# EOS R for Birds in Flight



## AlanF (Jan 20, 2020)

Anyone using the the EOS R for BIF? The first reports on the R suggested it wasn't up to using for BIF. However, I have been seeing some good shots on the net and am wondering if the firmware updates have made significant improvements that the R is now generally useful. Please post any first hand experience and any shots, with some indications about the number of keepers.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jan 21, 2020)

I tried it tracking a seagull and it didn't feel great, like it was always a little behind the bird. This was firmware 1.4 with a 500mm f/4.0. But it will depend what you are upgrading from too, my 5D Mark II is a slouch at all things AF and a R would blow it out the water. Compared to a recent camera like a 7d mark II it felt frustrating.


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## Cog (Jan 22, 2020)

I had a chance to use it when shooting birds that constantly move (not necessarily flying). I was constantly thinking that I needed a joystick to change the location of the AF point. 5D IV is much more handy for this.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jan 23, 2020)

Cog said:


> I had a chance to use it when shooting birds that constantly move (not necessarily flying). I was constantly thinking that I needed a joystick to change the location of the AF point. 5D IV is much more handy for this.



How did you find tracking/screen lag?, I felt it was always maybe a few ms behind the bird. Just enough to feel off.


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## Cog (Jan 23, 2020)

Codebunny said:


> How did you find tracking/screen lag?, I felt it was always maybe a few ms behind the bird. Just enough to feel off.


I actually did not pay attention to it. But I wouldn't be surprised if this lag exists. I can feel it with very fast moving objects on my Olympus em1 m2. I don't think Canon was able to revolutionize the technology on their first ff mirrorless camera. From what I saw and felt, and considering the selection of RF lenses available by now, Canon R is not meant for sport or wildlife.


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## Bert63 (Feb 13, 2020)

It's different but it works fine if you get used to it. Crap sky yesterday and horrible light but...


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## Cog (Feb 14, 2020)

Bert63 said:


> It's different but it works fine if you get used to it. Crap sky yesterday and horrible light but...


Nice image! It should be better with slower moving birds.


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## Bert63 (Feb 14, 2020)

Cog said:


> Nice image! It should be better with slower moving birds.




I have BIFs of barn swallows (fast and erratic) and about every other bird we have in this region using the EOS-R. It's fine.


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## AlanF (Feb 14, 2020)

Bert63 said:


> I have BIFs of barn swallows (fast and erratic) and about every other bird we have in this region using the EOS-R. It's fine.


Bert, I'd love to see some shots.


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## Bert63 (Feb 15, 2020)

AlanF said:


> Bert, I'd love to see some shots.



Just stick them in this thread then?


I'll have to crop


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## Bert63 (Feb 15, 2020)




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## Bert63 (Feb 15, 2020)




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## Bert63 (Feb 15, 2020)




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## Bert63 (Feb 15, 2020)




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## Bert63 (Feb 15, 2020)

Not meant to be NATGEO quality but decent for a hobbiest like me.


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## AlanF (Feb 15, 2020)

Bert
Great shots. Thanks for posting. These give me real encouragement. What percentage of keepers do you get?


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## Bert63 (Feb 15, 2020)

When the target is within realistic range I usually get a nice sequence to choose from. The eagle at the top was flying in a group of three that were flying all over the place chasing each other and I probably got 15 in the sequence of which 13 were probably solid keepers.

The eagle at the top is one of a string of about 20 of which I kept all but two. I got him flying all the way up to the tree and then landing. It was amazing and I shocked myself.

Other days I get zero. Usually due to wishful thinking, lack of preparedness, or giving my lens imaginary reach it just doesn't have.

Thanks for the compliment. My photography is probably 95 percent birds.. I'm lucky to live where I live.


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## AlanF (Feb 15, 2020)

Bert63 said:


> When the target is within realistic range I usually get a nice sequence to choose from. The eagle at the top was flying in a group of three that were flying all over the place chasing each other and I probably got 15 in the sequence of which 13 were probably solid keepers.
> 
> The eagle at the top is one of a string of about 20 of which I kept all but two. I got him flying all the way up to the tree and then landing. It was amazing and I shocked myself.
> 
> ...


I am so envious of where you live! Please post the odd shot in the Bird Portraits and Birds in Flight threads as we regulars like seeing photos like yours.


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## Bert63 (Feb 15, 2020)

AlanF said:


> I am so envious of where you live! Please post the odd shot in the Bird Portraits and Birds in Flight threads as we regulars like seeing photos like yours.




I will do it - I have been a long time lurker and finally decided to post a bit. I really like this site.

You probably already do this but what I do is sest one of the 'custom modes' on all my cameras for basic BIF settings so when something comes flying along I blip over to mode setting '3' make quick minor adjustments and off I go. Things like tracking, minimum shutter speed, burst mode, etc are already set so I'm usually ahead of the game. I found it helped me a lot.

Before I did this I'd see a bird and panic and by the time I got set up to even attempt a shot I was looking at tail feathers.

I just looked at the posted pics and man does it screw the quality of the shot - I'll have to find a host that will allow full resolution pics - any suggestions?


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## AlanF (Feb 15, 2020)

Bert63 said:


> I will do it - I have been a long time lurker and finally decided to post a bit. I really like this site.
> 
> You probably already do this but what I do is sest one of the 'custom modes' on all my cameras for basic BIF settings so when something comes flying along I blip over to mode setting '3' make quick minor adjustments and off I go. Things like tracking, minimum shutter speed, burst mode, etc are already set so I'm usually ahead of the game. I found it helped me a lot.
> 
> ...


