F number for birds

[Jackp93]

Hi all

I’m sure this has been answered before, but when people are photographing birds perched on twigs what f number do you use? At the moment I’m using 7.1 because that way it’s normally fully in focus.

Thanks

Jack

 

[Phil-D]

Hiya Jack, welcome to the forum.

I'm usually guilty of shooting wide open, Nikon D500, 500pf @ f5.6.

Occasionally I'll have the opportunity to stop down, good light, close frame filling subject.

I would say there isn't really an optimum answer, it all depends on focal length, distance from subject to sensor, full frame or crop body, available light, how far you're prepared to push ISO ..........

 

[Deleted member 34016]

Push the ISO. I do to get f8 or f9 to ensure its in focus and most long lenses have a sweet spot of around f8 in experience

Les

 

[Dale.]

Hi Jack.

Light is your friend as you can stop down then, f8 ish seems to work well. A lot of variables come into it though as mentioned above and it will always be a compromise, to some degree.

I'm a bit OCD about it, I like the whole bird sharp but even a goldfinch, can be sharp on the head and eye (the important bit) but the tail can be OOF.

A trick I've learned is to get the bird perched side on and parallel to the sensor. The problem with that is you lose some dimension or depth but it can work.

One thing I would say, focus on the eye, that has to be sharp, everytime.

 

[ShinySideUp]

One thing I would say, focus on the eye, that has to be sharp, everytime.

absolutely (specialist pictures aside of course).

 

[Jackp93]

Thanks for all the advice, if the weathers good at the weekend I might try to set up and do some shots at vary numbers as mostly it’s in my garden so i can tweak where they land to hopefully make it easier.

 

[Phil-D]

Have you looked at a DOF calculator?

https://www.photopills.com/calculators/dof

Getting all the bird sharp isn't just about stopping down.

I've found f5.6 to be pin sharp on the 500pf so distance to subject plays a bigger part.

Subject at 30ft gives just shy of 3 inch dof @ f5.6, plenty for a small bird

 

[Jackp93]

Thanks for the link @Phil-D that looks like a fantastic resource for me

 

[TheBunnyIsEvil]

Mmm useful thread for me as I finally start getting out of the house again armed with my 300mm f/4 and the TC14. I shoot FX. Birdies are on my target list as I think my two furry house goblins are pretty fed up with being stalked around the flat by mummy and that damned camera-thingy…

 

[Stuart Philpott]

All I can add to Phil and Dale's cracking post's Jack is artistic interpretation it's not about getting the whole of the bird sharp from beak tip to tail.........it's about FINDING the most appealing frame in a given situation.

If you are stupidly close your DOF will be wafer thin with longer focal lengths you have to freeze the eye have that sharp.... but how YOU choose that DOF to fall around that is your choice.........Jack this is opinion driven open to debate............. they are YOUR choices

but make no mistake the closer you get the harder YOUR choices get and the more specific you have to be on DOF..................... AND FRAMING


as an aside ponder your BKG Jack...........how does you background BKG work with you DOF choice at a given distance.PONDER that bro it's a huge thing....I'm not saying follow a formula I'm saying know it...so you can choose what you want to make

all the luck

stu

 

[JayceeC]

I am just getting into photographing birds, I just had a look at the settings on my Robin pictures, one at f 5 the other at f5.6 different days and locations and I was little more than 2 metres away from both. Shutter speed and ISO quite different .

 

[Deleted member 34016]

One thing I would say, focus on the eye, that has to be sharp, everytime.

I use Sony with animal eye AF seems to be working just fine, so to the OP - BUY SONY