Tips for Photographing Forest Birds

In this video, I share some of my tips for forest birding and forest bird photography. Forest bird photography can be a little bit tricky, but I share some of my tips to hopefully help you find and photograph more birds. Hope you enjoyed the video and HAPPY BIRDING!
Check out PART TWO of this video here: • Tips for Photographing...
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[@StefanoIaniro]

Checkout Part TWO here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmKxd5uiqLOlgZo

[@wildlifewithghadi7342]

Let me tell you something. I've been photographing birds and wildlife for almost a year now. All this time I thought that I needed to upgrade my gear to get those crispy and perfect shots. After watching about 10 of your videos, I noticed a major improvement in my bird photography. I don't know how I can thank you, I really appreciate your effort in making these videos, BIG THANKS!

[@StefanoIaniro]

So happy to hear! Thanks for the kind words

[@EspenHelland]

Good tips Stefano! Especially the one on finding the most diversity between two ecosystems 👌

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thanks a lot, Espen!

[@TsvetanVR]

I love your tips, your energy, your no-nonsense approach and the fact that you're genuinely trying to help the rest of us by sharing your knowledge without advertising other stuff. Thank you for that, Stefano!

[@bassangler73]

I agree, I prefer to shoot in places where human's are nonexistent or very rare...It's hard to beat being out in the true wild! Im very fortunate living in Arkansas because I live between two large National Forest and there are places as to where you can get miles from anything even an old dirt road...It is fascinating to me to see virgin timber and to actually experience true silence and no longer be the top of the food chain :)

[@StefanoIaniro]

That sounds amazing! It's one of the main reasons I love photographing in the winter. The snow absorbs a lot of the sound and it's so quiet and peaceful!

[@derekcrook3723]

Great tips ..I was doing some of the things you mentioned but your the first person who could explain why !

[@nancywhite2014]

Thanks for sharing your tips and pointers for birding and bird photography. That’s quite helpful to me.

[@KhoaSV]

Incredibly valuable tips, especially about the ecotones. Thanks for sharing!

[@davidburchettephotography6513]

Great tips! Especially the trail tip for positioning yourself relative to the bird.

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you! 😁

[@clsnwbrdr616]

Agreed. I've been photographing birds for years and I cant believe this never occurred to me for avoiding distracting branches in the background. Great tip!

[@fixitright9709]

serious amateur all my life, mostly Landscapes, but I suddenly got into this birding thing, and I'm Not Looking Back, I have learned so much about nature and Wildlife but I had that problem too, I've missed many a good Osprey and bald eagle photo walking out of the woods into the bright light and over-exposing with a too slow shutter speed, your video of the songbird with the frosty breath says it all.

[@arhoffman]

Fantastic video with amazing tips! You come across so genuinely to me and I truly appreciate that! Thank you so much!

[@TiffanyM3]

Thanks for schooling us about ecotones - I have a lot of bird diversity in my neighborhood and I've just discovered this must be why!

[@micheledamschke2441]

So love your passion. Great videos. Thank you!

[@sumit92artist]

Those are some super useful tips! Will try these on my next birding outings!

[@dannd715]

Eco tones, brilliant tip. It literally turned my days out in the field from mediocre to outstanding. Thanks for this.

[@dscotthampton6789]

Great tips! Thanks very much!

[@RalfBraeder]

Love your videos! Thanks alot!

[@chrisgeiger6384]

Thank you for the great tips.

[@JavierCamiloHurtado]

Wow, such helpful video. Thank you!

[@Adventure.Ed.EcoFit]

awesome tips man, this is really helpful! I had never thought of many of these things, especially the tips you give on positioning. I definitely know that following chickadees for mixed flocks is one I have used

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thanks Eddie! Glad you enjoyed!

[@neildbarker]

Great tips - especially re: the ecotones - I'd never heard of this before and will use this on my next outing. Thinking back, my best sightings have all been at exactly these places you described. Mostly ospreys (trees overlooking a river) and herons (edge of a river/marshland.) Spot on with chickadees as a good indicator of other birds. Chickadees have led me to blue jays, nuthatches, cardinals, and woodpeckers. Great video and thanks for sharing.

