Wildlife Photography Tips

[SameerSachdeva]

I have Canon 600d + Canon 100-400mm is II for wildlife photography. Please suggest on how can I set my lens to manual focus, so that I can take shots of Birds in flight without changing focus again and again depending upon the distance. Also, how do I decide what shutter speed and ISO to be used for still and flight birds. Aperture I understand can be from f5.6 to f8 (max f11). Also, I don't think it is worth to have ISO above 1600 or rather 800 since I will get noisy shots.

 

[Digirame]

I'm using the same camera with a Tamron 150-600mm telephoto lens for my wildlife photography. For the ISO settings, apertures and shutter speeds, those are things that depend on the conditions you have and what you are trying to create. My suggestion is to just go out and practice with the different settings. Make mistakes and learn from them. I either use Av or manual priority. But some people might prefer Tv priority for BIFs (birds in flight). The DOF (depth of field) sometimes can be quite shallow at full focal length. You might want to review a depth of field calculator on the internet.

I routinely take pictures of birds at ISO1600 or higher. I live in a cloudy/rainy region so I often have to use higher ISO settings like this one (at ISO2000 for example). It's better to have a little noise than a blurry picture. This is a female wood duck taken under dark cloudy skies.

 

[WilbaW]

I have Canon 600d + Canon 100-400mm is II for wildlife photography.

Nice.

Please suggest on how can I set my lens to manual focus, so that I can take shots of Birds in flight without changing focus again and again depending upon the distance.

I can tell you how to set the lens (move the switch on the side from "AF" to "MF"), but I can also tell you that will never work for BIF.

Leave the lens on AF and set the camera to AI-Servo. Start with all autofocus points enabled and practice following birds with the centre point.

Also, how do I decide what shutter speed and ISO to be used for still and flight birds.

Still depends on how steady you can hold the camera. That lens has very good image stabilisation so you should be able to shoot at 1/200 at 400mm with reasonable care. Try 10 shots at each of a range of shutters and see where motion blur starts to show up.

Try 1/2000 or 1/2500 for BIF.

That lens is sharp with the aperture wide open (f/5.6 at 400mm) so start there.

I prefer to shoot BIF in M mode, so I can fix the shutter and aperture to the values I want, then let the ISO be what it has to be to give the required image brightness.

Have a go with the above, post your best 3 shots with EXIF intact, and we'll help you get better from there.

 

[kreygscott]

I have Canon 600d + Canon 100-400mm is II for wildlife photography. Please suggest on how can I set my lens to manual focus, so that I can take shots of Birds in flight without changing focus again and again depending upon the distance. Also, how do I decide what shutter speed and ISO to be used for still and flight birds. Aperture I understand can be from f5.6 to f8 (max f11). Also, I don't think it is worth to have ISO above 1600 or rather 800 since I will get noisy shots.

IMHO Time Value Tv (Shutter Priority is your best bet) I wouldn't suggest Full Manual for BIFs. 1/500 should be enough to freeze motion and keep you ISO levels down. Still; depending on the available light you may need to increase your ISO. Truly the only way you're gonna know is to get out there and practice.
--
My Blog

http://prakticalphotography.blogspot.com

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https://scottcraigphotography.smugmug.com/

 

[Exit10]

I have Canon 600d + Canon 100-400mm is II for wildlife photography. Please suggest on how can I set my lens to manual focus, so that I can take shots of Birds in flight without changing focus again and again depending upon the distance. Also, how do I decide what shutter speed and ISO to be used for still and flight birds. Aperture I understand can be from f5.6 to f8 (max f11). Also, I don't think it is worth to have ISO above 1600 or rather 800 since I will get noisy shots.

IMHO Time Value Tv (Shutter Priority is your best bet) I wouldn't suggest Full Manual for BIFs. 1/500 should be enough to freeze motion and keep you ISO levels down. Still; depending on the available light you may need to increase your ISO. Truly the only way you're gonna know is to get out there and practice.
--
My Blog
http://prakticalphotography.blogspot.com

My Website
https://scottcraigphotography.smugmug.com/

Its still worth considering M mode which isn't necessarily fully manual - it allows you to set the shutter speed (after experimentation you find the lowest speed at which you avoid blurred shots) and aperture (based on depth of field) - you then use auto ISO which will change depending on the lighting conditions. If you find the ISO going too high then you may need to compromise on shutter speed (maybe its too dark for fast moving birds) or aperture (the birds are likely to be distant anyway).

I'd agree with the other recommendation about letting the camera focus in AI servo - at least to start with try and get what you are interested in on the centre focus point.

 

[BirdShooter7]

For flying bird shots I suggest using Ai-servo focus mode and f/5.6 with enough ISO to keep the shutter speed at or above 1/2000 sec. My personal preference is to use the center AF point only but you might also have luck with using the multipoint mode. You definitely want to develop your tracking skills, the better you can track your subject the better your results will be.



Here are a coupe of examples that I shot recently using the above described method.

Pied-billed Grebe

Pileated Woodpecker

Yellow-billed Magpie

Northern Pintail

Snail Kite

Crested Caracara

Tree Swallow

Blue-winged Teal

For what it's worth, these were all taken using a 70D but in my experience the newer rebel cameras are quite capable. Best of luck!



Greg

 

[R2D2]

I have Canon 600d + Canon 100-400mm is II for wildlife photography. Please suggest on how can I set my lens to manual focus, so that I can take shots of Birds in flight without changing focus again and again depending upon the distance.

Although I've successfully shot BIFs with long lenses using manual focus (had to with my 400mm + 1.4x TC), I definitely prefer using the autofocus whenever possible (and would highly recommend AF for those just starting out). The AF will simply net you many more frames per series, even if you get good at manual focus.

As has been recommended, set the camera to AI Servo. I like to use Back Button focusing and the single center AF point (I get too many OOF frames with all AF points enabled). Get on target early and track the subject as perfectly as you can, keeping the AF point on the eye. One technique I like to use quite a bit is to shoot a few frames, then "pump" the AF to re-acquire from scratch, just in case the AF wasn't quite on target when first acquired.

Also, how do I decide what shutter speed and ISO to be used for still and flight birds. Aperture I understand can be from f5.6 to f8 (max f11). Also, I don't think it is worth to have ISO above 1600 or rather 800 since I will get noisy shots.

That lens is quite sharp wide open (@ f/5.6), and that's where I would leave it. This will maximize your shutter speed (for BIFs, shutter speed is king). The amount of light you have will determine your ISO (with the 600D I'd agree that ISO 800/1600 would probably be your max). Aim for 1/2500 second (in full sunlight you might even get 1/3200 sec). Sure you can shoot BIFs at slower shutter speeds, but your keeper rate will always improve as your shutter speed increases.

Personally, I like to shoot in full Manual exposure mode for its consistency and predictability. Your exposure will not vary as your background changes! Notice how BirdShooter7's (excellent BTW) samples all have different backgrounds. No problem for Manual mode. Really the only time you have to change the exposure is when the subjects "face" goes from sunlit to shaded (or vice versa). Just keep an eye on the light levels as time passes, and adjust accordingly.

Here are a couple of previous threads with some more great info in them...

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3641079

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/34707770

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3753383?page=2

Good luck to you!

R2

 

[ncuthbertson]

I liked this video.

Long but great tips and photos.

 

[kreygscott]

I liked this video.

Long but great tips and photos.

+1

B and H has some great videos which I have found very useful. I particularly like Tim Cooper's presentations.