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This was taken with a 600mm and a DSLR in APS-C crop mode on a cheap fluid head (Miller Series II 20), and it's about as good as you can expect without shelling out over $1000 or getting lucky and finding something old and sturdy for cheap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHBUHVzIsN0 There's still a bit of shakiness in there (standing outside for a couple hours during dusk in winter was probably a factor), but anything less than a fluid head would have been significantly worse. Larger/newer fluid heads will have better drag to smooth out rough motion, but they get super expensive very quick. Most of the professional wildlife videographers out there use something in the $3000-8000 range. I usually use an old Cartoni that was about $700 after I got all the replacement parts it needed, and it works pretty well but is significantly heavier than its contemporary equivalent.
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Aug 26, 2014 20:42
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Pablo Bluth posted:I've taken video with my gimbal head, and while it's better than hand-held, it doesn't really help in achieving the smooth movements that a video needs to look professional. The lightness of free movement that a gimbal gives is kind of what you don't want when shooting video. I've seen some people recommending a light tension on a gimbal head combined with using a rubber band to pull around the camera. No idea how well it works in practice but in principle it'd be closer to a fluid head than a purely gimballed approach.
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Aug 26, 2014 23:56
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/\/\/\ I saw that rubber-band trick in a video once, I think they were using it on the handle of a pan/tilt head. I was using my cheap gimbal head when I made the loons video I posted above. I tried to move the camera smoothly (well, more smoothly, a bit) by pulling on the camera strap, but I had the head set such that it wasn't going to move up or down, but could rotate easily. Near the end of the video you can see me realize the birds have moved vertically almost out of frame so I had to loosen that knob and re-adjust. At that point I also re-focused, later than I should have. Video is hard work. But I'm really enjoying it.
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Aug 27, 2014 01:33
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800peepee51doodoo posted:Did you get any good hornbill shots? Hornbills own. Red-billed Hornbill  Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill  Von Der Decken's Hornbill  Southern Ground Hornbill  Here's a heavy crop of one with a giant centipede  And here's a shot that got away of two yellow-bills fighting  
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Aug 27, 2014 14:00
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InternetJunky posted:As requested They should just call them banana-beaks. Those are all great. Centipede one is  and I like to imagine the fighting bird on the left just bird-suplexed the bird on the right.
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Aug 27, 2014 14:52
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Rotten Cookies posted:Those are all great. Centipede one is My thoughts exactly. Great shots! I've been too busy to get out of the house, so I've just been stalking the hummingbirds in my backyard. Not great light where the hummingbirds like to fly/land, so these are all noisy and high ISO. I think these are Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds?  Ruby-throated Hummingbird by zacharytong, on Flickr  Ruby-throated Hummingbird by zacharytong, on Flickr  Ruby-throated Hummingbird by zacharytong, on Flickr
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Aug 27, 2014 15:41
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Nice hummingbird pics, but isn't it a little early to have christmas lights up?
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Aug 27, 2014 16:34
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Bubbacub posted:Nice hummingbird pics, but isn't it a little early to have christmas lights up? Haha, we use them in my backyard to light our patio at night. Because we are hobos and haven't bothered to buy real outdoor lights yet 
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Aug 27, 2014 18:06
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polyfractal posted:Hummingbirds InternetJunky posted:Hornbills
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Aug 27, 2014 21:33
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Some more birds from Kenya: Little Bee-eaters    Somali Bee-eater 
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Aug 28, 2014 02:54
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Moon Potato posted:Yeah, those look like ruby-throateds (assuming you're not on the west coast). Nice closeups! I live on the east coast -- South Carolina  InternetJunky posted:Some more birds from Kenya: Holy wow these are gorgeous birds and shots. Good work!
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Aug 28, 2014 03:15
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Holy crap InternetJunkie, those are fantastic. Which lens were you using?
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Aug 28, 2014 04:34
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Wow, those are beautiful. Can I assume those are fairly heavily cropped? How'd you keep the details so crisp?
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Aug 28, 2014 04:36
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BetterLekNextTime posted:I'm simultaneously thrilled and bummed with this one. Probably the best loon photo I'll ever take, but I'm also a moron who didn't check his camera settings before shooting. I think this will go in the "good enough for facebook" category... Is this an actual Yellow-Billed Loon? If so, where'd you take it? I'm seriously jealous. ExecuDork posted:I don't know about Africa, but I've talked to a few Australians in Canada and they talk about how the birds here are smaller and less colourful, but have beautiful songs. North American songbirds sing all the drat time compared to Aussie birds, and there are fewer birds in N.A. that just croak at you. That may be true for Australia, but I've heard European birders say that although their birds are more drab than North American birds they have better songs. Specifically about old world Warblers versus new world wood-warblers. If you pick up a Collins Bird Guide you will see that old world warblers are drab as gently caress.
