Here are a few very basic yet important Bird photography tips for beginners, which would not only help you capture good quality photographs of bird, but would also help you choose photography equipment and location for your first Bird shoot.
Bird Photography Equipment: One of the most important aspects of choosing a camera/lens for bird photography is the reach i.e. the optical zoom. For beginners on budget, a good prosumer camera like the Canon Powershot SX10IS with 20x zoom (28-560mm, 35mm equivalent) would suffice. While for digital photography enthusiasts, a DSLR like the Canon XSI (450D) with a Canon 55-250IS lens (88-400mm, 35mm equivalent) or Canon 100-400L (160-640mm, 35mm equivalent) should be a good starting point.
In case if you don’t own a camera/lens with that sort of reach and aren’t planning to upgrade to one, don’t loose hope and read on!
Bird Photography location: There are plenty of places where one can spot local and migratory birds, which one to choose, depends on the weather, habit of birds and your equipment.
For instance, if you have a camera with limited zoom range, then it does not make much sense to go to a Bird Sanctuary filled with exotic migratory birds. Since these birds aren’t used to humans and are likely to fly away as soon as they spot one and with limited zoom range, this would be the kind of photographs you will end up capturing majority of the time.
While in a park where birds are used to the company of humans, you can expect to capture a photograph like this, even with a camera with 6x zoom (200m, 35mm equivalent).
In fact, parks and zoos attract decent number of local and migratory birds and should be one of the first few places you should visit, if you intend to start shooting bird photographs.
Timing and weather: After equipment and location, timing and weather play a crucial role in bird photography. Majority of the birds are quite active in the morning and evening, add to that, lighting is prefect for photography. During the day, birds aren’t that active and lighting conditions are harsh, which tend to overexpose photographs. On the same note, weather also plays an important role and foggy days tend to be the second worst time to indulge in bird photography (first being rain). Overcast days can also wreak havoc if you don’t have a fast lens and a camera which can shoot clean photographs at high ISO.
So make sure when planning a bird photography outing, you keep the weather and timing in mind and make/change plans accordingly.
Camera modes: While majority of the digital cameras work fine when put into Auto or P (Program) mode, it is better to use a bit of manual control over the camera. Av (aperture priority) makes for an excellent mode to shoot bird photographs with, while for fast action shots, you might want to experiment with the combination of TV (shutter priority) or M (full manual) mode to bring creativity to your photographs and control bokeh and motion blur. In case your camera does not have manual controls, try using the sports mode to increase the shutter speed.
Also if you are shooting JPEG’s, you might want to switch the color mode to Vivid or enhance saturation and contrast to ensure the photographs of birds, come out vibrant and colorful.
Multiple shots (burst mode) also increases the number of keepers one get by drastically increasing the number of photographs and is something you should use while trying to capture a flying bird.
Image Stabilization: Image Stabilization can help a lot while shooting in bad lighting condition with slow shutter speed, so make sure you switch it on and while buying camera/lenses; make it one of the important criteria governing your buying decision.
At the end of the day, when you go out there for a shoot, make sure you enjoy the outing and don’t put too much stress on yourself. Remember to just lower the camera and look around before picking it up again and start shooting, this will help you spot opportunities you might have other wise missed.
18 Comments
hi, I am pakshimitra[birdwatcher] i want to buy low price camera near about 10 to 12000 rs. can you suggest me ?
Hello Anil,
In Rs. 10,000-12,000 range (with bill), you will only get prosumer camera’s from Fuji (S series) and Kodak (Z series) and they will have 10-15x optical zoom.
Photo quality of both would be a tad lower than that of Canon or Sony and would be a bit slower as well, however they should be able to provide you the reach you will need for bird photography.
