Shutter Speeds for Small Bird Photography - The Shutter Speed Challenge! (DSLR)

[@RYANandMICHELLEchannel]

Great video! I have been following you for a while now, and have recently started to post some videos of my own on KZbin. I have gained a lot of insight on wildlife photography from your channel. Keep up the great work! It is much appreciated

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks very much Ryan. Enjoy the process!

[@toms2145]

As always, thank you, Paul. And I agree, technique is everything. ✌❤

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

You're welcome.

[@welovenature1512]

Amazing shots. Very nicely done and more informative. Thank you. Lots of new and beautiful shots.

[@soethan.1349]

I agree technical, great tips. Paul. 👌 😍 👍

[@paulbaldwin2290]

Brilliant video Paul great that you're a great teacher 👌😇really enjoying learning from you 👏👏

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Glad to be of help Paul

[@cyrusparrsi2583]

Hello Paul, I enjoy your videos and learn much from them. When you mentioned you take couple of hundred photos for a project I remembered some 30 years ago when a well known national geographic wildlife photographer was taking scenery calendar type pictures and the editor ask the reason he said he had made a challenge for himself to use a role of 24 films in his camera and take 24 perfect pictures. The photography has changed now days and we let electronics in the camera and lens make the decision for us. I believe photography is no longer an art but more like a computer game.

[@alainbrunet1654]

Woaw Paul! Impressive!! Today I was shooting small birds in flight... 1/4000s. and it wasn't always sharp (rarely sharp actually). I'll work on your challenge and let you know my results. On the subject of mirrorless, well, I'm a bit disappointed cause I also have a 1Dx (mkII) and you are a reason for me to keep thinking that the pros still use DSLR. You'll get bored! Mirrorless are just too easy! Jokes aside, thanks for your good work, I enjoy every minutes of your video. Please do more "on the field shooting", it is always good to watch pros on the field. Thanks again (from Canada).

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks Alain. If you can find hovering birds that's a fun challenge - you can use slower shutter speeds. I do enjoy the 'in the field' stuff - just much harder to film. Camear wise.. I haven't changed yet! 1DX is a great camera for many reasons. I tried an R6 and thought "man, this is too easy" Lol. End of the day, it's just a tool.

[@SkylarkFields]

A wonderful video to watch and learn from. I was just going with the flow at the first viewing, but am now going to watch again to get some of the things that I found interesting/useful ingrained into my poor old brain! Love your content. Always informative and lighthearted, never boring, and just the right length. Btw, was videoing goldfinches on my feeders the other week, in slo-mo, and a sparrowhawk flew in, did a sharp turn and flew off - empty taloned, and the goldfinches lived to see another day. Was stunned to get it on video, brief as it was!

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks for the kind comments and the feedback. That sounds amazing - I'm sure you were very happy with the video footage!

[@MrShiffard]

A few keepers there, even at 1/30s. Some great tips there Paul. Thank you.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Cheers Dave. Really was surprised at some of the 1/30 shots

[@timothylabrecque8589]

My go to is between 1/125 and 1/320 with auto iso between 100-1600 on a canon 90d. Cool vid man!

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Excellent.

[@karinbennett9807]

I'm looking forward to seeing which mirrorless camera you go with. I've been waiting for Canon to put out a APS-C mirrorless (R7 perhaps). I have a 1DX mii so I'm not really wanting a mirrorless full frame and rumors are sayin Canon will come out with a crop sensor this spring, but if not I will probably go with one of the full frames.

[@johnmathew4084]

Me too Karin, let’s hope Canon bring out the R7. Maybe Paul will get one too and teach me how to use it properly. 🤞

[@Wessexphotography]

Hello Paul. I tend to stick between 1/250 and 1/500 for perched birds I have gone down to 1/80 with vr but I'm a bit doddery and shaky to risk any lower . Be fun to try though. Atb Joe

[@Pseagust]

Another great video. All the times I have visited Golden Acre Park, I have never seen you there :-)

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

I'm there now and again. But you'll never see me on a weekend!

[@Pseagust]

@@PaulMiguelPhotography Hi Paul. I do sometimes pop in if I’m in the area. Our paths might still cross. 👍

[@CultureAgent]

I find using auto iso a big help in woodland bird photography, it's something less to adjust when you've only got seconds to react. Have never gone as low as 1/30s, but did drop down to 1/60s when a larger bird like a jay comes down unexpectedly, just a flick of the thumb on the shutter dial and that ISO comes down too for a very nice shot. I do have to regularly resort to Topaz Denoise AI, as I tend to use a crop sensor camera for wildlife shots (Nikon D500) it's shutter is much quieter than my full frame camera and that extra reach really comes in handy. The max ISO I allow is 3200 after that the noise is just too much.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

You have good technique. I do use auto ISO too at times. My max ISO is also 3200!

[@CamillaI]

Love the concept and it depends on your subject I would suggest ! If it is a rare bird, I would stick with at least 1/500th of a second ! For a perched bird ! A Chaffinch for example can hover near a Bird feeder and with the head still you can get it in flight at 1/6oth with wing blur ! Indeed most perched birds do have a pause moment so rapid bursts can catch a sharp shot ! Even at 1/15th ! Enjoyed the challenge, but mirrorless now !

