Optic 2016: A Paradigm Shift in the World of Bird Photography

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Sigma Pro Roman Kurywczak has traveled the world capturing all types of bird images. Roman l covers why he chooses todays super zooms over traditional fixed lenses and how they have fundamentally changed the world of bird photography.

Roman Kurywczak Photography

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39 Comments
  1. Rick O says

    Excellent content, tips, and great presentation. Thanks Roman!

  2. WMedl says

    Dear Roman,
    first thank you for the so very instructive video (and your dry sense of humor). As far as metering is concerned some questions – I shoot principally in manual mode with spot metering and doing some sort of zone system metering – more or less elaborated in conjunction with the histogram and exposure warnings.
    What is your metering mode? If it is not spot metering how do you meter the white reference object – is it completely filling the frame?
    And if you re-adjusting the exposure settings due to light change I presume you will again meter that famous white object to obtain the initial position – otherwise the metering information in the EVF will vary according to the different backgrounds.

  3. Kevin Bruff says

    Firstly, Thank you.

  4. kirostar12 says

    The ISO is not important when get no over ISO1600. That's the highest ISO settings if you need best dynamic range in Nikon D7200 witch is the best DSLR crop camera currently in the world. With other crop cameras your ISO may not go over ISO800. You can't get fast shutter speed with ISO 800-1600? So it's time to go and get some sleep.Thanks for the nice presentation!

  5. JettySplash says

    Thank you Roman. This answers the ISO questions I've been having. I felt like something big was missing from my understanding of digital ISO and this video really helped! Yes, I had quite a Paradigm Shift break-away from film thinking and into digital photography knowledge from this video. One of the best and quite possible the very best video I've see so far. I'm going to watch this one again and take notes! Thanks man!

  6. BIG Stick says

    And to think i did this with an old F3 big honking Nikkor 400mm and Velvia 100 many moons ago..
    Yes, i lost a lot of shots due to lack of shutter speed.
    People today with the high ISO DSLR's can do so much better.
    It's an early morning job, luckily this sort of stuff was right in my backyard in the Bayous of west coast Florida.
    Get my gear the night before, get up cup of coffee and jump into the Canoe and quietly paddle off into the darkness with my headlamp.
    God i miss that house.

  7. Jeep Del Fuego says

    I know this is kind of a late post, but why not use manual mode with Auto-ISO?

  8. seshadri ramanathan says

    Hi Roman, thanks for the great seminar.. i have used almost all of the points which you mentioned, except for the "sun behind my back" part which doesn't always work due to the access to the location. Apart from this, What should be the metering mode for bird photography? and what should be the focus point settings?

  9. soyallergy says

    Best bird photography vid I've watched with some great photos to back up your advice! Wasn't too impressed by examples from other people's videos… :/

  10. zoe20641 says

    Amazing lecture. Amazing photos. I learned a great deal. Thanks

  11. Henk Spierings says

    Thanks. Put me down for No.1 blunder, going out at 10 am or 2 pm. A really good talk.

  12. KEN HUANG says

    how do you get a photo of the bird when you have limited money to get a long lens. It is easy to say wildlife photography you need at least 400mm what happens if like most people who only can afford cheaper 100-250mm kind of lens can anyone teach people how to get good photo of wildlife if you only have less than 300mm lens

  13. Soumya Das says

    amazing knowledge share…each tips are working well for me. Thanks again.

  14. Yoganathan Natarajan says

    MANY THX TO UR SEMINAR.

  15. Nev Shorter says

    Thanks..really enjoyed this…always good to review

  16. Claudio RS Diani says

    Excelente.

  17. Bill Martin says

    One of the most enjoyable & informative event videos I've seen. Top man Roman.

  18. Vaibhav Gupta says

    Awesome Video… Love it.. You have opened my eyes for the Sigma 150 600 C, which is my go to lense. How would you explain the 'Shooting for the White' in a different way??? I need to hack that.

  19. Janice Stevenson says

    Wow! I just learned so much! Thank you!

  20. Chu Lee says

    photos are not sharp and documentation style only, not artistic

  21. siddhartha roy says

    I cannot understand when higher iso brings so much noise whats the use of providing these high iso no.s in dslrs…. like d810… ?

