New camera

[Gary Richardson]

Thanks for the 5M warning Chris. Had time to make a cup of tea, drink it, and still get back with time to spare.

Impressive performance, was it hand held or tripod mounted?

I think you need to discover vertical.

[chrishoggy]

Just stuck my head out of the back door and took the pick, no tripod

We have a sparrow hawk that uses the neighbours shed as an eating post for it's catches, so I'm hoping to get a nice clear shot of it at some point and enlarge it. Problem is it shoots off the second it sees any movement, so it's going to be a waiting game. I've just ordered a Tele lens for it too, so this should give it a bit more of a boost.
I just need to get used to setting the camera up quickly for shots, and getting used to what settings work and what doesn't. I don't like using "auto" modes, as it seems to make too many wrong decisions IMHO. The same image taken in auto mode was not worth bothering with, as it set ISO too high and made the image as noisy/grainy as hell .

[CJ Swartz]

Chris, the "Program" mode allows you to use the camera to make decisions about shutter speed and aperature when you need a quick shot but it also lets you make a "program shift" in aperature (when the light makes it possible) if you want to make a change. Shutter priority might be a good bet also for your speedy hawk so you can set it high enough to catch him even if he bolts.

[Gary Richardson]

Hi Chris,

I've got a SpuggyHawk visits my garden from time to time too, usually trying to "beat" the small birds out of the hedges.

They come to feed on my bird feeders, but hide in the hedges when it appears.

It's only occasionally and I've never yet had chance to get a shot. Best chance I had was when it made a kill one time, then sat on the top of the swing in next door's garden to eat it, but by the time I'd got my camera from upstairs it was long gone.

Hope you get a shot, they're really a beautiful bird, and damned manoeuvrable in flight considering their size.

[chrishoggy]

Would be nice to get a shot of it in flight, but thats got to be 1000's - 1 chance.
We usually see the feathers floating down before we see the hawk, as it seems to catch them as they fly out of our gardens.

Thanks for the tip CJ. I've just been using Manual Mode to date, so will look in to that.

[Gary Richardson]

Yes, they surely are fast moving, and getting a shot of one in the air will be a combination of luck, patience and skill.

Like I say the one that visits my garden beats the hedges. By which I mean it flies hitting one side of the hedge, then whips over the top to catch the sparrows or other small birds as they break from the other side, the speed and reaction to do this are amazing. It's always over in an instant, usually with the small birds escaping as there are a whole bunch of other bushes close by for them to escape to, but occasionally not.

As you say, the chances of being able to capture that are 1000s to 1, and I wish you the best of luck, I've given in. I had my camera to hand for ages, hoping for a visit, no show, but of course once I'd put it back upstairs I got a visit (as described earlier). Now I just enjoy the brief aerial display whenever it visits.