This article features 15 consecutive images of a bufflehead in flight captured handheld with an E-M1X using Pro Capture H at ISO-6400. I captured these images on a practice day that I had designated as “Pro Capture H day”.  All of the photographs from that outing were created using Pro Capture H at 60 frames-per-second, and utilizing a single auto-focus point.

The  bufflehead in flight illustrated in this article was 49.6 metres away (~163 feet). To capture the images in this article I backed off my M.Zuiko 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 IS zoom and M.Zuiko MC-14 teleconverter to 464 mm, or an equivalent field-of-view of 928 mm. This made finding the bufflehead in flight in my viewfinder a bit easier, as well as enabling me to get a single auto-focus point placed accurately on the bird-in-flight.

Since the first frame locks focus and exposure when using Pro Capture H with an E-M1X it is prudent to consider focal length and distance to subject.

For example, the bufflehead in flight in this article was 49.6 metres away and was captured using a focal length of 464 mm at f/8.9 on a M4/3 camera. This combination of subject distance, aperture and focal length would create a bit more than 3 metres of depth-of-field. This gives a photographer a fair amount of leeway with the bird’s flight path in terms of the subject bird staying in focus.

Photographing this same bird with the same aperture and distance to subject, but with the lens fully extended to 560 mm (efov 1120 mm) would have reduced the depth-of-field by about 1/3.

As discussed in a number of previous articles, fitting ongoing time into our schedules to regularly practice handheld bird-in-flight technique is important as it helps to build and maintain eye/hand coordination and shutter release timing.

Regardless of the sensor format, brand or model of our camera gear, ongoing experimentation is a terrific way to extend our personal photographic skills and also get the most out of the equipment that we own.

Technical Note:

Photographs were captured handheld using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. Images were produced from RAW files using my standard process.  Crops are noted. Photographs were resized for web use. This is the 1,147 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

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