Microshooter
Senior Member
I've looked into the Bird Scene mode and read about it in the Alex White Book...but does anyone see any advantages to this mode over using your own settings and storeing them in the User Setting?
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Advantages to the Bird Scene Mode??
- Thread starter Microshooter
- Start date
Augustin Man
Forum Pro
I think your perfectly right, Dan. Actually if someone has enough shooting and PPing knowledge, the M mode is the only mode she needs and a good editor and that's all. However, to a hobbyist like me, the camera "assistance" is essential: almost always its settings are better than mine 
That being said, I'd like to try the Bird-Watching mode, see the settings and, probably slightly modified, to save them in U mode, or rather write them down, because my U mode is being busy with the Cruising-Jet mode
Happy shooting,
Augustin
That being said, I'd like to try the Bird-Watching mode, see the settings and, probably slightly modified, to save them in U mode, or rather write them down, because my U mode is being busy with the Cruising-Jet mode
Happy shooting,
Augustin
Enders Shadow
Senior Member
What exactly does Bird Scene mode do? Bias exposure for faster shutter speeds? Special AF mode? A friend with a P610 thinks it offers no advantage over common sense adjustments.
Microshooter
Senior Member
Ron Binmore
Forum Enthusiast
If you look at my two Kingfisher posts shown 05/05/16, they were all taken with "A" priority and no use of the "Bird Watching" setting. I don't think it makes any contribution or difference to using your usual settings. You will see I had a bit of trouble on my last shoot, I don't know why the birds came out fuzzy, any clues??
My lens seem s to have a life of its own, suddenly without warning it extends and the camera turns itself off, quite exciting at times, you never know what is going to happen next. I am waiting for it to produce a large whisky and ginger with ice.....
Cheers,
My lens seem s to have a life of its own, suddenly without warning it extends and the camera turns itself off, quite exciting at times, you never know what is going to happen next. I am waiting for it to produce a large whisky and ginger with ice.....
Cheers,
The main function of the Bird Watching mode is to make the camera more saleable to birders. A buyer who is interested in birds is fairly likely to think, "This is the camera for me!"
You can't have a "mode" for photographing a swan on a lake, a warbler in a thicket, and a flock of sandpipers on a mudflat at sunset. Birds have feathers: that is what makes them birds. Unless we can have an algorithm that ties our lens and lighting to feathers, we really can't do much with any birding mode. We just have to get back to photographing birds.
However, there are some helpful experts around who are quite willing to share their favourite "custom default" settings. By "custom default" I mean their preferred settings which are saved in Personal or User or Custom mode depending on the camera. These recallable preferences are something like a mode, but must necessarily be biased in favour of whether you intend to photograph cormorants flying in to their nests under a bridge, or vireos singing in heavy vegetation in swampy habitat beside a boardwalk.
Do you want to take short videos, which show the birds very well in all positions, and which include behaviour and birdsong? Would you prefer a burst of photos taken in rapid succession, so you have a better chance of getting a very nice still photo? Or do you enjoy "grabs" in which the goal is to get a record of a rarity or to help you confirm a bird's identity—regardless of whether the picture is "pretty" or not?
There is no end to this. Plus, first days with your new camera may yield 200 or 300 pretty bad pictures, not to mention going through three camera batteries. Believe it or not, this is what eventually conspires to make the whole thing fun.
Or, as I've heard people say on various occasions, in reply to some exhausted and very frustrated would-be photographer's laments about wrong settings and lousy pictures, "Look, we are OUT HERE, aren't we? Even if you feel so upset with yourself, your new camera, or the hopelessness of getting the pictures you want, we are OUT HERE and we are seeing birds and this is all thanks to your "lousy" new camera and your being an idiot and everything else you've been agonizing about: we are OUT HERE and, guess what, this is really a very good time!"
You can't have a "mode" for photographing a swan on a lake, a warbler in a thicket, and a flock of sandpipers on a mudflat at sunset. Birds have feathers: that is what makes them birds. Unless we can have an algorithm that ties our lens and lighting to feathers, we really can't do much with any birding mode. We just have to get back to photographing birds.
However, there are some helpful experts around who are quite willing to share their favourite "custom default" settings. By "custom default" I mean their preferred settings which are saved in Personal or User or Custom mode depending on the camera. These recallable preferences are something like a mode, but must necessarily be biased in favour of whether you intend to photograph cormorants flying in to their nests under a bridge, or vireos singing in heavy vegetation in swampy habitat beside a boardwalk.
Do you want to take short videos, which show the birds very well in all positions, and which include behaviour and birdsong? Would you prefer a burst of photos taken in rapid succession, so you have a better chance of getting a very nice still photo? Or do you enjoy "grabs" in which the goal is to get a record of a rarity or to help you confirm a bird's identity—regardless of whether the picture is "pretty" or not?