[@StefanoIaniro]

So glad you enjoyed, thank you!

[@wesleyhowie7837]

Excellent tips and advice!!!!

[@ForrestWest]

Thank you for some very useful tips! Several really good tips packed into one well made video. Great job!

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed 🙂

[@stinkology]

Ironically enough as I was watching this video, I saw a red-shouldered hawk land in a tree across the street from my house in the side of my eye. I did the ISO trick you told in this video and it came out decent enough for a 18-55mm lens. Thanks a bunch!

[@ungavaproductions]

Photos are amazing and your presentation full of details and tips. It' is very useful information. Thanks for sharing

[@gordonnorman8259]

Nice tip on raising the minimum setting in Auto ISO when shooting up toward the sky. Also agree with you that center-weighted metering (at least on Sony FF mirrorless cameras) works nicely for birds, despite the fact that few other bird photogs that I know use it - while it does favor centering the bird in the middle of the frame, it saves bracketing or manual EV adjustment time and permits more frames for differing poses, which I think is a reasonable tradeoff.

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you! Yes I do find Zone helpful for other scenarios, as well. For forest settings, I agree with what you said about Center metering.

[@CJamesPhoto]

Dont know how i didnt see this from you before. really great info! got me thinking a lot smarter about my choices :) Thanks!

[@JoseManuelHiniesto]

Great tutorial, thank you very much

[@AK-de3ej]

Birds photography, especially in the forest is very hard. Low light conditions force us to increase ISO, birds are hidden from our eyes and so on. I do some birds photos and I found that it is not as easy as I thought before buying Sigma 100-400 for my Nikon D7500. Your tips are very good. Keep shooting and have a great photos.

[@scaber247]

Thanks, Stefano, you made some good points which I hadn't previously considered.

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed 🙂

[@anulearntech]

Great tips Stefano, thanks a lot... Salute

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you 🙂

[@justinwaite1913]

Amazing tips for beginners. I can't wait to start doing bird photography!

[@StefanoIaniro]

It's a very addicting hobby haha. Glad you enjoyed!

[@MannyG32968]

Great video with amazing tips!

[@scauplet]

Great advice! Feeling inspired.

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you! And glad I could help! 😀

[@cubingwithcarl4572]

Thank you! Really great tips and great video!👍

[@StefanoIaniro]

Glad you enjoyed 🙂

[@Ctoretto17]

Awesome video! I'm new to wildlife photography and I feel like I've learned so much just from watching this video.

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you! And welcome to the wildlife photography world! Hope you've had some success so far 🙂

[@murrayzelt4183]

Hi Stefano, Grateful I came across your channel! 1st impressions do matter & your nice blend of genuine humility & touches of humour make for great viewing, not to mention your Very knowledgable & helpful tips. I've shared your channel with my daughter who also is big into photography ( teaches it at her school in Nelson). I'm passionate about wildlife photography & like you mentioned , we may not always on every field trip, be able to spot our anticipated photo op, but it's the anticipation & joy of hiking in the fresh air outdoors that truly makes it rewarding & therapeutic, no matter how many shutter releases go down. I can so relate to your tip #3 , as from past disappointments of not being totally 'setting' prepared , has me usually sitting in coffee shop parking lots re checking all my settings ( & battery life) before hitting the road/trails. One story I'll always remember was driving 2 hrs to visit my son & of course I always have camera by my side in my truck. Usually I start out with my Sigma 150-600 C mounted on my Nikon D 500, but this particular day decided to go with my best quality lens, my new Nikon 70-200 FL ED 2.8 , for I was hoping to possibly see bear & cubs close along roadside being early Spring. But instead, around 1/2 way to destination, outa no where I see from of corner of my eye a large bird fly out from right ditch & almost hit my window as I reflex swerve away on the hwy. Wow, as I turn to see what this was I observe a Red Tail Hawk WITH a rattle snake dangling from its talons!! I frantically pull over as quickly as I can finding a sorta safe spot & jump out hoping to find it & capture some shots. It's hunkered way down this bank behind a log, seemingly trying to kill its prey, & as I try to get closer ( Zoom isn't mounted unfortunately :( it flies up & away. I do manage some long shots as it eventually crests the hill & disappears, But oh did I stew the rest of my drive, not having my longer lens mounted lol. One of the better shots did get some press time in local papers which was pretty cool, but this is my perfect example of importance of settings & gear prep planning for sure. Keep inspiring us with your informative videos :) Cheers!

