Birds In Flight

[rFisherk]

A lot of people get pictures of large birds in flight, such as eagles, geese and gulls. I found a way to get pictures of small, fast birds, such as this sparrow.

[duckydoty]

That is amazing

[rFisherk]

Thank you ducky. The reason these little birds fly so erratically, is they fold their wings behind their backs with each stroke, as seen here, thus an up and down flight, while bigger birds keep their wings comparatively outstretched.

[Quillback]

Good pic, what camera are you using?

[rFisherk]

I have a Pentax K10, K20 and K5. This particular shot was with the K20 and the DFA 100mm macro.

[Quillback]

Cool - I just picked up a Nikon D5300. Still learning to use it, but hope to get out there soon and start taking some pics with it.

[rFisherk]

That an excellent camera, but what I've learned from decades of doing this, is the glass is where it's at. I shot Nikons for decades and switched to Pentax when I switched to digital, mainly because they had glass comparable to Zeiss at 1/3 the price. Nikon makes some great glass too. It is very expensive, but my advice is to invest in it. I usually tell beginners to pay more for the lens than they do for the body.

[Quillback]

I looked at Pentax, read reviews, etc., biggest knock on the Pentax was on the video side.

[rFisherk]

If video is so important, you'd be better off with a video camera, or at least a GoPro.

[Quillback]

Not looking to have several cameras, would rather have one that does a good job on many fronts. Cameras are like boats, always compromises to be made.