Really good that you demonstrate that you don't need the latest gear and spend the huge sums of money to get great images.

WOW - with a Canon 40D!!! Makes me rethink upgrading my old Canon EOS R!

Duade, I’m a long time fan and really enjoying these master classes. You always make me think. I actually hear your voice in my head sometimes saying, “ where else would you want to be !” I shoot the R5 100-500 and do struggle in early morning light, but I’ve used your tips to continually improve. One thing that has dawned on me recently is to pull back the lens to about 420 mm to get an aperture of 6.3. I’m also trying to get better at handholding with lower shutter speeds, which is a challenge for me. The other challenge I have is to not take the shot if the conditions aren’t right and to just try and enjoy the experience. Cheers from a random little town in the USA!

@willherondale6367

21 күн бұрын

Are you finding that helps in any way? I wouldn't have expect the marginal benefits in noise between f6.3 and 7.1 to matter nearly as much as going from 420 to 500mm. Obviously, if you're deliberately shooting wider for sake of framing that's great, but it seems from your comment that you're doing it just for the wider aperture. Are you ever cropping the 420 f6.3 image to get closer to the bird afterwards? In this case, shooting at 500mm will always lead to better results and less noise. Also, if you're finding noise to be an issue, getting DxO PureRaw or Topaz denoise will improve your image quality exponentially for a negligible price in comparison to the price of that lens.

@Kellysher

21 күн бұрын

@@willherondale6367 I just started working with the 6.3 idea. I’m still learning, but I get your point. I feel low light is effecting both the autofocus ability and the noise. I really appreciate sharp images, and I know what the lens can do if I wait for just a little more light. Distance of the subject will also play a role in IQ in low light. I do use topaz denoise, but that can only help so much without looking fake imo. I am finding the AF more responsive at 6.3. I’d rather crop a sharp image I guess. I probably need more skill at handholding lower shutter speeds, but boy do I hate missing an amazing shot due to camera shake. It’s good gear, it’s me that has to improve!

@willherondale6367

21 күн бұрын

@Kellysher Keep at it! You'll get there, its a huge learning curve at the beginning but just by thinking about it actively and seeking out videos like this, your progress is gonna absolutely skyrocket. It's a really cool feeling when you look back at 'the best photo you'd ever taken' from three months ago, and realise that it doesn't even look that good anymore in comparison to the shots you're taking regularly now. I still have miles to go on this photography the journey myself, and I doubt you ever feel like there's no more progress to make (and how boring would that be?!). I wonder, if you find the camera autofocuses better a little zoomed out, maybe try doing that but then pushing back in that last 80mm while continuously refocusing with eye-autofocus; that should keep the bird locked sharp, and because you've already focused on the bird its not gonna lose it and start jumping to the background and stuff. Good luck!

Hi Duade. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain the technical details behind your magnificent photos. I have 12 years of experience in macro photography and just 2 years in bird photography, and your videos have been incredibly helpful in improving this new facet of my work as a biologist and nature photographer. Greetings from Colombia (Soon my greetings will be from South Australia!) 😃😃😃

Excellent video! Really enjoy these Master Class videos. Hope you keep them coming. I think seeing you work with the 40D and demonstrating how you can still get nice images with the older camera by using your tips and advice is what makes them very interesting and encouraging for newer photographers.

As always a good learning experience with you. Your combination of camera and lens just proves how important the lens is in photography. That's why I recommend that 2/3 of your budget should go towards objectives if you starting from scratch.

More fantastic guidance and insight into photography Duade - Thank you so much. I'm even more excited about your posts these days as I have a four week driving vacation to Western Australia planned for Late June (Starting in Perth and driving up the coast to Exmouth) So as you can imagine I am really looking forward to the wonderful Australian light rather than struggling through our English Summer of cloud and rain. Thanks for all the tips!!

Great video again Duade. These fundamental concepts videos are very valuable.

I love the down to earth way you find to show the technic. Verry effective.

I just know it’s a good day when you upload, your videos are truly exceptional good!

Really great educational video! Thanks for the tips

Great video Duade!

