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  1. #1
    Shutterbug Forum Moderator bdog7198's Avatar
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    Never get tired of these

    Stopped by the local community park after work tonight, this hawk has been alluding me. Tonight it decided to play a little nicer.

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    #2
    Do you hand hold when tracking wildlife? I treated myself to a Nikon D500 and 200-500zoom. I have tried hand holding it tracking birds but haven't had much luck. Thinking of getting a gimbal head for my tripod. Maybe this setup will be easier for tracking birds.

  3. Shutterbug Forum Moderator bdog7198's Avatar
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    #3
    Great setup with the D500.

    These pics were handheld, I use a gimbal head on my tripod sometimes. Most of the time I am on trails walking so the tripod is more of a burden than it is worth. To me the key to tracking birds in flight is doing it like you are shooting a shotgun. Tell that one to some bird watchers and watch their reaction, rather funny sometimes. Anyway, its keep your eye on the bird, bring the camera to your eye. It does take a little practice to get used to, I would practice on crows or buzzards on slow days to get used to it.

    The other part of it will be your camera settings, what settings are your using?
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    #4
    I was using a Nikon D7200 with the 200-500mm lens for birds in flight. I use spot metering and try to keep the spot on the bird's eye. I have not been successful with that. Plus I'm always in my bass boat when photographing birds. I picked up the Nikon D500 a month ago. That camera as an AF mode called group. Steve Perry from back country gallery recommends using Grip af for tracking birds. I'll be giving that a go the next time out. I shoot in manual mode. I'm going to try auto ISO with a SS of 2000 or higher and an f/stop of 16 so. This spring I'll be out along the shores of the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. I'll leave the boat at home so won't be tempted to put a line in the water. We'll see!

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    #5
    I do like to shoot hummingbirds in our back yard.

    DSC_8561 by mikesgm, on Flickr

    DSC_5271 1 by mikesgm, on Flickr

    RubyT100 by mikesgm, on Flickr

  6. Shutterbug Forum Moderator bdog7198's Avatar
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    #6
    Beautiful shots!!
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    #7
    Cool pics guys! I've only tried getting shots of birds in flight once. I need a lot of practice.

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    #8
    Quote Originally Posted by hypoxic View Post
    I was using a Nikon D7200 with the 200-500mm lens for birds in flight. I use spot metering and try to keep the spot on the bird's eye. I have not been successful with that. Plus I'm always in my bass boat when photographing birds. I picked up the Nikon D500 a month ago. That camera as an AF mode called group. Steve Perry from back country gallery recommends using Grip af for tracking birds. I'll be giving that a go the next time out. I shoot in manual mode. I'm going to try auto ISO with a SS of 2000 or higher and an f/stop of 16 so. This spring I'll be out along the shores of the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. I'll leave the boat at home so won't be tempted to put a line in the water. We'll see!
    Here are some suggestions for birds-in-flight photography:

    When in full manual mode (and not using auto ISO) the metering modes are disconnected and will not effect your exposure settings.
    If you choose "spot metering", when in manual mode, a circle will show in your view finder and you can use it as site to target the bird but it does nothing else when it comes to exposure.
    When using "manual mode" you are setting the exposure for the light that falls on the subject, in this case the bird, not the entire scene.

    When selecting any of the "priority" modes, including manual mode with auto ISO, the cameras meter does affect you exposure settings.
    Allowing the cameras meter to take control of the exposure can cause problems when tracking a bird thru backgrounds with different brightness.
    The light on the bird has not changed, what you want exposed correctly, but the background does.
    The cameras meter will make unwanted exposure changes resulting in an over or under exposed bird.
    Using "spot metering" could be a solution but you would have to be super human to keep the "spot" on the bird's eye when tracking it thru its flight.

    A f-stop of around 5.6 to 8.0 should allow enough depth of field to capture most birds in focus.
    Using a f-stop of f16 in combination with a fast shutter speed of 1/2000 to 1/4000 will cause your ISO to be very high.

