Taking Pics of Small Birds
Taking pictures can be a nightmare in low light if you are not prepared to "up" that ISO setting and get that shutter speed at the right value when you are on the focal length limit of your "best I can afford" telescopic lens. Not everyone have these fast 2.8 fast prime/ zoom lenses, its really technique not equipment that takes importance in this instance. Also you have OS, IS and VR which does not compensate for that "twitchy bird" thats in your viewfinder for what appears to be nanoseconds.
By experience I,ve found the following "sedate times" averages.
Finches and Tits...........1 second
Robins + Thrushes.......5 seconds
Herons + Fowl ............. 10 seconds
Birds of Prey................ 5 second panning
The working basic rule (Full frame) min shutter speed = 1/focal length eg 400mm = 1/400 sec. The comment is I can,t get that, not enought light, I,ll try 1/100 sec, I might get lucky..................You WONT.
Most popular telescopic lens are around the range 4.5/5.6 between 80 to 400mm some with/without image stabilisation. So ISO settings of 200 your success rate is going to be very un productive. Up that ISO to 400 or 800 and now "we are cooking on the gas" for these small "twitchy critters".
Finches and Tits need 1/500 sec because although you are well in focus and you,ve got the right depth of field there,s still body movement going on. for landing and taking off you need 1/1000 sec. For improved success rate its better to predict (by experience) what the bird is going to do or if there is a popular landing site focus on this point and let the bird come onto your camera set up. Lately I have been taking pictures by remote and not even bothered looking through the viewfinder, because when you do and try to respond, the bird has probably already gone.
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