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thanks so much! Really glad you're enjoying the videos. And WOW what a story, I definitely understand why that would be hard to forget about. Such interesting behaviour. You're lucky you had a camera to get some photos to remember that moment. Some of the best moments I've witnessed in nature have been while out doing field work, when I can't have my camera. The nice thing is, it motivates me to get out to experience more special moments! Thanks for sharing

[@jagrookdawra]

Great video!! Great tips! Thank you.

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thanks a lot! 🙂

[@austindrawhorn2141]

Fantastic tips and photos!

[@StefanoIaniro]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@robinehrenhofer8202]

Really great video. I really have to go out and look for birds in the forests. Also the tips seem to be useful. Unlike in most lther videos where they tell you to use this and that shutterspeed and ISO...

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you so much! Very glad you enjoyed the tips 🙂

[@marcosbaumann9522]

Congrats on your video Stefano. So good that you are an Ornithologist with better understanding and awareness of the natural world. Amazing tips...for me it is a +++. Bravo, best regards from Chile Marcos Baumann

[@StefanoIaniro]

Glad you enjoyed and thanks for the kind words!

[@stuartschaffner9744]

Wow, nice! Many of these tips are standard ones, but it is often very important to be reminded. Never heard the "follow the chickadees" one, but sounds like a great idea. One small comment is that you say that you often like to blow out the sky. I can understand why you are doing that, but many of your images look a bit hazy, as if the lens had a lot of flare. The Sony lens you mentioned does not have that much flare, so I wonder if saturating the sky is the source of the problem. I almost always expose to the highlights and go to a lot of effort to find a low-toned background. This is just a small tip. Your work is super!

[@Super420Lucky]

Great tips. Thanks. Subscribed 🙏🏼

[@StefanoIaniro]

Glad you think so, thank you! 🙂

[@hbdotsparchi]

Cool tips. Especially birding in the ecotones. Excellent photographs. Thank you very much. But I have a slight different opinion on tip "fast moving" which is kind of disturbing the birds for our greedy requirments.

[@LalrinmuanaHlawndo17]

Wow.. Very interesting

[@PhilT993]

Great tips. Thanks, Stefano. I have an A7R3 and a Sony 200-600 for wildlife. One thing I like to do is have 2 different presets dialled into my camera memory setup. One for in forest shots and one for birds in flight. The setups are quite different and I can very quickly switch from one to the other as needed, like what I expect I might see if I walk out of the bush into a clearing or marsh. Phil, from Ottawa.

[@StefanoIaniro]

That's a great tip! Thanks for sharing!

[@foxrunstudio]

Have thought about adding binoculars and worried it’s more weight and stuff to get tangled around my neck. What binoculars do you recommend?

[@bassangler73]

If you keep up on forest fires they are excellent places the following spring with all the fresh plant growth, especially the ones that are a mile or more off the road because that eliminates 95% of the people because they simply will not walk that far without a trail...nice tips in this vid...thanks!

[@StefanoIaniro]

That's a very good idea too! I know a few bird species that love those burned areas and it's some of the best places to find them in.

[@bassangler73]

@@StefanoIaniro yes, they are excellent areas for a few years with all the new growth

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@bassangler73 I don't have too many places like that here in Eastern Canada. But when I was out West there was quite a few. I'll keep my eyes peeled next time I'm traveling through the US!

[@Rudy60426]

Great tips thanks

[@StefanoIaniro]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@kkoct]

very helpful

[@claypartin4977]

Thank you so much your so right about the edge of the echo system thing. This video has been the best information and tips I can actually get a lot of use out of. Again thank you so much for the information and im going to subscribe right away.

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you so much! Very glad I was able to give you some helpful tips 😀

[@claypartin4977]

Well right know i have a nikon D5100. But im teying to upgrade to a nikon D500.

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@claypartin4977 The D500 is an awesome camera. You can probably find some used at a really good price!

