Best settings for photographing birds in flight

Kazape1

Hi guys, I'm a newbie to the Canon 60D. I currently have the 55-250mm lens and I'm trying to photograph birds in flight.

Most the time the birds seem to be too far away (they look like dots or silhouettes). I was out and about the other day when I heard a Carrion Crow attacking a bird of prey. It looked like a Red Kite (type of bird), but when I examined the images on my computer I couldn't tell. I must admit I was on full auto, but what can you do when you're in a spur of the moment situation?

Anyway, what would you recommend for settings to take shots of birds that are high in the sky? Would cloudy or clear skies make a difference?

lamson

Kazape1, I'm a newbie too and I had to shell out a bit of money for the Canon 100-400mm lens for a better reach. You just have to sneak up closer to the birds with your shorter lens. I would recommend starting out with P mode and after a couple of times out, you should move to Av mode. Set your AF to AI Servo, Drive mode to high-speed, and select the center AF point.

wessyfiesta

Your lens is too short for birds in flight. If you can't afford another lens, try a teleconvertor on the lens like the 1.4 or 2x kenko convertors, they are a lot cheaper than the well known brands and do the same job.

If your not sure which settings to use for bird shots, put the sport mode on. This gives you a good learning curve on the settings that are being used. Then move on to av or tv semi automatic, and just play about with the f stops and the shutter speeds.