There is no end to this. Plus, first days with your new camera may yield 200 or 300 pretty bad pictures, not to mention going through three camera batteries. Believe it or not, this is what eventually conspires to make the whole thing fun.
Or, as I've heard people say on various occasions, in reply to some exhausted and very frustrated would-be photographer's laments about wrong settings and lousy pictures, "Look, we are OUT HERE, aren't we? Even if you feel so upset with yourself, your new camera, or the hopelessness of getting the pictures you want, we are OUT HERE and we are seeing birds and this is all thanks to your "lousy" new camera and your being an idiot and everything else you've been agonizing about: we are OUT HERE and, guess what, this is really a very good time!"
Microshooter
Senior Member
I like your response WalkerC.
Can't say any more .....and you are right on IMO!!
Can't say any more .....and you are right on IMO!!
Microshooter
Senior Member
You probably saw my Osprey shots a few weeks ago and my comment about not being able to focus....even on the 'Wildlife Conservation" sign nailed to the nesting platform of one of my sites.
I tried everything with the settings and nothing solved it....then finally took off the hood and the UV filter switched it from High fps to single shot....and it was spot on . No focus issues since. Single shot or H/L fps. I don't know if it was the filter or what.... but I was having a VERY large number of oof images...and like i said, I could not even focus on the sign nailed to the nest.
The filter is now off...and staying off ...until I see if I have the problem again. I took all my filters off several years ago since I didn't see the need...but with the P900 lens extending out to the edge of the housing,I put one on. AND... now it's off too!!!
...FWIW
Mcbrig
Senior Member
You have mentioned something similar in previous post... my best guess it is just the camera turning it self off after a pre- determined time, you can change the shut down time in settings, that is why you had troubles with the remote timing out.
Wondered about this myself and actually tried it for a few shots just a few minutes ago. Can't see that it does anything, but maybe something hidden. Some have mentioned that it might trigger auto iso, but that didn't appear to be the case for me tonight. It was right at dusk and I was stretching the light and had 1600 iso set manually. When I put it in bird watching mode it was still shooting at 1600 and to my knowledge that is not an option in auto iso.
Edit: I did notice one difference and don't have the slightest idea what it meant. It had a block reading OK800mm across the lower portion of the viewfinder right above the f stop - shutter speed readout.
Edit: I did notice one difference and don't have the slightest idea what it meant. It had a block reading OK800mm across the lower portion of the viewfinder right above the f stop - shutter speed readout.
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@Bob A L,
That "OK…mm" doesn't relate to Birding Mode.I stumbled across it several times this morning. I wasn't in Birding Mode. I may have been in Advanced Confusion Mode.
Nikon refers to it in the Nikon P900 reference manual on page 7, #18, as relating to either "Sequence playback guide" on pages 25 and 122, or "Movie playback guide" on page 32.
Even if you have the physical reference manual that comes with the camera, I suggest you might find the downloaded PDF copy of the manual a lot easier on the eyes.
http://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/products/221/COOLPIX_P900.html
But if the guide does nothing much, in this case, to make sense, that may be because although the guide looks like it's written very clearly in English, it sometimes makes not much more sense than Outer (very Outer) Mongolian.
Still, there would be nothing mysteriously hidden to make any of the modes deliver in terms of a sophisticated setting. You can always take the same picture from the same spot, trying out various modes in succession. Then be sure to right-click on your pictures on your computer so you can see their respective metadata. You'll see what was changed, albeit not all of it.
Some of the other modes have very definite purposes. I have nothing against Birding Mode except I believe it encourages beginners to not learn what they really do need to know. For good or for bad, the Nikon P900 is very much a camera that demands quite a bit of learning and study. Without that, it's just a big heavy thing that costs twice as much as, say, a Canon SX50, and is only good for some moon shots and impressive zooms and telephotos in the first week.
"Point and Shoot" it most definitely is NOT. But I must admit I am taking a cautious liking to the beast. Mine is still on probation; a fact I just happen to mention out loud whenever it tries to confound me with any new exasperation—which it does, routinely.
That "OK…mm" doesn't relate to Birding Mode.I stumbled across it several times this morning. I wasn't in Birding Mode. I may have been in Advanced Confusion Mode.
Nikon refers to it in the Nikon P900 reference manual on page 7, #18, as relating to either "Sequence playback guide" on pages 25 and 122, or "Movie playback guide" on page 32.
Even if you have the physical reference manual that comes with the camera, I suggest you might find the downloaded PDF copy of the manual a lot easier on the eyes.
http://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/products/221/COOLPIX_P900.html
But if the guide does nothing much, in this case, to make sense, that may be because although the guide looks like it's written very clearly in English, it sometimes makes not much more sense than Outer (very Outer) Mongolian.