[@claypartin4977]

@@StefanoIaniro Yeah I found some around 1,150 to 1,500. But that's just out of my price rang. I just have to save up for it. Thank you for replying to my comment it means a lot to some people.

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@claypartin4977 I think as Nikon announces new cameras the price should keep dropping. And no problem, thanks for commenting 🙂

[@bossen2k]

have you tried to lock the exposure to the focus point with spot metering and lock to focus point in the Sony ?

[@bamsemh1]

Talking about the metering. Would you recommend spot for sky birds and frame metering for in trees, ground, water and such?

[@PaweWarownyCznk]

Thx for ecotones tip!

[@StefanoIaniro]

No problem 🙂

[@soumenroychowdhuryphotogra864]

Very good tips!! Keep going

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you!

[@NathanBuildsRobots]

Great video. It's even better if you replace the word *bird* with *person* "You can use those trees as a shield so the person can't see you as well... it increases your chances of better photos and being more camouflaged from the person."

[@crystalyang7227]

I LOVE that shirt !!!

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you! It's actually from a field station I worked at in Belize. They have an online shop where you can buy it with hoodies/tshirts/sweatshirts. They're called the Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (TREES) if you want to check it out 🙂

[@turanturanturan]

Very good tips! I noticed that I never used my tripod in the forest as it was too much of a hassle so I went and bought a Sirui monopod with Manfrotto tilt head one day before heading to photograph young long-eared owls I've had heard the previous night. It's steady enough to take photos late in the evening and you only have to extend one leg instead of three. It's also much lighter which is nice when doing most of the bird photography trips with bicycle. Now if I only knew what would be the perfect backpack for biking which would fit my A7iii and 150-600mm Sigma. If someone has any idea tell me! My current backpack makes my back sweat although I'm sure it cannot be fully avoided with any bag.

[@StefanoIaniro]

That's good to hear! I've avoid monopods just because I do a lot of video. So having the tripod is nice. But I can definitely see the travel and carrying benefits of using a monopod. I'm currently using the Lowepro 450 AW-II. Great bag, but sweat is definitely an issue lol. Haven't found a bag yet that doesn't cause sweating. For me what's more important is that it has good airflow so the sweat can eventually dry and the bag doesn't stay wet.

[@BlackNight603]

Wow great tips, best regards from Germany

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you!!

[@JOSIANGREENVLOGS]

Exciting Stephano

[@didiergodreau4518]

Great tips Stefano for forest birds photography !! Q : are your min/max ISO settings the same for any kind of forests ( 800 >> 6400 ISO ) .?? Thanks for the tip

[@swaroopsankarsivadasan]

Oh my God. Why I missed this informative and amazing channel 😍👌🏼👍🏼

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you so much! I'm glad I could help 🙂

[@swaroopsankarsivadasan]

@@StefanoIaniro I always see clickbait videos and paid reviews on most of the channels, though a lot less for wildlife and bird photography. Expecting these nifty tips and tricks like these in the future as well. I also quite liked your style of vlogging as well.

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@swaroopsankarsivadasan Thanks so much, that means a lot to hear! I'm still relatively new at making videos for KZbin, so it's nice to hear positive feedback like this 🙂

[@matthewpuryear8009]

Hey just found your channel! I’m interested in getting into some bird/wildlife photography as hobby around my house and fields we have in neighborhood. Would you have any recommendations for a beginner setup, that still can get some quality images?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Nice job. Chickadees hahaha. Your bay breasted warbler looks so much like an Audubon painting.

[@StefanoIaniro]

Haha, thanks a lot!!

[@naseerart]

💚💚💚

[@canbull97]

Thank you so much to share your valuable experience. here I have two questions: how do you think about monopod. how do you think to ware camouflage. Thanks.

[@StefanoIaniro]

Camouflage is great, definitely recommend it if you have it. If you don't, try wearing similar colors to the forest you're in. I usually have beige and dark green clothing with me to be safe. For monopods, I never really got into them. They are super handy, but what I do is use a tripod and in some situations if I need to be quicker, I'll pop the camera off the tripod and go handheld. Monopods can't stand on their own so if I want to go handheld I'd have to drop the monopod on the ground, which isn't too appealing to me. Plus I do a lot of video, so a monopod isn't ideal for that. But everyone has their own shooting preference! If you're only doing photos, a monopod could be great since it is lighter, more compact, and has a smaller footprint on the ground than a tripod.

