Canon SX 50 HS for Bird Photography: I love this camera!

Hi there, 

Great News, my The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada (with coauthor Matt Young) published Sept. 2024 and named one of the BEST BIRD BOOK of the year by ABA is now available, BUY NOW, CLICK HERE. 

It's all things finch for all bird lovers! It has 353 stunningly beautiful photos from top bird photographers, some full page. 91 million people feed finches at their feeders, if you are one of them, this book is for you!

2025, MY ten pages of tips are still available, email me, email is at the top right of the page. If you are reading this here's what you need to know.

1. The Canon SX 50 is still better than the new Canon SX 60 and I have both cameras. I still think the SX 50 is a great camera. If you can, get the Canon SX 50. A good used or refurbished one is worth it. Canon now has the SX 70 and I have not gotten it. From what I hear it is still not as good as the SX 50. Read more here,

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62061542

2. I will still give you my 10 pages of very extensive tips on how to use the SX 50 for bird photography if you email me for them. They are much better than the manual for learning how to photograph birds. My email is on the top right of this page. I have given my tips to thousands of people all across the world. My tips are much more extensive than this blog post and will help you much more than the SX 50 manual.

3. If you bought the Canon SX 60, some of my tips for the SX 50 will help you. The Canon SX 60 does not produce as sharp photos at full telephoto extension and Sports Mode does not work as well as with the Canon SX 50. See my review of the SX 60 here.

4. You need to ID what you photograph and our photographic guides are the best help, so get now 

The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds, eastern edition 

or The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds, western edition.

Here are a few sample photos I took recently with the Canon SX 50.

American White Pelicans

Snowy Egret

Mottled Ducks

Pied-billed Grebe

Here is a Dark-eyed Junco in my crabapple tree. Photo is untouched except for cropping.

I'm Lillian Stokes, prominent American bird author and photographer who, along with my husband Don, have written 35 best-selling books on birds and nature including the best-selling and one of the most comprehensive national photographic field guides ever written, The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Also available are the regional east/west editions of this mentioned above.

News Flash: My new book, The Stokes Essential Pocket Guide to the Birds of North America was recently published! It has fantastic large photos and covers 250 North American bird species. At just the right size, you can slip it in your pocket when you go out to photograph birds. Get this book, it is perfect for beginning and intermediate birders. Amazingly, two of the main photos in this book were taken with my Canon SX 50! Here they are, this Western Kingbird and this House Wren.

Western Kingbird

House Wren

By the way, Canon does not pay me to say nice things about the SX 50 and I am not paid by Canon to endorse this camera. I just happen to have gotten the camera, like it, and want to tell you about it you so you will come to enjoy birds and photography because of this camera. The more people become attached to birds the more they will want to conserve them. Over 130,000 viewers have read my original post and then thousands have gotten this camera and are enjoying it. This camera has converted many people to bird enthusiasts.

The information below is all about the Canon SX 50 HS. 
Just for fun, here is a photo I took in winter with the Canon SX 50, from a car, of a preening Snowy Owl on the NH coast.

Here's my Original Post written Feb. 1, 2013,

Warning! Reading this blog post could cost you money. I just got the new Canon SX 50 HS point and shoot super-zoom camera and I love it. It's in my right hand, my Canon 1D Mark IV with the 300mm lens and 1.4 teleconverter is in my left hand. The SX 50 HS has a 12.1 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor, DIGIC 5 image processor, image stabilization, ISO 80-6400. The focal length when optical and digital zoom are combined is as follows (35 mm equivalent) 24-4800 mm (24-1200mm with optical zoom alone.) It can shoot RAW. Here are some of the reasons why I like the SX 50 HS.

It shoots birds in flight fairly easily in Sports Mode, as I found out yesterday when I tried it out on Brown Pelicans and got this photo.

Or how about this photo of a White Pelican I took recently.

Recently I took the Canon SX 50 for a test spin to Harn's Marsh in FL. See the ducks in the pond near the far shore?

Here are the ducks zoomed in a little closer, they look like black spots.

