HOW TO SET UP- hummingbird photography

[Richard Jones]

Stunning work here! So glad I joined this forum and bought myself a Nikon D800E. I am not a brand groupy though, also own a Canon 7D and A Pentax 645D, shot the Film version 645 for twenty years. I have only had the D800E for a little more than a week, so have nothing to post yet as it is too cold out for my seventy year old bones to be shooting outside. I have some previous work with various non Nikon cameras at http//www.flickr.com/photos/aero4/sets . My maxim is "The only difference between a rut and a grave, is the dimensions" I look forward to enjoying more inspirational work in this forum and have to admit, I find the level of work here higher than other forums I have been engaged with. @ JPS, stunning photos, thanks for the inspiration. When I look at work of this quality, it puts a lump in my throat, and makes me reach higher.

 

[JPS]

Hi Richard !

I'm afraid that you're having the same "problem" with hummingbirds in your part of the world as I had in Switzerland ! You will have to move south to be able to catch these little thing ! ...but I reckon there are many other wild critters that you will enjoy shooting with you new D800E ! Of course, even with a 36 MP camera, you will need some long tele for widlflife...

Good luck !


J-P.

 

[Richard Jones]

I'm looking for a 80-400 fx with a 2x TC. A bit slack on funds presently, thereby hangs another story. My wife always plays the same numbers in the lottery. Last Friday the prize was $50 million, she bought tickets but used quick pick and not her regular number. There where no winners and my wife had the winning number in her wallet, all she had to do was buy one ticket with that number and we would be millionaires fifty times over. Man would that buy a lot of kit! I need to say again how much I enjoyed your hummer pics.

 

[JPS]

Thanks again for the kind words, Richard !

One thing is that, with the D800/E, you are able to up the ISO to at least 2000 and still get very good images.... Because the 80-400 f/4.5-5.6 plus a 2X TC, you will get a 160-800 mm. lens, BUT with f/8-9.5 widest apertures ! To shoot moving animals, you need a minimum of about 1:500..... Meaning that, even with the best possible light, you will have to crank up the ISO wuite a bit !

IMHO, With the 80-400, you'd be better off with a smaller TC, such as the 1.4X, which would still give you a 112-560 mm. telelens, loosing only half a stop of light !

......and, once again, you can crop quite a lot a 36MP image ! Plus, you also have the oportunity to chose a smaller format in the D800, such as the DX format, which will still give you about 16 MP images with an apparent focal lenght of 120-600 mm. Finally, you might mix the DX format with a converter, which would then give a 168-840 mm., again only losing half a stop from the original aperture of the lens !

Now, all this was writen early this morning, before falling off my bed, and on my iPod, hence I'm not 100% certain of the figures I gave you.....


J-P.

 

[Richard Jones]

Thanks for your generous advice, one other thing to consider is the AF will not shut off with a 1.4 TC, although I have lost a few good shots with AF because it focused on something slightly ahead of my subject. I need to be more careful with that issue. A lot to think about, your advice makes a lot of sense regarding the choice of TC's.
Thanks again. I envy you living in Brazil, my kinda place.

 

[JPS]

A last advice, concerning the D800/E : check the front/back AF and correct it with each of you lens, with and without a TC converter !

Before the D800, I used Fuji S2Pro, D70, D200 and D700, and I had NEVER noticed F/B auto-focus errors..... now, I had to correct it for every lens I have !


J-P.

 

[Richard Jones]

Muchas gracias amigo!

 

[Brobones]

Wow!!!!!!!!!! that is the only word to describe the images you have posted. Thanks for all of the info.

 

[JPS]

Wow!!!!!!!!!! that is the only word to describe the images you have posted. Thanks for all of the info.

Thanks a lot for the kind words !

....but many photographers here, with many more years of shooting birds, showed some really incredible hummingbirds images !

What I tried to do was simply catch them bløødy fast little things "in the wild", as, IMHO, an image of wild animals showing PLASTIC feeder, is a bit shocking !


J-P.

 

[McQ]

I always come back to this thread, year after year, for the amazing photos and the great tips. Keith, if you're still reading this thread, thank you!!!
It's hummer time!

 

[cparker5]

This is an old thread, I get that. But thank you for putting in all the effort. great information.

 

[thomaswhudson]

Yesterday was my first time trying to capture these little guys using a flash. I only had one flash and i can now see i am going to need more. I am already in the market for some others but i have found a brand that seems good and cheap. 50 bucks a piece. I think i am going to order two more today and a few more triggers. This is what's on my list. Thoughts?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GE4MNQA...TF8&colid=2Q0CQ2F56GSBN&coliid=I1OMB040ATMCXB
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YW79F4...lid=2Q0CQ2F56GSBN&coliid=I2KA1DGXG7J8X0&psc=1

Here is the photo i took with one flash. I am totally not happy with it.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/w2gwRD] View attachment 1364496 DSC_0455.jpg by Thomas Hudson, on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Friggs]

Thanks for sharing your setup. I will try it nest year as this year is coming to a end. If I told you how I was doing it you would laugh. And the know why I only got a few shots of hem hovering and non with the wings frozen. I did try the flash one time and it did seem to scare them as they always took off. But then again mine was putting out full power. I guess that is why. Thanks again for the tips.

 

[Keith]

Refreshing read that others still get something out of this. Been a long time since visiting here. Some great work shown

 

[toroloco]

I´m a bit late with my comment but nevertheless thanks for sharing your excellent shots!
And you´re lucky to have those magnificent birds, we don´t have them here
over the pond in Europe...

 

[mnp13]

Wow. Just wow.

I thought mine were fair to decent, but holy cow!! I need to go back to the drawing board!!

 

[Ella Gaines Daniels]

I enjoyed your beautiful Hummingbird photos! Thanks for sharing your article on how to photograph Hummingbirds. You have a great setup!!

 

[Palouse]

I hope you realize the original was posted here some 13 years ago.

 

[7006]

I hope you realize the original was posted here some 13 years ago.

Such a great post. I bookmarked it and will print it as a reference.

 

[Terri French]

If I ever get hummingbirds in my yard, I will want this thread for reference.