Bag hide or scrim netting for birds?

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Tracer

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I would like to do a bit of gentle bird photography, partly in the garden but also in local countryside. I don't want to carry too much so probably don't want a pop-up hide. It doesn't need to be waterproof - I have no plans to sit outside in the rain for hours!

I'll be using it with my D300, 300mm f4 + 1.4TC, tripod or monopod and lightweight folding stool.

The netting would be cheaper and more flexible, and could be hung on canes or undergrowth, but would it be more awkward to arrange around me and the camera if I want to move around? The bag hide might be more convenient for that but would be hotter (if we ever get a summer) and is more expensive.

Googling has thrown up a bit on the pros and cons of each one but I still can't make up my mind :bang:.

Any thoughts?
 
I wondered about a ghillie suit but though it might work in woodland I feel it wouldn't camouflage my human outline in the garden. I'm willing to be corrected, though.
 
That looks promising. If you hang it up as a blind but the light is behind you, does your silhouette show through to the birds?
 
Never noticed to be honest but I usually have a solid background behind be it a tree or a bush which would eliminate the risk of being silhouetting. With it I can get silly close to small birds like Tits etc as long as movement is kept to a minimum. Once set up and feed put out it's a waiting game but it usually doesn't take long for them to come in close for the feed.
 
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Thanks - and another question. If you have it set up as a blind do you cut a hole in it for the lens?

Sorry to ask all these Qs but I am new to all this. I've been enjoying browsing your bird and wildlife shots.
 
Tracer said:
I wondered about a ghillie suit but though it might work in woodland I feel it wouldn't camouflage my human outline in the garden. I'm willing to be corrected, though.
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Man in a Ghillie suit.

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Very impressive - are you sure you haven't photoshopped this? :LOL:

What suit is that? The ones I found on the net just now were all big and hairy and looked too awkward to take on my bicycle.
 
As always with camo and 'hiding', you need to remember the three S's - Shadow, Sound and Silhouette. Certainly, as others have said, you need to be aware of your background - particularly in the garden.

If you go down the personal camo route (as opposed to remaining behind a static camo blind), you might try the technique over a matter of days of moving slightly closer to your target (bird feeders or whatever). This of course relies on a run of good weather over said days, and you photographing on each! Static hides can be treated similarly, again edging ever closer to where you will only ever cause a disturbance to birds.

Lastly, you might want to consider how your face and hands will show through the blind/camo...you might be best always wearing gloves and a breathable ski mask (balaclavas don't work in summer!). This is an extreme I know, but essential when I've been close quarters to a target. You may also consider wrapping some scrim around your lens...secure with sniper tape (again search on eBay for it); all that's way cheaper than Lens Coat and the like.

Good luck...you'll have fun, believe me!
 
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What about the Deben Realtree Camouflage Screen,this is the stuff i had before i somehow lost it but will buy it again. Very good camoflage, very light to carry and rolls up very small. In use its superb but i did find that in windy conditions it can rustle a bit although it sounds like leaves in the wind which is great if in an area with leaves but not great when there are no leaves in the vacinity.:wacky:

link added-
http://www.gamefayre.co.uk/index.cg...n&d=2&mid=SM283311&tp=1&cart_id=6741882_12352
 
Thanks guys for the suggestions so far. I think the ghillie suit is just too bulky for my purposes, and I would still need some scrim to wrap around the tripod.

So far only one person prefers a bag hide. Those of you who use camo netting, do you cut a hole for the lens if you are using it as a fixed screen (as opposed to draping it round yourself)?

At the moment in the garden some of the birds - particularly the blue tits - are so used to me filling the feeders that if I just sit quietly against the hedge they will come and feed. The shutter noise scares them off but they soon come back. The finches though are much more timid. I could either hang a screen off some garden canes and hide behind it, or just drape the stuff over myself which would be similar to a bag hide.

The Deben Realtree screen looks good, too - is it reasonably easy for you to see out through it, and does it tangle or catch on things in use?

Thanks too for the tips about gloves, head covering and sniper tape for the lens. (y)
 
I use the Deben Realtree Camo Material, just drape it over me and the tripod amnnd camera then secure it with some clothes pegs I pinched from the wife... don't tell her :D
 
i use a Ghillie suit and take netting with me too i think they work togather really well .
Rob.
 
Thanks - I can see the ghillie suit plus netting would be the best of all. I think I'll start off with just netting for now though, to keep things simple, but will bear the suit in mind. I'm still swithering between the Deben netting and the Clearview stuff recommended by Gary and Nicki.
 
Tracer said:
The Deben Realtree screen looks good, too - is it reasonably easy for you to see out through it, and does it tangle or catch on things in use?
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No tangle issue and its easy to seee through and you can get a reasonably sized lens poked through the netting if i remember correctly. As i said i will be getting more of it shortly as i have lost my other stuff.
 
Thanks - I don't know how my 300 + TC1.4 would compare for length. Though maybe it would be possible to take a tuck in the 'snout'.

However I have decided to go with a length of scrim for now, and see how I get on.
 
artyman said:
I use the Deben Realtree Camo Material, just drape it over me and the tripod amnnd camera then secure it with some clothes pegs I pinched from the wife... don't tell her :D
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:LOL: clothes pegs, same here ;) i went down my local army navy surplus and bought some plastic green stuff, throw it over and around myself or if in the garden shed i drape it over the doorway
 
Just found this thread and have bought the jack pyke jacket and trousers ,gloves and hat , i like the idea of a ghilli suit but i`d need to use it some where out in the country as where i go i`d feel a bit of a twit, but needs must
 
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