Shutter Speed

I have been trying to do alot more shooting in less than optimal lighting. Doing so to expand my knowledge on shooting in all kinds of weather, etc...

I was curious...and would appreciate some feedback on this. If for example, one is photographing small birds, on a feeder set up, where the birds are VERY active, constantly moving, etc... I am curious as to what is the min. shutter speed to freeze that type of movement and render a sharp image.

I have done this very thing and achieved sharp images at 1/60th of a second (very lucky) but yet, on some days, at 1/500th, I get motion blur, at least that is what I will blame it on. Timing is very important and I try to time my shots where the bird is a bit more stationary during those times where my SS's are not high. Just thought I would ask to see what others thought about this.

I try to keep my SS at 1/250 on overcast days, as that is the highest sync speed for the pop-up flash. I will go down to about 1/80, but do not feel comfortable with anything below that. I actually prefer overcast days when doing set-ups as the muted light helps bring out colors while keeping them true.

I prefer overcast days as well. The shutter speeds you guys mention IMO are way too slow! I practically always shoot hand held, mostly at 400mm, and often birds in flight. I also usually shoot manually. Although my camera has image stabilization, I generally find that below 1/1000 sec for flight captures causes problems, and up to 1/2500sec if light permits. I don't think any faster has any effect. Flight captures need the speed to compensate for subject motion as well as camera movement. In stationary subjects there is a risk going below 1/focal length (1/400 sec for 400mm in 35mm ) which should compensate for camera movement. I'm not saying I don't go below, but only if I am forced to by lighting conditions: lets say I'm shooting ISO 1250 and I can either bump up to ISO 1600 with detail loss, or hope that if I shoot enough frames at too slow a shutter speed some will be OK.
Sufficient shutter speed is critical if you shooting an event that is infrequent, and you essentially need to get it right the first time. Nothing worse than get home and have blurred images of something you witness rarely. regards~Bill

I should have been more clear that I am not talking about BIF. I am talking about perched birds, etc... Birds coming down a perch to a feeder at times are very active and as such, offer some challenges to get a sharp image of with slow shutter speeds.

Sure, proper Long Lens Technique is great, but often times, part of that techique cannot be obtained, and that is the focal length rule as it pertains to SS's. I find MANY times, that due to lack of light, etc...I am shooting well below 1/500th of a second, many times around 1/250th, etc... Nearly all my birds shots are with my 600 with the 1.4tc on it. If they are not hyper...and jumping all over, I have captured many sharp images at those speeds. There are days though that I don't and thus the question on speeds.

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Originally Posted by Jason G. Harrison

I should have been more clear that I am not talking about BIF. I am talking about perched birds, etc... Birds coming down a perch to a feeder at times are very active and as such, offer some challenges to get a sharp image of with slow shutter speeds.

Sure, proper Long Lens Technique is great, but often times, part of that techique cannot be obtained, and that is the focal length rule as it pertains to SS's. I find MANY times, that due to lack of light, etc...I am shooting well below 1/500th of a second, many times around 1/250th, etc... Nearly all my birds shots are with my 600 with the 1.4tc on it. If they are not hyper...and jumping all over, I have captured many sharp images at those speeds. There are days though that I don't and thus the question on speeds.

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Your question about birds moving as you described is not something that can be answered with one given shutter speed. It depends on the movement at the moment you release the shutter. For still birds I usually want at least 1/60 hand held. For moving birds it can be anywhere between 1/60 and 1/4000 that is needed depending on the movement. For flitting small birds you want at least 1/800 or so, more if you want to freeze the wingtips of flapping small birds. In that case you want 1/2500 or so.

I agree with Jim. i have shot at 1/60 as well with IS on. I have also used 1/1000 or more if the Chickadees just won't stay still. If I am trying for hummers I try to use 1/2500 or more! As with most things photographic there is no single answer. Judgement based on experience is employed to get the best image.