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Aug 28, 2014 15:18
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InternetJunky posted:Some more birds from Kenya: That's not a bee though!!! awesome shots, can't wait to see the rest
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Aug 28, 2014 15:20
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InternetJunky posted:As requested Rad.
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Aug 28, 2014 18:41
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Thanks for the kind words everyone. I love the Bee-eaters and wish I could have spent more time with them (the other people on my safari were not as interested in birds as me unfortunately).Pukestain Pal posted:Wow, those are beautiful. Can I assume those are fairly heavily cropped? How'd you keep the details so crisp?
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Aug 28, 2014 23:13
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 5B4A9909 by Jason the Hutt, on FlickrFound a few okay (but not great) shots I originally skipped over in my Iceland set.
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Aug 30, 2014 01:26
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 tern feeding by Jason the Hutt, on FlickrThis is poo poo because it was overcast and I didn't have anything longer than 300mm. Next time I'll take a proper bird lens.
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Aug 30, 2014 01:44
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Decided to go out after work to try to clear my head a bit. Ran into this guy again and he was willing to let me get closer than the other side of the pond. TIM_4909.jpg by t.humeston, on Flickr  TIM_4847.jpg by t.humeston, on Flickr  TIM_4841.jpg by t.humeston, on Flickr
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Aug 30, 2014 01:50
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Is this an actual Yellow-Billed Loon? If so, where'd you take it? I'm seriously jealous. Yup Yellow-billed pair and a chick here. A couple of days ago they actually killed a Pacific Loon that must have stopped in on it's way south. I'm up at Toolik Lake in Alaska. I think it's about 300 miles north of Fairbanks. Best bird so far has been a Bluethroat, but it's one we caught so kind of cheating. Looks like this right now.  Toolik-Ptarmigan-in-snow 1770 on Flickr
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Aug 30, 2014 02:40
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Raptor Spam Incoming Augur Buzzard  Augur Buzzard catching a huge grasshopper  Augur in Flight  Tawny Eagle  Tawny Eagle  Long-crested Eagle  Martial Eagle  Pygmy Falcon with Lizard  Eastern Pale Chanting Goshawk  Juvenile Gabar Goshawk 
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Aug 30, 2014 17:33
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Pygmy Falcon is on my list of birds to photograph that I'm a complete failure at.
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Aug 30, 2014 17:45
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drat dude, you definitely got your moneys worth over there. Awesome stuff.
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Aug 30, 2014 18:52
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After a slow couple of weeks I finally came across some cool birds. Glossy Ibis by justincook5376, on Flickr Glossy Ibis Snack by justincook5376, on Flickr Juvenile Eastern Phoebe by justincook5376, on Flickr Cedar Waxwing by justincook5376, on FlickrI think this is a young Red-tailed Hawk, unless anyone knows differently.  Young Redtail Hawk by justincook5376, on Flickredit: tighter crop on the phoebe and waxwing TheMirage fucked around with this message at 23:11 on Sep 2, 2014 |
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Aug 31, 2014 22:28
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Was camping in the Yakima River Canyon over Labor Day weekend. Didn't get a whole lot I was happy with, but got a few things, and have a few ID requests on birds that have me stumped. As best I can tell, this duck is a mallard-peking hybrid. It was hanging out with a flock of (tame) Peking ducks at the Bonair Winery. There was also a female mallard hanging out with the small flock. This duck was the same size as the peking ducks.  Downy woodpecker busy chipping away at the underside of a branch.  Mallard duck having a good wing stretch.  ID requests on some mediocre shots: I saw a lot of these tiny little ones but cannot figure out what they are:  I also saw quite a few of these which are around House Sparrow size. Can't quite find anything that matches it. Seems like it might be a finch or sparrow, but I've been unable to find a match. 
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Sep 2, 2014 21:18
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Kenshin posted:Was camping in the Yakima River Canyon over Labor Day weekend. Bushtit! They are often in small to mid-sized flocks. quote:I also saw quite a few of these which are around House Sparrow size. Can't quite find anything that matches it. Seems like it might be a finch or sparrow, but I've been unable to find a match.