[@jaw31947]

R5 electronic shutter helps when I shoot close in a blind.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

It does depend on the subject for sure. Really want to try more of that technique you've mentioned there.

[@bobbowring1702]

Thanks for this found this useful.

[@DarkGiratina96]

Thank you so much for this video! My Canon 1200D introduces a lot of noise when shooting at high ISO, and these techniques will be extremely useful to avoid the noise when I shoot in low light.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Absolutely. I thought this would be helpful for people like yourself.

[@360icon]

Wow that 500 is a monster!

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Is really is.

[@dust1415]

Love this Video be a challenge for tomorrow once the storm is finished but also shows you don't need to have a Mirrorless camera to produce good work and good old DSLR works well and my default shutter speed is 1/800 and mono pod

[@tonyturner7676]

An interesting topic, Paul. I feel that, unless the light is nonexistent, I prefer a higher shutter speed to have a better chance of more in focus images even though this may mean a higher ISO.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Yes, I would err on the side of faster shutter speed - and definitely if it was a rare moment!

[@CarlHackman]

I'm learning a lot by having a T2i because you have to balance shutter speed with ISO a lot, especially when light conditions aren't that good. Obviously as a 3 month novice to photography I picked, probably, the hardest subject matter as my genre for photography :)

[@adityah82]

Same boat friend 😄

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

I completely understand. This is one of the reasons I made this video.

[@mikebarker9187]

bands on low-light stages ain't so easy either. I shoot birds and the worship service in church under low light conditions. Bad choices with kit lenses and my t2i. :) :) :)

[@alanryder]

Another interesting video Paul, thank you. Do you think that using the fastest burst rate that the camera is capable of and/or shooting a longer burst would work when you are taking images at lower shutter speeds than normal? I'm referring to what you found at the 03:42 minute mark in the video. By increasing the length of the burst and using the highest sequential rate possible, you might not necessarily get MORE in focus shots but the chances of getting at least one in focus would be higher. I'm thinking that by taking more, you have a greater chance of catching the bird when it really is still as you are never going to freeze motion at low shutter speeds.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Yes the frame rate is definitely a factor Alan. I think it's a combination of this and how much the bird stays still However it could be argued (with DSLRS?) that the continuous firing might introduce more vibration which would affect slower shutter speeds.. I'm not sure on that. All I know is I managed some pretty sharp images at 1/30 - and I was quite shocked!!

[@colmranger]

I love wildlife and photography. Problem for me is (GAS) Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Excited to hear you mention possibly upgrading soon to mirrorless, the suspense is killing me :)

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Lol! I will upgrade in due course.

[@ericmulard2657]

Excellent les écureuils qui viennent grignoter les chaussures…👍

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Yes, they do! Thank you.

[@Burtonupontrentrailwaystoday]

Paul I use a bridge camera sony hx400v and find a sweet spot for decent pictures of small birds seems to be various shutter speeds ISO 640 and aperture 6.3 the cameras a large crop factor Great video thanks again

[@Jack-jy1tt]

Interesting video Paul, might have to try this one myself! I noticed that on a couple of the shots of the settings on the camera (04:40 for example) you were using single shot focus, do you not favour Servo in instances like this?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Yes, I prefer single shot focus for perched birds. Might be different when I upgrade.

[@sebastianvonwachenfeldt6636]

Thank you for a nice video! Small birds move almost all the time so a sharp 1/60 is very very lucky shoot, but why do you use f5.6 when you got f4??

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

I sometimes prefer a little more depth of field. When close with a 500mm the DOF is really small. But I do shoot at f/4 somtimes.

[@agc33]

Enjoyed the video, thank you. What is the make of your tripod head? Is it as easy to use as you make it look?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Manfrotto MVH502AH Fluid Head. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJbKpGasncx-n9k

[@paulgibbings9553]

The other week I was photographing small birds and a sparrowhawk flew in right over my shoulder and made a (failed I think) attempt to grab one. I don't know if it was using me to screen itself as I don't recall hearing any alarm calls. It was all so quick and slightly to the left of where I was focussed so I didn't manage to catch it on camera, but still a pretty amazing experience.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Awesome. Yes, there are accounts of sparrowhawks actually using people as cover when hunting.

[@coldeb8911]

With my new Olympus OM-D E-M1 MK 3 (which I have not long purchased) there is a mode called 'Pro-Capture' using this I am amazed at how slow I can actually go , well under a 100, (depending on light and conditions of course ) we get lots of small flitty birds, like Blue, Great ,and Coal Tits.. and I still get a beautiful sharp pic...I admit for the first couple of weeks awhile I was breaking the camera in, most of them were terrible..but with some trial and error and trying different settings and modes etc I'm now getting some cracking pics ( a few awful ones still I admit ) and that's shooting through the Kitchen window even though there is also a fare bit of shade in the part of the garden were the birds congregate ..I'm still getting used to the camera of course and have a lot more to learn with it.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Sounds like you are getting good results. Olympus has made some very good gear.

