What technique do you use for making rapid changes to your camera settings? (1 Viewer)

[GarryKirsch]

As we all know, taking quality photographs of birds is extremely difficult. Things happen so quickly that it is difficult to accurately control the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO for best results. One minute you're shooting a perched bird in the shade of a tree, and a second later a bird in-flight offers itself against a brightly lit sky.

My challenge has been how to control the exposure settings quickly enough so as not to miss any opportunities.
I have a Canon T1i with 55-250mm glass. I typically shoot in Av or Tv mode.
One simlplistic approach I've tried is to shoot in Av mode with the aperture wide open, select Auto ISO, and let the camera choose the shutter speed. I am sacrificing DOF, but at least I can concentrate on getting the shot. One drawback is that Auto ISO sometimes picks 1600 and the pictures are noisy. The T1i really should be capped at ISO 800 (and even that's ify). So I could use Av with the aperture wide open, and ISO fixed at 400, and let the camera choose the shutter, but then I'd never get any shots with ISO 100 or ISO 200 - which means sacrificing some quality.
I have also experimented with Tv, but I often miss the flashing aperture display warning me that I'm under exposed.
Finally, with In-flight shooting, it is better to change from single-point AF to 9-point AF, and from One-shot AF to AI Servo, and choose continuous shooting. All these changes take time - time you typically don't have when an in-flight shot presents itself. So I had this brilliant idea of using one of the T1i's Basic Shooting Modes called "Shooting Moving Subjects". That way when a BIF offered itself, I could Just quickly turn the dial, and the camera settings would change to AI Servo AF, Evaluative metering, Continuous shooting, and at the same time it forces the fastest possible shutter speed. Unfortunately it also switches to Auto ISO - which (because it wants to get the fastest shutter speed) pushes the ISO to 1600 all the time with the result again being noisy pictures.
Sorry for the long winded background on this question, but if anyone has some tips or tricks for quickly changing camera settings, I would really appreciate the help.
Thanks, Garry

 

[Roy C]

Providing you are shooting in the ambient light I use the Manual mode (M) - to start with I set the ISO and aperture I want and then meter off something around 18% grey to get the shutter speed in the ambient light. It is then just a case of using the top thumb wheel to adjust the shutter speed for the tone of the bird you are shooting - I personally find this easier/quicker than dialling in exposure compensation in the normal mode. The beauty with this method is that changing backgrounds does not matter at all and once you get use to it correct exposure is both fast and easy. With this method the actual metering method (evaluative, spot, partial or centre weighted) does not matter one iota.

The The big drawback to this method is if the ambient light suddenly changes or you target is in the shade then things can get a bit messy, when this happens I just change to AV mode (which is conveniently right next door to M mode on the dial).

I rarely change the aperture or AF mode (just about always in AI servo mode) in the field and changing the AF area mode is very quick and simple on the 7D.

Another thing you can do is to set-up the 'C' switches settings to suit different scenarios or exposure compensation's.

The other thing I use is a back button to focus - this effectively give you One shot, AI Servo and full time manual focussing with out having to change a thing.

I am sure others will have completely different methods but at the end of the day it is the one that suits you best that counts.

 

[Nikon Kid]

I am opportunist handheld walkabout Sunny Day Amateur Photographer, I now shoot mostly in Manual, checking the conditions every 5 minutes and adjusting aperture, speed and ISO to suit, if a bird fly's by I turn from manual to Av on the dial to catch it, quick 1st shot and then adjust for black or white bird accordingly next shot if I have time. mostly all with the 7d and 400mm f5.6, Does it work most times

 

[Roy C]

if a bird fly's by I turn from manual to Av on the dial to catch it, quick 1st shot and then adjust

I find this very strange as Manual metering is absolutely ideal for BIF and is widely recognised as the best method because of the changing backgrounds that you often encounter - the bird will remains correctly exposed without the changing background influencing the metering.

I know That most good bird photographers shoot mainly in AV mode with evaluative metering and exposure compensation but a good number of them will switch to Manual metering for birds in flight.

To be quite honest I have read thousands of post's and articles on birds in flight and I have never heard of anyone who switches from Manual to Auto for BIF, can you please explain your reasoning for this or is it just a typo?

 

[Nikon Kid]

No Roy I don't have to explain myself to you.

 

[Roy C]

No Roy I don't have to explain myself to you.

No but I think you should explain your reasoning to Gary as I assume you were trying to help him.

There are many people who always shoot in a auto mode like AV (never shooting in manual). That's fair enough.

There are other people who shoot mainly in a auto mode like AV and switch to Manual for birds in flight. This is probably the preferred method for most top bird photographers.

There are others that shoot most of the time in Manual, again that's fair enough.

