Tuesday 6 May 2014

Bird photography..Basic know-how, Part-iii

Choosing a good lens helps lot.....


Green-tailed Sunbird, Canon 40D + Canon 300mm f4 L + Canon 1.4 Tc ii,
1/160, f8, ISO 640
Now you've shot many images with your current gear and learnt a lot about photographing birds. In the wild, you've faced a lot of problems like...low light, dense vegetation, adverse weather, hyperactive subject etc. and found your images not usable in many cases. In critical conditions like above, your lens + camera failed to lock focus quickly or failed to pull  maximum out of shadowy or cloudy conditions.



If the situation is like above, then it's time to upgrade. A body upgrade is always possible but you've to think for a good lens first. Get a decent OEM lens ( at least 300mm) with maximum aperture f4 ( 2.8 long lenses are too costly and good choice also ). I upgraded to a canon 300mm f4 L after using a Sigma 170-500 for years. It worked wonder with Canon 1.4 tc and I got the working focal length of 420 mm with max. aperture 5.6.




Small Pratincole, Canon 40D + Canon 300mm f4 + Canon 1.4 Tc ii,
1/640, f8, ISO 320




Advantages of shooting with OEM lenses are...it gives you better colour, contrast, sharpness, bokeh, and a better control over the whole image( like pulling maximum details in shadow/dark areas). It always gives you lightening fast ( lenses with USM/ AF-S) focus lock compared to non-OEM counterparts. 





Ruddy Shelduck, Canon 40D + Canon 300mm f4 + Canon 1.4 Tc ii, 1/2000, f8, ISO 500