Photographing Birds in Flight with SONY A7RIV and 200-600 G lens

I travel to Hatta, UAE to shoot birds in flight. In this video I will explain my camera settings and provide practical tips that you can apply in the field when photographing birds in flight using the Sony A7r4 camera and Sony 200-600 G lens.
This video is really aimed at newish birding enthusiasts, who are experimenting with shooting birds in flight with this setup but these principals will also apply to the Sony A7RV camera to some extent.
My Photo and Video Gear and where to buy them:
Sony A7RIV Camera. (Primary wildlife camera) amzn.to/3QsOT2C
Sony ZVE10 Camera. (Studio, B Roll and vlogging camera) amzn.to/4bkYrF4
Sony FE 70-200 F2.8 GM OSS II Lens amzn.to/3QpgDFd
Sony FE 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G Lens amzn.to/4bj8SZC
Sony 11mm 1.8 Lens. amzn.to/3QtHrEA
Tamron F2.8/ 28-75 Lens. amzn.to/4dq7m9P
GoPro Hero 9 Camera. amzn.to/3Wrtsmq
IPhone 11
DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone
Sony vlogging handgrip and tripod. amzn.to/4bjw0XY
GoPro the Handler Floating Handgrip
Gopro ACMPM-001 Crocodile Clip
Miliboo Tripod with Fluid head
Benro T560 Tripod
Manfrotto Tripod
Joby GorillaPod
My Video Editing Tools:
MacBook M1 - Pro
Ipad Pro
My Video and Photo Editing Software:
LumaFusion 3.2 on IOS
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Adobe Photoshop
Canva
My Music:
StoryBlocks on LumaFusion 3.2
Epidemic Sound
My Studio Lighting:
Andoer Softbox light set

[@MOTOJendays]

Not far off from my settings. I usually move my SS somewhere around 1/1000-1/1250ish for BIF depending of the bird has faster wings or not (birds like Eagles don't flap their wings as fast as something like a humming bird.) and I found myself using zone af instead of wide so it's focusing on things I don't want it focusing on as much. Also for stationary birds I'll lower my SS a bit to 1/640-1/800ish since you're still freezing the action quite well. Also for BIF I might step down to F8 so more of the bird is in focus and it brings out more sharpness out of the lens.

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Great practical advice, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@FoodFitnessAlways]

Ruan I am honestly loving your videos! The way you explain things is so straightforward and to the point, I really appreciate your help and have already subscribed, many thanks! :)

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback.

[@vivlund]

Very helpful. Thank you! I will try wide area without tracking and see how it goes!

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

[@TLK22]

You look so happy after each shot!

[@srinivaskumar738]

Nicely explained the settings very well thank you for sharing

[@martynajanicka4044]

Thank you, I was considering buying a9ii, but now decided to start with a7rIV, test out what I need and someday maybe move to a1. Or maybe I will stick to that one as I photography a lot of landscapes as well. I actually do not write a comments at all, but have been delving into internet and your video was one of the nicest and most valuable in terms of knowledge . Thank you!

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Thank you, Very happy to hear you found value in my videos! And yes, the A7R4 is a great camera!

[@mr.inkognito1454]

Thank you very much. I have the Sony A7 IV and the 200-600 mm since 1 week. Your settings helping me a lot. I only Shot in jpg. Do you use RAW?

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Hi! I generally only shoot in RAW, so that I can edit the pictures in Lightroom afterwards. RAW files contain much more layers of information which allows you more options when editing in post. Hope you are enjoying your 200-600 lens. It’s a great lens! Sony A74 is also great for wildlife. All the best!

[@adelenell1411]

I found this very interesting and helpful! Great shots of the birds, too.

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Adele

[@Seth_Nilsson-SE]

Thanks for the tip.

[@lydiad9658]

Info very useful. Thanks for sharing.

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Thank for the feedback!

[@capturingnaturewithsandip]

Nice and beautiful video. Thanks for sharing so wonderful footages. Big Like

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Thanks so much for the positive feedback!

[@SonyaKuhnel]

Very informative, thanks Ruan

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Thanks for the feedback sonya

[@lydiad9658]

Very informative and enjoyed the entire video. Like your clear explanation of different cameras and lenses you use. Really helps us appies. 😂

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Glad it was helpful!

[@333raffles]

Do you use back button focusing?

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Hi! I did use back-button focus for a few months, but have gone back to shutter button focus method. It just seems to work better for my type of shooting style.

[@ramontejada9673]

Thanks for this video!

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Welcome!

[@pawelmod3292]

Thank you for the video. I do understand that you value the camera because of the ability to crop more. Would you consider taking a6700 instead a7r for extra crop/reach? Why or why not? Thx!

[@Megawaves111]

Brilliant, I found value 😊

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MMG..]

Extremely helpful, very relaxed. Sub.

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Thanks for the sub!

[@jimmyhelms2109]

What were the settings on th lens?

[@tomasbordi362]

Have you any thoughts on the A7 IV with bird AF? Would that eb advantage over the resolution/crop abilitys?

[@jorgegaj3159]

Great video. Have you use 1.4 teleconverter?

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Hi, I don’t use teleconverters with the A7R4 camera as the 61MP gives me the ability to crop on and get enough reach, so no need to add a teleconverter. This will also result in loss of 1 stop of light.

[@frankfountain7680]

Thank you for this very helpful video! Do you shoot in RAW? If so, which settings?

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Hi, I only shoot in RAW, (uncompressed RAW). My other settings vary depending on what I’m shooting and what the conditions are. But for birds, I generally shoot with Aperture wide open, lowest possible F stop number (at 200-400 that will be 5.6 on the 200-600 lens), Iso auto, shutter - faster than 2500f/s, focus - either wide or flex spot medium, exposure compensation - keep between -1 and +1, Hope that helps!

[@iamalisajid]

Why are you not using Hi only as in Hi+ you are behind some frames in your VF & EVF?

[@TomatenDK]

Would it be wize to turn off stabilizer on the lens completely ? Dont feel my pics are super sharp of birds in flight. Also, im a bit far away, so mostly at 500-600 mm.

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

I keep steady shot on. And I use mode 2 for side to side panning shots of BIF. That gives me the best results. For handheld shots of stationery or perched birds and animals I use mode 1.

[@hbarwick1]

I just traded out my sony a7Riii for the a7Riv so im hoping this will do a little beter in my birds in flight photographing

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

I’m sure you will love it! Let me know how it goes with the new camera!

[@TomatenDK]

A big shame there is no info on the 200-600 settings (focus modes / stabilizer) etc.

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

I’ll do a separate video on the 200-600 some time

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

In general I use steady shot ‘On’ for BIF and handheld pics. For panning shots of BIF, I use mode 2, and for handhold shots of perched birds I use Mode 1

[@TomatenDK]

@@ruanatfuturevisionroom Thank you for your reply. Just bought the a7RV and am selling my 200-600mm, and buying the Sigma 500 f/5.6. Been told the Sigma is an upgrade from the 200-600. Hope thats correct :)

[@Twothenines]

I'll tell you how to shoot birds in flight with the A7R4 and the 200 to 600. Use that body for what it was intended for and then get something better like the A1 or the A9. The A7R4 is a good camera, it's just that it's horrible for birds in flight. Sure, you can get some shots but your hit rate is going to be absolutely abysmal. And your keeper rate worse.

[@ruanatfuturevisionroom]

Yes, the A9 and A1 are always going to be better than the A7R4 for BIF as they were specifically designed for fast action but that being said, I’ve had good results with the a7r4.

[@kirrimann1]

You look like you got swamp fever playah