keeping both eyes open. that one is truly an excellent tip. I haven't heard many wildlife photographers emphasize that much. it sure takes a lot of practice to perfect the technique, but it's worth it
Yup. Wildlife photography reminds me of fishing. You have to pick the right place and time. You have to be quiet and patient. You have to accept that you will have good days and bad days. Most importantly, patience is usually rewarded.
Wow, Chelsea is so animated. All great tips. Fast birds are hard and take practice. I used to use manual lenses on my E mount and it was just about impossible. The Auto focus is like magic now.
There are a lot of videos describing picture taking of wildlife with DSLR but not many cover difficulties of using mirrorless digital EVR cameras. That would be a great episode. Thanks for many great pointers.
Nice video. Just to mention, it's recommended to shoot at 1/2000 and above IF you want to freeze all of the action in your shot. For birds, it's sometimes nice to catch a bit of wing motion to emphasize the action, especially if you're lucky enough to photograph the mighty raptors.
Thank you for such great, detailed videos. I have done a fair amount of professional video from decades of media/ post work, but am only recently getting back into photography (my prior true still camera was a Nikon F film, although i have had some limited dual purpose cams in the intervening time). Anyway, you are both so informative, fun and inspiring that I always look forward to your vlog. You complement each other's style and focus so well that it almost seems pre-rehearsed. BTW, your books have been great, as I tend to learn best from video, and you include more video links/refs in your books than any I can think of. Keep up the great
Let me add something to the eye-magick thing: Some of us wear glasses or have various eyes deficiencies. Getting yourself something that enlarges your viewfinder helps a lot! Especially in birdphotography
Who saw the magic eye? I saw four shapes with a donut in the lower right. The other three were Quonset hut type shapes with the upper-left being below the plane.
Arctic Gator I find that unless they're larger and a bit predictable like dragonflies, I mostly land good shots using manual focus. Otherwise it's just hard to keep that focus point on a tiny bug as it flies around randomly and if the camera focuses on the foreground or background I quickly lose the subject. I focus around the distance it's at then adjust as needed manually and I got lots of shots of flying bees, dragonflies mating in the air, etc. without much of a problem.
Surprised to see that release priority would help. I was sticking with focus priority thinking that would help the camera to make sure to get it in focus.
I have found the gulls, Canada Geese, and running/playing dogs at the park great subjects for practice Tree Swallows are still a little faster than I can consistently get a good focused shot.
Some good tips. Chelsea, did you get any good shots of the Swallows? I find them a super challenging subject because of their speed and they're just so damn small :)
regarding the placement of the subject in FOV (3:22). with up to ~400mm lens i could, after some practice, place the subject somewhere in the frame right away, correct a little and follow it, but with narrower FOVs i couldn't do it consistently. with 800mm lens it's almost guaranteed that i will mispoint it. it's a specially challenging when shooting against a plain background, since there is no clear reference and i have no a clue in which direction to correct. i ended up shooting with both eyes open. it takes a bit to get used to. the brain gets confused combining images from the two eyes. eventually you end up with the combined image in your head - wide FOV image from the naked eye in which you see the subject, and on it an image from the eye that looks through the camera. even if the initial pointing went wrong, you always see the focusing grid through the camera eye and you see where your subject is relatively to the grid in the two eye image, so you know where to correct to. it's also very useful when shooting subject that changes its movement direction very rapidly. like a swallow.
If you're shooting with high shutter speeds, then in most cases, you will need high ISO also. If you have 'High ISO Noise Reduction' enabled in your settings, turn it off. In-camera noise reduction will rob your shots of detail. Instead, use post editing NR to clean up your images.
Tony - looked like you weren’t using the hood on the Nikon 200-500mm lens. Any particular reason why? I always have mine on, I think it cuts down glare and any extraneous light - but am I missing something? Or is there a reason why I may want to shoot without it? Great video BYW...thanks
Would love to see a low-budget wildlife video. Many of us have a cheaper 300m zoom lens and crop sensor camera - how to maximise these would be very inspirational.
Thank you for all your videos. You two really are inspirational. I love this vlog and the kayak one. I have a Sony 6500 camera and want to purchase a good lens for wild life. I want the best lens I can afford but can't afford to buy the wrong lens, so I would appreciate your recommendation. Thanks
Is it possible to take good wildlife photos with a kit lens? I just bought a Nikon d3400 and have the kit lenses and a 50mm f 1.8 lens...which would be better?
brilliant tips.. although shitter speed needs to remain fast what about aperture should we hit the sweet spot with f8 and above or can we go to widest like 2.8 in case light is not good
My two cents. Work on keeping your left eye open. More than any camera setting this has helped me get the subject in frame. It will be uncomfortable at first and require constant reinforcement; but you may be pleasantly surprised if you can adapt.