But to advocate shooting mainly in Manual but switching to AV for Birds in flight is strange to put it mildly - unless you have a good reason for advocating this method I would suggest that it is downright bad advice.

 

[GarryKirsch]

Thanks Roy and Terry for all your insights.
Perhaps I can offer my own reasoning for why I have not been using Manual mode for birds in flight (so far). Most of the time I am shooting perched birds, and only go after a BIF if one suddenly presents itself, or if I am able to anticipate that a bird is about to take off (which gives me a second or two to get ready). The problem with Manual mode is that I would rarely know the correct exposure ahead of time - what with the clouds coming and going, and the birds flight in relation to the position of the sun. Once the birds is in flight you only have a split second to frame it and focus. It seems impossible to set the ISO, aperture and shutter speed as well. That's why I'm looking for a quick auto setting.
This would of course be different for professionals who are going for just BIF and are in a fixed location waiting for a bird to present itself. I think that would give the shooter much more control. For me, it's just not that well planned.

 

[Nikon Kid]

Garry, I shoot perched birds in manual that are most of the time in trees, hoping for some sunlight that falls on them, you have much more time to adjust things like speed aperture ISO to suit the conditions that are always changing, going form trees to reeds to ground, handheld roaming, I have already setup my Av to suit the conditions hoping to get max speed for birds in flight that appear from no where and gone in seconds. I am always on A1 Servo/high burst raw what ever wildlife I am taking and most of the time on spot metering.

That's the way I do my manual to Av BIF and back to manual for perched, because I like doing it that way.

 

[Roy C]

Thanks Roy and Terry for all your insights.
Perhaps I can offer my own reasoning for why I have not been using Manual mode for birds in flight (so far). Most of the time I am shooting perched birds, and only go after a BIF if one suddenly presents itself, or if I am able to anticipate that a bird is about to take off (which gives me a second or two to get ready). The problem with Manual mode is that I would rarely know the correct exposure ahead of time - what with the clouds coming and going, and the birds flight in relation to the position of the sun. Once the birds is in flight you only have a split second to frame it and focus. It seems impossible to set the ISO, aperture and shutter speed as well. That's why I'm looking for a quick auto setting.
This would of course be different for professionals who are going for just BIF and are in a fixed location waiting for a bird to present itself. I think that would give the shooter much more control. For me, it's just not that well planned.

Gary, which settings do you find slow when shooting birds? What things are you constantly changing ? I am not to sure what you are getting at in this thread.
For just about all types of bird photography at anyone given time there are few things that need to be changed - I rarely need to change ISO or aperture and the drive mode is irrelevant if you use the back button to focus. Just about the only thing you need to way up is the exposure needed for any given situation and that only comes with experience - there are no Auto settings that will get you correct exposures without having to manually dial-in some exposure compensation.

BTW Setting the exposure controls in Manual for the ambient light takes around 30 seconds at most (and a lot faster once you are use to it) and once you have set them you only need to change them if the light changes a lot - I often go several hours without the need to change a thing.
If you are shooting in AV mode then switching to manual is just turning the dial one notch (less than a second!)

You mention shooting in Tv mode - why?

Auto ISO? you mention sacrificing DOF - for just about all bird photography the best aperture is wide open . Just find your best open aperture and leave it there. Not only will this give you pleasing Bokeh but will also guarantee the fastest shutter speed for any given ISO.

It would be nice to be able to shoot birds at ISO 100 or ISO 200 but in reality this is just not on in most situations. Your Camera is perfectly able to take super shots at ISO 400. I have a very fast lens (Canon 300/2.8 I.S) but rarely shoot below ISO 400.

For in flights it is best to stay on single point AF (with single point expansion if your camera supports it - so no need to change anything here).

You also mention using one shot or AI Servo - I personally use AI servo all the time (yes, even for perched birds) but if you do not want to do this then I have already told you the quickest way to combine one shot and AI servo without having to press a single button or access any menu's (use a back button to focus).

From reading your initial post you have over complicated things big time - no wonder you are looking to do things quicker!!!!

Just stick your your Camera in Av mode, Open you lens up, keep on high burst mode, select your preferred metering mode (evaluative) and select ISO 400. If your shutter speed is not enough to get sharp shots then up the ISO.
The only thing you now have to change/consider is exposure compensation and ther eis no auto mode that will do that for you.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

Providing you are shooting in the ambient light I use the Manual mode (M) - to start with I set the ISO and aperture I want and then meter off something around 18% grey to get the shutter speed in the ambient light. It is then just a case of using the top thumb wheel to adjust the shutter speed for the tone of the bird you are shooting - I personally find this easier/quicker than dialling in exposure compensation in the normal mode. The beauty with this method is that changing backgrounds does not matter at all and once you get use to it correct exposure is both fast and easy. With this method the actual metering method (evaluative, spot, partial or centre weighted) does not matter one iota.