Still, there would be nothing mysteriously hidden to make any of the modes deliver in terms of a sophisticated setting. You can always take the same picture from the same spot, trying out various modes in succession. Then be sure to right-click on your pictures on your computer so you can see their respective metadata. You'll see what was changed, albeit not all of it.
Some of the other modes have very definite purposes. I have nothing against Birding Mode except I believe it encourages beginners to not learn what they really do need to know. For good or for bad, the Nikon P900 is very much a camera that demands quite a bit of learning and study. Without that, it's just a big heavy thing that costs twice as much as, say, a Canon SX50, and is only good for some moon shots and impressive zooms and telephotos in the first week.
"Point and Shoot" it most definitely is NOT. But I must admit I am taking a cautious liking to the beast. Mine is still on probation; a fact I just happen to mention out loud whenever it tries to confound me with any new exasperation—which it does, routinely.
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Ron Binmore
Forum Enthusiast
I have the camera set to turn itself off after 30m all the time so I don't think that is causing the switch off.
Ron Binmore
Forum Enthusiast
I purchased the Alexander S White book on the P900, a really good read and full of info. I must say, I have found the p900 much easier to learn about than the Panasonic Lumix G5, it is a nightmare and not helped by the four way button being placed exactly where the base of ones thumbs rests. You set up the camera for a shoot only to find the ISO has altered along with most other settings and all your efforts are wasted. I taught myself to check the settings every time before I pressed the shutter button so an automatic extend and retrieve lens is a bit of a luxury by comparison. The p900 is easier to manipulate and the results are stunning so I will carry on swearing at it when it misbehaves and enjoy the pictures it produces. Someone said earlier that Nikon may produce some Firmware that might cure some of the problems??? I am not holding my breath.
My latest efforts are on my flickr page.
Cheers,
My latest efforts are on my flickr page.
Cheers,
with apologies to Microshooter:
We are way off topic here. I'm sorry.
__________________________________________
@Ron,
Well, just to check everything possible, firmware should identify itself at present as version 1.3.
Nikon says in the manual (page 7) that the camera turns off when (1) it is too cold, or when (2) the inside of the camera is too hot, or (3) to save power in auto off function.
Also of course there is a risk that the camera may become too chilled if it is set to make an especially large whiskey and ginger with ice.
—Why not just check on the battery temperature next time the camera shuts down without explanation? I mean, take the battery out and see if it feels much too hot in your hand.
(My guess is that your camera or your camera battery is getting too hot. Do you by any chance have your batteries numbered for ID, and, if you do, have you attached a piece of tape or whatnot onto your batteries, which might be blanketing in too much heat? Whew! THAT is a longshot—but it would be a possible cause.)
The 30-minute auto shutdown would seem to me to create more heat. I'm using a 1-minute shutdown without grief.
As long as you are familiar with your settings, and you are losing time because of those random shutdowns anyway, you might wish to reset all your settings and begin over. If you were to try that, I'd suggest putting your filters or lens hood back on right away. I doubt they are the cause, and you'd want to find out.
You know, even if you are using version 1.3 of the firmware, you could try "updating" to version 1.3 anyway, just to be sure there is nothing corrupted in the software. I would think this extremely unlikely, but it is something to do on a cold winter's night.
Lastly, I can't help but wonder if your Nikon has its bar menu set to "shaken; not stirred".
Good luck.
We are way off topic here. I'm sorry.
__________________________________________
@Ron,
Well, just to check everything possible, firmware should identify itself at present as version 1.3.
Nikon says in the manual (page 7) that the camera turns off when (1) it is too cold, or when (2) the inside of the camera is too hot, or (3) to save power in auto off function.
Also of course there is a risk that the camera may become too chilled if it is set to make an especially large whiskey and ginger with ice.
—Why not just check on the battery temperature next time the camera shuts down without explanation? I mean, take the battery out and see if it feels much too hot in your hand.
(My guess is that your camera or your camera battery is getting too hot. Do you by any chance have your batteries numbered for ID, and, if you do, have you attached a piece of tape or whatnot onto your batteries, which might be blanketing in too much heat? Whew! THAT is a longshot—but it would be a possible cause.)
The 30-minute auto shutdown would seem to me to create more heat. I'm using a 1-minute shutdown without grief.
As long as you are familiar with your settings, and you are losing time because of those random shutdowns anyway, you might wish to reset all your settings and begin over. If you were to try that, I'd suggest putting your filters or lens hood back on right away. I doubt they are the cause, and you'd want to find out.
You know, even if you are using version 1.3 of the firmware, you could try "updating" to version 1.3 anyway, just to be sure there is nothing corrupted in the software. I would think this extremely unlikely, but it is something to do on a cold winter's night.
Lastly, I can't help but wonder if your Nikon has its bar menu set to "shaken; not stirred".
Good luck.
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