Awesome, once I realized how essential being closer and knowing the light I started getting better shots.

Very helpful... I'll apply your suggestions tomorrow.

Some very good tips, thank you

Thanks for your great teaching 🙏

Excellent information Duade.

Stunning photos with that 40D!! Wow!

Really great video!

Great instruction. Story, light, fill the frame to make compelling photographs Thanks

One admittedly not free change that has transformed my photography is the Topaz Photo AI programs that I was gifted for my birthday. You can pick up the collection of AI programs on black friday for a decent price, under 200 USD. I shoot with an 80D and an ANCIENT Tamron SP 150-600 but have been getting results that I'm quite happy with by: Using a tripod, Photo AI, and getting nice and close to my subjects. When a 'special' moment presents itself that I need to be quick for, I just release from the tripod if I know I won't have time to adjust it. So many of my best/favorite photos recently would have been instant throwaways without owning Photo AI. Denoise and Sharpen are hugely helpful, and occasionally the Balance Color and Adjust Lighting features can be a big help as well.

@Dorax75

22 күн бұрын

80D is still a great camera (I have and I still love it). The huge difference comparing to new mirrorless cameras are the focusing speed and focusing capabilities rather than image quality.

Another master class video Duade. These latest set of videos have been so informative & useful. Keep them coming. If you have time, could you do a video on how much post processing you do & the techniques you use. Many thanks again.

Excellent advice

Great ideo as always Duade! What I really like about your videos is the RAW image out of the camera. It shows the power of post-processing when done right. I usually am disappointed by the images when I pull them out of the camera, but from your videos, I understood that you need to "help" you images standout. A 3rd perspective video, like this one, which shows you in the process of photography is always informative. I would love to see a video with tips on shooting smaller birds or birds in a canopy - my part of the woods has dense or tall trees and birds can only be seen in them.

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

G'day that is great to hear and glad you enjoyed the video and found it helpful, Cheers, Duade

another excellent video, thankyou

Duade, thanks so much for this type of video. It's what led me to subscribe to your channel a year or two ago. I've shared them with friends on FB, and many of them have remarked how helpful they are. Really look forward to your videos that show how to approach some aspect of wildlife photography no matter what gear a person has!

@Duade

20 күн бұрын

Thanks for the feedback and glad to hear they are helping people learn, it is what it is all about. Cheers, Duade

Hi Duade, Just wanted to say thank you so much for your channel. I have been devouring your videos and have learned so much since coming across your content. I was watching them and thinking, there is something about this guy, he’s really familiar. Then I realized that you had done a talk at a school I worked at on road safety! What an incredible coincidence! I have just started getting into bird photography, after starting out not too long ago with a focus on sports. I was (still am) extremely burnt out from work, and have taken this year to find myself again. I cannot describe adequately the sense of calm and joy I feel heading out on walks and taking photos. I’m very lucky as I live near a lake, so the opportunities are endless. I still have so much to learn but it’s been a great adventure so far. Thanks for all that you do! Amber

Brilliant series of tutorials Duade. That 40d always amazes me…

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Thanks mate, yes, me too, Cheers, Duade

That was great 👍

Very informative and beautifully communicated. Thanks much!

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

My pleasure Jeffery, Cheers, Duade

Great and informative video as always mate, and as always with some amazing photos. Even if i live in Brazil, low light is what i have most of, because my main area to photograph in is the rainforest, so mostly i need to use from iso1600 and up. Luckily the birds there let me come pretty close, so that help. Wishing you and yours a wonderful week. Cheers, Bjoern

Great example of a successful cheap-camera challenge! Love the black cockatoos. I saw one in at a wildlife park in Australia and just loved it.

Amazing videos as usual!!! Thank you!

@Duade

22 күн бұрын

My pleasure!

Very good teaching pointers. Thank you so much!

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

My pleasure, Cheers, Duade

Very interesting topic . Excellent advice. Thanks. I would like to see post processing videos please

Thank you so much👍

You are right about light quality in Australia. In the UK, we are having a long, wet, gloomy spring. This is the first spring i've had my camera - so annoying. And i like small birds - very frustrating but when you grab a good shot it's more rewarding. Butbin gloomy light and with shade from the woodland leaves - nightmare. Thank you for the vudeo.

