I was out @ Eagle Bluffs the other day for about 3 hours and only saw 2 other cars the whole time! (BobC)....I think most shooters are like you (and I) . I think the animals/birds aren't moving as much as well, or it feels like it anyway. I just switch to other forms of photography. Nightscapes (cooler) such as Milky Way, Perseid Meteor Shower peaks in August, Startrails and just had fireworks. Also, there's storms to chase and shoot..As a wildlife shooter though your kind of out of luck....Maybe early in the day and late in the day!

Now sub here. Uk based.

Great video and very informative Thank you for sharing, one thing I'm not getting though is the section where you talk about birds in flight where you have checked your settings from one point to the other, you are saying that if you need to you can change your settings on the fly, so how are you focusing the camera at this time are you focusing on the shutter, as earlier in the video you made a reference to back button focus.

You don't have to be a loner. I bump into fellow birding photographers and we have a blast, chatting, talking hardware, spilling the beans on birds/locations and generally just being DTE and helpful. I also disagree on point 2 - typically, I find birds, at least in Brisbane, Australia, most active for around 3 hours after sunrise and 2 hours prior to sunset. I've found some locations are better in the morning, and others, better in the afternoon. I again disagree on point 3. Suburbia here, not an outdoors person. Never hunted (guns are illegal in Australia), fished a tiny bit in my late teens through to mid 20s, but nothing major, trapping is pretty much illegal in Australia (native wildlife is protected under federal legislation). Hell, I spent 15 years working in IT - nothing could be further from the outdoor lifestyle! Granted, I enjoyed camping and bushwalking (what Americans call "hiking") through to around the age of 30. I think that you need to have a passions for wild animals. Patience is probably the #1 requirement. Good research skills (research your target animal, locations, etc). Equipment isn't the be all and end all, although it can and does make a difference. You can get great birding shots with a R10 and Sigma 150-600c. Sure, modern mirrorless cameras are advantageous due to their AF systems.

my mark 1 EF 500f4 makes that motor whirring noise when IS is turned on...a friend, who owns the same lens, says that this is normal. I can't comment on the mark 2 super tele primes being the same, but it's food for thought.

You can use Manual + Auto ISO with Exposure Compensation (EC) with the Canon 90D. So you can use the ETTR method: just dial some positive EC...

Thanks! 1 comment. Use the longest acceptable exposure and widest acceptable aperture within reason for the subject before increasing the iso. Iso does not increase light (photons) to the sensor, only the perception of it. To get the shadows looking better, nothing beats more photons and the only way to increase that is aperture or exposure time. So, start with a reasonable iso, set aperture and exposure time for the subject, then fine tune with iso. If you know what your expected target is, shutter and f-stop can be pre-set to make the ETTR a one step process. Hadn't really thought about this before for wildlife, but makes sense!

the audio seems to be almost exclusively on the left channel resp. the right channel at the end

You only printed a few pictures, you said. So, what do you do with the rest?

Really appreciate your videos!

With my R6 ii i have to ugold my back button focus and then press the shutter button half way to activate the EC. Its less steps to just adjust my iso for the exposure. And the EC resets the second you take the shot or release the backbutton focus. On my old Canon 90d the probem was to remember toreset the EC. Now auto iso is almost more trouble than its worth.

Three key factors: 1) Opportunity 2) Patience 3) Skill. Opportunity in terms of the ability to get out a much as possible around sunrise. Better to setup near the backyard 5 mornings a week than go out once a month to some remote location. 2) Patience. Patience to sit and wait for that "magic moment". Patience that it may take a dozen trips to the same hide location in order to get the perfect shot. 3) Skill. Sill in terms of seeing a good background, taking back-lit photos, taking bird in flight, skill in mastering the exposure triangle, etc.

EXCELLENT! I've had success with Topaz Labs to deal with high ISO photos. Sun angle definitely helps for example getting the stunning iridescent colors in drake waterfowl.

