Getting Started in Bird Photography

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Tobie Schalkwyk
Tobie Schalkwyk

So there you sit, quietly sipping your beer and pondering life. On your own, minding your own business.

Suddenly, your world of peace is interrupted by a beautiful bird perched perfectly at the top of a tree.

You slowly put down your drink and then form a frame with your fingers, composing the intruder to the best of your ability.

“Hmm,” you think. “This would make a nice photo above my desk in the study.”

Then you start really thinking, and that’s where all the trouble starts.

Not that you realize the ‘trouble’ part until you Google “Starting bird photography” and then find yourself overwhelmed with tips, must-haves, how-tos, how-not-tos, the best equipment, and whatever else!

As you pick up your comfort juice (a.k.a. the beer) for another sip, you think, “Maybe I need something stronger!”

In this article, I’m going to give you a simple set of guidelines on how to get started in bird photography.

This is what I believe your basic requirements are: the equipment you should get to give you a decent start in bird photography and how to prepare for your first shoot.

This is what I believe your basic requirements are: the equipment you should get to give you a decent start in bird photography and how to prepare for your first shoot.

In my next article, in this series of 10 that will be published by Photzy, we’ll move out and start shooting our first bird shots.

At that point, we will look at camera settings and perhaps a few fundamental how-tos to get you going without making unnecessary mistakes (not that there’s anything wrong with learning from your mistakes, but believe me, there will be enough mistakes made in the future regardless of your level of preparation).

Photo by Tobie Schalkwyk

Recommended Reading: If you’re interested in improving your post-processing workflow, check out Photzy’s Understanding Masking premium guide. It has a section for Lightroom and Photoshop, as well as Snapseed for mobile users too.

Preparation

Before we kick off, I’d like you to do a bit of homework. Any learning activity has some form of homework/self-study associated with it, right?

There are certain terms and concepts that have been documented a thousand times by excellent authors, some of whom I have also learned from.

I’m not going to repeat any of those because it will grow this article into a big fat book, and life is way too short to reinvent wheels!

So let’s just pause for a moment and ensure that we understand some of these terms and concepts so that we do not have to interrupt our discussion when they are mentioned later on.

I’ll give you a link or two in each case (to begin your study process), but I strongly encourage you to do some additional research on your own.

Every author has a special way of explaining something, and if you feel a little uncertain about any of these topics after reading my suggested articles, try someone else’s article.

This may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but take my word for it: there’s no shortcut to photography as a whole, and certainly not to each specific genre such as bird photography.

Obviously, you’re welcome to skip these suggested articles if you’re already familiar with these terms and information. (Remember, “life’s too short…”)

Recommended Reading: 

Exposure Triangle

Shutter Speed

Metering Modes

RAW and JPEG

Composition

Back Button Focus
 
Maybe this is not critical for starting bird photography, but I’d recommend it as soon as you’re ready. This focus technique takes a little while to get used to, but I promise that together with the continuous focusing mode it will make your life a lot simpler when you start photographing birds in flight.
 
Key Lesson: Understanding the basic terms and concepts of photography camera equipment is crucial to becoming a successful bird photographer.

Requirements

So, you’ve gone through all of the theory above, but you may be thinking, “Do I have what it takes to be a successful bird photographer?”

The following are necessary, or at least very helpful (in my opinion), not only to be a ‘successful’ bird photographer, but to also simply enjoy this fantastic hobby of photography.

A Love for Birds and Photography

An interest in, and love for, these magnificent creatures and photography in general will certainly motivate you to spend quite a few bucks on the equipment needed to photograph them in such a way that the images provoke “Oooohs” and “Aaaahs” from family, friends, and strangers on social media. That’s mainly what it’s about, isn’t it? Not to mention when you win a photo competition or you’re a top contender for the winning spot! 

Patience

This is one of the most valuable traits for successful and enjoyable bird photography. If you have a lack thereof, don’t fret – it’s one that you can develop and master just like any of the other skills applied in bird photography. All it takes is determination. You’ll soon discover that some of your best shots you’ve missed are those which have presented itself just after you’ve packed up and moved on! A few of these lessons will be the reason why eventually some of your best shots will prove to be those which you’ve taken right after your decision to pack up or move on, and then decided to wait just 5 minutes longer! 

