Humming bird shutter speed?

[mike_halliwell]

The wing stops momentarily when it reverses direction

I have a feeling that some part of the wing stops at that frequency, but it's a fully flexible surface....

 

So even if the wing-tip stops, the mid is playing catch-up and the wing root has started the next beat.....;)

 

Meanwhile the head is perfectly stationary....:cool:

 

Kissing frogs....:eek:

[Ed_Ingold]

I think the mid wing leads the tip, starting first and stopping first. Besides, Chung showed that you can get a sharp image of the wings at 1/1250. Is it sharp at the pixel level? Probably not, but sometimes sharp enough is enough. I'll have to try 4K60, which is about 8 MP at 60 fps. More frogs, more princesses.

[bgelfand]

I have a feeling that some part of the wing stops at that frequency, but it's a fully flexible surface....

 

So even if the wing-tip stops, the mid is playing catch-up and the wing root has started the next beat.....;)

 

Meanwhile the head is perfectly stationary....:cool:

 

Kissing frogs....:eek:

 

Hummingbird flight is different than most other birds. When hovering Hummingbird wings move in a figure eight pattern; they do not stop. If one attempts to apply fixed wing aircraft models to hummingbirds, the models show the hummingbird (and parenthetically bumble bees) cannot fly. You have to use rotary wing models. Then just like a helicopter, the hummingbird flies.

[mike_halliwell]

Hummingbird flight is different than most other birds

Indeed it is!

[mark45831]

I take hundreds of shots in a day, and choose the best poses. It is chance thing. I usually set up a tripod, and use a cable release while I relax in a nearby chair. Over time, you can get some good shots this way. I cut the perches off of the feeder, so that I can get them hovering. There is a trick to this. They will sip, then back off a few inches, and that is when you shoot the photo. A feeder in the photo sort of ruins the effect. I usually use a 100mm macro lens, and get it very close to the feeder. The sound of the shutter/mirror will scare them more than a flash. I use a white cardboard background, and a custom high speed flash, and try for totally frozen photos. With the white background, it is easy to replace the background. I set the shutter speed to the sync speed, and the flash duration of 1/30000th of a second eliminates almost all motion blur.

 

I am giving away my high speed flash to the person who will get the most use from it. It is good for larger birds landing at feeders also.

All photos copyright Gregory J. Scott. All rights reserved.

 

This is a magnificent humming bird, shot at Cave Creek Sunny Flats campground, Coronado National Forest, just past Portal Arizona, which is near Rodeo, New Mexico. It is a busy choke point in the migration path of many hummingbirds.

http://gregscott.com/gjs_2007_spring/hummingbird/20070322_2336_100.magnificent_hummingbird.jpg

This is a rufous hummingbird, with a cardboard background. I really liked this pose.

http://gregscott.com/gjs_2007_spring/hummingbird/20070310_0802_100_0436.rufous_hummingbird.jpg

 

This is a broadbill hummingbird, white cardboard background.

http://gregscott.com/gjs_2006_spring/hummers/CRW_7188_broadbill_med.jpg

 

I only have a good composite on the website where I sell my photos, so please don't be offended by the photo being for sale. I'll also include a link to my portfolios on that site. The first link is to a photo showing how good a composite you can make by adding flower and background to the bird, after clipping the white background.

 

.Descent to Middle Desert by Gregory Scott

Gregory Scott - Official Website

Do you you just pre focus on a spot when you do this?

[ShunCheung]

In the past, I used to capture hummingbirds with either a 500mm/f4 or 600mm/f4 AF-S on a tripod, or maybe the 200-400mm/f4 AF-S @ 400mm. Nowadays with the 500mm/f5.6 PF lens, I tend to hand hold so that I am more flexible to move around for the best angle I can get. The body is either a D5 or D500 at the highest fps to get my favorite "wing up" position.

 

For example, I captured this image last month, on April 26, 2020 with the D500 and 500mm/f5.6 PF @ 1/1600 sec and ISO 900. I don't use any flash or feeder. I like this particular spot (In Palo Alto, California) because I tend to get a clean background.

 

[mike_halliwell]

I'll have to try 4K60, which is about 8 MP at 60 fps

Does that mean the old axiom of shutter speed of twice the frame rate means each one will be 1/125 sec?

 

Or can you use 1/2000 etc??

[Ed_Ingold]

Does that mean the old axiom of shutter speed of twice the frame rate means each one will be 1/125 sec?

Digital video is not limited to a maximum of 180 degrees of shutter angle like rotary mechanical shutters. I shoot at 1/60 second (360 degrees shutter). Once you go much faster than 1/100 second, you get an unpleasant stroboscopic effect. However you are limited only by the fastest speed of the electronic shutter, typically 1/8000, if you have enough light.

 

For the things I shoot (concerts, travel and documentaries), I use a neutral density filter outdoors in order to keep the shutter speed slower. It depends on the subject. If I were shooting hummingbirds and butterflies, I'd reconsider.

Edited May 12, 2020 by Ed_Ingold

[Andrew Garrard]

Presumably you'd also get rolling shutter issues? I'm lost as to where the 4Kp60 came from, btw - I think the Nikon bodies I've checked only go to 4Kp30?

[2Oceans]

John Gerlach shoots at normal sync speed but uses multiple flashes and radio triggers set at 1/64 manual power.

The flash duration at this power is short enough to to freeze the subject completely and the lens is stopped down such that the scene requires to be entirely lighted by the multiple flashes. The out of focus false background is flash lighted as well. His hummingbird feeders are hidden behind a flower. All-in-all he creates an outdoor studio to capture some stunning images. I really like greg_scotts images as well. We raised a hummingbird chick the size of my thumb nail that had fallen out of its nest when we were living at the Point Loma sub base. He was precious sitting in a tea spoon. Fed it every two ours or so for several months with a syringe with some very expensive hummingbird nectar that came in powder form and was balanced for humming birds. I still remember seeing his/her thread like tongue sticking up into the clear plastic tip of the syringe. Later he grew up to terrorize the neighbor hood and insulted us after all we had done by moving next door. Isn’t that wrong?

[Ed_Ingold]

Presumably you'd also get rolling shutter issues? I'm lost as to where the 4Kp60 came from, btw - I think the Nikon bodies I've checked only go to 4Kp30?

With a few exceptions, 4K cameras are limited to 30 fps, Nikon included. 4K60 is one of those things that people seem to want in an hybrid camera, perhaps because you can't get it. There are processing and memory issues with 4K60 and internal recording. Cameras which record 4K60 directly use XQD cards, or (as with Sony) only externally via SDI.

 

I shoot 1080p60 because it is almost the standard for HD video. However you don't lose much at 30 fps, or even 24. There's no difference in bandwidth, because at 60 fps you hold twice the number of frames half as long. 24 fps is special for film. Because it is not an integer multiple of 30 (29.97), it requires a 3:2 pull up for broadcast or BD discs. It's okay for DVDs and YouTube.

Edited May 12, 2020 by Ed_Ingold