Bird photography, D7200 AF settings advice needed.

I would like to hear some advice from d7200 bird photographers on how they set their AF for both static and in flight subjects.
Although I have been a dedicated Nikon user for a number of years now I must admit that I have never even scratched the surface of Nikons AF modes beyond single point AF-S!
Ultimately what I would like to have is my U1 and U2 settings dedicated to bird photography with U1 set for static subjects and U2 for in flight ( when the user functions are not in use I would have the camera set as I currently use it, ie single point af-s ).
FYI I have recently moved up from a d7100 with the sigma c to the d7200 with the nikon 200-500 and I am surprised by the improvement between the two set ups and am determined to make the most of my recent upgrade.

captain birdseye said:

I would like to hear some advice from d7200 bird photographers on how they set their AF for both static and in flight subjects.
Although I have been a dedicated Nikon user for a number of years now I must admit that I have never even scratched the surface of Nikons AF modes beyond single point AF-S!
Ultimately what I would like to have is my U1 and U2 settings dedicated to bird photography with U1 set for static subjects and U2 for in flight ( when the user functions are not in use I would have the camera set as I currently use it, ie single point af-s ).
FYI I have recently moved up from a d7100 with the sigma c to the d7200 with the nikon 200-500 and I am surprised by the improvement between the two set ups and am determined to make the most of my recent upgrade.

Click to expand...

Back button focus is the only way to go for Bird in Flight or stationary. Single point focus. The nice thing about BBF "Back Button Focus" is that if you hold the button down it is AF-C let it up and it is fixed. That is the way I have it set up for ALL shooting. Remember, you can not swap back and forth with BBF. Muscle memory has to be learned and once you get used to BBF your keeper rate will increase a lot.

Back Button Focus is a great tool for so many photographers and is something I think everyone should try at least once. Below are a few sites that talk about the how and why of Back Button Focus.

Benefits of Using the AF-ON Button for Autofocus by Nikon USA


BACK BUTTON FOCUSING – EASIER THAN YOU THINK! by Improve Photography


Here is a good YouTube video that goes over the why and how of Back Button Focusing.

You can do a search of the forum on "Back Button Focus" or BBF and see the many threads that have been created on this subject.

Try it, You will like it.

I have the same set up [MENTION=21047]captain birdseye[/MENTION] and like Don suggests I use back button focus. I uses AF-C Single the majority of the time with this lens. Occasionally if I am trying to catch something specific, like a bird fight, I will set it on 9 points instead of single.

Most of my shots are on a tripod with a gimble these days at my feeders. I cannot do a lot of hiking around. I started out using U1 and U2 a lot, but I do not do that so much anymore. I can never be sure when the bird will sit still or I might catch one flying off or a few getting in a fight. With the BBF and the few variations in f stop and Single verses 9 points I am usually okay. I just shoot in Manual and tend to use a shutter speed of 1/1250 or so with Auto ISO set with a max of 2000. I very the aperture from 5.6-8 depending on the depth of field I want.

I do love this lens/camera combo. It took me a while to get comfortable with it and I still learn little tricks everyday, but I do enjoy it.

BIF you'll never have a chance to change the dial

Something I have never used but I have now bookmarked this information and I will give it a try, thanks Don.

Don Kuykendall said:

Back button focus is the only way to go for Bird in Flight or stationary. Single point focus. The nice thing about BBF "Back Button Focus" is that if you hold the button down it is AF-C let it up and it is fixed. That is the way I have it set up for ALL shooting. Remember, you can not swap back and forth with BBF. Muscle memory has to be learned and once you get used to BBF your keeper rate will increase a lot.

Back Button Focus is a great tool for so many photographers and is something I think everyone should try at least once. Below are a few sites that talk about the how and why of Back Button Focus.

Benefits of Using the AF-ON Button for Autofocus by Nikon USA


BACK BUTTON FOCUSING – EASIER THAN YOU THINK! by Improve Photography


Here is a good YouTube video that goes over the why and how of Back Button Focusing.

You can do a search of the forum on "Back Button Focus" or BBF and see the many threads that have been created on this subject.

Try it, You will like it.

Click to expand...

It is one of the ways. Some do fine with it, some do fine without it. I happen to choose not to use it. Tried it more then once and it does not feel comfortable at all for me. I like to keep my finger on the shutter at all times while tracking the bird. If I lose focus ,I can quickly re-acquire it without having to take my finger off the shutter.

Blacktop said:

It is one of the ways. Some do fine with it, some do fine without it. I happen to choose not to use it. Tried it more then once and it does not feel comfortable at all for me. I like to keep my finger on the shutter at all times while tracking the bird. If I lose focus ,I can quickly re-acquire it without having to take my finger off the shutter.