Knowledge of Your Subjects

The more you know about the birds appearing in your viewfinder, the more successful you will be. That’s a given fact. For example, most birds advertise their intention to take off in flight by taking “a poop”; your decision to immediately zoom out a little so that you do not cut off some of its body parts when you capture its take-off can save you quite a few disappointments. Of course, you would only pick up some of this knowledge in discussions with co-photographers, but Google and other relevant write-ups will be a lot of help here too.

The more you know about the birds appearing in your viewfinder, the more successful you will be. That’s a given fact.

A Place to Photograph Birds

A place to hone your skills will be a major advantage to get started. Some of us have gardens with ample opportunities, but it won’t do any harm to do some research and find facilities such as parks and botanical gardens close by. Some of these might even have a bird hide offering a wide variety of aquatic and other birds that are used to the limited movement of people and, of course, where silence is enforced. It also provides shelter in the event of a quick thunderstorm or a sun that treats you like a piece of bacon on a hot plate!

A bird hide can be a place of refuge in the event of sudden downpours. Photo by Tobie Schalkwyk

Knowledge of Your Equipment

This is one of the most painful, but also most important prerequisites to successful photography, which can only be obtained in one way: practice, practice, practice until you can do the most important adjustments blindfolded. This is covered in a little more detail in the “Preparations for your first shoot” section of my next article. 

The Ability to Shoot in Manual Mode  

This also includes the ability to focus manually.

Bird photography is almost impossible in Auto or one of the semi-auto (shutter priority/aperture priority) modes in which cases the camera guesses what your goals are. Sometimes you may want a bit of wing blur so you’ll lower the shutter speed to a level much lower than what the camera would have ‘guessed’ in Auto mode. Other times you may want to freeze a bird’s action and raise the shutter speed to a level much higher than what the camera would have offered you in Auto or aperture modes.

Knowledge of the Basic Rules of Composition

Even the most beautiful image can be a failure if the composition is ‘wrong.’ The human brain simply ‘likes’ certain compositions and dislikes others, regardless of the quality of the image or the contents of the scene. I suggest getting a good overview of the ‘rules of composition,’ especially the Rule of Thirds, as mentioned in Preparation above. 

The Ability to Shoot in Camera RAW 

The camera RAW format is like a digital negative of your shot. It allows you to do your photo editing (adjustments) to a much higher degree than with the .JPEG image file format.

JPEGs are immediately available after a shoot; however, they may have issues like incorrect exposure etc., so even if you decide to shoot in the .JPEG format, shoot in camera RAW as well. It will allow you to do more intensive editing of those special shots, which you want to look their best.

Working Knowledge of a Good Post-Processing Package

I know. The next question is ‘which one?’ My answer is a question too: How long is a piece of a string? If you’re running on a tight budget then I’d suggest Googling the ‘best’ free post-processing package. Just make sure you pick a recent review because the ‘best’ may change from time to time as its distributors add features and remove bugs. I have seen good reviews and opinions on Gimp, although I have never used it myself. Snapseed seems to be quite popular on Android devices, but it has way less features than a package like Lightroom or Photoshop.

Personally I’m in favor of Adobe’s Creative Cloud (CC) package at $9.99 per month on PC/Mac as it includes Photoshop (PS) and Lightroom (LR), a combo that’s used by most photographers all over the world.

Most editing seems to be done in LR (80%) and the remainder in PS. My suggestion if you opt for CC is to master most of LR first, and then revert to PS for a few more advanced tasks.

The more advanced tasks that I personally use PS for are:

  • Advanced/selective sharpening (mostly Unsharp Masking);
  • Advanced/selective blurring (mostly Gaussian Blur);
  • Advanced spot removal (Fill/Content Aware). This is one of my most favorite features of PS with mind-boggling results at times;
  • Selective curve adjustments on over/underexposed or low contrast areas. This may or may not include the help of luminosity masks; and
  • Composite shots needing multiple layers.

When your image file appears washed out and lacking in color saturation (left photo), you’ll need some basic post-processing skills. A few tweaks with some post-processing tools, such as “Curves,” can bring out the color, contrast, and saturation that is needed for bird photography (right photo). Photos by Tobie Schalkwyk

If you’re not familiar with these terms or actions, do not worry about it. The time will come when you’ll need them one by one and then you can build your knowledge of performing them using online or other tutorials.