[@tarjei99]

Consider buying a thermal monocular. It might take your game to a new level. The Leica has a range of 3km. A tripod also works as a monopod as well.

[@HolyIslammessage]

Nice

[@arikleib]

hi stefano : ) great tips !!! are you using a filter on the sony 200-600 lens ? for the video - are you using a tripod ? what kind of head for the tripod are you using ? cheer's : )

[@StefanoIaniro]

Glad you enjoyed! I don't use any filter on the lens. And for the video I'm using a regular ball head. Eventually I may get a gimbal head but for the moment I like the ball head to keep my pack smaller when traveling 🙂

[@natelandwaterbridge7922]

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences, I really enjoy watching your videos! Can I ask, which focus mode you use for smaller birds? Normally I use flexible spot lock-on AF, but I often lose a lot of time by moving that focus area onto the bird and then it's already gone.. :-)

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you! It will depend the situation. If it's a simple scene with not too many branches or foliage in the way, I'll use Zone. But if it's a little more complicated or I think the AF won't do so well, I'll switch to Flexible Spot Small. Hope that helps!

[@natelandwaterbridge7922]

Stefano Ianiro Wildlife Definitely, thank you very much! 😀👍

[@RamusJamus]

Amazing tips, All i need now is a forest! DAmn it Vegas, why do you have to be so bare 😭

[@StefanoIaniro]

Hahaha, well on a positive note you get some very cool desert species. I guess all you have to do is build your own forest, not a huge task 😉

[@RamusJamus]

@@StefanoIaniro every once in a while i do find something out of the ordinary here. The other day i came across a Mountain Blue Bird and in the same area i spotted some Deer, Elk, and Wild Horse. I never get use to seeing that kind of wild life near the city, let alone in the middle of the desert.

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@RamusJamus Wow! Those mountain bluebirds are gorgeous. Great bird to see. We're getting into Elk mating season. You can probably find some ruts in your area!

[@vincenttc5500]

Hi Stefano! Thanks for all your great video's! I just bought the 200-600mm for Sony for my a7ii. In this video your advice is to set your ISO between 800 and 6400. How do you remove the grain that will be in the image with a higher ISO? When I use the Lightroom slider to remove grain, the pictures often get a sort of "oilpainting layer" and thereby reduces sharpness. Your photo's are so sharp and I never see any grain even if you had an ISO of 2000. I hope you can answer my question. In the meantime I'll keep enjoying your video's and hope that one day my photo's will be close to the quality of your photo's. Thanks for now and stay safe ✌🏽

[@vincenttc5500]

I own a a7iii, forgot one "i" 😊

[@StefanoIaniro]

Glad you're enjoying the videos. An easy trick I like to use in the field, especially at the higher ISOs is I'm looking for not only the cleanest background, but the brightest background. Even though your subject will have the same amount of noise, if you can angle yourself until you can find the brightest background, the noise will be much less noticeable. If I get a photo with a lot of noise, there's a couple things I like to do. In Lightroom, if I'm adding sharpening, there's a slider underneath that which allows you to mask it. If you move that slider while holding the option key (on a mac) it will visually show you what is being sharpened in the image. I like to slide that until only the subject is being sharpened. If you don't move the masking slider, all the background and background noise will be sharpened, which will emphasize it. Also, the reason the Noise Reduction in Lightroom gives you the oil painting effect is because it's a global adjustment. It's affecting everything in the image, including your bird. A better option is to only apply noise reduction to the background, or use a software. I like Topaz Denoise. What I'll do is import my photo to Photoshop, duplicate the layer, then run that top layer through Topaz Denoise. I'll select "auto" and let the software decide how much noise reduction to add. Then when it's done applying it, I'll go into photoshop again and lower the opacity of that layer so that the noise reduction isn't at 100%. If you overdo the noise reduction it starts to look fake. Somewhere around 20%-50% usually works well. Topaz Denoise generally does a great job at removing noise while maintaining detail in the bird, so there's no "oilpainting" effect. Let me know if you have any questions 🙂