Thanks for the useful tips! Do you think it's worth upgrading from a 500mm to 600mm telephoto prime lens? With a 1.4x tele convertor on APSC body, difference in FOV roughly 200mm only. Should I just shoot with my current setup and leave things to cropping?
Thank you got the fabulous tips. Very useful! I am hoping you can provide your thoughts and opinion I am wanting to upgrade to the D500 and 200-500. While at the store a customer suggested I check into a mirrorless system (except for Nikon). Is a mirrorless system (any brand) as good as DLSR for birds and wildlife?
Is it a good idea to use a tripod with gimbal head for this? Shooting birds in flight hand-held with a large and heavy telephoto lens is going to get tiring, really quick - and the more tired you get, the more shots you'll miss I guess. Any comments?
Am i the only one using the middle spot of the viewfinder as "aiming spot" to align with the tracked bird of my regular vision? Like this i can get a fast flying target in frame very fast. Keeping it in frame with blacked out viewfinder is the more advanced thing in my opinion when using for example a 800mm lens.
Cubing With A Twist I don't know anything but canon, I use the 80D and shoot mostly birds, it's awesome. If the mark were lighter I would have thought about that more because of the extra focus points and frames per second. But then with the crop sensor on the 80d you're even closer. So 600mm is 930 for example.
300 f4 focuses faster, is more easily hand held, and is 1 stop faster. 200-500 is more versatile. It completely depends on your subject distance but Steve Perry has a great video comparing those two lenses. 300 for me
Chelsea is using the burning A9. I wouldn't have chosen a full frame camera for wildlife. Apsc enable you to have a narrower field of view it's better to catch détails and cropping the image;. For me Nikon D500 is the real killer for wildlife.
I believe it cost 4500 $ plus 2500 $, so cheap!! For less than 10 000 $ you can learn how to frame a Gull!! WOW; Who dare to resist buying this low cost camera?
And the E-M1ii is even nicer sounding! :) I would be interested to see a comparison of these two cameras along with the E-M1ii once Tony has had some time to master it...
My personal "tactic"... somehow i never saw this tip anywhere.... im using both eyes and the viewfinder. If you align up the bird you are tracking with your bare eye with the center of the viewfinder you basically get ON SPOT! So im literally tracking with my regular vision and controlling the camera position to align the center of the viewfinder with my target. The more i got used to it the more interesting it got and you literally find out what your eyes and brain is capable of (its like a perfect ultra smooth bokeh around your tracked target which is easier to aim with than with a gun.
Its just that you have to imagine your regular vision as tracking camera and your eye on the viewfinder center as the aiming circle you have to align with your tracked target. If you understand and how i mean it and know how to do... like this even a 800mm lens is "easy" to aim at distinctive targets fast like a bird with sky as background. It gets harder if the bird is below your position or obstacles (of similar color/brightness) hindering you from following it easy with the eyes. I got yesterday my first proper Super-Tele (RF 800 F11) after struggling with 75-300mm on APS-C forever. I learned this useful thing already with my 75-300 on APS-C (so 480mm). On fullframe the 300mm were easy to handle, aim and follow. But with the 800mm super-tele i realized again - its annoying to do so, gives at least me a lot of eye stress when having barely a break but its worth concentrating and being precise for often not even 2 seconds of the moment you are waiting/hoping for.
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Tony & Chelsea Northrup u both are so cute couple!!
keeping both eyes open. that one is truly an excellent tip. I haven't heard many wildlife photographers emphasize that much. it sure takes a lot of practice to perfect the technique, but it's worth it
Yup. Wildlife photography reminds me of fishing. You have to pick the right place and time. You have to be quiet and patient. You have to accept that you will have good days and bad days. Most importantly, patience is usually rewarded.
Wow, Chelsea is so animated. All great tips. Fast birds are hard and take practice. I used to use manual lenses on my E mount and it was just about impossible. The Auto focus is like magic now.
Everything about this video is great. Loved the enthusiasm.
WOW YOU GUYS ARE IN MY HOMETOWN!!!!
You're cool, Dan.
Another great video, thanks you two.
Your videos in those good old days were so beautiful! Before you got into gear bashing
The “Magic eye” is very helpful. I developed using both eyes when I was shooting skeet or trap.
very good advice tony and chelsea i always follow what you just said in the video
Shoot jpeg. So simple but so effective. One of the best tips by far.
