Help

[Benjy]

Young Woodpecker having a look at what,s in store for him from the safety of his mums breast,I have been trying to catch adults as they leave nest at speed without any success,when set at Manual or shutter speed shots are really dark,I use Sony A65,4.5-5.6/70-300 ssm g lens,nest is in woods with pretty dull light,any help will be greatly appreciated....

[Mark von Kanel]

What settings are you using?

[chauncey]

What I would do...get as close to nest as possible>tripod mounted with remote wireless shutter>
pre-focus and shift to manual focus> make all camera settings, lock them into manual mode>
move yourself to a recliner away from the camera within eyesight of nest>drink coffee/whatever
and fire the shutter when the parent comes to the nest.

Don't count on having a high keeper rate unless you want to shoot tethered by purchasing
something like this...https://www.tethertools.com/product/...hering-system/

[IzzieK]

Good advice by William here....so go get yourself a pack of beer and a beach lounge chair so you do not miss any action...fire away each time there is movement and you will be rewarded...

[Brownbear]

+1 to Chauncey's advice...

But I would like to add that if you're hoping to catch these little birds in flight under the same lighting conditions I think you're trying the impossible.

Your exif data shows f/5.6 (probably as open as you can go?), a SS of 1/13 second, and an ISO of 800 which I interpret as - not enough available natural light to allow for a reasonably fast shutter speed without upping your ISO, a lot.

Perhaps wait for a bright overcast day or a sunny day with lots of clouds and try again...

[ClaudioG]

...so go get yourself a pack of beer ..

+1 here too..sound, solid advice