[@vincenttc5500]

@@StefanoIaniro thanks for helping me out! ✌🏽✌🏽✌🏽

[@ineedlulz]

Hey Stefano! I just wanted to ask you a quick question. Are you working with aperture at f6.3, auto ISO 800-3200, and in shutter speed priority to control the shutter? Or are you in manual and flipping shutter up and down to accommodate? The reason I ask is that auto ISO works in conjunction auto ISO min shutter speed. I know that you said in other videos you do slower shutter shots. You can adjust the minimum shutter speed a camera must achieve *while* using auto ISO in the camera. The majority of the time for myself it's aperture priority, auto iso 100-3200/6400 (depending on the day) *with* a minimum of 1/160th shutter (set in the menu system). The only value I play with (if I want to control depth of field) is aperture. Since min shutter speed works in conjunction with auto ISO - the camera will do it's best to hit that min shutter speed you set in the auto ISO min shutter setting. If I'm doing portrait for example, I set the min auto ISO SS (shutter speed) to 1/60th, basic motion 1/200, so on so forth. The only setting if I ever need to adjust is aperture for depth of field. I use this primarily to always hit a min shutter speed, limit the iso case to case based on lighting and lastly keep ISO as low as possible, when possible - to preserve dynamic range. - The idea here is; *if there's more light, then no problem the camera first prioritizes shutter speed and jacks it up all the way to max possible camera shutter, if it's still too bright, it then drops ISO as far as possible. *if there's not enough light, then the camera will creep the ISO up to hit that minimum shutter speed set (the auto ISO min shutter). *if there's not enough light /and/ ISO has hit your cap (3200 in this case, as the ISO bracket is set to 100-3200) then the camera decides the last course of action is to decrease the shutter speed resulting in f6.3, 3200 iso and the new slower shutter speed that falls below the auto ISO min SS. - TL:DR - Are you in manual, or shutter speed priority with those settings mentioned around 7:45? - After writing this I realise it's not a quick question haha, sorry. Thanks!

[@gusguy7552]

I ❤️ your videos 😉

[@StefanoIaniro]

Glad you enjoy!

[@mahenamunu]

Thank you for the information. What's the best focus mode for birds. I am having the difficulty to get the best focus mode specially the flying birds.

[@StefanoIaniro]

Glad you enjoyed! I use Zone AF for majority of my bird photography. It works very well for BIF, too. In some cases, if there's a really busy background behind the flying bird, I'll switch to Center AF and try my best to keep the bird in the center of the frame. That way there's less chance of the AF jumping to the background and I can crop for composition later in post. I try to stay away from Wide AF since I usually don't put my bird in the edges of the frame and overall there's more room for error. Hope this helps! 🙂

[@mahenamunu]

@@StefanoIaniro thank you so much Stefano!!

[@StefanoIaniro]

1:43 - Tips Before Heading Out 5:51 - In-the-Field Tips 13:24 - Tips for Slow Birding Days Let me know any tips or tricks you use when birding in the forest!

[@angusmcdonald1223]

Does anyone know why on my lumix g85 with super high iso and low aperture and with shutterspeed at around 300 it is still super dark?

[@omkarnaik2805]

Amazing video do come to Indian subcontinent for more birds

[@judyashley4326]

What binoculars do you use?

[@jonathanbayliss9016]

Did you use the sigma 150-600 with the mc11 adapter? Great vids keep it up 👌🏻👌🏻

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you! Yes, some of these were with the 150-600/Mc-11

[@jonathanbayliss9016]

Stefano Ianiro Wildlife do you find that the mc11 is the best adapter for the Sony system, and how did you find the autofocus speed? Sorry for the list of questions 😊

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@jonathanbayliss9016 I haven't tried any of the others since I was using the Sigma 150-600 it only made sense to use the MC-11. It was okay, kind of annoying to use at times. Especially comparing it to the 200-600 that I'm using now, it's quite the difference. If you do get the adapter, make sure you do the firmware update. The newer firmware is much much better than the old one!