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Sep 2, 2014 22:23
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Another Ibis shot: Glossy Ibis Flight by justincook5376, on FlickrFinally tracked down a Kingfisher even though that are supposedly common in places I visit. Haven't seen one all summer. Couldn't stay in the spot I was long, so I wasn't able to get too close. Missed a few diving shots, but still happy I saw it.  Belted Kingfisher by justincook5376, on Flickr
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Sep 2, 2014 23:13
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TheMirage posted:Finally tracked down a Kingfisher even though that are supposedly common in places I visit. Haven't seen one all summer. Couldn't stay in the spot I was long, so I wasn't able to get too close. Missed a few diving shots, but still happy I saw it. I'm going mad trying to get some good footage of them fishing right now. These are seriously hard birds to track in flight - they're small, fast, erratic and they don't telegraph their movement. I'm getting some good snippets that can be edited together, but I still have yet to capture an impact cleanly except in fairly wide shots.  kingfisher-with-fish by Redwood Planet, on Flickr Edit- With stiff winds today, it was mostly hover-hunting instead of diving from its perch. This was a lot easier to deal with, since I didn't have to keep my arms and camera in position for up to 30 minutes at a time while waiting for it to make a move. It's still a tricky shot to get, but footage is improving. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF0Xxy61cBI And getting back to the thread title, a cormorant had a charming response to a display of bonding behavior between two pelicans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uedd7R7Ywic Moon Potato fucked around with this message at 09:20 on Sep 3, 2014 |
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Sep 3, 2014 00:34
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 Toolik-Ptarmigan-in-snow-closeup 1785 on FlickrVideo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAaSTO2ysiM
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Sep 4, 2014 02:07
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Went up to the Washington coast for some more shorebirding. Pretty anemic in the normal hotspots, mostly westerns and leasts and some of these guys: Greater Yellowlegs by No Small Wave, on Flickr Greater Yellowlegs by No Small Wave, on Flickr Greater Yellowlegs by No Small Wave, on FlickrThis is what me and my friend came to find, though. Didn't get any close up glamour shots; these are all heavy crops. Anyone want to play guess the species?   e: ugh I don't know what the hell happened to my backgrounds. They do not look that posterized in PS. 800peepee51doodoo fucked around with this message at 07:13 on Sep 6, 2014 |
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Sep 6, 2014 06:52
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Must be one of the Ruffs we've had out there lately? Missed it a few weeks ago. Nice shots, as always.
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Sep 7, 2014 04:06
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drat, those look great. I rolled out of bed and took a picture of a mourning dove outside my window this morning.  IMG_8992 by Jason the Hutt, on Flickr
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Sep 7, 2014 06:22
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Must be one of the Ruffs we've had out there lately? Missed it a few weeks ago. Nice shots, as always. Ruff it is. We've got a couple of them down on the Oregon coast right now, too. I guess there's a buff breasted up near Astoria. If the weather isn't poo poo and it hangs around, I might try to find that guy in the next day or two. Also, I just realized that if ACR is set to convert to 8 bit (which it defaults to I guess), your backgrounds posterize like a motherfucker. Dammit. This is 16 bit:  Greater Yellowlegs by No Small Wave, on Flickr
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Sep 7, 2014 06:57
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I'm 99% sure this is a Swainson's Hawk, but I saw it about 2Km north of a golf course called "Red Tail Landing" It didn't have the distinctive red tail, and it looks a bit too big to be a juvenile Red Tail Swainson's Hawk by tylerhuestis, on Flickr Swainson's Hawk by tylerhuestis, on Flickr
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Sep 7, 2014 22:04
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neckbeard posted:I'm 99% sure this is a Swainson's Hawk, but I saw it about 2Km north of a golf course called "Red Tail Landing" It didn't have the distinctive red tail, and it looks a bit too big to be a juvenile Red Tail
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Sep 7, 2014 23:54
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I like how the bird is the exact same color as the field. I'd be tempted to clone out the barbed wire in those shots, maybe even crop in a little tighter if you've got resolution to spare. Tried out my 300-800mm on some birds in flight:  Brown Pelican by No Small Wave, on FlickrI thought when I got this lens I would be using it at 800mm pretty much exclusively but the zoom is actually really great. I can zoom out to locate the bird and then zoom in to tighten up for the shot. Who needs big white primes? Me. I do.
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Sep 8, 2014 00:40
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What's it like hauling it around outside? Do you just park in one spot with it on a gimbal mount?
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Sep 8, 2014 03:55
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Thanks guys, I really lucked out on the timing of spotting it, had a break in the clouds and got some decent sun, then like an hour later the rain clouds came in, I looked around for it again because hawks look really funny when they're soaking wet, but I couldn't find it. Was also planning on trying to find some Cedar Waxwings, but it's been raining pretty hard all afternoon so I just went running instead. 800peepee51doodoo, tried what you suggested with a different shot, this one was at 300mm, the previous ones were at 270, so was able to get a tighter crop  Swainson's Hawk by tylerhuestis, on FlickrInternetJunky, you planning on heading out east-ish next month for the snow geese migrations? I'm going to try to borrow my buddy's tamron 150-600 again, he had a baby last month, so hopefully he'll be all busy with that and won't need the lens 
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Sep 8, 2014 03:58
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Bubbacub posted:What's it like hauling it around outside? Do you just park in one spot with it on a gimbal mount? Its really heavy and cumbersome so, yeah, pretty much just hike it out to a spot and put it on a gimbal. The shorebird shots are from a ground pod that I made based off this.
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Sep 8, 2014 17:48
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