Birds in flight 10 tips

10 Gauge

Senior Member
Conflicting information.....

[h=2]4. Use the Right Camera Settings[/h]Make your life easy with these settings:

  • Aperture Priority mode
  • Matrix/Evaluative metering
  • Auto ISO settings up to whatever ISO settings you are comfortable with for your camera
  • Shutter Speed of at least 1/500th of a second or faster
  • AF-C focus mode for Nikon users and AI-Servo mode for Canon
  • Highest frames per second burst mode setting
  • 9-point or 21-point zone focus or 3-D tracking



Wouldn't you want shutter priority mode?
 

WayneF

Senior Member
Wouldn't you want shutter priority mode?

The idea is that we always have to keep a watch on all of the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed values.

Auto ISO only works (only increases) when the normal hardware reaches its physical limits. If not hitting a limit, no Auto ISO increase. Auto ISO is for when all else fails.

If we use shutter priority, the aperture will always be open wide open before Auto ISO starts to increase. Probably not the best plan, unless you specifically want wide open aperture. But in any dimmer light, Shutter priority will absolutely insure wide open aperture.

Likewise, if we use aperture priority, we can set the aperture we want, but then shutter speed can fall to the lowest shutter speed. But we avoid that being the actual 30 seconds hardware limit ... with the clever Minimum shutter speed set in the Auto ISO menu, which is intended to be the actual Auto ISO threshold. We can set that to be 1/500 second as stated. Then if shutter becomes as slow as we set that limit (the 1/500 second), then the dropping shutter speed holds there, and then Auto ISO increases. Shutter speed can of course still go slower when we hit the Maximum ISO limit.

We do still need to realize two things... 1) Any Auto ISO value between Minimum ISO and Maximum ISO will use this Minimum shutter speed we set, so we need to give it some thought.
And 2), things can still change, and we always need to keep a constant watch on everything.

I thought it was a surprisingly good article.. Much more meat than we normally see on the internet.
 
Last edited:

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
I would disagree with the statement wait for the right conditions,especially when learning,take anything and every thing its the only way to improve.
 

Felisek

Senior Member
I would disagree with the statement wait for the right conditions,especially when learning,take anything and every thing its the only way to improve.

This is what I'm trying to do. However, pigeons and seagulls are getting boring. :sulkiness:
 

10 Gauge

Senior Member
The idea is that we always have to keep a watch on all of the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed values.

Auto ISO only works (only increases) when the normal hardware reaches its physical limits. If not hitting a limit, no Auto ISO increase. Auto ISO is for when all else fails.

If we use shutter priority, the aperture will always be open wide open before Auto ISO starts to increase. Probably not the best plan, unless you specifically want wide open aperture. But in any dimmer light, Shutter priority will absolutely insure wide open aperture.

Likewise, if we use aperture priority, we can set the aperture we want, but then shutter speed can fall to the lowest shutter speed. But we avoid that being the actual 30 seconds hardware limit ... with the clever Minimum shutter speed set in the Auto ISO menu, which is intended to be the actual Auto ISO threshold. We can set that to be 1/500 second as stated. Then if shutter becomes as slow as we set that limit (the 1/500 second), then the dropping shutter speed holds there, and then Auto ISO increases. Shutter speed can of course still go slower when we hit the Maximum ISO limit.

We do still need to realize two things... 1) Any Auto ISO value between Minimum ISO and Maximum ISO will use this Minimum shutter speed we set, so we need to give it some thought.
And 2), things can still change, and we always need to keep a constant watch on everything.

I thought it was a surprisingly good article.. Much more meat than we normally see on the internet.
Learn something new every day, I didn't realize there was a minimum shutter speed setting in the Auto ISO menu. I've actually never used Auto ISO, but it sounds like something I may need to look in to checking out.
 

WayneF

Senior Member
As an alternative, some users for some events, maybe sports or birds, like to set camera Manual mode, maybe f/5.6 at 1/500 second... so they absolutely know what settings the picture will use. Then they set Auto ISO, the idea being that if f/5.6 1/500 is not sufficient, then Auto ISO will increase until it is...

My point of mentioning it is that 1) this is no different than camera A mode with f/5.6 and and 1/500 second Minimum shutter speed in Auto ISO, when both are using f/5.6 and 1/500 at higher ISO values. However M mode between ISO 100 to ISO 3200 is only 5 stops of possible range, over six stops.

And 2) the camera A mode plan has some extra backup capability of letting the shutter still go faster or slower, as opposed to the alternate result of an underexposed picture when maximum ISO is not sufficient, or overexposed result when minimum ISO is too much for the settings. The M mode case is cute, but it is simply additional restrictions.

Of course, as always, it is important to constantly pay attention to what is happening. If we find our ISO is always higher than best, we can reconsider the settings forcing it there.
 
Last edited:

Stoshowicz

Senior Member
Ten tips,
Never use anything on auto, you fight the cameras software rather than get an intuitive understanding of whats going on
start with iso 800, an aperture of 8, shutterspeed of 2000th of a sec or faster, minus one exposure compensation , (with a raw file) when the sun is up ,, then adapt
Check each set of pics as you go , slightly underexposed is better
Set your camera up to do backbutton focus , take three shots , refocus take more if you have time
set your camera to do focus priority release of shutter
dont kid yourself that you are going to be able to focus on the eye of the bird
understand that a backlit photo will never have the nice look you prefer , so shoot the bird when she is banking or the best light available
Dont keep photos of the rear end of the bird, if youre too late , just accept it like a man
Have in your mind a no-fly zone, which is to say , any moving bird in that sector ,, which should be the direction of good lighting, is going to get shot down :)
Dont keep photos of the rear end of the bird, if youre too late , just accept it like a man
 

Chris@sabor

Senior Member
Manual mode with Auto ISO is the ticket for wildlife and birds. Adjust speed as needed, increase depth of field when needed, let Auto ISO handle itself. Then I use exposure comp to handle the varying light conditions.

Shooting birds in flight at 1/500 is a recipe for frustration as you review your blurry images. In very low light. I'll go as low as 1/1000 but, as soon as light permits I want 1/1600 or higher.

Aperture is also important. In low light wide open is a must to keep ISO low. As the light intensifies, I try to stop down a little. If I can get to F8 or F9 I'm happy. Stopping down assists your autofocus by giving you a little deeper depth of field. There is more room to get the subject in focus.

I keep an eye on ISO. But anywhere between 100 and 5000 on my D500, I'm comfortable. I may let it go higher if the subject is of special interest. The other benefit to Auto ISO is that it also LOWERS ISO whenever possible!

The adjustment I make most often is Exposure Comp. Dark backgrounds, negative exposure comp, light background or sky, positive comp.

This isn't the end all be all but it's working well for me.
 
Last edited:
Top