Spray and pray!!! J/K Thanks Chelsea, as always great information!
Excellent tips, I've used most of those myself often... they both eyes open is very useful once you get used to it.
I never stop learning with you, all focus point on clear background like sky! thanks! (love your book)
There are a lot of videos describing picture taking of wildlife with DSLR but not many cover difficulties of using mirrorless digital EVR cameras. That would be a great episode. Thanks for many great pointers.
Great info as always, straight to the point
Great tips. Now I better go and have more practice.
Super helpful video, thanks!! I loved that clip about the magic eye, LOL.
Love you guys for the Mallrats reference
Liked for the tips; would Like again for the Mallrats reference!
Nice video. Just to mention, it's recommended to shoot at 1/2000 and above IF you want to freeze all of the action in your shot. For birds, it's sometimes nice to catch a bit of wing motion to emphasize the action, especially if you're lucky enough to photograph the mighty raptors.
I love how you guys are one of the only channels using 60fps for your videos. It looks so nice.
awesome video guys! thank you so much for providing such great information! That camera of yours is a beast Chelsea! 👍
Very useful information.. Thanks!
The two eye method is definitely a must on the smaller birds.
It's really interesting seeing you guys reliably holding the A9
Thank you for such great, detailed videos. I have done a fair amount of professional video from decades of media/ post work, but am only recently getting back into photography (my prior true still camera was a Nikon F film, although i have had some limited dual purpose cams in the intervening time).
Anyway, you are both so informative, fun and inspiring that I always look forward to your vlog. You complement each other's style and focus so well that it almost seems pre-rehearsed.
BTW, your books have been great, as I tend to learn best from video, and you include more video links/refs in your books than any I can think of.
Keep up the great
Thanks!!
OMG props for the Mallrats !!
Let me add something to the eye-magick thing:
Some of us wear glasses or have various eyes deficiencies.
Getting yourself something that enlarges your viewfinder helps a lot! Especially in birdphotography
great tips ...thank you
Very helpful keep doing stuff like this. :)
Who saw the magic eye? I saw four shapes with a donut in the lower right. The other three were Quonset hut type shapes with the upper-left being below the plane.
Great tips, thanks guys!
I just realized I always shoot with both eyes open . . .
thats the one thing that is really difficult with m43, fast moving subjects still trying to get a good macro of a hovering insect lol
Arctic Gator I find that unless they're larger and a bit predictable like dragonflies, I mostly land good shots using manual focus. Otherwise it's just hard to keep that focus point on a tiny bug as it flies around randomly and if the camera focuses on the foreground or background I quickly lose the subject. I focus around the distance it's at then adjust as needed manually and I got lots of shots of flying bees, dragonflies mating in the air, etc. without much of a problem.
Surprised to see that release priority would help. I was sticking with focus priority thinking that would help the camera to make sure to get it in focus.
i instantly click your notifications, love ya
I have found the gulls, Canada Geese, and running/playing dogs at the park great subjects for practice Tree Swallows are still a little faster than I can consistently get a good focused shot.
And you even used a scene from Mall Rats. Nice!
thanks for those sharp advices!!! I really enjoy watching this vid ^^
Some good tips. Chelsea, did you get any good shots of the Swallows? I find them a super challenging subject because of their speed and they're just so damn small :)
Excellent class some great tips. I do have your books too. I am practing here in Afghanistan all we have a ting birds so during day I will play
Fantastic tips!!
Loved it.
regarding the placement of the subject in FOV (3:22).
with up to ~400mm lens i could, after some practice, place the subject somewhere in the frame right away, correct a little and follow it, but with narrower FOVs i couldn't do it consistently. with 800mm lens it's almost guaranteed that i will mispoint it. it's a specially challenging when shooting against a plain background, since there is no clear reference and i have no a clue in which direction to correct.
i ended up shooting with both eyes open. it takes a bit to get used to. the brain gets confused combining images from the two eyes. eventually you end up with the combined image in your head - wide FOV image from the naked eye in which you see the subject, and on it an image from the eye that looks through the camera. even if the initial pointing went wrong, you always see the focusing grid through the camera eye and you see where your subject is relatively to the grid in the two eye image, so you know where to correct to. it's also very useful when shooting subject that changes its movement direction very rapidly. like a swallow.
If you're shooting with high shutter speeds, then in most cases, you will need high ISO also. If you have 'High ISO Noise Reduction' enabled in your settings, turn it off. In-camera noise reduction will rob your shots of detail. Instead, use post editing NR to clean up your images.
