Birds Birds in Flight Thread - Post Your Shots Here

[Uncle Kevriano]

Puffins at Flamborough Head. These are taken at huge distance, in crop mode on the RIV with the 200 600 and then cropped down, the biggest file size here, before conversion to jpeg, is 2.2mb. That's an insane amount of cropping, and I am astounded that they are sharp (which they are!) given so many people moan about this combo. Even the shots with the bird heading toward me. They were all shot in Zone Focus. Having put them here I can see some pin cushioning on a couple, which is probably down to Topaz.

• ILCE-7RM4
• FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
• 600.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1600

• ILCE-7RM4
• FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
• 600.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1600

• ILCE-7RM4
• FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
• 600.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1600

• ILCE-7RM4
• FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
• 600.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1250

 

[seuadr]

Puffins at Flamborough Head. These are taken at huge distance, in crop mode on the RIV with the 200 600 and then cropped down, the biggest file size here, before conversion to jpeg, is 2.2mb. That's an insane amount of cropping, and I am astounded that they are sharp

holy cow!

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

holy cow!

Haha. For comparison, here's an uncropped 75mb image, as shot.

 

[wwwprof]

Great Egret taken with Sony 6500, 100-400mm@400, f5.6, ISO 800, 1⁄2500 sec

• ILCE-6500
• FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/2500 sec
• ISO 800

 

[Ziggy]

Nice action shot.
The plumage looks grey on my screen.

 

[colthrop]

Great Egret taken with Sony 6500, 100-400mm@400, f5.6, ISO 800, 1⁄2500 sec
View attachment 2644

View attachment 2436

That’s a great shot, it’s nice to see some apsc so that other users can see what’s possible

 

[wwwprof]

Osprey taken with Sony 6500, 100-400mm@400, f5.6, ISO 640, 1⁄4000 sec

• ILCE-6500
• FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/4000 sec
• ISO 640

 

[wwwprof]

Juvenile Ring-billed Gull taken with Sony 6500, 100-400mm@400, 5.6, ISO 640, 1⁄2000 sec

• ILCE-6500
• FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/2000 sec
• ISO 640

 

[wwwprof]

Mallard Ducks taken with Sony 6500, 100-400mm@400, f5.6, ISO 400, 1⁄4000 sec

• ILCE-6500
• FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/4000 sec
• ISO 400

 

[dragonsdreams]

Puffins at Flamborough Head. These are taken at huge distance, in crop mode on the RIV with the 200 600 and then cropped down, the biggest file size here, before conversion to jpeg, is 2.2mb. That's an insane amount of cropping, and I am astounded that they are sharp (which they are!) given so many people moan about this combo. Even the shots with the bird heading toward me. They were all shot in Zone Focus. Having put them here I can see some pin cushioning on a couple, which is probably down to Topaz.View attachment 2577View attachment 2578View attachment 2579View attachment 2580

That's an amazing crop!

 

[Ziggy]

First up is a Grey Teal, one of our most common water birds. Then an immature Pacific Gull.

• ILCE-9
• FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS + 2X Teleconverter
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/7.1
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1250

 

[Tim Mayo]

I can't visit my normal spot for shooting red kites so here's one from the archives.

 

[gordonhatusupy]

Northern Harrier - A9ii, 600mm f4 GM

 

[gordonhatusupy]

Short-eared Owl - a9ii, 600mm f4 GM

 

[Ziggy]

Short-eared Owl - a9ii, 600mm f4 GM

View attachment 4867

May I suggest 1/3000s or shorter? You'll get a sharper shot.

 

[Ziggy]

This was taken with a (shh!) Nikon but I am also an Alphashooter

It's a Shy Albatross in the Southern Ocean south of Australia.

Minor gloat: it won the birds in flight prize in the 2020 Birdlife Australia Photography Awards.

• NIKON D500
• 500.0 mm
• ƒ/9.5
• 10/30000 sec
• ISO 800

 

[Drewid]

A worthy winner. Well done.

 

[gordonhatusupy]

May I suggest 1/3000s or shorter? You'll get a sharper shot.

Hey Ziggy thanks, I think that would've helped, the owl was very "close" to me, so I had a lot of camera movement, it was getting dark and I didn't want to push the ISO. I think it was this combination that made it not 100% sharp. My other flight shots were critically sharp. Also I had dropped to 1/1000 because it was perched and I didn't need the speed, so I wasn't expecting it to jump!

 

[gordonhatusupy]

Rough-legged Hawk, I guess this is technically still in flight?

 

[Ziggy]

Beaut shot

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

A few Red Kite shots from a trip to Thursley Common. It

literally flew at me!

 

[Ziggy]

Also I had dropped to 1/1000 because it was perched and I didn't need the speed, so I wasn't expecting it to jump!

Yeah, I get the same often. Now my default perched speed is 1600 but that easily pushes the ISO above 6400 where noise on the A9 becomes hard to deal with in post.

 

[NatureBoyOhio]

Northern Harrier at Fernald Preserve Ross, Ohio. The area where this bird is hanging out was once part of the US Department of Energy. The property was used for uranium enrichment during the cold war. It is now a very popular wildlife area having been reclaimed.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Fulmars at Seaford Head. These birds only fly when conditions are perfect for them. Great to see.

 

[Jeff A]

Very nice!

 

[César]

The so-called "voice of Africa" (Haliaeetus Vocifer), under controlled conditions, at the Bioparc Zoo in Valencia

 

[Doug Herr]

• ILCE-7RM3
• FE 600mm F4 GM OSS
• 600.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/1000 sec
• ISO 640

 

[G-FOTO.de]

... I didn't want to push the ISO. I think it was this combination that made it not 100% sharp. ...

Thats the rising issue of people being afraid of high ISO and then missing the (excellent) shot...
I do not understand this anxiousness about high ISO (anymore). We are on an ISO level which is outstanding and tools like Topaz Denoise AI are doing magic with reducing noise.

Don't get me wrong, your shot was good, but as @Ziggy wrote, it could have been excellent.

So my advise: Don't care about high ISO, but try to get the best shot.

 

[G-FOTO.de]

and here we are with some ISO6400 with the A7R4...denoised with the latest Topaz Denoise AI

View media item 3646

 

[Doug Herr]

... I do not understand this anxiousness about high ISO (anymore). We are on an ISO level which is outstanding and tools like Topaz Denoise AI are doing magic with reducing noise...

For myself it's a personal preference thing. I don't like the way high ISO photos look and I am not fond of the Topaz Denoise AI "look". It's a YMMV thing.