Now here are the Ring-necked Ducks photographed with the lens zoomed all the way in, past the optical zoom range, into digital zoom of 200x. Camera was set on Smart Auto photo is untouched.

There were a number of other birds that were just too far away for my other DSLR cameras, such as this Limpkin in the far cattails.

The Limpkin was preening then stretched. 

This Black-crowned Night-Heron was way out of the reach of my usual cameras. There is something immensely fun and powerful in being able to zoom in on very distant birds and get a photo.

The camera has a great ability just set on Smart Auto and people should have little problem photographing close, or relative close, birds in decent light. The harder part is hand holding the camera still when you are zoomed all the way, or a good part of the way, in on a bird. Many people may not want to or be able to do this, but that is where the fun is for me. 

Here is my tip for steadying the camera while hand holding and shooting with the lens zoomed in closer on the bird. To steady the camera look through the viewfinder with the camera braced against your head. Do not shoot while looking through the back screen. Hold the barrel of the lens with your hand all the way out on the barrel and tuck your elbows against your body, making a tripod of your body. Try to hold as still as possible. Depress the shutter halfway to focus on the bird, then take the photo quickly. If you then lose the bird in the viewfinder,  zoom back out to give you just a wide enough field of view to find the bird again, zoom in, then get the bird in focus and take another photo. 

To refined a bird you lost in the viewfinder, you can also use the uppermost button on the left had side of the camera near the base of the lens for Framing Assist-Seek. Hold this button down and the camera zooms out, allowing you to find and reacquire the subject. Take multiple photos, some shots will be sharper than others.

Another place we went recently was the Bailey Tract on Sanibel. See the Wilson's Snipe on the far shore?

Here it is with the camera zoomed in to 200x.

The Mottled Duck was closer than the snipe, see the dot in front of the island? I am standing on the bank taking the photo with the camera on 24mm.

Here is the Mottled Duck taken with camera on Smart Auto and the photo only slightly sharpened in photoshop.

There were Gulf Fritillary butterflies at my feet and it was so cool to be be able to take their photo as well as the distant birds.

The view from my back deck in my FL home. See the eagle?

Oh, here it is with the camera zoomed in... 

Here it is zoomed even closer. 

Note, with many of these photos I have pushed the camera to its limit at 200x, and at this range, photo quality drops. I have steady hands so for me, it's fun to zoom all the way.

To get good photos, use the camera in good light and keep it in the optical zoom range of 24-1200 mm. This camera does best in good light and photo quality diminishes in low light. If you are really not steady, you could use the camera on a tripod, but I do not advise this. 

To zoom closer to the bird, use the Digital Zoom which lets you apply up to 1.5 or 2x (up to 2400mm) worth of digital zoom beyond the optical zoom with a minimum drop in image quality, sort of like applying a 1.5 or 2x teleconverter. To access this feature on the regular camera menu, set the camera to AV or P mode and scroll down to where it says Digital Zoom and your choices are to set it at Off, 1.5x, 2.0x or Standard. Standard lets you zoom all the way in 200x, but there will be a loss of image quality at this far range. You can also use the "Framing Lock" button (on the bottom of the lens barrel) which helps stabilize the image when you take it.

At these extreme zoom ranges, such as 200x, the photo quality is not usable for many things such as fine prints. However, for use on blogs, a facebook page, etc., and the internet, which only require photos of 72 dpi, these photos may be usable. Most of these photos I took had minimal processing just a little sharpening in photoshop. Images shot closer, at lower ISO and within the optical range would be much better. I mainly wanted to show some of the extreme things this camera is capable of.

Don't get me wrong. The Canon SX 50 HS does not produce the same quality images that DSLR cameras do and you should consider purchasing these if you want high-quality images. I really like my Canon 1D Mark IV, shown here, and I have gotten incredible photos with it, many used in our national field guide, The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America and our just published regional guides based on the national guide, The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern and Western Region. I now use use the Canon 1D X or my new Canon 7D Mark II with a Canon 100-400 IS II lens or my Canon 500mm IS lens with 1.4 teleconverter, Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fiber Tripod and Whimberley head. The Canon SX 50 is not in the same league with the big, professional, or near professional DSLR equipment. Then again, it costs around $430 vs. the Canon 1D Mark IV originally cost around $5,000. 

