Flight Shots help (1 Viewer)

Hello all,

Hopefully somebody can help me on a problem im having with my D60 or my poor technique.

Im finding it difficult to photograph birds in flight against a Tree line, Rock face, or looking down at them against the sea/ground.

What are the best settings for gaining some sort of success?

Thanks for you help:t:

DaveJones said:

Hello all,

Hopefully somebody can help me on a problem im having with my D60 or my poor technique.

Im finding it difficult to photograph birds in flight against a Tree line, Rock face, or looking down at them against the sea/ground.

What are the best settings for gaining some sort of success?

Thanks for you help:t:

Click to expand...

Dave,

hopefully somebody will correct me (or agree) as I'm not big on camera technicalities but I'm guessing that your question answers itself by saying 'Im finding it difficult to photograph birds in flight against a Tree line, Rock face, or looking down at them against the sea/ground'.

does the D60 have multi point focusing? if it does then I find it a real git (D300) against any background other than a clear sky. You want the camera to focus on the bird but the camera does what it's made to do. Multi point focus wasn't designed for BIF, if there's stuff in the background then it gets confused as to what you want it to do. Spot point focus works but you've got to keep up with the subject to make it work and a clean background makes it all the easier.

I think sharp shots against a background are just a matter of luck but you do get lucky now and again.

I hope somebody can help us both if I've got it wrong.

I don't know whether you mean the 8 year old Canon D60 or the 2 year old Nikon D60, and you also don't mention which lens you have. I don't have either camera so I can't really advise you on specifics but it may help others if you clarify which kit you are using.

What I can say, in general terms, is that you are probably best off using centre point focusing only and focusing with the rear focusing button (not the shutter button) if the camera supports that feature. As soon as you lose perfect target on the bird, with the selected AF point, you need to cease AF by releasing the rear focus button. Once you have reconnected with the bird then resume focusing again. Rinse and repeat until you take the shot. If you have an IS lens, this technique means you can keep the IS spooled up by maintaining a half press on the shutter button, while controlling AF independently from the rear AF button ("*" button on older Canon models).

There is a focusing technique called "bump focusing", which is a refinement of that approach. Have a look here for an explanation - http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1949

Dave,
Everyone has the same problems. Even with my D3 and 500/4 on a bright sunny day in Sydney I couldn't pick up a Peregrine against the blue water.
Neil.

I think a combination of equipment, skill and luck play a part. I have found over the last three years of attempting BIF that as my skill and equipment improves so does my luck, but the bottom line is that if the bird is large enough to fully cover the AF point (and if it isn't then is it worth taking the shot?) then I don't see how the focus could be drawn to the background. So if you cease focusing at times when the bird is off the focus point you should not lose focus to the background. A pro spec camera can help with that, by delaying how quickly the camera searches to focus on something else, and focus assist points can also help keep trck of the bird if you slip away just a little. A lower spec camera simply needs quicker reactions to suspend AF until you get the AF point back on the bird. The worst thing to do is just to carry on pressing the AF button regardless of where the AF point is.

Here are some examples of BIF AF with potentially difficult backgrounds, taken with a variety of cameras and lenses. The active focus point(s) is/are displayed. The kit used is....

30D + 70-200/2.8 screen print @ 50%
40D + 100-400 screen print @ 50%
50D + 100-400 screen print @ 50%
5D2 + 100-400 screen print @ 50%
1D3 + 100-400 screen print @ 100%

I think the 5D2 and its "crappy" AF did really rather well, with the aid of focus assist points to expand the centre point. I also have a 7D but I've run out of room for more attachments at five examples and I don't have anything I would consider too demanding from that camera. The 1D3 and 7D are especially good at improving the success rate. The lesser cameras simply require a bit more skill/technique. IMHO back button (and bump) focusing is the way to go to help things along.

Of, and FWIW I still I think I have a long way to go with my technique. I'm often not smooth enough with my panning or shutter release and that has a knock on effect for pixel level sharpness, but I am beginning to get there with my focusing.

Just a couple more from the 50D and 1D3. This time I was struggling to keep a single focus point on the bird with the 50D so I swapped to all points. The bird was large enough to make that a viable option and the background was well outside the DOF and thus unlikely to be confused with the subject. For the shot with the 1D3 this shows the advatanges of an AF system that doesn't immediately shoot off to the background the moment you lose the bird from under the AF point, although it is possible that an assist point was just clinging on to the subject.

Last year when photographing terns I found the D80 just as good as the D300 in that they were both terrible at aquiring focus. A small white bird against moving water often makes the camera go for the water instead. Best advise I've got is to take loads of memory cards, fill them up and hopefully you'll get something good.

BIF photography is very difficult at the best of times with the best kit.

I've got some lovely sharp shots of water and cliffs ruined by blurry birds in front of them.

Never easy, you just have to keep snapping away.