Who says you can't take pictures of birds with a phone?
This fellow (I assume he's the male) came right over to me and and perched there motionless for quite a while, checking me out. So I cooed to him in what I hope was a friendly tone. This is the first year I've had doves in the yard so I don't know their habits. There are lots of robins around, but no nests within view.
I'm very tempted to buy image-stabilized birding binoculars, or an IS monocular (is there such a thing?), but more expenses I do not need.
Mike
*"Love the One You're With," Stephen Stills, 1970
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Roger Bradbury: "I dunno why (and no criticism implied), but this bird photo has a 'Far Side' feel about it. Maybe the caption is, 'After a night on the tiles, Orville woke up in the gutter.'"
Did someone say image-stabilized monocular? This one even takes pictures.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1676875-REG/canon_4838c018_zoom_digital_monocular_white.html/BI/2144/KBID/2882
A decent pair of stabilized binoculars are on my pre-retirement wish list, but I’ve also had my eyes on this monocular for a while. I’ve never seen a proper review of this one. Maybe your contact at B&H can set you up for a review.
Posted by: Peter | Wednesday, 02 July 2025 at 12:02 AM
I recently bought Canon IS binoculars for my retirement present to myself - the less expensive 12x36iii. They worked well, it surprising how much better the view is without the minor shakes, but not sure about the build quality - seem a lot less robust than my normal binoculars. Then last week I was away bird watching and the IS function stopped working, only had them 3 months.
Posted by: Ritchie Thomson | Wednesday, 02 July 2025 at 09:03 AM
Who says you can't photograph birds with phones? Not this guy:
https://youtu.be/4TnfKYYrmNc?si=tVLklsVxZ2zh0NeN
Posted by: Albert Smith | Wednesday, 02 July 2025 at 10:03 AM
I surprise myself with occasional good bird shots done with my phone, including this goofy shot of a sleeping cormorant who was so oblivious to my presence I could have pushed him over.
https://flic.kr/p/2nG2Gbg
It's even better since I upgraded to the iPhone 16 with that 5x optical zoom. I'll never get anything NatioalGeo-worthy, but otherwise surprisingly good results, relatively speaking.
That said, attempts to shoot through binoculars or monoculars always result in unsharp and chromo-abberated-like-crazy images, not to mention the near impossibility of holding the phone and the optics together and still being able to find your subject.
Posted by: Ed Hawco | Wednesday, 02 July 2025 at 03:04 PM
I’ve probably got the quote wrong but was it Douglas Adam’s (Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy) who said ‘I love deadlines. I love the sound of them whooshing by’?
Posted by: Bear. | Monday, 07 July 2025 at 05:27 AM