At Harn's Marsh I had my Mark IV with the 300 mm lens with 1.4x and in seconds got this Harrier shot. I could not have gotten this with the SX 50.

There is nothing like the thrill and adreneline rush of capturing something like this Osprey with fish with pro equipment. You photographers with similar equipment who are reading this know what I mean.

However, the Canon SX 50 HS can make decent bird photographs within the reach of even a novice bird photographer just by shooting on Smart Auto, then Sports Mode for birds in flight. You can do even better if you learn to use it in AV mode. In the hands of more experienced photographers, it can provide great fun and the ability to capture good bird photos, even when birds are impossibly far away. It will make getting record shots of birds more possible because the reach of the camera is so great. It may convert many to bird photographers/birders and give them a love for and appreciation of birds. That would be a great thing.

It is interesting to me that just about every birder, experienced bird photographer, or novice birder/photographer I have shown this camera to in the last week has said they want one. The light weight of the camera and the ability to zoom in so close on a bird just blows people away.

There is so much more to say about this camera which does so many things. If you want my much, much, more extensive tips on this camera, including what setting to use and info. on bird photography, email me. Email link is on top right of this blog.


Make sure and read the complete original reviews here at,

DPREVIEW

and

photographyblog.com

Here are some of my basic tips.

- Start with Smart Auto, especially if you are a beginner. It is excellent for many situations, especially if there is good light and the bird is not moving very fast. It may overexpose white birds.

- For flying or fast-moving birds, or even birds in vegetation especially if they pause, choose Sports Mode which shoots at about 5 frames a second. The camera chooses the exposure for you. In this mode, you can use Exposure Compensation which allows you to adjust for an over or under-exposed photo. If the bird you are photographing appears too light, or too dark, go to the Exposure Compensation setting (looks like a ruler) and move the indicator to the plus side to lighten the photo or to the minus side to darken the photo. I use this Sports Mode setting frequently, even for warblers! 

- For more control over photos, use Aperture Priority (AV). You choose the aperture and the camera picks the shutter speed. The range is F3.4-F8. I often use this mode and set ISO and Exposure Compensation as needed. Make sure you set the "Continuous Shooting" menus choice in AV to give you a faster shooting speed of about 2.2 frames a sec. Some people use Program Mode (P), where the camera sets the aperture and shutter speed for you and there is access to all the same menu options that are available in AV. I prefer AV since you can still set the aperture here. Most bird photographers I know use AV.

- Even though this camera shoots, RAW, I do not use it that much as most of the photos I take are for use on the internet, which uses lower resolution .jpeg images.

- You must read the manual, which you download to your computer as a PDF. Read it multiple times and learn all the dials and how to set the camera functions.

However, as I said, if you have this camera and want my much more extensive tips on how to use it, email me. Email link is on top right of this blog. The manual won't help you know which setting to use for bird photography.

If you are interested in photographing birds you need to accurately identify the birds you photograph, so get our photographic field guides. Our guides have outstanding bird photos taken by the top bird photographers in North America, look at them for inspiration and learning! 

The Stokes Essential Pocket Guide to the Birds of North America, is great for beginners  BUY Now! click here. So handy you can slip it in your pocket.

The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, the most complete photo guide available, which contains 3,500 stunning photos (many of them from me and other top bird photographers).

Buy Now! The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America

It is also available as split into portable, regional guides,

Buy Now! The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region

Buy Now! The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Region

These beautiful photographic guides are the best way to identify all the bird photos you take!! 

Practice and most of all, have fun!!!

Lillian Stokes

Canon SX 50 HS, 200x magnification ability at sunset

See the small heron in the bottom of the sunset photo with the shorebirds?

Well, just zoom out and magnify it 200% with the Canon SX 50 HS camera. It's a Roseate Spoonbill!

