New Toy

Whiskeyman

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Peter7100 said:
Yes I love watching Steve Perry videos.
I have already programmed some of the functions but find that people seem to be split on the best AF selection for tracking birds and wildlife. I am getting the impression that there is a slight preference for GROUP AF.
It would be interesting to know what people on here tend to use in this scenario.
Click to expand...

Peter, no matter which AF Mode you chose for what job, it is most important to learn everything you can about how that mode actually works. Learn the details!

While you can get some of this information from the D500 manual, it can be tough to find and too easy to misunderstand. Watch some online videos from good, established photography instructors, like Steve Perry at Backcountry Gallery, to get the best information fairly quickly. The really good videos give you not only technical information, but also add insight into how to apply it in the field. And get a third-party D500 reference manual. There can be nuances in how an AF mode works that you'll learn from watching a video or referenceing a book that might take you a long time to learn from trial and error yourself.

In addition, find a competent D500 user who will mentor you and follow them for a while; go on shoots with them and ask plenty of questions. (Socially distanced, :p, of course!) And use that camera!! That age-old addage about what kind of teacher experience is remains in effect even in the age of the internet!

The D500 is a great camera which should suit you for a long time. I know I plan to keep mine for much longer!

Good shooting!

WM
 
Last edited:
Peter7100

Peter7100

Senior Member
Whiskeyman said:
Peter, no matter which AF Mode you chose for what job, it is most important to learn everything you can about how that mode actually works. Learn the details!

While you can get some of this information from the D500 manual, it can be tough to find and too easy to misunderstand. Watch some online videos from good, established photography instructors, like Steve Perry at Backcountry Gallery, to get the best information fairly quickly. The really good videos give you not only technical information, but also add insight into how to apply it in the field. And get a third-party D500 reference manual. There can be nuances in how an AF mode works that you'll learn from watching a video or referenceing a book that might take you a long time to learn from trial and error yourself.

In addition, find a competent D500 user who will mentor you and follow them for a while; go on shoots with them and ask plenty of questions. (Socially distanced, :p, of course!) And use that camera!! That age-old addage about what kind of teacher experience is remains in effect even in the age of the internet!

The D500 is a great camera which should suit you for a long time. I know I plan to keep mine for much longer!

Good shooting!

WM
Click to expand...

I am enjoying watching the techniques online that various people apply. One really good tip seems to be to study the typical movement of the birds before landing and taking off. Another thing that I didn't know was that most of them take off into the wind just like an aircraft. Coming from a predominantly landscape shooting background for serveral decades, this is a good learning curve for me and that has actually been due to covid lockdown restrictions as I can't travel for my landscape photography.
In the meantime I will continue to admire the great birds shots from other Nikonites and hopefully one day I will get to a reasonable standard.
 
Whiskeyman

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Peter7100 said:
I am enjoying watching the techniques online that various people apply. One really good tip seems to be to study the typical movement of the birds before landing and taking off. Another thing that I didn't know was that most of them take off into the wind just like an aircraft. Coming from a predominantly landscape shooting background for serveral decades, this is a good learning curve for me and that has actually been due to covid lockdown restrictions as I can't travel for my landscape photography.
In the meantime I will continue to admire the great birds shots from other Nikonites and hopefully one day I will get to a reasonable standard.
Click to expand...

Hopefully, we'll be able to travel before too long. In the meantime, do as you are doing and practice.

For some inspiration, visit https://www.dvwildlife.com Dick Vautrinot is a charter guide out of Florida in the US of A. May I suggest that If you ever get the opportunity to travel to Central Florida when Dick is conducting charters, that you do so; and hope and pray the weather is optimum for your visit.

WM
 
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