nikon p510 (1 Viewer)

hi
i am thinking about getting a p510 can anybody
recomend some setting for bird photos in trees
so the focus locks on to the bird and not the tree branch
thanks neil

That's something we all struggle with. The camera AF system picks the subject it thinks you want without knowing it is a small stick or twig. I find with long lenses it might even pick something I can't see through the viewfinder - like a twig a few inches in front of the subject.

The AF on the P510 camera has several AF modes. Auto simply lets the camera choose the AF target. Center only uses the center sensor. But there is a Manual Focus mode that lets you select the sensor. Try Manual Focus and pick a sensor on the subject.

A related technique is Focus and Recompose. I'm not sure whether it works on your camera. With this technique you could use the Center Focus mode and put the AF sensor on the subject. Depress the shutter halfway to focus, then while holding the shutter halfway depressed, recompose your image. This only works if your camera allows you to separate focus from shutter release by depressing the shutter halfway and then fully depressing to fire the shutter.

With most of the DSLR cameras, you have two other options. One is to simply use manual focus and manually adjust the focus until your subject is sharp. There is a small focus assist light seen through the viewfinder that can confirm focus is achieved. The other approach is a version of focus and recompose where you change the camera controls so the AE/AF lock button is used to activate focus. A large number of professionals use this technique.