Swallows

[astral16v]

I think I may have reached either the limit of the equipment or more likely, my own ability. Any advice on catching these birds ' on the wing' would be welcome. ( Sony A580 and a Minolta 70-210 F4 set to Shutter Priority )

 

[artyman]

You look as though you are doing OK, trying to keep the blighters in the frame is the biggest challenge

 

[GraemeReen]

Number 3 is probably the best one, the others are out of focus.

 

[twitcher]

No3 is the best,the others are all out of focus but swallow flight shots are not easy,fast little buggers to get focus on properly...Nige.

 

[astral16v]

Thanks for the feedback. This is part of the problem. I am using autofocus to try and compensate for them flying past and changing direction but I think the camera can't focus that fast and the fact that the lens is 30+ years old and isn't quick also contributes. The 'in focus' shots are the lucky ones !!

 

[cobwebscavern]

LOL....yeah a Beercan isn't going to be the best choice for BIF shots at the best of times and Swallows have got to be one of the fastest things you can try to shoot.

Try and find where they are perching and get them as they slow down to land. This will allow you to pre-focus and not worry about movement. Otherwise it's just fire off as fast as the camera will allow (5fps on that Sony body I think) and hope for the best after taking hundreds of shots. Having done this for a single shot that someone was looking for once (had to be a certain wing shape and angle etc) I think it took me just over 1200 shutter actuations before I got what I was looking for in focus.

Good luck!