handheld 300mm

R

rimrock

New member
When I was at Fallen Leaf Lake last week, I had an opportunity to photograph a pair of Ospreys landing on their nest. I swapped lenses to a VR 70-300 but did not change any camera settings, and the results were blurry, even those where the ospreys were sitting relatively still. I'm interested in learning what I should have done immediately when I saw the opportunity to photograph the Ospreys, and what would have given better results. Here are a couple of examples I wish had been taken with a faster shutter speed and a higher ASA setting. I was in a boat, so use of a tripod was not feasible. I have not investigated the D7200 Scene Modes, so I wonder if the camera is smart enough to increase the ASA or shutter speed when I am photographing a moving subject or panning the camera, if I had changed modes.

D72_4180.jpgD72_4169.jpg
 

Attachments

  • D72_4180.jpg
    D72_4180.jpg
    48.1 KB · Views: 112
Last edited:
M

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Its your settings that are wrong i would suggest you go onto manual with auto ISO
I would suggest you move the shutter speed up from 1/60th which is far too slow and for learning and birds in flight go to 1,000th set the aperture at 1 stop down from wide open and use auto ISO with a max of 3200,you may want to refine these settings later but they should get you images that will set you down the right road.
 
P

paul04

Senior Member
mikew said:
Its your settings that are wrong i would suggest you go onto manual with auto ISO
I would suggest you move the shutter speed up from 1/60th which is far too slow and for learning and birds in flight go to 1,000th set the aperture at 1 stop down from wide open and use auto ISO with a max of 3200,you may want to refine these settings later but they should get you images that will set you down the right road.
Click to expand...

That's the settings I have for birds in flight.

Auto iso (limit at 3200)
Shutter speed 1/1000th
Aperture at 6.3.

Then make small adjustments depending on available light.
 
B

Blacktop

Senior Member
SS 1/60th. F/45??::what:: No wonder.

Increase your SS to over a 1/1000th, open up the aperture to f/5.6 and use auto ISO.
Set focus mode to AF-C when tracking BIF.
 
R

rimrock

New member
Paul & Mike, thank you for the settings info. I can see that I need to get more familiar with the camera. Auto-ISO with a limit of 3200 is my default setting, changing to manual mode and setting aperture are both easy to do, ingrained from many years of using film cameras, but setting shutter speed on the D7200 requires a bit of search through manuals or menu settings. Time to re-read the manual, to see how to set shutter speed, and to investigate whether there is a simpler way to set up the camera so that it becomes very simple to switch from one setup to another. I was hoping that D7200 Scene Modes might be a way to go. Sports mode might be similar enough to work, but the manual does not really say what it is, just that it is optimized for fast shutter speeds...
 
Last edited:
R

rimrock

New member
Blacktop said:
SS 1/60th. F/45??::what:: No wonder.

Increase your SS to over a 1/1000th, open up the aperture to f/5.6 and use auto ISO.
Set focus mode to AF-C when tracking BIF.
Click to expand...

The D7200 was set for Shutter Priority with Auto-ISO, and AF-C, which is what I use for general shooting. The aperture was set automatically.
 
M

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Lots of the time with wild life you will be looking for a particular shutter sped and aperture so the one to let vary is the ISO especially with the D7200
 
canuck257

canuck257

Senior Member
I agree with Mike and Paul about the settings to use. On my 7200 (which my wife has now borrowed????) I have these saved on U2 which is one click away from M on the dial. This allows me to very quickly go to my BIF settings.
 
P

paul04

Senior Member
canuck257 said:
I agree with Mike and Paul about the settings to use. On my 7200 (which my wife has now borrowed????) I have these saved on U2 which is one click away from M on the dial. This allows me to very quickly go to my BIF settings.
Click to expand...

Same here, and on U1 more or less the same settings, apart from shutter speed set at 1/500 for static birds/animals
 
D

Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
rimrock said:
Paul & Mike, thank you for the settings info. I can see that I need to get more familiar with the camera. Auto-ISO with a limit of 3200 is my default setting, changing to manual mode and setting aperture are both easy to do, ingrained from many years of using film cameras, but setting shutter speed on the D7200 requires a bit of search through manuals or menu settings. Time to re-read the manual, to see how to set shutter speed, and to investigate whether there is a simpler way to set up the camera so that it becomes very simple to switch from one setup to another. I was hoping that D7200 Scene Modes might be a way to go. Sports mode might be similar enough to work, but the manual does not really say what it is, just that it is optimized for fast shutter speeds...
Click to expand...

One thing that might help you overall is using the Minimum shutter speed under the Auto ISO setting. Set it to Auto and it will look at the length lens you are shooting and set the appropriate shutter speed for you. It also has a slider so you can adjust it to shoot a little slower or faster than normal. I generally suggest you set it one click faster and the norm. You will get a few more good shots this way.
 
R

RobV

Senior Member
paul04 said:
rimrock said:
setting shutter speed on the D7200 requires a bit of search through manuals or menu settings. Time to re-read the manual, to see how to set shutter speed
In manual mode, adjust the rear command dial for shutter speed, and the front dial for aperture.

View attachment 219417
Click to expand...

That is one of the main reasons my 2nd DSLR had two command dials, to make manual mode as close to the film camera SLR experience as possible, especially pre-electronic.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Danno

Danno

Senior Member
@rimrock, I agree with Mike and Paul as well, but I shoot a lot of little birds moving around and they are faster I think. I go a bit higher on the shutter... 1250 is normal.

But you can look in the manual on page 62 to set them up the U1 and U2 presets. They are handy.
 
Top