Dude I ran out of there the other night at a damn cabin that the doors didn’t lock or close. Rattler and copper head I mean I still can’t sleep. Screw that place

Ive been a photographer for a long time though Ive only been shooting wildlife, mainly birds and insects for around 4 years. What Ive learned there is no perfect generic camera setting that will cover all situations. Im afraid life is not like that. When it comes to wildlife each situation and each creature will give you different problems that you have to contend with, normally with little time to think. It also demands you adopt different techniques and approached for each of those situations. Shooting BIF alone is a whole new ball game as different birds move and fly in different ways and as such it's often more about, knowing your subject along with technique rather than any magic camera settings. Getting to know how your camera functions especially with focus modes is essential as is how to change them on the fly. While I often say gear is not that important, thats not the case for wildlife if you are after great shots rather than just record shots. That said buying the best gear, what ever that is, is only the beginning as there is more to great wildlife photography than gear and settings. Field craft, knowing your subject, your own positioning and placement, taking the background into consideration, anticipation. If photographing a bird like a curlew on a beach, knowing that before it takes off it normally gives a certain call and makes a certain move is as important to know about as is setting up your camera. This is why wildlife photography is not easy if you are after those great shots.

I really prefer all manual too, it just gives me more of a creative control of what I am trying to do, and makes it faster to take 2 shots for exposure bracketing. I leave ISO to full stops and if I have a black bird and no flash, I take a photo at base ISO and one at high ISO and merge them in Lightroom, if I have flash, full manual is also neccesary because you have to adjust ISO to whatever power your flash loses when it is on high speed sync.

Sounds like you are on a fairly normal growth path. My suggestion is to rephrase your message. I bet when you first started out, you did program mode and auto ISO. Then you might have moved to another mode and eventually ended up with manual plus auto ISO. Now you have graduated to full manual. You have also become more attentive to your results as well as your shooting conditions. You have become more aware of what can go wrong in various situations. You have grown and developed. My interpretation of your video is manual plus auto ISO is a valid stepping point in a photographer's development. In today's world, we also have immediate feedback and in the case of the R5, the image just taken shows up in the view finder. So we can see not only the histogram before we shoot, we can see the image immediately after we shoot giving us the opportunity (often but not always) to adjust something -- ISO or exposure compensation depending upon the mode you are shooting in -- before taking the next shot. And we also have aids like "blinkies" for the over exposed areas. Use them all... One of the things that I wish the R5 had is what the 1D, 1Ds, and 1D X models had which is spot metering where the spot is tied to the focus point. I use to shoot musician's on stage. By placing the focus point where it would produce a good composition and using spot metering at that same point, then I would simply put the focus point on the musician's eye and blast away. The camera would focus and expose for the eye correctly. Add in, perhaps, some exposure compensation and you got final quality images straight out of the camera with 90% efficiency.

Alright, you talked me out of it😉 But seriously, a pretty honest assessment. Some out in the field & culling samples footage might go a long way in a vid like this. Being out is the thing, the photos are a bonus unless your a professional making a living at it.

Ive been on he same journey 😀

Your problem is you are too discerning, lol. I'm happy I'm not the only photographer who realised what you realised, thing is I've been photographing wildlife for over thirty years and I've been aware of the failings of manual with auto iso for a very long time. Trying to explain these issues is very hard to those who don't really understand the fundamentals of photography. I enjoy your films and I'm glad to have found your channel ! All the best from the UK. PS you are obviously enjoying yourself, keep doing what you do and let the others learn the hard way!

Very interesting and realistic video, thanks a lot!

OK I shoot with A Canon 90D in the video you said that you have eye tracking is that in live view only?

I agree with you ! I certainly like to photograph alone, not because I don’t like company. Company takes away from my focus on wildlife ! Cheers ! Keep up the good work !

I’m married to a kiwi and we go back to visit every other year. I spend most of my time there photographing bird and landscapes . It’s a great place to get to visit regularly. BTW, that’s a Pūkeko, not a Takahē . Pūkeko are fairly common and can fly, while the Takahē are flightless, endangered and you can pretty much on see the in preservses. Takahē are stockier and have green feathers on their back.