Click to expand...

And with BBF you can keep your thumb on the button all the time without have to maintain the half press on the shutter. Two weeks of a lot of shooting to get used to BBF. You can't swap back and forth till you get used to it.

Plus, with BBF you can focus and recompose for stationionary shots vs moving the focus point around.

I also do it both ways. I like back button focus, but it will take you a little time to get used to it. Once you do it will become second nature, and just another thing you do automatically as part of your photography... There are times, though, when it's convenient to only have to manage one button since you're always refocusing anyway.

As far as settings, I differ in that I use all 51 points, and generally turn on the 3D. This is for both birds in flight and air shows where I'm chasing fast moving jets. I've done both using the single point, and tried using the 3D, and I've been surprised at how well it USUALLY works. And when it fails, the chances are pretty good that I'd never kept the single focus point on the bird either. It's not perfect, but it works pretty well a surprising amount of the time.

For birds I have the option of using the Nikon 500/f4 with a matching 1.4 extender on a gimbal mount. BUT, since buying the Sigma 150-600 and tweaking the autofocus and other settings, I can GENERALLY photograph birds hand-held as long as I have good light.

I generally limit the ISO to 1600 as I've found at that setting I can pretty easily take care of the noise and be happy with my results. Aperture, I try to be at f10 or f11 with the 500/f4 and the same with the Sigma. I've also got the Sigma 1.4X and have used it hand-held to chase birds but even their OS can't make up for my poor technique and my results when not on a tripod or beanbag are pretty sad.

The other thing I've found is that if I haven't recently chased anything fast, and panned with the motion, I'm BEHIND whatever I'm photographing at first... I always try to get into the air shows early to photograph the practice days and find that it takes me about 20 minutes of fiddling to get fully in sync with the movement. Same thing with birds and race cars and anything else that insists on moving around, especially unpredictably. If I've been lazy for a month and not chased anything, it takes me a little while to get to where I'm smooth and accurate and at the right speed for my panning.

All good advice but, can bbf be assigned to the U1/U2 settings so I can quickly switch it on and off?

captain birdseye said:

All good advice but, can bbf be assigned to the U1/U2 settings so I can quickly switch it on and off?

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No idea but i can tell you from experience if you do you will stand there one day with the greatest shot in front of you,your pressing the shutter button and thinking why wont it focus,then as the subject moves you will realize your on BBF on this occasion,if you make the change make it 100%.

captain birdseye said:

All good advice but, can bbf be assigned to the U1/U2 settings so I can quickly switch it on and off?

Click to expand...

Yes. I did the reverse on one of my bodies so I could hand the camera off to a "civilian" for them to take a picture without me having to explain the two button technique to them. It's bad enough for non-camera folks to work a zoom, much less BBF.

You can set camera to BBF but you can also set your shutter release button to stil work to focus. If you forget to press BBF button and press the shutter button it will still work.when pressing the BBF focus then shutter button will not effect focus

That would work, but I believe it would pretty much defeat the purpose of using the bbf. I thought the whole idea was to be able to focus continually, then have the focus stay where it was when you released the back button, and not refocus when you pressed the shutter button.

Least ways, that's what I've always thought of it as being for...

Johan65ZA said:

You can set camera to BBF but you can also set your shutter release button to stil work to focus. If you forget to press BBF button and press the shutter button it will still work.when pressing the BBF focus then shutter button will not effect focus

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I may have missed something somewhere along the line but I have never seen a mode that would do what you are trying to explain. And I have to agree with GracieAllen that this would defeat the purpose of BBF.

Sorry to be thick Don but I am new to bird photography...did I read you right that I can have the camera in AF-S mode (focus and release on shutter button) and then if I press AE L go to AF- C...............been looking in the menu and Google and don't see it.

When you have set your camera up for BBF, you are able to go from AF-C to AF-S by taking your thumb off the AF-L/AF-E button. AFAIK, this is the only works as part of BBF.

Thanks for that confirmation but what are the menu settings ...easy when you know ..impossible when you don't////

Fat Fingers said:

Thanks for that confirmation but what are the menu settings ...easy when you know ..impossible when you don't////

Click to expand...

Are you asking for the menu settings to set up BBF?

Horroscope......yes and no ......I want to go from af s focus and release on the shutter button to af-c still with focus and release on the shutter button ....this is rather than going side button/control wheel/ try to read the tiny display and then reverse it all . I want it for birds in white dresses walking down the aisle which are difficult to keep in focus in AF=s. It would be acceptable to hold a button with the thumb while it is in af c as I am only in that mode for 20 sec then revert to normal.....seen the google videos don't seem to fit with what I want.

Thanks for any advice you can give