On my 5D series, I have C3, C2, C1 programmed to be sticky on my standard settings for BIF, backlit and normal perched birds, and M and Av or Tv for more immediate changes, and use muscle memory to flick through. You should be able to click and expand the images here. I download the more interesting ones to look at.


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## Bert63 (Feb 15, 2020)

AlanF said:


> On my 5D series, I have C3, C2, C1 programmed to be sticky on my standard settings for BIF, backlit and normal perched birds, and M and Av or Tv for more immediate changes, and use muscle memory to flick through. You should be able to click and expand the images here. I download the more interesting ones to look at.




Ugh. Have to find a better way to reduce for uploading. Compared to my hard copies here those look terrible... hehehe..

Your 5D4 is the masked assassin of BIFs man. I used to love my 7D2 and the 10FPS but the auto-focus on the 5D4, for me, hit so much better.

Muscle memory? At my age senility is more the concern. I'm happy with normal memory.

Thanks for the warm welcome - it's appreciated.


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## Bert63 (Feb 15, 2020)

And Alan - just wanted to drop this here - seemed as good a place as any - you take some amazing photos my man. Great equipment (which you have) is useless unless you know how to use it.

Nicely done.


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## AlanF (Feb 15, 2020)

Bert63 said:


> And Alan - just wanted to drop this here - seemed as good a place as any - you take some amazing photos my man. Great equipment (which you have) is useless unless you know how to use it.
> 
> Nicely done.


Thank you!


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## unfocused (Feb 15, 2020)

My opinion/experience, your mileage may vary.

The R can have a very hard time acquiring focus. Once it gets focused, it does a good job of tracking, but I've missed a lot of unexpected opportunities because it can't find the subject. When it misses focus, it misses by a mile and when it does acquire focus, it can be slow to do so. This is true not only with BIF, but with stationary portraits as well. I've shot tons of head shots for sports teams and there are times when it just totally can't focus on the subject and I have to manually focus the shot in order to "help" it acquire the focus. I've never had that happen with a DSLR.

This is a shot from last summer at Gulf Shores, Alabama. You can see that when it works, it works well. But, it needs to be more reliable. I'm hoping that the R5 will address some of these issues.


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## Bert63 (Feb 16, 2020)

unfocused said:


> My opinion/experience, your mileage may vary.
> 
> The R can have a very hard time acquiring focus. Once it gets focused, it does a good job of tracking, but I've missed a lot of unexpected opportunities because it can't find the subject. When it misses focus, it misses by a mile and when it does acquire focus, it can be slow to do so. This is true not only with BIF, but with stationary portraits as well. I've shot tons of head shots for sports teams and there are times when it just totally can't focus on the subject and I have to manually focus the shot in order to "help" it acquire the focus. I've never had that happen with a DSLR.
> 
> ...




Which lens are you having this issue with?

99 percent of the time I have the 100-400 II with a 1.4 III on my EOS-R. I had a bit of an issue like you describe and I solved it by not being fully zoomed when acquiring the subject. With a max of 560mm, I usually roll back to 250-300mm until the focus snaps in, the roll back in tight, usually to 560, and things work out okay.

I won't even try to lie - both my 5D4 and 7D2, for me, destroy the EOS-R in terms of acquisition, but I still don't have a 'problem' with the EOS-R. the above technique works for me when the problem happens, but for me it doesn't happen that often.

My missed opportunities are usually self-created.


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## mikekeck (Feb 16, 2020)

AlanF said:


> On my 5D series, I have C3, C2, C1 programmed to be sticky on my standard settings for BIF, backlit and normal perched birds, and M and Av or Tv for more immediate changes, and use muscle memory to flick through. You should be able to click and expand the images here. I download the more interesting ones to look at.




AlanF (and anyone else): what are your standard focus tracking settings on a 5D for BIF? I have a 5D iv and I am terrible at BIF, so it must be my settings, right?


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## Cog (Feb 16, 2020)

mikekeck said:


> AlanF (and anyone else): what are your standard focus tracking settings on a 5D for BIF? I have a 5D iv and I am terrible at BIF, so it must be my settings, right?


5D m4 has an excellent AF and tracking capability. If your hands are firm enough, you should have no issues with focusing and tracking BIF. You may want to read some tutorials on AF settings for birding. There are quite a few of them on-line.


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## AlanF (Feb 16, 2020)

mikekeck said:


> AlanF (and anyone else): what are your standard focus tracking settings on a 5D for BIF? I have a 5D iv and I am terrible at BIF, so it must be my settings, right?


I use central 9 points, shutter 1/3200-1/4000, f as wide as poss and iso to match all set to manual using sunny 16 rule if light is good etc. And, then I pan those points. The tracking settings etc are all standard. I can't be fagged to do anything more complex and my keeper rate is high.


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## Bert63 (Feb 16, 2020)

mikekeck said:


> AlanF (and anyone else): what are your standard focus tracking settings on a 5D for BIF? I have a 5D iv and I am terrible at BIF, so it must be my settings, right?




Known targets where movement is predictable = center point only, or center plus 4 surrounds.

Smaller or fast movers = center plus 8 surrounds

Playing around? Full tracking with special tweaks for focal point handoffs etc..

I also have the multi-function bar on the EOS-R set to cycle through my chosen focal points so I have that option to switch when need be.

Shutter is usually 2000 - 3200 depending.


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## Pape (Mar 8, 2020)

Not very sharp picture but something. at least RP worked ok for this bird. Still no migration birds here.
EF 70-300mm 5,6


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