@helios6379

22 күн бұрын

I'm with you, there: it's my first spring with camera, too. What may make it worse is that I'm in Italy, generally very sunny during this season; and instead it feels like November. It's really frustrating considering how good of a season it is for bird and general wildlife photography. I wish you best of luck!

@jonathanfryer1319

22 күн бұрын

@helios6379 You, too. Some people live in a bird paradise, next a nature reserve etc. They can just go out when the light is good. I'm jealous! I won't give up, though. It's a great hobby.

@173jaSon371

22 күн бұрын

I hear ya, I've been at it for almost 2 years and my entire first summer of photography was in extreme drought conditions lol. The weather rarely seems to do what you want it to, so you need to be aware of how the changes week to week impact your local wildlife species behaviors. Couple weekends ago I shot some Bald Eagles in a shallow cove that were eating some very active carp. Fast forward 1 week and the cove was much deeper from the storms, and the Eagles were in a swamp area that the carp were now more active in instead of that cove. Unfortunately I had no angle to shoot them now at the spot the fish have been flushed into haha. Now I'll start visiting another of my local spots for a while.

@Xirpzy

20 күн бұрын

One way is to set up feeders. Doesnt help with the light but it attracts subjects. I actually find small birds easier to photograph than larger ones because they tend to hang out in bushes and trees. A crow or magpie will notice that I am there and just fly away. We also dont have many colourful birds here compared to australia but we do have lots of deer and foxes.

I always enjoy your videos. I love this approach of showing your results from having used less than state of the art equipment. Currently, there’s all this buzz about the R1 and the R5 mk II. When these come out, they will be great cameras, but we will still take mediocre images without the good techniques you’ve been covering in this series. Paying attention to these videos and putting these techniques into practice will likely improve your images more than a fancy new camera body - at considerably less cost! I’d love to see an outline of what’s to come in your master class series.

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Thanks mate, totally agree and it is always an interesting conversation about how important the gear is. I think they are ultimately tools that allow us to better utilise our skills to capture images. Cheers, Duade

Nice demos

Great video, and it just goes to show how you don't need an expensive Camera to get great results. I just came 2nd in a competition out of 9,800 photos and used my Canon 80D and £150 10-18mm EFS Landscape Lens.

Thanks Duade! I think it's tough to remember some of these things when excitement creeps into your head. It seems to be planning is key here. Look for things in the right places, not just trying to get good shots that may be in the wrong places. That's the tough part of nature photography. You can't always get to the "right places" at the "right times". I'll see something I'd love to take shots of on the other side of a lake, but without a boat I'll never make it there in time to catch the action. The next time, I'm making sure I'm in that spot FIRST!

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

G'day, yes, planning is very important for sure and a big help. Cheers, Duade

Good job, thx from Philadelphia

Some great advice,..... I would like to see methods to set up scenes / props for photographing birds landing / taking off. As there are do many amazing photos of birds on a stick !

Interesting information, as always!

@Duade

22 күн бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Love your videos. Excellent work. Really important and useful tips. Would love to know your thoughts about the lumix 100-400mm (if you've had the chance to using it) and how it compares to the Olympus 100-400mm ? I'm new to bird photography and have been enjoying your tips and lessons. Thank you

That older 400mm can work on a 60Mp sensor well which gives good detail even if fairly distant. Newer mirrorless cameras can give spot on focus.

Great video topic, well explained, thank you for the work behind the video and greetings from Münsterland / Germany from Markus

@Duade

14 күн бұрын

Awesome, thank you!

Another great video so thank you. Question, you did a video some 4 years ago on How To Edit Bird Photos Using Lightroom And Photoshop | Advanced Techniques From Start To Finish and just wonder have you changed the way you now process images with the advancements in the software now available to us especially when it comes to the noise side of images? Thanks again.

Beautiful imagens with "old gear". Congrats!