Best option would be to visit the local market (if you are planning to buy it from there) and check out the options that are available in your budget from Kodak Z and Fuji S series and then check out their reviews online, before making a buying decision.
sir
i am conducting research studies on vultures and raptors.i have Nikon FM10 with 100-300 ZOOM.it is a manul camera .now i want to purchase canon powershot SX120IS WITH 10 megapixals and 10x optical zoom.please guide me it will be better option for me? i am thinking about a compact camera for bird photography and for family photos.
thanks
Dr.prabodh chander khatri
Doc if you are planning to do bird photography, then something on the lines of Canon SX20IS or Panasonic FZ28 would be more suitable, as it will give you enough reach. Of course this isn’t compact by any margin and are costly, but would be fantastic for bird photography.
sir
thanks for your respose.you have prefered two cameras for bird photography.they have 20x optical zoom but i am planning for 10x optical zoom in cannon SX120IS.IS 10X ZOOM sufficient for my purpose.plase guide me again.i shall be thankful to you.
Dr.prabodh chander khatri
Doc in bird photography, the more zoom range you have, the better it is. Of course you can do with 10x zoom of SX120IS, however the 20x zoom would be a lot more useful in situations, where you can’t get too close to the birds.
I am doing some bird photography with Sony DSC H20. I wish to buy a good prosumer camera. I had shortlisted Canon SX1 IS, Canon SX20 IS, Olympus 800uz. Why is Canon SX1 IS so costly compared to SX20 IS. How does OLympus fare to Canon in Image stabilization, bird photography in low light. Some stray features in Olympus like AF tracking a bird/animal, In camera panorama and filters. One more thing I liked of Canon was its 0 cm macro feature where as NIkon, Olympus come with 1 cm minimum.
I live in Udaipur and was delighted to know that you keep visiting Udaipur
dear sir
thanks for your blog.it is very usefull.you prefers canon cameras .please guide me about olympus 800uz .can i use for bird photography.how does we compare olympus with canon .
thanks
Dr.prabodh chander khatri
L.S. Sardalia H20 is already a prosumer camera, I guess you meant you are looking for a camera with more range (zoom). Well the biggest thing going for the Olympus 800uz is the zoom range, which neither of the Canon can match. I haven’t yet seen images from this camera, hence can not comment on the picture quality. As for filters, they can be attached to Canons as well, with the help of a converter lens and Canons too have Continuous and Servo AF/AE.
Cost difference between SX1IS and SX20IS is due to the fact that SX1IS has CMOS sensor while the SX20IS has CCD sensor. CMOS is supposed to be better, though from what I have heard, apart from the 1080p recording capabilities and 4 times faster continuous shooting speed, the SX1IS doesn’t have any major benefits over SX20IS.
Doc I guess above answers your question as well.
Dear Sir,
I and my husband are new to this field. Please guide us as to which camera and lens is best for beginners. What are the points that should be kept in mind while buying a camera and lens?
Aditi everything depends on the budget, if you have decent one, then keep in mind that DSLR bodies with faster FPS and better auto focus systems (Canon 50D for instance) are better than basic bodies.
AS for lenses, the longer (200mm onwards) and faster (preferably f4 or faster) you can afford, the better it would be.
Sir,
Thank you for your suggestion. I would like to ask something more. Are Canon dSLRs compatible with Sigma lens? The lens I am interested in is Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM Lens or Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM. Which one would be better or would I get a more better one around this price range?
sir i got budget till 60 90,000 can you please tell me the best and good slr which i should buy
for bird & potrait photography
pk
50D and 7D from Canon would be good options for you, especially if you pair them with decent zoom lenses like 70-300 IS USM and 100-400L IS USM from Canon for bird photography.
50 and 80mm prime lens (not too expensive), would be great for portraits.
I am thankful for your comments to my queries earlier.
I purchased the Canon SX20IS from USA, came pretty cheap compared to Indian prices. The camera is excellent for bird photography and nature photography. How can I display my photographs to a wider audience and maybe earn something from them.
As far as displaying photographs to wider audience goes, participate on photography related sites like http://www.flickr.com, http://photography-on-the.net/forum/, http://www.bcmtouring.com/forum/.
As for making money out of them, well you can sell photographs online through stock image sites or publish a coffee table book or maybe even hold photography exhibitions and sell prints in it.
sir
The olympus 800uz can be a better choice then canon SX20IS for bird photography.please guide me.because it has 30x wide angle zoom and 14 megapixals and cost is lower then SX20IS.