[@jonathanbayliss9016]

Stefano Ianiro Wildlife thanks for the reply so the Sony 200-600 is the game changer then 👌🏻

[@miligeorge5781]

Could you help with locating animals? I tried using ebird to find belted kingfisher in Washington state but there are so many options and it’s hard to narrow down a specific hotspot

[@StefanoIaniro]

Hey! I can guide you to a feature on ebird that might help. Ebird homepage -> Explore -> Species Maps. Then type in Belted Kingfisher. It'll show you all the Belted Kingfisher observations. Then scroll into your area, and check for the area with the darkest shade of purple. That means that's the location with the most Belted Kingfishers in that area. So if you're looking for the place with the highest amount of sightings, that's the best way to do it!

[@swissbirder1651]

Absolutely agree about the binos, compulsory when going out birding, otherwise you halve the fun. Great vid, thanks ! (However, don't really agree with pishing and bird calls).

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you! And glad you enjoyed. What are your thoughts on pishing/call playback? Would love to hear them 🙂

[@swissbirder1651]

@@StefanoIaniro I personally don't want to waste the birds time and and energy by distracting them with false communication. As you said, especially not during mating season. I think if you see a bird and get a great photo it should be without disturbing the bird (or wildlife), rather respecting the subject and the habitat.

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@swissbirder1651 Very well said!!

[@manaskamukhopadhyay4050]

very nice tips Stefano

[@StefanoIaniro]

Glad you enjoyed 🙂

[@manaskamukhopadhyay4050]

@@StefanoIaniro Hi Stefano, is there any way to connect you on any social media (except youtube)..

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@manaskamukhopadhyay4050 Sure, I have a facebook and instagram page! If you go on my KZbin channel banner I have the links setup there 🙂

[@kriscta]

hi. nice tips. very useful. need your opinion to choose between sigma vs tamron 150-600 for canon 7d mark 2. thanks in advance

[@StefanoIaniro]

Thank you! I've owned the Sigma 150-600 for about 3 years, and I've tested the Tamron a few times. If I could go back, I'd choose the Tamron over the Sigma. I preffered the build, image quality, and focus speed of the Tamron. I'd definitely test them both out beforehand if you can!

[@kriscta]

@@StefanoIaniro wow.. thanks for your advice. love your videos.

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@kriscta No problem! And thank you 😁

[@kriscta]

@@StefanoIaniro I tried tamron. looks good but image IQ isn't as great as my current canon 100-400 mark 2. I was wondering putting a teleconverter (1.4III) and compare with tamron. thanks a ton for your advice. keep up the good work

[@nrocha2466]

Lol, I too avoid areas with too many peeps. What I find is they will stop and ask me what I'm shooting...or comment on how big my lense is! Lol. And they do it when I just happened to spot a bird! Ugh. I actually had an older woman walk up to me, ask what I was shooting while spraying herself down with some sun protectant! Worse part? The wind swept the mist of her spray right into my eyes! Lol. It was aweful. Had to wipe my eyes with my microfiber cloth so I could see again ;)

[@StefanoIaniro]

Hahaha yeah people are always so curious. I had one guy today asking about the exact price of my setup. Luckily my gear was under the rain sleeve, so I rounded the total way down 😅

[@nrocha2466]

@@StefanoIaniro yeah true story ! :). It's never a good sign if someone asks how much the setup was... Smart move covering up the gear! I've heard of some photographers getting robbed in similar situations. Definitely good to stay aware of your surroundings!

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@nrocha2466 Yup! Hence going to parks with less people 😅

[@tvbseb]

On slow bird days, I take pictures of insects inside flowers, plants or trees.

[@StefanoIaniro]

I agree! Macro photography is a great idea for slower days!