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Thank you, it always surprises me, Cheers, Duade

I'm agree with your every words. I've absolutely similar experience with the old 40D body. I've bought a used Canon EF-S 60mm macro lens for my wife to make product photos and because she loves the macro photography too. In the last two weeks I brought her to my early morning bird photography sessions (3-4 hours) to take macro photos while I'm hunting for birds with my 80D+S150-600. And she loved it and she was patient and took really great photos. Few days ago I had processed her photos as well in Lightroom and I was shocked how good the image quality is. No chromatic aberration, high contrast, lot of details, amazing, Fantastic how good photos can be taken with the old 40D with a good lens in good lighting conditions. The same quality applies to the Canon EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS lens as well. I think maybe the two best APS-C lens what Canon ever made. And the best that I bought these two lenses in "like-a-new" condition around 500 USD alltogether. :-)

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Thanks mate, yes, I think we often get caught up in the gear side of things when the light, how close you are and technique makes a big difference, glad to hear you wife is enjoying joining you, my wife stopped after the first year :-) Cheers, Duade

@Dorax75

21 күн бұрын

@@Duade It would be a great result if she join me after a few weeks. She struggle with the early morning wake up. :-D The best pictures are taken outside of your comfort zone.

I think the photo you said was bad is actually very good🤔

Great video, Duade. Now I know why most of my shots are garbage!

Awesome video thanks always a good day when you post 😁

@KurtisPape

22 күн бұрын

Hey mate 👍👍

@micahboyce_photography

22 күн бұрын

@@KurtisPape howdy 😂

@micahboyce_photography

22 күн бұрын

@@KurtisPape dayummm u fameous

@micahboyce_photography

22 күн бұрын

@@KurtisPape I can't spell sorry

@KurtisPape

22 күн бұрын

@@micahboyce_photography I just need to start making videos again, been a couple years

Fantastic.

Thank you for your super video. A good photographer make with every camera and lens a fantastic foto 👍👍👍👍👍

@Duade

22 күн бұрын

Many thanks!

Nice video again!!! Keep on going with this kind of topics. Btw: if you can make such beautiful photo's with that gear, why buy a R5... :)

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Thanks, good question, ultimately the R5 allows me to take better photos in less than ideal light. Cheers, Duade

One cannot imagine the ads of this good old combo better than that is made by you, Duade))) Guess there is neither 40d nor 400 mm f5.6 left on the secondary market right now)))

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Yes, if only I got a cut of the sales :-) Cheers, Duade

Another great teaching episode! Do you have one for Flash in low light situations? Just curious if you have done one? Thanks!

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Thanks, unfortunately I need to take a course on flash myself as I don't really use it. Cheers, Duade

I like how you show the raw photo.

I had to laugh when you said the 40D was only $40. I was very jealous of a fellow traveller when he had his 10mp Canon 40D vs my 8mp Canon 30D on a trip to Antarctica in 2008. How things have changed. As always though, content is king. Enjoy your videos and good to see a fellow Aussie putting out quality content.

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Thanks for sharing!

Excellent point on image iq

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Thank you, Cheers, Duade

Hi Duade. Great stuff, really enjoyed the video. I might have you beat here. I've got the same 400mm F5.6L lens that you have but I also still have my very first DSLR a Canon 20D - only 8 Mp if I remember correctly. I'll have to dig it out and have a go following your guidelines; wonder if the battery will still charge? Wonder if I can find the battery charger, hope it's in the same box as the camera! John

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Thanks John, yes, you do, I still have fun with my 40D but those 9 AF points make it difficult. Cheers, Duade

Totally agree with Duade . My only decent bird shots were when I was close and it was golden hour .. that day was a revelation that “gear does matter” is not a cliche 😊 it’s the fact

Hey Duade, great review. Would love to see you review the Fuji X-T50 camera for wildlife with it's budget price, being 40 megapixels and also having improved animal subject tracking. Wanted to know whether it would be a good option for birding and wildlife. Thanks!

Still, the coot photographs has a very artsy vibe about it. In a certain eye it is quite charming.

תודה!

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Thanks for the support, I appreciate it, Cheers, Duade

Hey Duade! Where did you get that shirt you use in the field? it looks very comfortable i'd love to get one!

