a99ii Birds In Flight settings advice for a newb please

[Marco Cinnirella]

Hey folks, have an opportunity this week to shoot some captive birds both static and in flying displays so would love some advice - birds will be owls, eagles, falcons, buzzards., kites I would like some advice on settings for: metering (spot vs centre weighted versus matrix), whether you keep EFCS and IBIS on even when using high shutter speeds, and which of the many AF tracking settings you have found to work best? I will be shooting most likely with the 70-400 Sony G lens on my a99ii, possibly also with a Minolta 80-200 2.8 HS. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer. Of course I will look online for general advice about BIF but I'm coming here specifically for advice on a99ii settings.

 

[Lensmate]

Hey folks, have an opportunity this week to shoot some captive birds both static and in flying displays so would love some advice - birds will be owls, eagles, falcons, buzzards., kites I would like some advice on settings for: metering (spot vs centre weighted versus matrix), whether you keep EFCS and IBIS on even when using high shutter speeds, and which of the many AF tracking settings you have found to work best? I will be shooting most likely with the 70-400 Sony G lens on my a99ii, possibly also with a Minolta 80-200 2.8 HS. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer. Of course I will look online for general advice about BIF but I'm coming here specifically for advice on a99ii settings.

It depends on how and what you are shooting Marco. For BIF's I use AF-C with matrix [adjusting the EV values according to lighting conditions] with a minimum of 2000 shutter speed tracking the eye of the bird. [If the eye is not sharp, it will be a throw away shot]

I prefer non IBIS and use center focus mode for the birds eye/head depending on panning or in-flight quick shots. You may want to dial in focus speed in your menu for the A99m2. Practise your panning technique on some local birds in your hood...

-M

 

[Marco Cinnirella]

Hey folks, have an opportunity this week to shoot some captive birds both static and in flying displays so would love some advice - birds will be owls, eagles, falcons, buzzards., kites I would like some advice on settings for: metering (spot vs centre weighted versus matrix), whether you keep EFCS and IBIS on even when using high shutter speeds, and which of the many AF tracking settings you have found to work best? I will be shooting most likely with the 70-400 Sony G lens on my a99ii, possibly also with a Minolta 80-200 2.8 HS. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer. Of course I will look online for general advice about BIF but I'm coming here specifically for advice on a99ii settings.

It depends on how and what you are shooting Marco. For BIF's I use AF-C with matrix [adjusting the EV values according to lighting conditions] with a minimum of 2000 shutter speed tracking the eye of the bird. [If the eye is not sharp, it will be a throw away shot]

I prefer non IBIS and use center focus mode for the birds eye/head depending on panning or in-flight quick shots. You may want to dial in focus speed in your menu for the A99m2. Practise your panning technique on some local birds in your hood...

-M

Thanks for the advice. I keep finding while practising that I am accidentally hitting the focus hold buttons on my Sony 70-400 lens - any idea if the a99ii has a menu option to disable those buttons on the lens?

 

[Ed at Ridersite]

I keep finding while practising that I am accidentally hitting the focus hold buttons on my Sony 70-400 lens - any idea if the a99ii has a menu option to disable those buttons on the lens?

Greetings Marco. This has been a pet peeve of mine since I purchased the 70-400mm G2 in 2013. I don't have the A-99 or A-99II. As far as I know, there is no way to disable the buttons - at least on the A-77 and A-68

It's pretty easy to recognize once you are aware of the problem (no focusing). I usually just shut off the camera and turn it back on to solve the problem. Sadly, I miss a potential shot every now and then.

 

[Marco Cinnirella]

I keep finding while practising that I am accidentally hitting the focus hold buttons on my Sony 70-400 lens - any idea if the a99ii has a menu option to disable those buttons on the lens?

Greetings Marco. This has been a pet peeve of mine since I purchased the 70-400mm G2 in 2013. I don't have the A-99 or A-99II. As far as I know, there is no way to disable the buttons - at least on the A-77 and A-68

It's pretty easy to recognize once you are aware of the problem (no focusing). I usually just shut off the camera and turn it back on to solve the problem. Sadly, I miss a potential shot every now and then.