Just got the incredible Canon SX 50 HS. It actually has a 200x magnification ability. Wow. Went and photographed the sunset at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Look what it can do.
Can't wait to use it more!
The Canon SX 50 is a brand new point and shoot super-zoom camera that has a 50x zoom lens which is equivalent to a focal length of 24-1200mm. The optical zoom is 50x. The Digital Approx. 4x (with digital tele-converter approx. 1.5x or 2.0x and Safety Zoom). combined Approx. 200x

Clapper Rail, Yes!

The rail show continues at Bailey Tract, east pond, Sanibel, FL. Now there have been 3 Clapper Rails and 2 Soras seen. Plus there may be 2 Wilson's Snipe also. This Clapper Rail walked out into the sun and right by all the birders, much to the delight of the photographers there. Usually the rails stay hidden in shadow in the cattails.
Rails are awesome birds and it was such a delight to see one in great light.

Short-tailed Hawk Surprise!

Short-tailed Hawk, what a nice surprise for visiting friends.

We saw one, then two soaring together.

Short-tailed Hawk is not easily seen on Sanibel, so this was a treat.

It soared up high surrounded by the hundreds of Tree Swallows.

We also saw 4 Bald eagles, here's one of them, a first winter eagle.

Julie, Phil and Laurel. Is that a cute baby or what!

We also saw three Clapper Rails, all in the east pond at Bailey Tract, Sanibel.

And a Sora, who, true to rail habits, liked to stay in cover.

A Rail tail!

There was also a Wilson's Snipe. This shows how beautifully camouflaged it is in the habitats where it feeds.

A Short-tailed Hawk appeared, what a great surprise! We went birding with visiting friends, Julie Brown, Site Coordinator for Hawk Migration Association of North America, her husband, Phil Brown of NH Audubon, and their adorable baby, Laurel ,at the Bailey Tract, Sanibel, FL. After seeing 3 Clapper Rails and a Sora, the raptor show began. First we saw 4 Bald Eagles, then a Short-tailed Hawk, spotted by Phil appeared. As we all looked up a second Short-tailed Hawk joined it in the air.
Awesome!

A "Rail-ly" Good Day: Clapper Rail and Sora

Clapper Rail

The chin is not white and does not contrast strongly with the breast.

The eye is reddish and the auriculars (cheek area) are gray.

Hunting for small fish.

Rails really like to be stealthy and stay hidden, which challenges the autofocus systems on cameras.

Don showing people the rails. Pretty soon a crowd was gathering and for some birders, who had never seen these bird species before, these were life birds.

A bonus was the Sora, another species of rail.

It was smaller, with a smaller yellow bill.

It also stayed in the grasses and hunted.

Peek-a-boo.

Wow, two rails in the same binocular view, a Clapper Rail and a Sora. This turned out to be a "rail-ly" good day, as my pun-prone husband said. On a tip from SWFLBirdline listserve that someone has seen a Clapper Rail at the Bailey Tract on Sanibel Island, FL, we headed over there today. We approached the east pond and saw someone looking at birds. Voila, out came a Clapper Rail, then a Sora. It was a grayish overcast day, just the type of light level rails prefer and photographers don't. I had my Canon SX 40 HS point-and-shoot superzoom camera (which zooms out 840mm and beyond to 140x) with me. These were photographically challenging conditions, not the least of which was that rails like to stay hidden. I I was hand-holding the camera. This camera does not take as high quality photos as a digital SLR, but its ability to zoom out and take close-ups of birds leads to more intimate views which are great for studying identification.

You can learn a lot about bird identification from your photos. It's like taking the bird in your hand back home with you. Make sure and take lots of photos of the bird from different angles. Here is some information on the rails, based on our field guide.

Clapper Rails are divided into two groups of subspecies: the Western North American Group (with 3 subspecies) which has rich reddish brown underparts and auriculars and a contrastingly white chin and the Eastern North American and Caribbean Group (with 5 subspecies) which is slightly smaller, has grayish auriculars, from gray to pale reddish brown underparts, and a less contrasting whitish chin. By range alone, this bird is in the Eastern North American and Caribbean Group. It is also in the very dull gray end of subspecies in this group. This most likely places it in the subspecies crepitans. Birds in this subspecies breed on the Atlantic coast from MA to NC and winter along the southeast coast. The picture in our Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America at the top of page 159 was taken on Sanibel, FL (several years ago) also in January and looks very similar to this bird. Could it be the same one?

