Thanks for sharing your experience! That’s very encouraging for me to go and take more pictures with what I’ve got instead of worrying about spending more money on latest equipment.

Despite my previous experience I always get something from your videos.

Enjoying your videos Paul well said I just have a old 7d mk 2 and 100 to 400 lens plus 1. 4 converter when required and the main reason i view your vlogs as its all about the experience with what you have which relates to me with your 1 dx

Nice one Paul. For me just getting out into the fresh air and enjoying what the outdoors floats my boat. Getting good images of what I see is a bonus. 👍👍

Great video paul

Very true. Gone through the same experience.

Good video Paul & I can also under expose my images which can sometimes work to your advantage, but can sometimes also add noise. Great landing shot by the way. 👏👏👏👏

Great video again =)

Really enjoying your videos and love your enthusiasm Paul 👌and like you just enjoy being out there have also improvedbirds in flights a bit 😉, keep them coming 👏👏👏

Hi Paul, I really like your humble approach. You do not hesitate to explain your mistakes and how you improved this year. Your yellow bird in flight is very nice.

Tip one shows the advantage of going to mirrorless. The exposure is almost always 100% "correct" for example I shoot full manual and use zebras at 100% and know I still have highlight wiggle room in post production. I think I would struggle with a DSLR as I have never used one! Personally for me this year I have improved by not really caring about ISO due to Topaz Denoise/Sharpen AI being so good at what they do. If I can't get a decent shot after that then it was probably not meant to be. That or I needed to spend about £10k!

I think what struck a chord with me most with this particular video Paul, was the message about kit. Far too many don't use what they have to its fullest extent, and hanker after that big 600mm f/4 / Insert new Mirrorless camera here, (myself included). There is so much to learn before moving on to bigger and better. I can see after a year now my evolution from the beginning, and I have improved vastly, and getting out in the field has enabled me to answer lots of those questions i had, not from the comfort of my armchair, but getting out and making the mistakes. There's no shortcuts really, but when it comes together after you have put the work in, it tastes all the sweeter! Great video, and its refreshing to hear experienced WP's speak of where they could improve, a different perspective to a lot of the stuff out there, Cheers!

Great advise here I recently bought the new Fuji 150-600 lens which has a maximum aperture of f8 and have found due to my age I virtually have to use a tripod at 600 because I cant hold the camera still enough to focus but are happy to shoot in bright light to keep the ISO down especially as I have to often shoot at 1/2500 for faster birds. I am surprised at how narrow the depth of filed is at 600mm and are still learning how to focus it on my Fuji XT4 but would not be getting some of my photos without it.

Nothing wrong with that shot using 100-400. Any increase in quality would only be apparent pixel peeping, so unless you plan to blow up large print size, makes no difference. Some good food for thought in your video

Dear Paul, thank you very much for your approach! Rethinking our photography is very important. You put the equipment in its proper place. Your video is very helpful for me, I also use Canon dslr in South America. You are welcome here! And you will like it!

Interesting video Paul, I think looking to improve keeps our photography fresh. For me this year it's been about improving my reactions for photographing birds in flight and particularly dragonflies in flight. All the best, Steve.

Very insightful, I appreciate that you impart your knowledge to make all us amateur WL photographers better. It certainly helps me. I like your f/2.8 macro insect shots, I've been doing same in our pollinator garden at home. By the way looks like you have a squirrel on your head at 3:52!

excellent video Paul, I can relate to just about everything you mentioned as this is/was the route i been going down, however since buying the Canon R6 this is all changed for me in terms of shutter speeds/iso/apertures, this camera just blows me away i'm in manual 100% of the time, i set speed normally 1/2000 whether static of moving i set aperture to whatever i need and do not worry about iso at all it doesnt even come into my head this camera its that good, for over 20 years iso/noise has been the bain of my life with slow shutter speeds and high iso's but not no more, i have also pre-ordered the R7 but at 32mp i do not expect the same noise ratio as my R6 but will probably be the same as my 90D anyways keep up the good work.

Hi Paul, don't put yourself down for "poor quality" images! I'm sure that they are far better than what they were back in the 1800's. And remember they still sold pictures with poorer quality equipment, including fingerprints on the image.

Hi Paul. Thanks for another great video👍 I love it when you give us your thoughts.. Im concidering buying a canon mirrorless Camera, mainly due to poor eyesight. I find it hard to see if the fokus is spot on when I take photos of small birds in the distance. And belive that a new camera with the eye tracking could help me?? What do you think? Have your picks gotten better after you changed to the R6, and have you gotten moore "keepers"? Again thanks for great content😃👏

👌👌❤❤👍👍

Great video Paul. I really liked that one shot of the bunting that you asked for opinions. Substandard gear??? Really??? You’re shooting with pro gear (1Dx and 100-400L). I think you’re beating yourself up for no reason. I always love your work.

Paul on my 7 dmk11 when I try to get comp plus it goes to - as well as + how can I resolve this ? Or is this normal ??

I'm guessing that the damselfly is trying to attract a mate by releasing pheromones into the air. I've definitely observed damselflies and dragonflies mating lately.

The landing shot is great. U won't have made that much better gear anyway. Pretty decent settings and nothing wrong with the gear. Screw the Americans which change their gear every 6 months.

Your practice HAS to evolve and change other wise you get stuck in a pattern of simply reproducing the same work again and again