Why do I never get a sharp airoplane or bird in flight picture with my XT5

[fkazmi]

Despite updating the firmware of both my camera and the lens (70-300) to their latest versions, I am yet to capture a single sharp photo of planes or birds in flight, even keeping shutter speeds at about 1/2000 for birds and 1/1000 for planes, in sunny daylight with auto iso. Firstly, the autofocus hunts so wildly that it never gets the object in time. Mostly it cant even find it in the sky. I can't even talk about the hit rate sinse it is zero. I

Had better success with Aeroplanes with my 15 year old nikon D90 and 18-200 lens. If it was not for the unique fujifilm JPEG colors, I would have switched to Canon (Nikon pictures need too much work for color correction) in a heartbeat.
Any idea how to improve? I have tried, single point, zone, tracking, single shot focus, contnuous focus etc. The camera just cant find the subject in time.

 

[alphaZ]

Despite updating the firmware of both my camera and the lens (70-300) to their latest versions, I am yet to capture a single sharp photo of planes or birds in flight, even keeping shutter speeds at about 1/2000 for birds and 1/1000 for planes, in sunny daylight with auto iso. Firstly, the autofocus hunts so wildly that it never gets the object in time. Mostly it cant even find it in the sky. I can't even talk about the hit rate sinse it is zero. I

Had better success with Aeroplanes with my 15 year old nikon D90 and 18-200 lens. If it was not for the unique fujifilm JPEG coors, I would have switched back in a heartbeat.
Any idea how to improve? I have tried, single point, zone, tracking, single shot focus, contnuous focus etc. The camera just cant find the subject in time.

Do you have object recognition switched on? In my experience the object recognition is incredibly quick at identifying birds, then all have to do is make sure you are following the object?

 

[fkazmi]

No, I thought object recognition is just a gimmick. Will try, thanks!

 

[sir_c]

Also look for Morris' AF settings for BIF on this forum. They're quite a good set of parameter adjustments that you may need.

The Fuji AF-C needs a little bit more tuning for your subject. Out of the box is hardly ever what you want, is my experience.

 

[Bill Ferris]

Firstly, the autofocus hunts so wildly that it never gets the object in time. Mostly it cant even find it in the sky. I can't even talk about the hit rate sinse it is zero.

The most likely issues include not filling enough of the frame with the subject, framing subjects against complex or similar tone backgrounds that compete for the camera's attention, poor handheld tracking, or suboptimal focus settings.

If you attach a few sample photos with EXIF intact that illustrate the issues you're seeing, folks should be able help you make the needed changes to get better results.

 

[alphaZ]

Firstly, the autofocus hunts so wildly that it never gets the object in time. Mostly it cant even find it in the sky. I can't even talk about the hit rate sinse it is zero.

The most likely issues include not filling enough of the frame with the subject, framing subjects against complex or similar tone backgrounds that compete for the camera's attention, poor handheld tracking, or suboptimal focus settings.

or not using object recognition! Fuji object recognition for birds in particular is very impressive, quick to recognise them and it will also identify them very small in the frame. As long as you keep your shutter speed high enough you should be able to get the bird a lot of the time.

 

[fkazmi]

Planes and birds in flight, have sky as background so distraction is not an issue. Main issue is the slow speed of aquiring focus.

It is not possible to fill the frame with such subjects. I will try subject recognition in on position and report back. Thanks for the help.

 

[Yannis1976]

No, I thought object recognition is just a gimmick. Will try, thanks!

It helps a lot but even with pure CAF you should be getting some birds and planes in target.

Can you tell us the CAF settings you are using?

 

[Bill Ferris]

Planes and birds in flight, have sky as background so distraction is not an issue. Main issue is the slow speed of aquiring focus.

It is not possible to fill the frame with such subjects. I will try subject recognition in on position and report back. Thanks for the help.

The issue may be your settings choices. Using bird subject detect AF should absolutely improve acquisition & tracking. However, the other factors I mentioned are equally as common, especially for birds in-flight.

As for filling the frame with birds in-flight, here are three uncropped images from the last couple of weeks. In other words, the framing is exactly as it was in the EVF when I pressed the shutter release. I've got hundreds where only a modest crop was needed, less than the crop applied by the next smallest sensor format.







If you're looking to elevate your bird in-flight game, look for locations and opportunities to photograph birds against the landscape. It helps the image convey a sense of place.

Good luck with bird subject detect. If that isn't the full answer, upload some sample photos with EXIF and the good folks here should be able to help you trouble-shoot the issues.

Remember, the number one thing you can do to increase your keeper rate for birds in-flight is improve your field craft. That is an ongoing process

--
Bill Ferris Photography
https://billferrisphotography.pixieset.com/arizonaslittleserengeti/

 

[pw-pix2]

Don't forget that with longer tele lenses and long distances to subject, atmospheric conditions can considerably soften the image. Heat haze can be happening on cool days, etc. Shoot a few static subjects at similar distances to the birds and planes on the same day to check for this. Some days it's hard to get crisp and clear shots because of the terrain you're shooting over causing a lot of heat haze.

--
Peter
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pw-pix/

 

[Meeces]

Despite updating the firmware of both my camera and the lens (70-300) to their latest versions, I am yet to capture a single sharp photo of planes or birds in flight, even keeping shutter speeds at about 1/2000 for birds and 1/1000 for planes, in sunny daylight with auto iso. Firstly, the autofocus hunts so wildly that it never gets the object in time. Mostly it cant even find it in the sky. I can't even talk about the hit rate sinse it is zero. I

Had better success with Aeroplanes with my 15 year old nikon D90 and 18-200 lens. If it was not for the unique fujifilm JPEG colors, I would have switched to Canon (Nikon pictures need too much work for color correction) in a heartbeat.
Any idea how to improve? I have tried, single point, zone, tracking, single shot focus, contnuous focus etc. The camera just cant find the subject in time.

Also be aware- the 70-300 is a poor focusing lens while zooming at the same time. I get much better keeper rate of anything moving if I am NOT zooming AND focusing. Part of the design of the 70-300 I believe.

 

[fkazmi]

AF mode- Zone, Tracking sensitivity-3, speed tracking sensitivity-0, zone area switching-auto.

 

[fkazmi]

Thaks for the tip. I am keeping the focal length constant, that is, at maximum.

 

[fkazmi]

Will keep in mind, but the weather in windsor, ontario is mild these days. I think it has something to do with settings. Trying various options as suggested here. Will report the results. Waiting for the weekend.

 

[fkazmi]

Your images convinced me that it has something to do with the settings. But again it is unfair competetion: Nikon Z9-Nikkor 800 vs Fuji XT5-70-300.

Waiting for the weekend to try out all the suggestions. Unfortuately deleted all the photos as they were so out of focus. Will keep this time.

 

[Bill Ferris]

Your images convinced me that it has something to do with the settings. But again it is unfair competetion: Nikon Z9-Nikkor 800 vs Fuji XT5-70-300.

Waiting for the weekend to try out all the suggestions. Unfortuately deleted all the photos as they were so out of focus. Will keep this time.

Good luck. Allow yourself the freedom to grow with your gear. Your results will improve as you gain confidence.

--
Bill Ferris Photography
https://billferrisphotography.pixieset.com/arizonaslittleserengeti/