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Bird Photographers Start Here! 🦅


MattK

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Hi everyone! Matt Kloskowski (from MattK.com) here and if you love Bird Photography this is a great place to start. Bird and wildlife photography is one of the most challenging areas, but also one of the most rewarding. There’s nothing like that feeling of getting that sharp action photo, and showing it off. If you’ve got any questions feel free to post but I thought it would be fun to kick this off with your favorite camera/lens combo and-or bird photography camera settings. I’ll go ahead and start…

📷 - Sony A1 or A74 with the 200-600mm lens. Such a great combo!

My go-to settings are Manual Exposure Mode | f/6.3 | 1/3200th | Auto ISO On

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your favorites or any questions! 

 

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I am still watching your fantastic bird photography course. I'm using an A1 with the 100-400. The 70-200 2.8 combination is great for cycling and motorcycle photography. I've been interested in bird photography for some time and was very excited when your bird photography course was offered. I've learned so much from you and greatly appreciate the time you take to answer questions and help other photographers.

 

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I am still watching your fantastic bird photography course. I'm using an A1 with the 100-400. The 70-200 2.8 combination is great for cycling and motorcycle photography. I've been interested in bird photography for some time and was very excited when your bird photography course was offered. I've learned so much from you and greatly appreciate the time you take to answer questions and help other photographers.

 

Thanks Jeff! Glad to see you stop by here. 

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Sony A7RIV with Sony 200-600 or Tamron 28-200.

This photo was with the Sony A7-RIV and the Tamron set to 200mm, f=5.6, 1/2000, ISO 1600. Bright sky with a dark tree canopy and a black bird; tough exposure problem.81i24DFE9C9B64823E8.thumb.jpg.dac67d80461e3ba5709b6f71031fe475.jpg

Very tough exposure situation but you did great!

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Hi Mark, thanks for the email with the link to Sony Universe and to your Bird Photographers section. I have a Sony A1 and Sony A9 for bird and wildlife photography mainly with the Sony 200-600mm and occasionally a 1.4x teleconverter. If I can get close enough I'll swap to the Sony 135mm F1.8.  I generally use Mark Galer's PAL  settings with tweaks to custom keys, FN settings, focus areas plus adjustments to the shutter speed and aperture where necessary. For post Processing I mainly use Lightroom Classic with Topaz Denoise and Sharpen and I always see if your 'Brighten Subject & Darken Background' & 'Razor Sharp' presets enhance an image.  Can I give you a plug and suggest that in my opinion you are one of the best educators and presenters with a real talent for supplying useful hints, tips and comprehensive tuition at a reasonable price. Cheers ColinW

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Hi Mark, thanks for the email with the link to Sony Universe and to your Bird Photographers section. I have a Sony A1 and Sony A9 for bird and wildlife photography mainly with the Sony 200-600mm and occasionally a 1.4x teleconverter. If I can get close enough I'll swap to the Sony 135mm F1.8.  I generally use Mark Galer's PAL  settings with tweaks to custom keys, FN settings, focus areas plus adjustments to the shutter speed and aperture where necessary. For post Processing I mainly use Lightroom Classic with Topaz Denoise and Sharpen and I always see if your 'Brighten Subject & Darken Background' & 'Razor Sharp' presets enhance an image.  Can I give you a plug and suggest that in my opinion you are one of the best educators and presenters with a real talent for supplying useful hints, tips and comprehensive tuition at a reasonable price. Cheers ColinW

Hi Colin. Thanks so much for the kind words. How does the 1.4x perform on the 200-600mm? I've never really used it on that one. 

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I have A9 ii with a 200-600 mm lens as my go to combo for bird photography. Second body is an A7R4 which I use for landscape mostly but will use it in a pinch for wildlife too. 

I still remember the first time I used the a9... I hadn't owned one yet and was just trying it out. Within 5 minutes of my first shot, I put an order it for it 🙂

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I shoot with a Sony RX10M4. I love the 24-600mm lens capability. My go-to settings are essentially the same as yours. Manual Exposure; F-stop as far open as possible; 1/3200 and Auto ISO. Hmmm......do you think that maybe because I watched all your birding courses?

