Need help, I'm 82, just received my Canon VIXIA HF-R700 camcorder. I have a family of red shoulder

[lampman]

Need help, I'm 82, just received my Canon VIXIA HF-R700 camcorder. I have a family of red shoulder Hawks about 500 feet in a dead tree from my bay window.
I've been using my Canon EOS rebel SL1, good but I wanted to get closer. So my question is, what settings would I used to take the best pictures and videos of this subject, red shouldered Hawk.

[Danny]

Hi, lampman!

So that the community can better help you, are you looking advice for your VIXIA camcorder, your EOS Rebel camera, or both?

If this is a time-sensitive matter, our US-based technical support team is standing by, ready to help 24/7 via Email at http://bit.ly/ContactCanon or by phone at 1-800-OK-CANON (1-800-652-2666) weekdays between 10 AM and 10 PM ET (7 AM to 7 PM PT).

Thanks and have a great day!

[lampman]

Canon VIXIA HF-R700 camcorder. 

[Waddizzle]

Nice combination of camera and camcorder. 

I have to say that 500 feet [one and half football fields] is pretty far away.  It would take a pretty sizeable, super telephoto [>=400mm] lens mounted on your Rebel SL1 DSLR to capture the hawks that far away.  You'd need one nearly as big as anything on the market.  The cost of such a lens might be staggering, compared to the cost of the camera.  An alternative lens is a birding scope, or spotting scope, to which you could mount the DSLR.

However, your camcorder does have 57x zoom built into it, which gives an equivalent focal length of over 1800mm.  That should get you in the ballpark, but holding the camera steady with that much focal length is next to impossible. 

Invest in a good tripod kit, one with an interchangeable head.  Stay away from the plastic tripods that they sell at the Big Blue Box stores, because all they do is shake and break. 

[lampman]

I do have a good tripod, it is mounted in my bay window with a heavy weight for stabilization.

I will try this out, thanks for your help.

I read slow and poorly, ALL help would be appreciated.

[Waddizzle]

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@lampman wrote:

I do have a good tripod, it is mounted in my bay window with a heavy weight for stabilization.

I will try this out, thanks for your help.

I read slow and poorly, ALL help would be appreciated.

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Great.  I would advise against shooting through the window's glass, if you can avoid it.  It will only degrade the image, and will likely confuse the auto-focus systems in the cameras.

[lampman]

That's not possible, and still be in the house..

Everything is possible.  I will see what results I get on the new camcorder first.

Thanks a lot for your comments.