[@EvilDogProductions]

You know about that bird that you weren't ready for when you got out of th ecar, if you had readied yourself at home, you would have arrived later and would have missed the bird completely :D haha

[@petercasey3738]

Just subbed, great vid for a newbie Sony user, 2018 happy iPhone camera user, jan 19 daughter got A7Rii with 55 1.8 zeiss & it blew my mind ( I’m allowed use ), since she got 28-75 & 17-28 Tamron + 200-600 & A9, still allowed use, I think where I going wrong is ISO, my best shots were on A7Rii with both on auto ISO, I don’t know why but it’s birds I started photographing hence here & love it, as an amateur or pro would possibly bypass this vid would it be possible you could do an in-depth vid on setting for this type of stuff, saving for my Sony camera but kinda lost as what to get, starting to change settings so High ISO NR now off & playing around with range limit for same, any help would be greatly appreciated, congratulations on 1000 & so sorry to go on & on

[@StefanoIaniro]

Hey! Thank you and that's great to hear. If you want to better understand your Sony camera before getting it, I highly suggest checking out Mark Smith's a9 setup guide. It's an hour long and he goes in-depth on every setting for birds/wildlife. Extremely good video!! (kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGrLdKqliK5-sMU) Even if you don't plan to get an a9, a lot of the information, settings, and menu items are similar. Hope this helps 🙂

[@petercasey3738]

Stefano Ianiro Wildlife yes seen it & Mark’s something else wow, anything birds & Sony I’m on like a rash now, he Florida I believe so sunny lots of the time, not sure what Montreal is like never been, I’m north west Ireland so cloudy most of the time, but we are a happy people, more practice I suppose, if it’s in your locker any help on low light bird pics would be amazing, apologies for newbie questions & best of luck with channel as I’m sure it will grow & grow, this vid helped & I’m like a sponge now so looking forward to your next

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@petercasey3738 I have it on my list of videos to do in the future. I'm (hopefully) doing a trip to South America, so I think I can integrate low-light settings in one of the videos I make down there. A lot of jungles and dark areas 🙂 I'm very glad you enjoy and feel free to ask any questions! I'd love to help out!

[@petercasey3738]

Stefano Ianiro Wildlife Thanks so much, way past bedtime here, yes that vid be right up my street at the moment, for all your reply’s & help 🙏🏻 ‘s

[@peterhiggins3329]

Forests can be great but dappled light can give bad shadows on your subject so you need to be careful

[@wenjiliu3654]

You're right about 'Get camera setting right before getting out of the car'. But think again, when you spend the time on changing the setting in the car, by the time you walked there, the osprey will be long gone...

[@StefanoIaniro]

True! That's why I like using manual mode + auto ISO like I mentioned in the later part of the video. When something happens fast and there's no time to change settings, it's a great option to use.

[@Blackchang45272]

Will you visit our forest in Jamaica?

[@chinmaypatil516]

Are you planning to Do Birding in India??

[@Teeb2023]

My OCD would like to register a complaint. You cannot have 9 Chickadees. Must have 10. Must have 10.

[@StefanoIaniro]

Hahaha if there's 9 chickadees, there's usually a 10th lurking around nearby

[@pointecheneplantation7027]

Great Video.. Thanks for Posting. I subscribed. I do game camera videos.. Check us out..

[@waverunneradventuregfx]

200-600 and 600mm prime.......i checked both lenses..i don't recommend 200to 600 lens...best you go to buy 100 to 400 or 600mm prime lens..sharpest lens for wildlife..

[@StefanoIaniro]

Yeah of the 3, the 200-600 is the least sharp. Not by much, when comparing it to the 100-400, but still less sharp. I guess it depends what you want in terms of price point, weight, focal length, image quality, etc. Haven't tried the 600mm prime yet. But would love to test it out!

[@indysbike3014]

Check the lens comparison tool at the-digital-picture.com. At 400mm the 100-400 and 200-600 are equally sharp. Even at 600mm the 200-600 has the same sharpness as 100-400 at 400mm.

[@StefanoIaniro]

@@indysbike3014 Just checked it out! To my eye the 100-400 looks sharper. By a very small margin though.. barely anything really haha. I think people get better results in the field with the 100-400 because it's lighter and therefore get less motion blur/shutter shake in the images. So images appear sharper than the 200-600. Good to know the difference between the two is even smaller than I thought! Thanks!

[@waverunneradventuregfx]

@@StefanoIaniro kzbin.info/www/bejne/ap3RY5eum8iDrqs

[@SMthegamer1]

Sounds like one of your tips is bringing a car