{"id":2348,"date":"2011-10-31T07:23:18","date_gmt":"2011-10-31T11:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/p4td.lightshedder.com\/2011\/10\/31\/10312011-song-sparrows-in-action\/"},"modified":"2011-10-31T07:23:18","modified_gmt":"2011-10-31T11:23:18","slug":"10312011-song-sparrows-in-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/psnp.info\/p4td_\/?p=2348","title":{"rendered":"10\/31\/2011: Song Sparrows in Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

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One of the best things about using a Point and Shoot camera behind the eyepiece of a spotting scope is that you can get really really close. And, with today\u2019s best P&S cameras you have fairly fast continuous shooting, which makes capturing action easier than it ever was. This Song Sparrow was actively feeding with a number of its fellows about 25 feet in front of me\u2026never still for a second. I had to catch it in focus and posed enough for a moderate shutter speed to freeze the action. I shot hundreds of frames in continuous mode, at about 4 frames per second, and sorted out the best when I got home. <\/p>\n

The camera I am using, the new Canon Digital ELPH SD100HS, also has a burst<\/em> mode, which fires at 10 fps for 7 frames before writing to the SD card. I find that 10 fps is actually too fast for birds. You end up with what amounts to 7 identical shots\u2026and since they are all taken in less than a second, the digiscoping rig has no chance for vibrations to settle out\u2026so there is no sharpest frame<\/em> advantage. 4 fps is just fast enough to capture a sequence of action, or a set to select the sharpest frame from. Here is a 4 frame sequence of another Song Sparrow picking grain.<\/p>\n

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(If you click the image it will open at Wide Eyed In Wonder and you can view it in larger sizes using the size controls at the top of the window.)<\/p>\n

Canon Digital ELPH SD100HS behind the 15-56x Vario Eyepiece on the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL for the equivalent field of view of about a 1800mm lens on a full frame DSLR, 1\/100th to 1\/125 second @ ISO 125. f5.9 effective. Programmed Auto with iContrast.<\/p>\n

Processed in Lightroom for Intensity and Sharpness.<\/p>\n

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