  22. Doreen McCabe says

    wow… ran out and caught the light tonight! amazing what happened. ty for reminding me!

  23. Andrew Hayward says

    Hugely informative and inspiring.

  24. l r says

    I've seen the MTF's on the 150-600's, contemporary vs. sport, and the contemporary ain't cuttin' it. And it'll take a whole lot more convincing for me to believe that any zoom can shoot on par with the best primes.

    There's "sharp," as in 80 lp/mm which is OK for 42MP FF, and there's //WICKED SHARP//, as in 126 lp/mm on 35mp crop-frame Foveon or CCD. Crops & enlargements hold up better, and the sense of presence is superior. How many lenses shoot past 100 lp/mm, ones that are economical? Some telephoto apo primes can, stopped down past f/10, but either they're slower older tele's that shoot somewhere around 90-100 lp/mm or some super-expensive newer ones that are into 110 – 130 lp/mm.

    I'll save some weight & worry & shoot with the older Sigma 400/5.6 APO MACRO legacy prime … saves 4 lbs (a 1.1 kilo / 2.5 lb lens) & some money ($350, street). The "Sport" 150-600 isn't much faster, weighs in at 6.3 lbs (3 kilo) & will set you back $2k. Other than the OSS, I know which lens I'd rather carry in the field…

  25. Peter Jackson says

    What a great speaker. A+++

  26. Cat Ppanda says

    This video made my photos gone mad better, thank you so much!

  27. hautehussey says

    Pretty much an advertisement for the Sigma 150-600s and his tours!

  28. puttrainguy says

    One of the Best videos I've seen to date, Thank you…

  29. Forster Stewart says

    After 39 years of photography I Never leave a park after golden hour light. I change my subject matter macro flowers/insects or scout out new locations for landscapes. Never leave work till work is done.LOL. FOR THE LOVE OF PHOTOGRAPHY.

  30. David Podesta says

    This was a fantastic talk…. I will have to watch it a few times for the info to stick in my head; as age has dulled my sponging capacity, but your teaching style is excellent…. I have been denouncing the lack of repetition in lecturing for years and it is great to see somebody step out and tell it how it is. I am glad that I took the time to view your video.

  31. dance2jam says

    I have a question after watching this video as I am new to photography (6 months). I do not have a DX body but first camera was high megapixel (D850) paired with 200-500 mm f5.6.  I started shooting birds in flight to make my skills better. Here are my questions: 1. With the camera set to manual mode, AFC, do you use auto ISO? 2. If you do use auto ISO, do you set an upper limit and what is it? 3. If you use Auto ISO, do you use Exposure Compensation (i.e. for dark birs on a bright background), and 4. Do you use special noise reduction software other than LR/APS? I can easily see the advantage of using a 1.4TC with my lens, but at f5.6 to start, and using it in low light (dawn, dusk) my ISO is already 1000 or higher. The images are properly exposed (you can see the white feathers of the head of a bald eagle or black feathers of a duck against dark water) but the noise level appears quiet high. Any helpful tricks? Thanks in advance!

  32. Gerard Ferry says

    tops

  33. Mark Taylor says

    Great advice, Thanks Roman – that's my 60th brithday present sorted!

  34. Boris Kapitoulski says

    Hi Roman, it is amazing how you manage to do nice pictures with a slow lensJust a question to you if it possible – do you think there is a place for the lens f2 200mm in bird photography?

  35. yujin landscape photography. says

    First time, Roman. I learned a lot of from it. Thank you ever much!!

  36. Stephen Leonard says

    Hi … new to birds myself but could the same theory be used for fast aircraft also ?

  37. Carla Gouveia says

    Very good lesson!! Thank you.

  38. seshadri ramanathan says

    Hi Roman, Great video… What shld be white balance setting for a foggy morning… I visited a bird sanctuary near my location and the morning was pretty foggy.. ended up with not so nice photos… Also, I have the habit of using ISO-100 (will change now on)

  39. tarjei99 says

    Alcohol probably relaxes your muscles and that reduces camera shake. I suspect that some weight lifting might also have similar effect.

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