Membership of A Bird Photography Forum and/or Social Media Group(s)

Forums are fantastic to exchange knowledge, expand knowledge, ask questions, and even get opinions on the quality of your own shots – and even suggestions on how to raise its quality by a notch or two. Some social media groups (for example on Facebook) are doing more or less the same. It not only allows you to get opinions on the quality of your shots, but it also allows you to participate in discussions on improving other members’ shots.

Key Lesson: These personal attributes will help you learn bird photography: a knowledge of bird behavior and habitat, patience, an understanding of the equipment and software, general composition rules, and socializing with other bird lovers.

Recommended Reading: If you’re interested in improving your post-processing workflow, check out Photzy’s Understanding Masking premium guide. It has a section for Lightroom and Photoshop, as well as Snapseed for mobile users too.

Minimum Equipment to Get Started

Photo by Tobie Schalkwyk

Ever heard the saying, “The equipment does not make the image, the photographer does”? Well, try taking a shot of a swallow in flight by using your mobile phone or a point-and-shoot camera and you’ll know how false that statement is, especially in bird photography.

Capable equipment in the hands of a photographer (pro or amateur) makes a huge difference in producing an appealing bird shot.

Challenges to be Addressed by Your Kit:

The challenges to be addressed by your kit will obviously drive the choice of equipment in the event of bird photography.

What are these challenges?

  • A non-static subject. That implies the need to easily follow and keep focus on (sometimes fast) moving subjects.
  • Camera shake. Most of the time some form of stabilization is required to eliminate or minimize your inability to keep your equipment perfectly still.
  • Nature. You have to protect your equipment against the elements, or it must have built-in protection where possible.
  • Small subject sizes. You need the ability to ‘enlarge them.’
  • Far away subjects. You need the ability to ‘bring them closer.’

So, let’s see what we need to shop for to meet these challenges:

Camera Body

Camera Type

What type of camera are you looking for? Your choice lies mainly between a Compact Flash (CF) camera (also known as bridge cameras), and a digital single lens reflex (or DSLR) camera.

The advantage of CF cameras are that they are small, lightweight, and some of them have unbelievable zooming abilities.

The disadvantage is that the bridge camera (CF) captures images onto a smaller sensor, so the image quality is generally poorer than that of a DSLR, especially when the camera is tested close to its limitations (i.e. bad lighting conditions) or when cropping the subject much closer in post-processing.

Also, most of its adjustments are made on-screen via a tedious menu system. This is a huge disadvantage in situations where you want to make quick manual adjustments to match changing circumstances or to create special effects (i.e. to open up the aperture to create a softer background or increase the shutter speed to freeze a bird’s fast movements).

DSLR cameras are bigger and heavier, but they are packed with hi-tech features to ensure high-quality photographs.

Most of their critical camera adjustments can be made by using buttons and dials on the outside of the camera body.

DSLR cameras are bigger and heavier, but they are packed with hi-tech features to ensure high-quality photographs.

They have much larger sensors than bridge cameras (CF) ensuring high-quality images even if those images are cropped during post-processing.

DSLR cameras can be sub-divided into three main groups:

 Full Frame (FF) Cameras

These cameras have the biggest sensors and therefore tend to render the highest quality images, especially when used in unfavorable conditions (dark situations, extreme dynamic ranges) or when you’re cropping to get your subjects closer in post-processing. These cameras sell in mid-range to extremely high price ranges (+/- $1,300 upwards). They have additional implied costs as they work best with ‘pro’ lenses, which are much more expensive than entry-level (a.k.a. ‘kit’) lenses. Usually one would buy an FF body only instead of purchasing “a bundle” so that you can only add a pro lens or lenses that are suitable for your specific needs.

Crop Sensor (‘APS-C’) Cameras

These cameras have sensors much bigger than those of bridge cameras, but smaller than those in FF cameras.

In most situations these cameras can render the same quality photos as FF cameras, but they tend to still lag behind FFs when used in extreme situations (i.e. when raising the ISO beyond 800), or when doing extensive cropping to bring your subjects closer in post-processing.

Having said that, incredible high ISO handling improvements have been built into the latest versions of these cameras. They can be bought at attractive discounts by buying it with bundled kit lenses.

Unfortunately most kit lenses do not have extensive zooming capabilities, so they would be useless for the purpose of bird photography.

Even if they zoom up to 300mm, their relatively slow autofocus speeds makes them unsuitable for most types of bird photography (such as birds in flight).

They’re still worth a buy though, because surely you’re not going to use your kit only for bird photography. You will use it for family shots, landscapes, and various other genres.