Soras are monotypic, that is, they do not have subspecies.

By the way, as we just said in our last blog post we have great news. We are coming out in March with two portable new guides, The NEW Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern and Western Edition, that are a split of our national guide, The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America (which came out in 2010). These new regional guides will contain all the same wonderful photos and text of our national guide and will be the most current of all bird field guides available. (By the way, these are not at all the same as our previous Stokes Field Guide to Birds, eastern and western regions published in 1996 which are going out of print.)

Have fun taking bird photos and through them learn how to better ID birds.

Announcing, 2 new portable field guides, The NEW Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern and Western Region, Just Published!

Order Now! The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region, click here.

Order Now! The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Region, click here.

Announcing 2 new Stokes Guides – The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region and The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Region – Just Published!

Reviewers are calling them "Jam-packed with some of the best bird photography out there... they provide the most current and up-to-date information on birds"
birdfreak.com

"Written and created with intelligence and exacting care... Expands on their record of excellent books about birds. I was impressed by the depth and authority of the species descriptions... I highly recommend trying one."
10,000 Birds

"Don and Lillian Stokes hit it out of the park with their new... guide"
Thermal Birding

The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern and Western Region are the most complete photographic guides to the birds of eastern and western North America ever written. These lighter weight, portable editions are based on our best-selling national guide, The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America. They feature thousands of stunningly beautiful photos showing all the field marks and every significant plumage of each species and they include the most up-to-date and extensive identification information of any field guide. (Note, these are entirely new books and not the same as the former Stokes Field Guide to Birds eastern and western regions published in 1996.) We are so excited to bring to you these all new, lighter, more portable field guides, just in time for spring migration. These guides are what you have been asking for. You can pre-order them now!

They have multiple beautiful photos per species.

These are more portable guides. 

The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region is less than an inch thick. Size is 5.6 x 8.5 x .08 inches, Pages: 513, Photos: 2,200+

The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Region is an inch thick. Size is 5.6 x 8.5 x 1 inch, Pages: 593, Photos: 2,400+

Here they are on top of our red, national guide The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America

These guides include everything birders want,
- Over 2,200 gorgeous photos in the eastern region and 2,400 photos in the western region, carefully chosen for each species to show all distinct field marks and plumages including, male, female, summer, winter, recognizable ages, morphs, important subspecies, and birds in flight.
- More photos per species for hard to identify birds. Difficult species, such as sparrows and flycatchers are shown from every important angle.
- The most complete and extensive identification text of any North American field guide,  either photographic or drawn.
- Handy Quick Alphabetical Index inside the front cover.
- The only North American field guides to include complete information on all subspecies and hybrids.
- Special sections with identification tips on identifying more difficult groups of birds.
- Cutting edge emphasis on quantitative shape as a way to fast-forward bird identification.
- The newest scientific names.
- Habitat descriptions.
- Special help for identifying birds in flight through important clues to behavior,  plumage, and shape.
- Detailed descriptions of songs and calls.
- The newest range maps.

Frequently Asked Questions,

1. Why did you write these new guides?

We wanted to give people lighter, more portable guides to take into the field, so we split our larger national guide, The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, into two regional guides, The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region and The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Region. Plus, each of these new regional guides contains only those species found in the respective halves of North America, so you have less species to look through when trying to identify a bird. This makes it easier to identify birds in your area.

2. Are they the same as your national guide, The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America?

Yes, they contain all of same features as our national guide, the wonderful photos, layout, incredible information, and unique features that have made our national guide a best-seller. We have added a few new photos and the latest scientific name changes as of their writing. Best of all, these regional guides are much lighter and more portable. To further this end, we have omitted the extreme rarities from these regional guides (all of which are in our national guide) and included just the species you are most likely to see in the eastern or western regions of the country. For those who want all of the extreme rarities, we recommend getting our larger national guide, The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, which was published in 2010.

