canon 7d & sigma 120-300 2.8 OS Set up for flight shots

[trevrob]

Having problems in getting good flight shots of birds ie owls, my OS is off on my sigma ,i use a tripod ,many forums say its best to turn the OS off , my canon 7d i shoot on aI servo,single point AF and EV,i have the AI tracking sensitivty on my 7d on the three quater mark , any lower i find it diffucult to track ,i use convertors 1.4 & the 2x, the 2x can only be used in perfect light otherwise the images do come out soft,overall i am finding the quality of flight shots are coming out poor ie soft and not sharp , i am finding it diffucult to pinpoint the problem .is it the lens or is it the 7d is not up to scratch on the noise it shows above ISO 5oo any tips or advice would be of a great help to me.as i am not sure how to improve my flight shots

 

[LCPete]

Hi are you getting good results on stationary subjects ?
just checking, you should be getting good shots on single point focus with the camera on one shot on stationary subjects in good light as a starting point
I would try without the convertors first to make sure that they are not the problem
Am not an expert on birds in flight but use my 7D and 100-400 for moving subjects
you mentioned noise I find that its important to get the exposure spot on if you do up to ISO 1600 should be good
Am normally on 800 to 1600 to get a high enough shutter speed
I normally use single point AF with AI servo
hope thats helpful
Pete

 

[seriousrikk]

Samples you are not happy with would helps us identify your problems...