Nice tips
just want to point out... awesome that you put the mallrats ref. in there. just awesome :P :)
Tony - looked like you weren’t using the hood on the Nikon 200-500mm lens. Any particular reason why? I always have mine on, I think it cuts down glare and any extraneous light - but am I missing something? Or is there a reason why I may want to shoot without it? Great video BYW...thanks
Would love to see a low-budget wildlife video. Many of us have a cheaper 300m zoom lens and crop sensor camera - how to maximise these would be very inspirational.
In this Video Tony which camera use...?
Thanks for the tips that information I've needed I'm new to wildlife photography and love it but have a hard time finding the subject in frame
That was kinda cool
Do you need any filters for your lens to protect it from sea spray and sand when shooting on the beach?
Tony what are your thoughts on the first version of the Tamron 150-600 (G1)?
which one gets your more swallows, D5 or A9?
Jian Luo 12 vs 20..
LOL, that question. Seriously, I'd like to know; which one gets more shots in focus.
that's what i meant
Hi what other settings do you use...like are you doing shutter priority, manual, aperture? with auto iso? matrix, center weighted, or point metering?
Hi,this is Joydeep from India,please come to our country it is a fascinating place for wildlife.I am a wildlife enthusiast,amateur photographer too.
Great tips :)
Thank you for all your videos. You two really are inspirational. I love this vlog and the kayak one. I have a Sony 6500 camera and want to purchase a good lens for wild life. I want the best lens I can afford but can't afford to buy the wrong lens, so I would appreciate your recommendation. Thanks
How's the 200-500? i'm going to rent it for a week during a holiday in the uk
What camera are you using and lenses
Mallrats Reference = +100000 Internet points
The Moirray is ridiculous on Chelsea. What camera is this recorded on?
Please mind the spelling.
Weird, I don't see any moire. It must be the resolution that YT is scaling it to for you.
Is it possible to take good wildlife photos with a kit lens? I just bought a Nikon d3400 and have the kit lenses and a 50mm f 1.8 lens...which would be better?
brilliant tips.. although shitter speed needs to remain fast what about aperture should we hit the sweet spot with f8 and above or can we go to widest like 2.8 in case light is not good
i can't think if anyone's covered the A9 in crop mode. do you still get crazy fps? is the af area as big? what's the buffer like?
Me either Tony. Me either. Damn Magic eye lol
Manual or Tv mode?
My two cents.
Work on keeping your left eye open.
More than any camera setting this has helped me get the subject in frame. It will be uncomfortable at first and require constant reinforcement; but you may be pleasantly surprised if you can adapt.
Say something about af c setting and it's uses and focus point during birds in flight
Thanks for the useful tips! Do you think it's worth upgrading from a 500mm to 600mm telephoto prime lens? With a 1.4x tele convertor on APSC body, difference in FOV roughly 200mm only. Should I just shoot with my current setup and leave things to cropping?
When will you do in depth review of Sony a9
Thank you got the fabulous tips. Very useful!
I am hoping you can provide your thoughts and opinion
I am wanting to upgrade to the D500 and 200-500.
While at the store a customer suggested I check into a mirrorless system (except for Nikon).
Is a mirrorless system (any brand) as good as DLSR for birds and wildlife?
5:30 Tony realised that the mirror/shutter is too loud while Chelsea is talking
Take 330 billion pictures and then pick one. There you go!
Which option you used for focus?
mode :AF/MF?
The sigma 150-600 Sport, or Nikon 200-500 for bird photography?
Hi, any special settings for the 7D mark II, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM canon lens, thanks in advance.? P.S, beginner
Is it a good idea to use a tripod with gimbal head for this? Shooting birds in flight hand-held with a large and heavy telephoto lens is going to get tiring, really quick - and the more tired you get, the more shots you'll miss I guess. Any comments?
Güzel 👍👍
speak about shooting subjects like this with back focus button
hiiiiii
sony a6000 canon 700d
who win in photo and video?
thnx
Which lens are you using on the A9 Chelsea?
Am i the only one using the middle spot of the viewfinder as "aiming spot" to align with the tracked bird of my regular vision?
Like this i can get a fast flying target in frame very fast. Keeping it in frame with blacked out viewfinder is the more advanced thing in my opinion when using for example a 800mm lens.
BismillahThanks for all the great videos. Where is a good place to shoot wildlife in CT.?
Kind of hard to do both eyes open when your left eye dominant.