[@coldeb8911]

@@PaulMiguelPhotography Thanks Paul..yeah I'm getting some good pics out of it...don't get me wrong, I'm still getting some bad ones, but not as many now it's a great Camera but I wouldn't say it novice friendly, it has no Auto mode either so I've had to learn more about photography than I did with my Canon 80D , but I don't think that's such a bad thing really. My main interest is in Macro ( which is why I traded the Canon in for this Olympus), so I've been practising with that before the Spring and Summer arrives ( I knew those old little Mcdonald's toys would come in useful one day 😂 ).

[@ForrestWest]

I have my front shutter button set to tracking and eye auto focus with a high shutter speed like 1/4000. I keep one back button set with single point auto focus and it drops the shutter to 1/500th or slower depending on how it's set. That way I'm ready for birds in flight all the time and if I see a stationary subject I can hold down that 1 back button, grab that shot and let it go and be ready for fast action again. That hybrid back button/ front button focus works great for me.

[@richardfink7666]

If you were to buy a mirrorless camera, what would it be? R3?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Ooh.. can't say yet.! Seriously... I'll update on that when I upgrade.

[@Luke-dk4ei]

synced vibration reduction of Z9 and the 100-400 delivers at really low shutter speeds

[@mikebarker9187]

Perhaps try a remote shutter release. At these pushing-the-edge conditions. And of course, hand-held vs tripod makes a difference. ... Plus the danged birds don't hold still!

[@mikebarker9187]

... plus the sun poking and not poking through the tree branches...

[@tucson150]

What was your keeper rate at each shutter speed please Paul?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

I didn't monitor it all. But below 1/60 it was around 1 in 20.

[@kilohotel6750]

With your left arm on the lens like that aren't you worried about moving the manual focus ring?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Great point. It's possible. But I keep really still - rarely ever had a problem. It will depend where the focus ring is and how easy it is to move.

[@philipculbertson55]

Paul, what is your typical "walking around" shutter speed? I'm getting into bird photography but mostly handheld with 400 mm lens. My shutter is typically 1/1000 to try to freeze motion but obviously, there is an ISO cost to that. Did I understand you typically stay around 1/800?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Yes, often around 1/1000 for walk around. I imagine coming across action.

[@tordandreasson]

With my Oly gear (EM1.2 + 300F/4) I consistently achieve sharp photos of perched birds at 1/60s.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

That's excellent.

[@philipwatson2443]

i got a squirrel pic once in woodland handheld 6oo mm ( sigma 150-600 ) at 1/30th

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

That's mighty impressive!

[@philipwatson2443]

@@PaulMiguelPhotography tagged you on the pic on fb , hope you don't mind

[@Gazzab6]

If you are thinking of going mirrorless don’t think it’s going to be a massive upgrade. There’s been a lot of reports that you can watch on YT about the mirrorless cameras struggling with AF on small birds. Check out Duane Paton who has done two videos on this subject, also Scott Keys on Wildlife Inspired and Bayou Josh and more. They have found it very frustrating due to the AF locking on to the foreground/ background and no matter what they do they can’t get the AF back unlike a DSLR.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Hi Gary. Yes, I've actually seen some of this too. I'm surprised if that issue is substantially worse than a DSLR.

[@photooutdoor2574]

From time to time I do the same; but handheld with my OMD EM1 Mk2 and the long lens. If the Bird is really calm, 1/20 is possible. But usually I don’t go slower than 1/125 with auto ISO and burst of 10fps. (My emergency preset for darker area’s) Otherwise I‘d have missed the shot.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Excellent. I've heard similar about the slow shutter speed potential with the olympus.

[@legorobogames1805]

Where is this park? On which country?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

West Yorkshire, England.

[@RAJMAN181]

Major mistake Paul, why are you using one shot mode instead of AI Servo?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

I still use one shot now occasionally. Sometimes I think the focus is more accurate. Not an issue with my mirrorless camera but if using a DSLR I would still use that method.

[@Monique.1709]

"tree-rat" 😂

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Yep.

[@vanillabirding6250]

On the picture you showed for the 1/125 s the great tit was ringed so maybe you can even read the number and report it. I know many photographers dont like ringed birds and i do understand that for the optics but if you have one and are able to read the number why not report it and help the research. Can be quite tricky with those tiny rings tho. Cheers for the great video. I often find myself shooting in low shutter speeds since my camera cant handle to high iso but i have the 150-600 sigma lense. Thinking of upgrading soon.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

I never noticed it was ringed!

[@webbwalle]

Do you even see the sqirrels behind you?

[@markstemmett5296]

Why would you want to go under 100 ?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

To test myself and the camera.

[@AA1PR]

you dont need mirrorless and there is also no need for machine gun shooting

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Continuous increases my chances of a sharp image with small birds. Maybe I do need mirrorless??

[@AA1PR]

@@PaulMiguelPhotography I honestly dont understand your logic, I love watching all you bird guys rattle off 20 shots to get 2 clear images, continuous causes camera shake, shake would ruin any chances if youre not holding the camera 100% firm & solid

[@saabvanderlinden9214]

But why u don't use iso Auto ?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

I do sometimes. Depends how I feel to some extent.