3. Why should I buy these guides?

These guides are the most complete and up-to-date regional field guides available. They have stunningly beautiful, carefully chosen photos, with multiple photos per species which show all the important field marks and plumages of each species. We give more, not less, photos for the difficult species. The information is the most complete of any field guide available and hailed for it's incredible accuracy. Photos are the new standard in bird identification and our photos are correct, labeled as to
age, sex, season, morph, subspecies, location and month of the photo. We give detailed and complete information on subspecies and hybrids, which no other guide does. Our layout, with photos at the top and no distractions, allows you to look closely at the real bird and all of its variations while trying to ID it. In summary, in terms of quality, information, and user-friendly layout, there are no other guides like these available. If you already own our national guide, you will want to get these new, portable, regional guides to take into the field with you.

4. Which area is covered by each region, so I will know which one to get depending on where I live?

The dividing line between the coverage of the two regional guides is a straight line from the eastern two-thirds of TX up through Canada, including most of OK, KS, NE, SD and ND. The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region covers species found east of that line and The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Region covers species found west of that line. There is a map on the back of each guide showing which area of North America it covers.

5. Are these the same as your previous Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region and Western Region published in 1996?

No, these are completely new and much more extensive identification guides with all new photos and information. That's why they are called The NEW Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern and Western Region. Our previous guides have not been updated since 1996. They are not being republished and will go out of print. The previous guides had less information and photos. They did have some behavioral and nesting information.

6. When can I get your new guides?

The publication date for The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region and The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Region is March 26, 2013, which means it will be fully available all across the country by then. You can pre-order it online now or get it from your local bookseller.

Praise for The Stokes Field Guide to Birds of North America,

The Stokes Field Guide to Birds of North America is "Unequivocally the most spectacular compendium of North American bird identification photographs ever assembled between two covers...this volume significantly resets the bar for North American field guides."
Wayne Peterson, Massachusetts Audubon Society

http://birdfreak.com/review-of-the-new-stokes-field-guide-to-birds-eastern-region-western-region/

PAINTED BUNTINGS from every angle, eye candy

Painted Buntings are my favorite bird. That's why a Painted Bunting is cover image of our best-seller The Stokes Field Guide to Birds of North America. They're just an "Oh Wow!" wonder.

They're one of the most sought-after species for birders coming to Florida in winter.

We're lucky in that we have attracted them to our yard there. There a number of places where they can reliably be seen in winter, most notably at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, FL.

Here's a female Painted Bunting.

Painted Buntings can be attracted to bird feeders filled with white millet, a seed they favor. Here's a photography tip. Set up some perches near a bird feeder in good light with a background at a distance. Use a long telephoto lens and stay back quite a bit so as not to spook the buntings, or set up a photo blind. Then wait for the bunting to land on your perch.

Painted Buntings winter in the southern half of Florida and Cuba, Mexico and Central America. During spring migration, Painted Buntings may be seen at coastal southeast migration hotspots. The breeding range includes coastal southeast states, Gulf Coast states and up into OK,  KS, AR and MO. Occasionally they wander out of this area and have even been seen in New england. Wherever you see them you're lucky.

Unfortunately the eastern population of Painted Buntings has been in decline for several decades most likely due to habitat loss. A group of scientists are studying this population. You can help if you live in NC, SC, GA or FL by reporting your Painted Bunting sightings to the Painted Bunting Observer Team website.

Birds in Flight Photography Tips

Osprey with fish. I use a Canon 1D Mark IV camera for most flight photos.

Pileated Woodpecker

Roseate Spoonbill

Bald Eagle, larger birds are easier to photograph in flight.

Groups of birds, such as these Black Skimmers, are fun to photograph in flight. When photographing them, increase your depth of field.

American Robin. Zero in on one bird in a flock.

Snow Bunting

Upland Sandpiper flying over Kennebunk Plains WMA, Maine

Tree Sparrow. Focus on your bird feeder and anticipate when a bird will leave.