One other advantage of crop sensor cameras is that you see a perceived image size of one and a half times the size of the same image taken with an FF camera, so it makes focusing on an exact spot on a small bird a bit easier.

Full frame camera on the left, crop sensor camera on the right. One advantage of these two cameras is that their button layouts – on the camera body – are almost identical, making it easy to upgrade from one to the other or to juggle between them. Photo by Tobie Schalkwyk

The implied disadvantage is that it returns only the ‘inside’ two thirds of the same image taken with an FF camera.

Some photographers swear by the fact that an FF camera’s image cropped closer in post-processing will give as good an image as the same image produced by a APS-C camera, but my reply to that is: “Let’s say you want to focus on the eye of a bird: would you rather do it at an FF’s 400mm or at an APS-C’s perceived 600mm using the same lens?” 

So, would I recommend buying an APS-C camera?

It depends.

Let me use my own circumstances as an example of why I say so.

I have used my APS-C camera (Nikon D7100) for all of my bird shots until recently.

I’ve paired it with a Nikon 300mm f/4 lens + 1.4x teleconverter (1.4x ‘extender’ in the world of Canon).

That gave me a perceived (35mm equivalent) reach of a 630mm lens.

The relatively weak ability of the D7100 to handle high ISOs, however, was always a problem to me.

As soon as I saw the good reports (and images) coming from the new Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens, I sold the 300mm and used the money to help pay for the new Tamron lens.

Unfortunately most kit lenses do not have extensive zooming capabilities, so they would be useless for the purpose of bird photography.

Now I’m primarily using my FF camera for bird photography due to my awesome new Tamron lens.

If you want to extend your reach (for birds that are far away from the camera) you can do so by buying a crop sensor camera, but realize that unless you buy one of the latest and greatest (and most expensive) crop sensor bodies, you will probably have issues with high ISO settings.

Mirrorless Cameras

I’m not going to even discuss this group of cameras, as I personally believe that they are still lagging behind in features/capabilities needed for high-quality bird photography and/ or the needed variety of lenses to pair it with for extended reach.

Brand

So, which brand to shop for? 

Now this is a fat can of worms waiting to be opened. I can see some of our seasoned bird photographers sitting upright, ready to pounce on any statement they might disagree with. 

Let me say that the options are unlimited, BUT my suggestions are based upon the perception of which brands mostly appear in the top list of bird photography competitions either as winners or within the top ten spots. Those brands are Nikon and Canon.

The number of users using these two proven and tested brands ensures that advice and support will always be available in online forums and that after sales service is readily available.

In addition, the variety of lenses for these two brands is huge. But that’s only my opinion.

You will also find excellent shots taken by other brand cameras. If you’re really tight on a budget, you may want to opt for something not falling under ‘Canikon.’ Just make sure first that they have lenses suitable for bird photography.

Photo by Tobie Schalkwyk

Frames per second

Continuous shooting mode is quite a handy feature for bird photography (especially when shooting birds in flight), so try to get a frame rate of at least six frames per second (fps). In this case, the more the merrier!

Weather resistance

Since this is a camera bought for outdoor use, weather resistance is not to be scoffed at. You never know when you’ll get caught off-guard by a sudden outbreak of soft rain or when you’ll use it in heavy fog or mist, or how much you’ll use it in very dusty conditions.

Dual card slots

Most photographers whose cameras do not have this feature might declare this as unimportant, but take my word for it – it’s a huge plus!

I have lost count of how many times that I have arrived at a venue for a shoot and then realized that my SD card is still in my laptop at home.

I’ve then been saved by my second SD card that is still in the camera (just get into the habit of returning each SD card to its camera slot the moment you remove it from the laptop!).

Now I do not even think about it anymore. If I arrive at a venue with only one card in the camera because of my forgetfulness, I know that I can take approximately 2,000 shots on my second 32 GB memory card.

Bottom line: Personally I will never buy a camera without dual card slots, no matter how good it is!

Lenses

The fact that some of your subjects will be quite small, and/or that they will be quite a distance from you most of the time, justifies the need for reasonable zooming and telephoto capabilities.

What is ‘reasonable’?

In my personal opinion, you need to strive to get to at least 400mm (or even better: 600mm) – ‘real’ or implied by using an APS-C camera’s implied zoom.

400mm might be insufficient for smaller birds, so if you are shooting with an f/2.8 or f/4 lens, you may consider combining it with a 1.4x teleconverter (TC)/ extender which will extend its reach by 1.4x.