I admire your passion for wildlife photography. I takes time and patience.

yes, the collet style knobs do take time, but keep in mind this is heavy gear, like a 300, 400 or 600mm lens + camera, so you want the BEST locks you can have, so the legs don't slip.

at 5:21 just a feedback, for safety's sake, OPEN flick knives and bare (socks on) feet DON'T mix, a prelude to disaster. (as some people mirror what others on KZbin do!). a great review, esp. as there aren't too many gimble head videos out there, esp. ones going in depth into them.

wow, Excellent photos

Hi. I know that feeling regarding expectations in quality. I bought a £2000's plus, audio interface a while ago. It sounds good. But I don't feel it's 5, 6 or even 7 times better than many good cheaper interfaces. As for the camera. I do use the 90D. I would like to upgrade perhaps once more, but it would probably be the R6 II. Thanks for your video though. The 90D video you took looks nice. Good job, Man.

You are absolutely correct that the best light brings out the best images. That's why I had a light kit before I retired from my video and photography business. That was for filming people indoors, clients or for clients, my source of income. After retiring, video and photography became a hobby again. I enjoy wildlife much more, but you can't script or direct what wild animals do. Neither can you exert control over the light. What you CAN DO is plan ahead to take advantage of the light. Be there during the golden hour. There are online tools that show the position of the sun for time of day based on latitude and longitude. Use them if you don't already know the spot. Also, learn to position yourself and the camera properly. For instance, ideally, your shadow should be pointing at the subject. But don't let your shadow fall across your subjects and spook them. Finally, technique carries you farther than technology. I'm not using the latest and greatest, but still my old gear left over gear from my business that I didn't sell or donate. At least the low end pro camcorder I kept shoots 4K. But my stills camera is the same d5100 that came out back in 2011. Works fine in the right light, if used the right way. God can gift a person with musical talent, but they won't be a very good musician without a lot of practice. People need to really learn the craft of photography, both still and motion. That includes really learning to use what they already have before spending so much money they make an enjoyable hobby stressful.

This is my kinda content! Keep more of them coming 😊

No pain no gain! I agree, photography is a continuous learning experience so long as the photographers keeps evaluating their progress ! Cheers!

What settings do you recommend?

And don't forget to take your camera of auto white balance if you don't want to lose the character of your light or spend time getting it back in post. You want the colour cast you got out of bed for, you don't want it auto neutralised, 5500K is a good place to set yourself as a start until you get used to what you like yourself and what your camera responds to, this is the value for old fashioned 'daylight' film.

Yep. Here's the rule. 'Listen to everything. Accept it ONLY as a STARTING point in your own research! Then use what you've learnt to produce what you want!". BTW Image stabilized lenses and bodies can help too. I've got plenty of sharp shots at 270mm on an APS-C hand held around 1/100th. Tamron IS. No body IS. I tend to let auto tell me what's the optimum speed, f/stop and ISO. I know if I want to do ONE of those differently, I need to change one of the others to compensate.

Awesome pics,ive been messing around with Canon dslrs for year's,i still take hundreds if not thousands of below par images for every decent one but regardless of that i just enjoy getting out there & photographing wildlife,thanks for an informative video i for one really appreciate it.

Maybe I misunderstand you, but the ONLY way to freeze action of any kind is with a high shutter speed (or a moving camera) Of course, sufficient light to enable that depends on aperture and ISO. The notion of required shutter speed as a ratio of 1 over focal length is NOT a direct relationship at all, just a rule of thumb. Of course, a tripod will enable you to use virtually any shutter speed as long as the subject is perfectly fixed and you have time to wait for the exposure time to elapse. Stopping motion of a moving subject AND getting a proper exposure require either a larger aperture or higher ISO . But the only way to stop motion from a fixed position is a high shutter speed, which depends at the speed of the motion. I don't think I've ver seen a KZbin video by a professional that suggested otherwise. If I misunderstood what you are saying I apologize!

