Just as important as any of the tips below is knowing that successful bird
photography requires patience and dedication. You’ll often go out on a bird
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you have shots of new bird species you didn’t even realize you saw while you
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big help when compiling your list for the outing (and sending it to Cornell Lab
of Ornithology’s wonderful eBird site.)
USE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT
You need at least a 400mm (35mm equivalent) lens—with stabilization. You can
use either a DSLR or a good superzoom model such as the Sony RX10 IV or
Canon SX70 HS. A favorite bird lens of mine is the Sigma 150–600mm f/5–6.3
DG OS HSM Contemporary, which gives you lots of reach, good stabilization,
and fast ultrasonic focusing. For more options, read our roundups of the Best
Bridge Cameras and the Best DSLR and Mirrorless Camera Lenses (scroll down
to the telephoto section).
SHOOT IN SHUTTER PRIORITY
Since you’re shooting a potentially moving subject with a telephoto lens, you’ll
need to use a quick enough shutter speed to prevent motion blur, even though
your lens includes stabilization. A rough rule of thumb is that you want at a very
minimum a 1/100th of a second for still subjects. 1/320th of a second or higher
will be more reliable, especially if the bird moves. It’s not a hard and fast rule
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Photo^ credit:^ StockPhotosArt/Shutterstock.com