    When the light allows, I strive to have exposure settings of around 1/4000 x f8 x ISO 400
    For me, importance is in this order: shutter speed followed by f-stop followed by ISO for birds in flight.

    Focus selection points/zones
    With a DSLR I tend to use a small zone of 9 points. A center point surrounded by 8 "helper" points.
    If tracking a bird with little to no background clutter you can use a larger zone without the cameras AF jumping from the bird to the background.
    The AF system will always works best when the bird is close and takes up a large percentage of the frame.
    When a bird is distant and against a cluttered background the AF will struggle.

    I know this is a long read and a lot to take in, but if you follow these suggestions it will increase your keeper ratio.

    Curt

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    #9
    Thanks Curt. I have tried spot metering when focusing BIF with little success .i picked up a nikon d500 a month ago and have been using group focus which contains 5 points. I haven't used it on birds yet, only my dog running around the yard. I thought about using auto ISO but your point about allowing the camera to take control makes sense to me. I like your order of importance. I'm going to try that. I use to use F stop then SS, then ISO. Shutter speed for the first decision makes more sense.
    Thanks again for your input.

  10. Shutterbug Forum Moderator bdog7198's Avatar
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    #10
    Quote Originally Posted by hypoxic View Post
    Thanks Curt. I have tried spot metering when focusing BIF with little success .i picked up a nikon d500 a month ago and have been using group focus which contains 5 points. I haven't used it on birds yet, only my dog running around the yard. I thought about using auto ISO but your point about allowing the camera to take control makes sense to me. I like your order of importance. I'm going to try that. I use to use F stop then SS, then ISO. Shutter speed for the first decision makes more sense.
    Thanks again for your input.
    When shooting my D500 I always use group focus on the shutter button, then setup the back focus button to shoot single point just in case I ran into something stationary in the middle of a something and the camera cannot pic it out when using group.

    I do tend to use auto ISO most of the time, for me I have better luck with it. Your results may vary, would give both ways a chance. For me it came down to having a bird going between light and dark areas, allowing the camera to help with adjustments seems to work better for me.

    Would suggest taking a look at the custom controls that you can set for different buttons on the camera when you are comfortable with using it. You can change a lot of buttons to function differently, in a way that works for you.
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  11. Member Tarheel14's Avatar
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    #11
    " A Few Good Fish"
    Please check out my youtube channel
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    #12
    Brian,

    I think you are a Nikon Z9 user. If so, the Z9 is one of only a few cameras that "ties" the AE point "Spot Metering", when selected, to the AF point.
    So... when selecting "Animal Eye Detection" in combo with "Spot Metering" and "Manual Mode with Auto ISO" (in theory) the exposure should remain the same while Animal Eye Detection locks onto the bird's eye as it flies thru changing backgrounds.
    You may want to try this.

    I am a Canon user and the R5, and I think all Canon camera models, do not tie the Spot Metering point to the AF point.
    The Spot Metering point on a Canon is always in the center of the frame/view finder.

    Just keep in mind why one would use full manual mode.
    If the light that falls on a bird is the same as it flies in front of changing background brightness the exposure for the bird does not change.
    "Same Light...Same Exposure"

    The cameras meter can only measure "reflective light". All of the light from the scene/frame comes back to the camera to be measured.

    The cameras meter cannot measure "incident light" the light that falls onto the subject.

    To do this you would need to handhold an Incident Light Meter from the subject pointed toward the light source, in this case toward the sun.
    This is not going to happen, so to expose for the light that is falling onto a bird, incident light, a few trial and error shots will need to be taken.
    Checking/reviewing each exposure for "blinkies" or "clipping" of the highlights using a histogram.
    Make exposure adjustments as needed and when a correct exposure has been reached your set and ready to go!

    Again this is for "Birds-in-Flight" photography.

    When taking photos of "Birds-on-a-Stick".
    Any of the Priority Modes with Exposure Compensation will work great.

    Curt

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    #13
    Yes I mainly shoot a Z9 now, but still use my D500 also. Honestly I have both set up as Auto ISO. For some reason it works for me.
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