Time value priority, auto ISO, and a higher end ISO invariant camera, with a higher fps rate, and better programmable autofocusing scenarioes, are part of the secret sauce, as well as practice, practice, practice. Know your equipment so you don't need to fumble for buttons, read the manual, and reviews, use groundpods, monopods, and tripods, ball heads, gimbals, and panorama heads, L-brackets to change from horizontal to vertical without losing your basic composition, lever release instead of screw clamps, as well as IS when hand holding, and know when to turn it off. There is much more to wildlife photography than the exposure triangle, bokeh, and composition, and yes photography is all about the light, that's why we chase early morning light, sunrises, and sunsets. Golden pond doesn't conveniently happen at 2 p.m., and by 8 a.m. those raccoons are mostly back in their hollow trees, and the green herons are done with breakfast and napping. The majority of great shots don't happen by chance, learn the behavior of the animals you are planning to shoot, and what their biotope looks like. Even some of my macro shots of flying insects took me two years to develop a technique to get great shots of them every time. Hummingbirds also require their own technique. Most of all never give up, photography is an ongoing journey of learning, you never stop.I've done this for 56 years and it's as exciting as day one, you never stop improving, any photographer who tells you that they aren't learning, or experimenting anymore is full of it, and their body of work boring, repetitive, and unimaginative.

My 600mm F4 V2 also makes a "motor" type noise with IS on, I think that's normal, so not to worry, I actually hardly ever have IS on, I get lovely shots without it, so it's always off. Just got an R5 (coming from a 5D4) and starting to do more and more video, so really enjoying this combo !!!

That is why D6 is still more expensive than z9 ( gosh already they have discount on the ZZZZ but not a single drop of price on D6)….noise….that is the magic key for times when light does not help but you can still pull stunning photos with proper lenses that will resolve.

beautiful photography, great video, very enjoyable

very true.

If you are shooting at high ISO it is critical that you get the exposure correct in camera, not post. It is counter intuative, but you will get sharper cleaner images if you raise the ISO and expose correctly for the scene. As opposed to unsderexposing with a lower ISO and raising the shadows in post. I can go up to ISO 25 000 and get good images on a 32", 4k monitor after processing with Topaz and you do not pixel peep. That is on a Nikon. Z8. On my micro 4/3 OM-1 I get good detailed images up to IS0 12 800. YOU MUST EXPOSE CORRECTLY IN CAMERA TO GET GOOD DETAILED IMAGES AT HIGH ISO NOT IN POST.

Light is everything, I often shoot birds in flight and its a big difference for the final outcome, compare to dim light, shoot micro 3/4, whats maybe a bit more affected by bad light. Also all this youtuber who make photo containt, I saw a Guy he had a scrappy Raw picture, completly looking underexposed, than with the expensive photo editor , he was able to make completly looking different photo and he was proud, I am not sure, but maybe thats photography in the future? Not for me, most of my photo I edite with Snapseed, what is more than good enough, if your photo is not your revenue center.

Continue your journey. Very nice images.

Its all about exposures, pixel density. If it gets enough exposures you wont be able to tell the differences of the cameras. You can get pro result with vintages, if the light is right and you know what you are doing. The gear race is an over exaggerated hype, by insecure people. Although there does exist bad lenses that just dont work.

Each camera has a different sensor sensitivity. My Canon 5d is so much better at high ISO than my Canon 6d is. (And, the modern mirrorless cameras are even better.) But, the other trick I use is to let my ISO go a little higher and then using Topaz Denoise AI software to remove that noise. Not every photo can be recovered by denoise SW, but a lot of them can be.

Forget below 600 ! Practice on stills , then hike it up , weather is everything (light is all) also not everyone edits to get great shots , but it helps most newbies

You are correct about the ISO on your 90D. My 7DII was similar..but my R6 is an ISO warrior and, combined with Topaz Denoise, I have few concerns about ISO. With regard to tripods, if you're in a blind or photographing in a pretty much single camera elevation angle, a tripod will help and a gimbal will help more. But, if you need to react to wildlife from multiple angles or directions, the tripod will get in the way and handheld is the way to go. Your 600mm is heavy and probably needs a tripod. I'm older and can't handhold such a lens for long, but a slower, lighter, cheaper lens is a good solution. If you're still using Canon you should take a good look at the RF 100-500L or the RF 200-800 are really good choices and, if you are still using a DSLR, the EF 70-300L is a secret weapon and the EF 100-400L is excellent. Light is important but it is manageable with good gear, modern software, and thoughtful working methods.

People use flash a lot. And then tripods. But you are right, trying to fight the light situation with iso makes no sense. I have found it better to just try and show what I see in the shade if I am in the shade. Also your pictures are great!