The Best Method For Photographing Hummingbirds: Two Canon Cameras Go Head-To-Head

What is the best camera for photographing Hummingbirds? 
Canon DSLR vs. PowerShot Elph

     Hummingbirds are arguably one of the most difficult subjects to photograph. Their tiny size and incredible speed present a unique challenge to any photographer and any camera system. The issue, of course, is how to get an image that is both close-up and in-focus.
     As the old saying saying goes, "there's more than one way to skin a pig" and this summer I tested a couple of methods using different camera systems to see which would render the best results.

Canon EOS 80D DSLR Camera

      My original go-to camera for this test was my Canon EOS 80D and my Tamron 70-300mm telephoto lens. All of the images in the first part of this blog post and in Hummingbirds 2019 Part 1 and Hummingbirds 2019 Part 2 are shot with that camera & lens combo.

Benefits of the Canon 80D

     The Canon 80D is a DSLR camera that can be used in most any professional situation. The benefits of using this type of camera include:

• Superior image quality
• Interchangeable lenses
• Full manual controls including ability to manipulate ISO, shutter speed, and f-stop.

     While the DSLR style camera system seems like an obvious choice, there are a couple a major drawbacks when it comes to photographing hummingbirds.

Disadvantages of using the Canon 80D

     The way a DSLR camera creates an image for the user to view through the eye piece is by reflecting that image off of a mirror on the inside of the camera body. Back in the days of film, the "film plane" was behind this mirror. When the photographer pushed the shutter, this mirror would flip up and expose the film to a carefully measured and focused amount of light that would create an image on the film. In the age of digital, DSLR cameras still work this way but instead of a film plane, the digital sensor is behind the mirror. The classic "click-click" sound that is universally associated with a camera firing is the sound of that mirror flipping up and coming back down and herein lies the problem.
     A rapidly firing DSLR camera sounds like a machine gun clickity clackity clickity clackity and it scares the birds. Because hummingbirds are so small, even with a 300mm lens, it is still necessary to stand pretty close to the feeders in order to get images that don't have to be cropped a ridiculous amount. As soon as they hear that sound, they promptly go investigate the other feeders.
     While the Canon 80D does indeed produce beautiful images, it's noisy shutter scares the birds so I started to consider a quieter option. If price were no issue, the obvious solution would be a mirrorless camera system. If I were just now getting into the game, I would invest in this type of camera system. As of now, Canon is not even developing new DSLR models and are putting all of their R&D dollars into mirrorless cameras.
     That being said, I have a large investment in DSLR camera bodies and EOS lenses and jumping ship just for this one super specific application seemed a little silly. Mirrorless cameras are quiet but do you know what other kind of camera is quiet? Point and shoot cameras are quiet too!

Canon PowerShot Elph 360

     While researching different types of quiet cameras, I discovered that one could easily spend almost as much on a fancy point-and-shoot as on a DSLR. Spending $1000 on this experiment seemed excessive so I opted for the Canon PowerShot Elph 360. It's small, it's purple (always a plus!), it's quiet and, at $200, it's affordable.
     Disclaimer: to be successful with this camera it is still necessary to have a healthy understanding of the principals of photography. I don't want to imply that this is an out-of-the-box, no-brainer solution because it is not.

Benefits of the Canon PowerShot Elph 360

     While this camera is not without it's frustrations, it can produce pleasing results when it comes to hummingbird photography. Benefits include:

• An electronic shutter noise that can be turned off.
• Almost silent operation.
• 300mm optical zoom lens
• The ability to stand closer to the hummingbird feeders without scaring them with shutter noise.
• Being able to stand closer means less cropping.     
• Rapid fire mode.
• Affordable price.
• Offers a wide variety of features.
• High Speed Burst mode can capture many images in a short period of time.

Drawbacks of the Canon PowerShot Elph 360

     As previously mentioned, this camera is not without its frustrations. Drawbacks include:

• Temperamental focusing mechanism.
  
• Short battery life (so buy extra batteries).
  
• Diminished image quality, especially when operating in High-Speed Burst mode.
• High ISO and low light adversely affect image quality (so photograph hummingbirds in full sun.)
• NOT a no-brainer camera.

Conclusion

     As you can see in the images below, the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 is capable of producing very nice images of hummingbirds in flight that are both exposed correctly and in focus. For the purpose of blogging and creating medium/small prints, these images are more than sufficient. 
     The Elph 360 does offer a lot of features but, as there are few external controls on the camera body, most of the options are buried in the menus. Additionally, as point and shoot cameras do, the Elph does most of the thinking for you but the problem is that it does not always arrive at the correct solution by itself. Therefore it is necessary to have an understanding of things like shutter speed, f-stop, ISO and metering functions to be able to manipulate the way this camera "thinks". It's not difficult but it does require a bit of experimentation and patience. 
     All of the images below were shot with the Elph 360. Please feel free to compare them to the images at the beginning of this post, weigh the pros and cons, and decide for yourself which type of camera system is the most ideal for photographing hummingbirds.
     Click here to see my other posts about hummingbirds.