The The big drawback to this method is if the ambient light suddenly changes or you target is in the shade then things can get a bit messy, when this happens I just change to AV mode (which is conveniently right next door to M mode on the dial).

I rarely change the aperture or AF mode (just about always in AI servo mode) in the field and changing the AF area mode is very quick and simple on the 7D.

Another thing you can do is to set-up the 'C' switches settings to suit different scenarios or exposure compensation's.

The other thing I use is a back button to focus - this effectively give you One shot, AI Servo and full time manual focussing with out having to change a thing.

I am sure others will have completely different methods but at the end of the day it is the one that suits you best that counts.

Ditto, but I don't use the C switch.

Manual in constant light, especially BIF. AV at other times, say a bird in and out of shade/light in a bush or on the ground.

 

[Roy C]

Ditto, but I don't use the C switch.

Manual in constant light, especially BIF. AV at other times, say a bird in and out of shade/light in a bush or on the ground.

Yep, I do not use the 'C' switch either, it was just a suggestion to Gary.

Nothing easier than shooting in manual providing the light is reasonably constant as you say - For BIF it has mega advantages.
It amazes me how many people seem somewhat scared of Manual, mind you I was like that at one time, it took me years to even try it but once I did there was no turning back.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

I started off taking photos (not birds, mind) back in the days when there weren't Auto options, so I'm used to setting a camera manually according to the light availability.

 

[GarryKirsch]

Thanks to everyone for all this info. It gives me lots to experiment with.
To answer Roy's question about what settings am I constantly changing: I am constantly trying to get the lowest ISO, with adequate shutter speed, select the correct AF mode, while ensuring accurate exposure. I don't want to always shoot with the aperture wide open. Sometimes decreasing the aperture can increase the possibility of getting sharp focus - especially on a flying bird.

 

[Roy C]

Thanks to everyone for all this info. It gives me lots to experiment with.
To answer Roy's question about what settings am I constantly changing: I am constantly trying to get the lowest ISO, with adequate shutter speed, select the correct AF mode, while ensuring accurate exposure. I don't want to always shoot with the aperture wide open. Sometimes decreasing the aperture can increase the possibility of getting sharp focus - especially on a flying bird.

I think you have answered your own question Gary - if you are constantly changing settings then there is no quick way to do it. Constantly changing all the things you mention for most people would result in missing the majority of shots, by the time you have fiddled around the bird has gone. One thing you can do is to study the EXIF data of some of the best bird photographers, you can learn a lot that way. Try THIS site where Exif data is compulsory and some of the very best bird shooter post

 

[mr_birdman]

For BIF I sometimes use manual exposure if I know I have to add more than +2 stops of light (my only DSLR, the 30D, can only compensate +2 stops). At times when I shoot against a white sky in overcast conditions and the bird is dark, I may even need to go +3 so that's why I shoot manual then. Although if I know I will get away with a maximum of +2 then I still use Av mode (and evaluative metering and always AI-servo focus) and change compensation with the wheel if I have to while panning with the subject. It's quite easy once you practice enough. E.g. one of my spots I start shooting the subject at first against the blue sky, but I know that in a couple of seconds they pass green foliage, so I am already prepared to turn the wheel five clicks back to 0 EC to compensate for darker BG. Then I reset to +1 1/3 or 1 2/3 to start again. Everyone has a method and they all usually work. I also regularly use ISO800 and try my hardest to push the histogram as far right as possible with minimal (prefer none, but a little is OK) clipping of the whites. I can then readjust EC in Lightroom or ACR during the PP.

Although these quick adjustments are far easier with a wheel than pressing buttons on the back of the camera, and if I am right, the xxxD series are all buttons, not wheels. Correct?

Gary, my advice would be to get the fastest possible shutter speed you can to freeze the motion in flight. As long as the bird's eye is sharp most other elements will fit the image - usually. Depending on the bird's size, shape and where the wings are positioned and how far you are at the time you took the photo and what lens you use. A smaller aperture will slow your shutter speed down stop for stop and if you are wanting the lowest possible ISO then shutter speed is harder to get the lower you dial in. Anyway, that's my rambling and probably make no sense. Although if the 55-200mm is your only lens, then perhaps stopping down a half or 2/3 will get a slightly better IQ. Most kit lenses are not very good wide open, even on static subjects. Wish you great light and cooperative birdies for 2011!

 

[GarryKirsch]

Great response Mr Birdman - very useful - thanks!

 

[mr_birdman]

Hi Garry
Thank you kindly and for the nice PM. I appreciate it. Please shoot lots, practice, review the histogram (shoot raw) and save for a nice L lens. Once you get one, you will be kicking yourself and realize THE DIFFERENCE the glass makes. Have a great day mate.