The fact that some of your subjects will be quite small... justifies the need for reasonable zooming and telephoto capabilities.

You will lose one f-stop of light by doing this, but it will be most helpful when you start shooting smaller birds. You can always remove the TC and sacrifice the extra reach if circumstances demand that.

The recent introduction of Tamron, and Sigma’s, second generation lenses has enabled hobbyists all over the world to produce very high-quality images at up to 600mm focal lengths – and at quite affordable prices.

Photo by Tobie Schalkwyk

If you are not able to afford a 400mm/500mm/600mm f/2.8 prime lens, then these are excellent alternatives. If you opt for Sigma, I would recommend the Sport version because of its faster focusing and higher image quality than the Contemporary version.

Water resistance is not critical but, as in the case of the camera, it might be a life saver if you shoot in really challenging (foggy, rainy, dusty) conditions.

Fast focusing lenses are a must, especially when you start shooting birds in flight. This implies that you might want to opt for professional (f/2.8 or f/4) lenses regardless of the fact that you have a crop sensor camera. These lenses have the added benefit that you can mount them on a full frame camera one day when you decide to ‘upgrade.’

Backup Battery

This is non-negotiable.

Batteries run flat at the most critical of times; it makes no sense to spend big bucks on your kit but save on the cost for an extra battery, just to miss out on fantastic shots later.

You may buy third-party brands, but I’ve found that the brand names simply last longer (per shoot and per life), so I pay the higher price without thinking about it.

Backup Memory Cards

Photo by Tobie Schalkwyk

If you have two memory card slots in your camera, good for you. Buy a card (a minimum of 32 GB) for each slot.

As mentioned previously, I have stopped counting how many times that I’ve arrived at a shooting venue just to realize that my main memory card is still in my laptop at home, and thus to be saved by the card in slot #2.

I usually set my #2 card to be used when #1 is full (I only shoot in RAW), but if you’re in a hurry to get the .JPEGs onto social media without editing them first, set your #1 card to record your images in RAW format and #2 to record them in .JPEG.

If you have only one card slot, buy one or two backup cards and keep them in your bag so that you’re not stranded when you discover (like me) that your main card is still at home.

The speed of memory cards is a discussion for another day, but previous research (by myself) showed that the cards are becoming faster than your camera’s ability to write image files to them.

The fastest cards are intended more for video recording than for still camera use, so you might just as well save yourself a few bucks and go for the mid-range cards as far as speed is concerned. My recommendations are as follows:

  • SDHC (SD High Capacity)
  • SanDisk or Lexar (because they are reputable brands). Unfortunately Lexar has announced recently that they are discontinuing the manufacturing of memory cards, but there’s nothing wrong with their cards already on the shelves. If I find them at a good price, I still buy them.
  • At least 32 GB in size
  • At least 45Mb/s (I’m using a 95Mb/s as my main SD card)
  • UHS Speed Class 1 (reflected by a ‘U’ symbol containing a ‘1’)
  • Class 10 (10Mb/s and faster, reflected by a ‘C’ symbol containing ‘10’)

Cleaning Kit

Photo by Tobie Schalkwyk

Get a lens cleaner kit (or build up your own) from a reputable store containing

  • a liquid lens cleaner (but use sparingly) plus cloth,
  • a lens pen, and
  • an air blower (it’s cleaner than your breath for blowing dust off your lens or sensor). 

Camera Bag

Get a bag you can carry on your back. 

Make sure it is padded sufficiently to carry and protect all of your kit needed for a shoot. 

That includes separate padded compartments to protect each piece of gear against the others in the bag.

Ensure that it’s large enough to carry your camera and at least two lenses. 

Some bags have a section for carrying filters and other gadgets and another section for carrying a reference guide and/or tablet. Some even have a little pocket on the side containing a rain coat for your kit, folded up smaller than your fist. Some bags have the ability to attach a tripod. This is a big plus, as you should never go on a bird photography shoot without your tripod, especially if you have one of the heavy long-range lenses mentioned earlier.

Rain Coat for Gear

As you’ll be shooting mostly outdoors, a rain coat for your kit is a must. If yours is not included with your bag, then get one or carry a self-made substitute (zip-lock bags etc.) in your bag, just in case.

Something to Stabilize Your Camera

Tripod

A tripod is non-negotiable.