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I shoot with a Sony RX10M4. I love the 24-600mm lens capability. My go-to settings are essentially the same as yours. Manual Exposure; F-stop as far open as possible; 1/3200 and Auto ISO. Hmmm......do you think that maybe because I watched all your birding courses?

Hi Anne. I love those settings 🙂
That's a great camera too. There's something really nice about having that kind of focal range in one lens and camera. Enjoy!

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My go-to for birds is my Canon 7D Mkii with a Sigma 150-600mm lens. Typically manual exposure, auto ISO, wide open at f/6.3 and depends on the bird, action (i.e., in-flight or stationary) and distance. Hummingbirds are quick so 1/3200th second is good. Often post-process with Topaz DeNoise. 228iFCF51525B5F620A4.thumb.jpg.db567a043cd88cb79059d542e8188cb0.jpg229iFB25BE25F494BE6E.thumb.jpg.8cd23383496fbc0fa48e27cd9c523fc7.jpg

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Hi Matt- I've have many of your classes and most of your Bird courses. Some place you wrote about a specific place to photograph birds  in the Tampa Bay Area. Can't remember if it was in the FB page you set up for students.I can't find the post. I'm planning a trip to Florida and would love to read any supporting info that you may share.

BTW- your bird courses have raised my birds photo to another level.

Thank you,

Huve

 

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Hey Matt,

Got a gear question for you. I need a lighter weight set up for stomping around in the backcountry or paddling the kayak. What results have you (or others on this forum) had with a Sony e-mount APS sensor camera body using either the FE 100-400mm or FE 70-200mm? Does it compare well with cropped images taken with the FF bodies such as the A1 or A7R4? I'm really hoping using a body such as the Sony a6600 with a full frame telephoto to save space and weight plus it will keep me smiling. Tom L.

*Will Sony be sharing a new APS with bird-eye focus, soon?

 

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Hi Matt- I've have many of your classes and most of your Bird courses. Some place you wrote about a specific place to photograph birds  in the Tampa Bay Area. Can't remember if it was in the FB page you set up for students.I can't find the post. I'm planning a trip to Florida and would love to read any supporting info that you may share.

BTW- your bird courses have raised my birds photo to another level.

Thank you,

Huve

 

Hi Huve. It was probably Ft. Desoto Park near St. Petersburg. Good all year round!

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Hey Matt,

Got a gear question for you. I need a lighter weight set up for stomping around in the backcountry or paddling the kayak. What results have you (or others on this forum) had with a Sony e-mount APS sensor camera body using either the FE 100-400mm or FE 70-200mm? Does it compare well with cropped images taken with the FF bodies such as the A1 or A7R4? I'm really hoping using a body such as the Sony a6600 with a full frame telephoto to save space and weight plus it will keep me smiling. Tom L.

*Will Sony be sharing a new APS with bird-eye focus, soon?

 

Hi. I guess I’d say that if you’re going to throw a heavy full frame lens on a crop sensor camera, why not just use a full frame camera. The weight difference between the crop sensor camera and full frame are negligible. In my experience you’ll get good photos using the APS-C sensor cameras. But you won’t get the resolution, quality and low ISO capabilities as you would. If you fill the frame in good bright light, you probably wouldn’t notice much difference. But if you have low light, need to crop in on the photo, you will notice a decent quality difference. But… if that’s the only way you can take photos then go for it. Better lower quality than nothing right? I have both, and I reach for the full frame every time on my kayak. Hope that helps. 

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I too use the Alpha1 and FE 200-600. I shoot full manual because I have not been successful with auto ISO picking the right exposure under common (for me) circumstances, e.g., strong backlighting or a sunlit bird on a shadowed background. I have to admit that I did the experiments shortly after buying the combination, and I was not as experienced with it at the time. Do you have some wisdom/secret you could disclose about shooting auto ISO?

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