupled with a Canon Extender 1.4x II gives a
maximum aperture of 5.6, and this is what I use when
photographing flying birds.
Also ensure your camera is set to continuous
autofocus. Canon calls this setting AI Servo focus.
This is crucial and the main reason why I am not a
fan of camera bodies like the Canon EOS 350D. They
do not allow you to use this focus with raw
images... Thanks Canon!
I also set my image stabilizer to Mode 2 for
photographing moving subjects, to avoid it actually
working against that sharp photo rather than for
it...
Now all that is left is moving that heavy lens
around while the birds are flying past. Happy
shooting!
 Conclusion
We professionals have a way of sometime making it
sound like you do not need good equipment to be a
good photographer. That is utter non-sense. Get
yourself decent equipment and you will see why the
pros get the shot and you don't.
The other thing that makes the professionals so
much better than the average amateur is patience. Go
and sit somewhere where there are birds, forcing
yourself not to move for three hours, and you will
get the magic shots. Your patience will be rewarded.
About the Author
Dries Cronje is a freelance nature photographer
operating in Southern Africa. He has a passion for
teaching and has dedicated one of his sites,
http://www.africa-nature-photography.com, purely
to helping his fellow nature photographers. |
