Very nice. Would you mind sharing how you do your bracketing. I'm assuming you must adjust exposure compensation between shots but I can't help but wonder if the bird will stay stable enough between shots to prevent alignment problems.
I'm happy to share my technique. I go into the photo settings, select AEB. After selecting AEB, then press either the 3 or 5 just below to set the amount of shots desired. I generally use 5 as it gives a wider range of tonality when combining all images...and that's a good thing!!
I believe there is a small window at the very bottom and right that has 3 slider bars on it. Open this window, I believe this is where you can adjust exposure compensation value. I do not set mine to 0 ev, but rather -.3. I prefer my "baseline" image to be just slightly underexposed. Slightly underexposed is preferable because it helps reduce the likelihood of blown out highlights. Once overexposed, that information is gone, but slightly darker images will still retain the details in the image. This is just a matter of bringing up shadows in your editing software. THIS IS IMPORTANT....be sure you select DNG as your image files. DNG is a raw, uncompressed file and will retain all the details the camera can capture. The images will appear flat and unimpressive...until you merge them into an HDR...then they come alive. Jpeg is a no-no because it compresses the images, smaller files means less details and less wiggle room when editing. Always go for the largest file sizes.
Currently, I always leave my ISO setting at 100. The lower the ISO, the less noise the images will have. Higher ISO will give you a faster exposure, but will bring more unwanted noise to deal with in editing. The image above has an "average" shutter speed of 1/450th of a second, plenty fast enough for retaining sharp details. Also, you mentioned possible alignment issues. With Photomatix, after importing your images into the software, there are some dialog box options to check before it merges the images....be sure to always select Handheld, NOT tripod....because then it will compensate for slight misalignment in the image stack before merging them.
Lastly, you mention adjusting exposure compensation between shots. That is the beauty of AEB (auto exposure bracketing). When you use AEB, the camera will shoot all 3 or 5 images in succession with a single tap of the shutter button on the App screen. I believe I read that the exposure values are set at baseline, -.7, -1.4, +.7, +1.4.
Be sure when you are using your menu button and setting all your camera adjustment options to just tap menu again to exit. Also, test them on your table before flying to be sure you have the AEB working. When you tap the shutter button you will hear 3 or 5 exposure firing in rapid succession.
This is the part I want to stress the most.....If you want your images to look their absolute best, you HAVE TO invest into good editing software. I paid about 100.00 for Photomatix Pro, and I own it...I also use Lightroom 5.0 which I got for free but I you should seriously consider subscribing to Lightroom CC. Yes, its 10.00 dollars a month forever, but it is MUCH easier to use than Photoshop and is packed with easy to use adjustments and leaves the image clean. I have used other "free" editing software's but they don't leave me with a clean final image.
Ok, this may be more information than you wanted, but I am sure your photos need to be as good as they can be and this information is how you will get them there. Feel free to ask me anything, anytime. Always glad to pass on what I have learned.
x.