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

G'day, it is a no name brand I got 10 years ago from a fishing and camping store, sorry about that, Cheers, Duade

I actually like the grainy coot photo, the very noise is giving it an almost drawing-like quality. :)

Switching from 90D to R7 was a 400% improvement... It's not even funny how much better the mirror less cameras are. QUESTION: Should I invest in a 2x converter for my 70-200? Or should I wait and eventually get the 100-500 RF. It's just so darn expensive... Awesome content btw! Cheers

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

G'day, yes, R7 is an improvement over the 90D and glad you are enjoying it. It depends which 70-200 you have, if its the third version on EF it maybe ok but in general it does not seem to work as well as you would hope. The RF200-800 is another option if you want lots of reach. It is a big lens and heavy compared to the RF100-500. Cheers, Duade

Hi Duade. In your postprocessing workflow, do you use your denoising/sharpening software before or after making adjustments in lightroom? Do you use Topaz/DxO? I find my Topaz Denoise AI to be quite good but sometimes inconsistent in terms of when to use it during the process.

@Kellysher

22 күн бұрын

Following

@173jaSon371

22 күн бұрын

I use Topaz AI and it says somewhere or another to not edit in lightroom beforehand I think.

Nice pics, but don’t know if I would lie down by the waterfront like that .. was waiting for a big Salty to jump out of the water. lol. 😂

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Thankfully we don't get crocs down here in Southern Australia, I would not be doing it in croc country, Cheers, Duade

The war in wildlife photography always seems to be about having any environmental detail or maximizing the size of the flanimal.

Hey Duade! I have been looking for a beginer bird photography kit for arround 2000 euros and I found a 400 f5.6 used for 900 euros. Also I have found an r6 used for 1200 euros and I can buy new the r10 (1000 euros) and the sigma 150-600 (100 euros). What kit do you recomend buying, the r10 with sigma 150-600, the r6 with the 150-600 or the r10 with the 400 5.6? Note that I can have a friend of mine buying an r7 from the US and bringing it back to where I live (grey market) Thanks in advance! Cheers Nick!

@173jaSon371

22 күн бұрын

R6 will have superior IQ but the R7 will give you that 60% extra reach since it's a crop factor body, depends what you need more for what you shoot. R6 will have faster readout speeds for stuff like Bird in Flight and early/late low light situations, which will give you a higher 'keeper rate' when shooting. If you were dead-set on getting that high IQ and keeper rate, you could spend a chunk more and add a 1.4 TC to the R6 to get almost the same reach as the R7, but would have less control over your aperture while shooting with the TC on obviously.

@Kampani_2024

22 күн бұрын

@@173jaSon371 Thank you!

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

G'day, the 150-600 unfortunately does not communicate 100% with the R series of cameras with eye tracking. The 400 5.6L should work well on the R7 but the lens does lack IS and has a 3.5m MFD I think which are its weaknesses. It is very sharp though and you could use a 1.4 converter on it as well for extra reach. The other option is the RF100-400 but that might be a touch short for small birds. Good luck, Cheers, Duade

Clear as bean soup ❤

Duade , you make so many great points here about getting close to the birds , I can never stress this enough when I see fellow photographers rushing the birds dressed in A white T-shirt with blue jeans it just stresses me out when I see this and the birds just fly away and then these photographers never realize what they have done , especially to there fellow photographers .

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

Totally agree mate, I have experienced that a few times, or dog walkers with dogs off lead is another favourite. Cheers, Duade

How many meters away are these birds with a 400mm lens? Less than 50 meters? THANKS!

👌🤝👍

Hi Duede, please can you help me out with a review I'm interested in. The 200-800 vs 100-500 on the R7. All reviews try and convert the 100-500 into a 200-800 by adding a converter. and then compare. Can you review a lens for somebody that want to buy a R7 but needs to pic a 100-500 or 200-800. No converters or no other lenses. just a pros vs cons video.

New Vid dropped, Less goo

Another factor is many zoom lenses have substantially worse IQ at the telephoto end of the range, like my Sigma 100-400mm. That’s another reason to get closer if you can.