Red-shouldered Hawk, juv.

Great Shearwater, a pelagic species you need to go out on a boat to see. It's challenging taking flight photos from a moving, rocking boat, so it helps to brace yourself against the boat.

Tree Swallow in flight over our fields. Swallows, with their erratic flight, are a challenge to photograph.

Cedar Waxwing. Pick up a bird when it is quite distant and track it with your camera's autofocus and start shooting as it gets a little closer. If you wait until it's upon you, you will never get the photo.

Roseate Spoonbill, coming in for a landing.

Peregrine Falcon taken with a Canon SX 40 HS point and shoot. I anticipated it leaving the branch.

My favorite type of bird photography is photographing birds in flight. Above are a few of my photos and here are some tips.

How do photographers get such photos? Here's what you need:

- High speed digital SLR cameras like the Canon 7D, or 1D Mark IV (which I have). The faster, and the more continuous frames per second your camera will shoot, the better. Get a camera the shoots at least 5 frames per second, preferably more. Know your camera dials and settings very well. For most flight photos you need to have at least 1/500th of a second shutter speed, preferably 1/1000th or more. Set the ISO high enough to attain this shutter speed.

Set the camera on continuous shooting mode. Most people use auto focus for birds in flight. Set the camera focus mode to AI Servo AF (or the equivalent for other makes of camera). This allows you to focus and lock on the bird as it moves, by depressing the shutter half-way. Put the camera dial on AV (aperture priority) to give enough depth of field to have the whole birds in focus. Most people use an aperture of f/8 in good light, but may go to an aperature of f/5.6 in duller light. To take the photo, depress the shutter all the way.

- A good telephoto lens that is at least 300mm long, or preferably 400mm or more (some add a 1.4 teleconverter to a 300 mm lens.) Some photographers use longer lenses, such as the Canon 500mm or 600mm IS lenses for flight photos. If you have those, you need a good tripod with a smooth moving head, such as those made by Whimberly, Bogen or Kirk Enterprises. A few strong photographers can actually hand hold the 500mm lens. If you are using a tripod you lack some mobility, so it helps to shoot at a good location, such as that at Ding Darling NWR or other national wildlife refuges, where a lot of birds fly in, in a predictible flight route. Set the lens AF/MF switch to AF (auto focus.) Some recommend setting the minimum focusing distance of the lens to its furthest setting.

- Good situations for photographing birds in flight, such as open areas of water or open sky where you see birds coming from a distance and can get on them early with your auto focus, plus you will have a clear blue background. Keep the sun at your back. Try to shoot with the birds moving along a predictable flight path that is perpendicular to the front of your lens.

- Good eye-hand coordination and fast reflexes. Find the bird by spotting the bird when it is at a distance, and I mean very distant. Do not wait until the bird is close, because by then it will be moving too fast for your to get on it. After you spot it, raise your camera to your eye and lock the auto focus on the bird. In general most photographers set the camera's auto focus selection point (AF point) on the center point because it is the most sensitive of the points and allows you to keep focused on the bird. Also your camera will be less likely to lock onto the background as you try and stay on the moving bird.

- A willingness to practice lots and take lots and lots of photos, only some of which will turn out. (At least with digital you are not paying for film.)

- A strong motivation and desire to take flight photos.

- The expertise and programs to process your digital photo to make it look its best. Most photographers use programs like Adobe Photoshop.

Here is the camera equipment that I use.

Some people are now using superzoom point-and-shoot cameras, like the Canon SX 40 HS (which I own), to take bird photos. These cameras do well for birds that are relatively close, in good light and not moving fast. These cameras are harder to use on birds in flight for many reasons, such as they're slower to find and track birds. You can still get decent photos of birds in flight in some situations, such as photographing larger, slower moving birds in good light. So do try flight photos with these cameras.

Other photographers may have other tips or slightly different methods for flight photography, these are just the tips I generally use.

My advice is even if you don't have all or some of the above equipment, try flight photography anyway. You might find it addictive like I do.

Most importantly, have fun!!!

Lillian Stokes