There will be times where you wait patiently for a bird to show itself or position itself more favorably, or you need to bring your shutter speed down to slower than that recommended by the reciprocal rule of photography.

This ball head tripod’s slid (called a ‘dropnotch’) allows you to tilt the camera up and down to extreme angles or alternatively to rotate it 90 degrees for portrait shots. Photo by Tobie Schalkwyk

Make sure you buy a sturdy tripod (not too heavy as you might have to carry it over long distances) with a ball head (or if you can afford it, a Gimbal head) so that it’s easy to change direction or follow a bird’s flight through your viewfinder.

If possible, get a tripod with a hook at the top between its legs for hanging a bean bag or your kit bag to help anchor it down.

Monopod

I’m not really using one much, but it’s nice to have (as far as I’m concerned if I carry a monopod then I can just as well carry a tripod). One of my tripod’s legs can unscrew and then screw into the camera to be used as a monopod.

Beanbag

This item is invaluable when shooting from a bird hide or a car window. I go nowhere without mine.

Key Lesson: While it isn’t necessary to have the best and most advanced equipment for bird photography, it doesn’t hurt. Buy the best that you can afford. Two key components for the bird photographer are: having a lens with a focal length that is sufficient to “pull in” small distant subjects and adequate camera stabilization when working with these long telephoto lenses. If you’re just getting started in bird photography, and budget is a concern, consider looking at the Hybrid (CF) style cameras that generally have very long focal length lenses (20X zoom).

Suitable Clothing

Camouflage clothing is quite handy for the times where you’re stalking your subject or you’re waiting for it to come closer to you.

This includes a hat, pants, and a shirt. You may add a matching jacket for the cold days when you’re sitting in a bird hide or other cold spot.

Do not underestimate the value of a good pair of non-slip hiking boots for the occasions where you need to cross a shallow stream and/or rocky terrain.

A rain coat which can fold up small enough to fit into a pocket or your camera bag is a must.

Protection

Sunblock

I always carry a small bottle in my bag, and it has saved me (and sometimes others around me) from skin damage hundreds of times.

Mosquito Repellent

Don’t ask. You’ll thank me later!

Nice-to-Haves

Binoculars

It’s a lot easier to search for/study/identify birds in a tree in 3D than through a viewfinder.

Remote shutter release

This is useful when you really want to eliminate any chances of blur, especially when snapping a bird at 600mm+ focal length where the slightest movement will cause blur, or when you want to take a shot without moving at all (except for your thumb).

Field guide

It’s nice to sometimes identify the birds on site, or when asked about them by a co-hobbyist or an ignorant person visiting a bird hide. It might also share some of the bird’s habits and other traits with you, making it a bit more predictable to photograph. And when you brag with ‘that shot’ on Facebook later on, you can include the bird’s ID!

Key Lesson: Rarely will you be sitting in comfort while creating amazing bird photography. Keeping yourself comfortable and happy through clothing selection, bug spray, sunscreen, etc. will go a long way toward helping you with the patience that you will need to succeed!

Well, that is quite a mouthful as far as ‘Getting Started in Bird Photography’ is concerned!

In my next guide, we’ll discuss the camera settings most suitable for bird photography. We’ll discuss things like adjusting the camera’s diopter (don’t worry if you don’t know what that is, I’ll tell you!), continuous focus, setting back button focus, optical stabilization (and when not to use it), metering modes, and setting the most suitable number of focus points etc.!

Photo by Tobie Schalkwyk

Self Check Quiz: So, before you run out to buy that magnificent piece of gear that will accompany you on your new-found venture, let’s check whether you’re certain of what you’re looking for:

  1. True or False: In general, kit lenses are perfect for bird photography. 
  2. True or false: Crop sensor cameras render the same quality images as full frame cameras under all circumstances.
  3. True or false: Any old rucksack will do for carrying your camera gear. 
  4. True or false: A tripod is a must-have, regardless of whether you have a monopod.
  5. What is the ideal minimum and recommended focal lengths of bird photography lenses?
  6. What is a requirement in terms of focusing in the event of a lens suitable for bird photography? 
  7. True or false: Freebie image editors like Windows Paint is perfect and sufficient for editing your images after a shoot.
  8. True or false: All cameras and lenses are weather resistant these days so it needs no special attention at the time of purchase. 
  9. What is the minimum speed you will be looking for in memory cards?
  10. True or false: Cropping is a handy feature to bring your subjects closer in post-processing.

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