This was my first attempt at bird in flight photography or what is known amongst photographers as “birding”. My current systems didn’t have fast enough autofocus to handle birds in flight. However, I purchased the new Nikon D7100 which shoots 6fps, has 51 point AF and autofocuses with lenses F8 or faster. This feature is normally only found on hi-end pro camera’s whereas most camera’s in this price range only AF at 5.6 or faster. This allows more lens choices or perhaps a multiplier. I coupled this with the also new Nikon 80-400, AFS-VR, 4.0-5.6 lens.
I took about 400 photo’s this afternoon and surprisingly had a very hi-rate of in focus shots. The lens and camera combination worked very fast. I was shooting in bright sunlight and found the images to be rich in color and contrast and very sharp. Because this camera has all the tools for birding except a deep buffer I did shoot in JPEG fine where I could rattle off as many as 100 shots in a row before the buffer choked. In raw mode you’re only able to shoot (6) shots before the buffer chokes. So if you do use this camera for birding stick with JPEG FINE. I shot weddings, sports and portraits for years in JPEG fine so no big deal to me to use it for birds. I do, however, revert to raw on my other type of photography.
These images were taken in Hubbard Park, Meriden, CT.
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