Yo! Was the GH5 used for this???
African or European?
I don't know that?! *swoosh* AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Robby Nowell no coconuts were seen 😆
Cant believe i didn't pick up on this one sooner must be getting old..
This is the only correct comment for this video.
Do you have any recommendation for a wildlife camera that's under $1000 for the body? I was looking at the D7200 and the 70/80D
Cubing With A Twist I don't know anything but canon, I use the 80D and shoot mostly birds, it's awesome. If the mark were lighter I would have thought about that more because of the extra focus points and frames per second. But then with the crop sensor on the 80d you're even closer. So 600mm is 930 for example.
Yeah; check sdp.io/whichcamera
Cubing With A Twist I would say the 80D, or if you are willing to spend a little more get the 7D MK11.
Ethan Manfredi thanks man, that's what im looking at, found a use 7d mark II for about $1000
Looking with the other eye, just cant do it. I have to have my left eye in the view finder.
Would suggest bbf for birds
I try to photograph swallows, and usually get underexposed picture. any tips?
If you are shooting at a high shutter speed, use a higher ISO.
Which would you recommend for safari trip in masai mara? Nikon D4s or D500 . Planing to use with 200-400 f4 .
I would say the d500.
My first try was in yala sri lanka with D800 . Good for still but i need something fast + cost is actually free loan from a friend
D500 all the way. I couldn't be without mine.
I'd go with the nikon d500 it has 10fps,great iso capabilities (at least for crop sensors) and its way lighter than the d4s with more reach
Omar attalla does it have the same quality pictures ?
Magic eye image reminds me my teenager times. (1 inner 2 outer half conic + donut at right bottom in the image)
300 f4 or 200-500 f5.6 for bird photography?
Ethan Manfredi I would choose 200-500 because of its flexibility to zoom in and out.. bird are constantly moving so you need to be zooming sometimes..
200-500 f5.6, no need to even think about it.
Mikhail Campbell, I'm 12 years old, male, and I currently shooting with the Nikon d5300 but I'm hoping to get the d500 within a year or two.
300 f4 focuses faster, is more easily hand held, and is 1 stop faster.
200-500 is more versatile.
It completely depends on your subject distance but Steve Perry has a great video comparing those two lenses.
300 for me
Loving the UT hat! Hook'em! I have two daughters who are Longhorns!
Chelsea is using the burning A9. I wouldn't have chosen a full frame camera for wildlife. Apsc enable you to have a narrower field of view it's better to catch détails and cropping the image;. For me Nikon D500 is the real killer for wildlife.
I believe the A9 can switch between full frame and crop, giving you the best of both. It also does 20fps with no blackout.
I believe it cost 4500 $ plus 2500 $, so cheap!! For less than 10 000 $ you can learn how to frame a Gull!! WOW; Who dare to resist buying this low cost camera?
I was very disappointed that the magic eye picture did not include an easter egg. Opportunity missed.
The sounds of Chelsea firing of the A9 versus the D500 is pure click bait for SDP.IO/A9
And the E-M1ii is even nicer sounding! :) I would be interested to see a comparison of these two cameras along with the E-M1ii once Tony has had some time to master it...
Seriously how do you get a spot on a bird like a humming bird … so quickly?
My personal "tactic"... somehow i never saw this tip anywhere.... im using both eyes and the viewfinder.
If you align up the bird you are tracking with your bare eye with the center of the viewfinder you basically get ON SPOT!
So im literally tracking with my regular vision and controlling the camera position to align the center of the viewfinder with my target.
The more i got used to it the more interesting it got and you literally find out what your eyes and brain is capable of (its like a perfect ultra smooth bokeh around your tracked target which is easier to aim with than with a gun.
Its just that you have to imagine your regular vision as tracking camera and your eye on the viewfinder center as the aiming circle you have to align with your tracked target.
If you understand and how i mean it and know how to do... like this even a 800mm lens is "easy" to aim at distinctive targets fast like a bird with sky as background. It gets harder if the bird is below your position or obstacles (of similar color/brightness) hindering you from following it easy with the eyes.
I got yesterday my first proper Super-Tele (RF 800 F11) after struggling with 75-300mm on APS-C forever. I learned this useful thing already with my 75-300 on APS-C (so 480mm). On fullframe the 300mm were easy to handle, aim and follow.
But with the 800mm super-tele i realized again - its annoying to do so, gives at least me a lot of eye stress when having barely a break but its worth concentrating and being precise for often not even 2 seconds of the moment you are waiting/hoping for.