settings

[BenBirding]

What settings do you d50 users use the most in bird photography for:
Internal Flash
Shooting Mode
EV - settings
Focus modes and areas
ISO
WB
Metering Mode

Just curious... I just started DSLR bird photography, and am trying to get some tips from you seasoned veterans. :hi:

[sheifert]

I am a beginner at best but I have the D50 and have been experimenting with settings for a few months... I always shoot manual. The only time I will choose a preset mode is if I haven't configured the settings yet for shoot and a bird shows up real quick and I don't have time to change up. The other day at one of my favorite sites, as soon as I got out of my truck a male and female pair of Northern Harriers flew low right over me. I pulled out the camera and started shooting, looked at the screen and every shot was black. So that's where I should have thrown it on auto. I also shoot on manual because I feel that it forces me to learn about shutter speed and aperture size. I hardly ever use flash unless I am shooting at a perched subject in a tree where shadows are prevelant. Of course setting vary depending on available light but on a typical sunny day (depending on focus length) f/5-5.6 @ 1/1000 has been working well for me. Shutter speed is important in catching that wing action, you need a fast shutter. When shooting moving birds I will always be on Continuous AF, however with ducks that are floating or sitting I will use Stationary setting. I will always try to shoot at the lowest possible ISO I can to reduce noise, 200 most of the time. Sometimes on cloudy days I'll bump up to 400. The D50 does rather well at high ISOs. WB most of the time is set for sunny for outdoor shooting. Metering I am actually trying to figure out more. I flip flop between spot and matrix depending on the subject and what it is doing. I am still very much in a learning process myself but I hope this will give you somewhere to start.