@SreejithRc

21 күн бұрын

True that . My good old 400mm f5.6 works much better than recently bought tamron 150-600 ( both bought from used eBay market - former was bought after watching Duade’s videos :) )

next time take some jpegs with that camera to compare with your edited raw photo

What you call "Light Value" I've often heard called "Exposure Value", EV. BTW, I'm curious, did you see the Fuji promo video with their latest GFX100Sii camera plus their new 500mm f/5.6 lens for shooting wildlife? 😳 I wonder what the image quality of that kit will be, but it must be crazy expensive and heavy! And probably quite slow to focus and shoot, despite all the improvements Fuji has made over the years.

@TimvanderLeeuw

21 күн бұрын

Link to the Fuji promo video, not sure if KZread will allow posting it: kzread.info/dash/bejne/kZ53k5OGpNenYJc.html

Good stuff however that lens is still far from a budget lens currently there is not one below £600 on ebay.

I remember I had an old, beginner DSLR with a cheapest 70-300mm for taking a finch below my local bridge. Small subject and dark 😂 Thank you for your video as usual, I'm happy that 40D is still going strong.

Is this how you calculate light value 😮? LV=log2(N**2/t)-log2(ISO/100) That’s lot of math lol

Hey Duade, i have a R10 + Sigma 150-600c. What would u change first.. R10 to a R6 II or R5 - or the Sigma to a RF 100-500?

kzread.info/dash/bejne/mZejybZphtDWZZs.htmlsi=l70I7WSRjU7PsP1h here’s a video showing the issue I’m having on the r6ii yet it’s fine if I add the rf 1.4x to it snd it’s fine on the t7 too weird

Mqybe its not that the birds don't care about you... Maybe they just like you

It's not all about filling the frame with the subject for naturalist photographers, wildlife photography is about recording the natural and telling a story, frame fillers are the norm in modern day photographers like yourself, but it's boring and uninteresting to look at.

@rubendeb6871

22 күн бұрын

You definitely didn’t watch until the end. And actually, if you watch more of Duade’s videos you will notice that most of the time he rather shoots natural and story telling photos. Have a nice day though.

@_mattparish

22 күн бұрын

When it comes to image quality, there's no substitute for proximity to your subject

@173jaSon371

22 күн бұрын

Lol he literally says as much, calm down buddy.

@MiguelGomes2023

22 күн бұрын

I think you didn't get the point of this video...

@Handycrabby

22 күн бұрын

Your camera, your picture do whatever you want to do! Like what you want to like!

Thanks again, Duade, for your great insight into capturing better photos. It’s a huge help. I think I do everything right, but I can never seem to get the clarity that you do. Maybe, I don’t hold my camera still enough. I have the R5 with the 100-500 mm. I get good photos… the eye is just not perfectly clear when I really zoom in. I have never gone out in the morning yet, though. It’s, usually, at golden hour and later. So, maybe, that’s the problem, as you say in this video. Your chart is very helpful. Have a great day, Duade.

@Duade

21 күн бұрын

G'day, what shutter speed are you using? The lens and camera should have plenty of stabilisation to keep it steady handheld. Have a go in that nice bright light and see how you go, Cheers, Duade

@1WorldPhotographydotcom

21 күн бұрын

@@Duade I'm using a SS of 2500 to 4000, unless they're perfectly still. Then, I'll go a little lower. If I go too much higher with the SS, my ISO will climb. My aperture is as low as I can go at 7.1, typically. But, there again, I'm not able to get as close to a lot of the birds as I would like to. But even in the photos I take of the birds that are close, I never have a crystal clear eye focus. If you wanted to see my photos, my Florida Bird gallery is on my website which is the name of my KZread page. I'm sure you have other things to do, though. Lol. Thx, Duade.

@Duade

20 күн бұрын

@@1WorldPhotographydotcom G'day, yes that is a high SS and in good light should result in very nice shots. In lower light that SS maybe too high, feel free to email me a shot at duade.paton@gmail.com Cheers, Duade