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Archive 2014 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

JohanEickmeyer
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

I took my father's Canon Rebel t1i and 55-250 v1 kit lens to a local nature reserve for a couple of hours. I saw some swallows out feeding and playing around so I decided to try some BIF shots. I've never really tried BIF before, so it was exciting to give it a go. The auto focus was impossibly horrid so I went fully manual on all the controls.

It seems they prefer to fly perpendicular to me once in photo range. I wanted to get some more head-on shots, but they were not presenting the opportunity very often.

I'm pretty new to this BIF thing so any feedback would be a huge help in getting better.

Click HERE for the full gallery of shots

Aug 11, 2014 at 04:44 PM

JohanEickmeyer
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Here's a head-on shot. I could only get them really far away though.

Aug 11, 2014 at 05:03 PM

BeeBalm
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

I think Johan did awesome for your first try for BIF.
I give you a

You picked a very fast small bird.
You will only get that much better with practice!
Well done!
BeeBalm

Aug 11, 2014 at 05:05 PM

KirkB
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Impressive tracking and shooting skills in manual mode Johan, these bullets aren't easy to get under any conditions.

Very nice work.

Kirk

Aug 11, 2014 at 05:58 PM

KCollett
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Good manual focusing.

Aug 11, 2014 at 09:18 PM

morris
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

You did a great job. Even with faster focusing long lens this is not easy

Morris

Aug 12, 2014 at 07:50 AM

birdied
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Manual focus on these speedy small ones, not an easy feat. I would say you are off to a wonderful start . Well done!!! Great set.

Birdie

Aug 12, 2014 at 08:07 AM

surfnron
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Tough subjects Johan, but you did very well ~ Ron

Aug 12, 2014 at 08:39 AM

Michael Rucci
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Very nice BIF Johan #4 is a tree swallow while the rest are barn swallows all are fast and hardly ever fly level for long

Aug 12, 2014 at 12:37 PM

David Leask
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

You've done a great job with these Johan, well done

David

Aug 12, 2014 at 04:25 PM

bs kite
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Super job on BIF Johan. You can teach me how to do BIF.

Aug 12, 2014 at 04:58 PM

mitesh
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Wow, a really terrific effort! Goes to show what gear in capable hands can do!

Aug 12, 2014 at 05:42 PM

JohanEickmeyer
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Thanks for looking!

I didn't know they were different swallows. I thought they were male and female variations. haha

The tree swallows are my favorite.

Aug 14, 2014 at 08:58 PM

jclark14
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Exceptional results...especially considering they were all manual focused. Nice job!

Aug 14, 2014 at 09:18 PM

JohanEickmeyer
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

What's a good + cheapish telephoto lens with excellent manual focusing control?

I would like to get something for my Canon 6D for the added ISO ability and better viewfinder.

A used 400L 5.6?

Aug 15, 2014 at 01:09 AM

JohanEickmeyer
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

jclark14 wrote:
Exceptional results...especially considering they were all manual focused. Nice job!

Thanks. I think I'm going to stick with manual focusing and see where it takes me.

Aug 15, 2014 at 01:11 AM

philshoots
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Sincere respect for your first time results. Beautiful set. Jolly good operating as well, keeping them properly framed within the focus plane is challenging and you've done brilliantly. I've never been able to utilise AF on these species either. IMO manual focus yields the most keepers. The 400 5.6 L would be an excellent choice for BIF, an exceptionally lightweight L tele perfect for panning and very quick handling. A number of skilled shooters here on FM endorse this optic. Nailing these little chargers in flight can be very rewarding. In flight feeding is a personal holy grail. 😀
Keep up the excellent work. Hope to see more.

Phil

Aug 15, 2014 at 01:48 AM

tshore
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

Well done on a very challenging subject! It's possible that MF is the best approach for these shots. From personal experience, it is hard to get AF to lock on to these fast fliers. Very hard. If the light is good, maybe best to set a narrow aperture for more DOF, prefocus for a certain distance, then wait for the quarry to approach to that range?

Aug 16, 2014 at 10:12 AM

JohanEickmeyer
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

I made a guide on my manual focusing techniques. If you hav anything to add, please let me know!

CLICK HERE

Nov 08, 2014 at 01:02 PM

morris
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Manual Focus Swallows In Flight with kit lens

JohanEickmeyer wrote:
I made a guide on my manual focusing techniques. If you hav anything to add, please let me know!

CLICK HERE

Trap focus is not a burst, it's a single frame taken using a manually focused lens. The camera is set to single frame focus lock and you hold down the shutter release. When the camera detects focus it trips the shutter. Like bursting and using the in focus images, this method requires luck to capture special moments.

Autofocus and tripping the shutter when you have a special moment will produce stunning results, save card space and lots of work sorting images after the shoot.

Morris

Nov 08, 2014 at 01:10 PM

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