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Thread: Next step up in birds in flight photography

  1. #1
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    Default Next step up in birds in flight photography

    Hey all,

    I have been browsing for the past couple of months but wanted to gather some opinions. My current setup is a 7D II with a sigma 150-600 mm Contemporary. I've enjoyed the combo for the past few years and for perched birds it does fairly well. Not as good as the big primes but acceptable for me who is doing this as a hobby. I also like the combo because I tend to enjoy walking around and taking pictures hand held most of the time. The issue I'm having is that for birds in flight I'm having a lot of issues. I feel as if the lens spends too much time hunting so that I can only get 1-2 shots before the opportunity has passed. Also when I shoot with anything other than single point + surround focus settings I tend to get wings and bodies in focus but rarely get the eyes in focus. As you can imagine, this makes it really challenging to always have the bird's head in my focus spot while panning. I feel like the times I get a "winner" shot for me are basically because the planets have aligned just right and the lens/body worked for me. I've shot side by side with other photographers using big primes who don't seem to have these issues.

    At this point I'm looking at upgrading my gear to help improve this part of my photography game. I have enough money saved up to make one "big" purchase and wanted to ask what others thought would allow me to improve my BiF photography. One option is to stick with my 7D II and get a big canon prime (probably 400 or 500 f4) +/- a 1.4 tele if needed. The other option would be to upgrade my body to a 5DIV and keep my other lens or get an older prime if I can find it used. The more radical option would be to jump ship to Nikon and go for a D850. I'd have to get a less expensive lens if that were the case (probably 200-500 would be my first guess but would be open to suggestions).

    Ultimately, I want to improve and see my photography grow and am looking for guidance as to what everything thinks might help me to get there. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

    Jared Bird

  2. #2
    Super Moderator arash_hazeghi's Avatar
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    Hi Jared,

    Welcome to BPN.

    If you are after high quality BIF shots similar to the ones you see in the avian forum you need ALL of the following:

    - Skills: BIF is not just point and shoot. I encourage you to study the techniques used by the experts (guides, workshops etc...) to learn the tricks of the trade. Best gear in the world with poor skills still results in poor images

    -The right gear, this means BOTH the body AND the lens. Unfortunately there is no way around that, if you want consistent results. Any camera and lens can occasionally produce nice BIF images but if you want any degree of consistency you want a capable body and a capable lens. The 7DII is not going to do well for flight shots even if you pair it with Canon's best lens (600 II). Similarly the Sigma lens is not going to get you far in quality BIF, even if you attach it to a 1DX II body. If you want to stay with Canon I would recommend at least a 5D4 or a a used 1DX body with series a series II super telephoto lens (500 II or 600 II). These can be found on the used market these days, especially after the mass exodus of BIF shooters from Canon to Nikon.

    Nikon D850 will excel over any Canon body for BIF given its advanced AF system but you also need a lens that is better than the 200-500 VR. Although this combo will give you much better results compared to your current 7DII and the Sigma zoom, it is will still struggle mighty if you throw challenging subjects at it. I wouldn't use the 200-500 as a primary flight lens, even with my D5. To unlock the prowess of the Nikon AF, you want the latest series FL super telephoto lenses which happen to be in very high demand now and going to cost you more than the Canon's equivalent lenses. Nikon recently announced the development of a 500mm f/5.6 PF lens, if that comes out a D850 + this lens might give you the best bang for your buck, my guess is the lens will be between 3-4K, we have to wait and see. Overall if you are making a huge investment and your goal is BIF, I'd probably not spend on Canon at this point in time since they are behind in AF technology and there is no sign of closing the gap unfortunately. I'd be inclined to spend more and get the real thing....

    Hope this reply will help you plan your next move, I am sure others will chime in too.

    good luck
    Last edited by arash_hazeghi; 06-26-2018 at 02:04 AM.
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    Thanks for your reply Arash. No matter what I do I definitely have a lifetime of learning ahead of me regarding multiple aspects of photography. From what I'm hearing from you, if I'm looking at preparing for the future now might be the time to switch to Nikon given that I don't have a lot of investments in lenses yet. I think the D850 is probably the best next step for me with the caveat that getting a big nice prime lens for another couple years or so.

    Would you recommend holding off and getting the D850 whenever the 500 F5.6 comes out or will I see big enough improvements compared to my current set up that it might be worth getting the D850 + something like the 200-500 for general bird photography use in the near future?

    Thanks again for your thoughts. Have a great day.

    Jared

  4. #4
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Jared, Where do you live?

    artie
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

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    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










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