Even though my primary passion was the 35mm camera, I had always wanted to explore the world of capturing birds on video. After much research, I decided to take the plunge into the video world by purchasing a Canon XL1 Mini DV video camera in April of 2000. This is an awesome camera, and with a 3CCD chip and and being a digital format, it approaches near broadcast video quality, assuming I did my homework on the proper operation of this camera and lots of field practice.

Since I already had an inventory of Nikon lenses, I purchased a converter that allowed me to go from the Canon video lens mount to a Nikon camera lens mount. The next purchase was the Nikon 80-400mm VR lens. Of course the VR and auto focus function of this lens would be inoperative because of the incompatibility between Canon and Nikon. This was not a problem, since I was used to using my 35mm camera in a totally manual mode. When you attach a 35mm camera lens to the XL1, it isn't a straight 1:1 magnification. You multiply the focal length camera lens by 7.2, which in the case of the 80-400mm gives you an effective focal length of 576-2880mm. This means that I can stand off at a considerable distance without disturbing my subject. This camera also has fairly good low light capability, which has always been a handicap with the 35mm camera and low ISO films. The one thing video doesn't like, is harsh light and whites. This somewhat forces me to very carefully plan my day and subject matter based on lighting conditions. It's not a perfect world when it comes to photography or video.

Along with the initial purchase of the camera, I also had to purchase a good video tripod with a good fluid head that was ball leveling, and other camera related accessories. I have also developed a sighting system that allows me to locate a bird, no matter the size or distance, and get it into my viewfinder within seconds. It seemed like the list would never end, before I was able to get out in the field and start acquiring video footage. The learning curve was not as steep as I thought it would be, because I already had a pretty good working knowledge of bird photography and what it took to get good results. To date, I have been able to acquire a good library of species, shorebirds being my favorite subject. The only to date paying assignment has been contributing hummingbird footage for the upcoming next Advanced Birding Video Series with Jon L. Dunn produced by Peregrine Video Productions, "Hummingbirds of North America".

These last 2 years have been a lot of fun, capturing video footage of birds and bird behavior. I have been able to see and learn things that, at times is not possible to see in the 35mm camera world of just slides and prints..........

Email me at : birdpix@pacbell.net