Posted by Ryan Askren on April 11, 2008 at 11:28 PM
I was out shooting today but the conditions weren't great so I was trying to shoot some flight photography. I had my D300 on AF-S because I had been trying to get pictures of ducks on the water but I would try to get some shots in flight when they took off. None of my flight shots seemed very sharp. What do you all use for flight photography? AF-C or AF-S? Thank you.
Posted by scott gietler on April 12, 2008 at 1:08 AM
hey Ryan,
I use AF-C with my D300 for birds in flight.
What lens, focal-length, and shutter speed were your shots?
Scott
Posted by Ryan Askren on April 12, 2008 at 8:13 AM
Scott,
I was shooting my 200-400 VR at 400mm, 1/500 at F/4. I should also mention that I had trees or water in the back ground, it was gusting to 30 mph, and I was trying to shoot some blue-winged teal. Any tips on what to do?
Ryan, unless you're in the groove on BIF, 1/500 is borderline, especially in those windy conditions. It's often fast enough if you've got your panning technique down solid, but bumping up iso one stop would have gotten you to 1/1000, and that would have given you a little extra ss buffer in case you were a bit wobbly in that wind.
Your focus mode also could be wrong.
Not being a Nikon fella, I'm not sure but am going to assume that AF-C is continually-adjusting focus with the shutter button depressed half way, while AF-S locks focus and won't readjust until you release the shutter and reaquire focus. Is that right? If so, AF-C (Al servo in Canon speak) is the best way to go for sure. Even on birds that appear to be flying purely side-to-side, continual focus is best because in most cases there's actually some movement toward or away from you, and that's when continual focus shines. And of course, if the birds are quartering toward you or coming directly at you, continual focus is the only way you'll get sharp images because there's not time to lock focus and trip the shutter on a bird flying toward you before the bird flies out of the focus plane.
Again, I'm not familiar with focus points on the D300, but most Canon cameras in the mid-price range are most effective in continuous focus mode when using the center focus point.
Ryan, great that you found a 200-4001
My flight shots with it and the 500 are usually about 1/2500 or higher, plus an ISO of 600-800.
I think your images were soft because you did not have enough "film" speed OR shutter speed.
you have a great camrea and an great lens now, so will start getting great shots with a little more practice.
Use continuous focus and "bump" the focus regularly when tracking.
sandy r
Posted by Paul Inglis on April 14, 2008 at 8:56 AM
Hi Ryan,
I always use AF-C for flight photography! I also set the focus on the back of the camera to single area AF with spot metering and the mode dial to CL1!
I hope this helps – cracking lens by the way! (I love mine!)
Posted by scott gietler on April 15, 2008 at 7:13 AM
Steve, I think you meant to address Ryan :) you are exactly right about how AF-C and AF-S works on the d300.
Ryan, I think Steve's advice is spot on
good luck, and let us know how it goes
I've been trying out the same kind of stuff with my D300 + 80-400mm VR...
Discussion
7 repliesI use AF-C with my D300 for birds in flight.
What lens, focal-length, and shutter speed were your shots?
Scott
I was shooting my 200-400 VR at 400mm, 1/500 at F/4. I should also mention that I had trees or water in the back ground, it was gusting to 30 mph, and I was trying to shoot some blue-winged teal. Any tips on what to do?
Your focus mode also could be wrong.
Not being a Nikon fella, I'm not sure but am going to assume that AF-C is continually-adjusting focus with the shutter button depressed half way, while AF-S locks focus and won't readjust until you release the shutter and reaquire focus. Is that right? If so, AF-C (Al servo in Canon speak) is the best way to go for sure. Even on birds that appear to be flying purely side-to-side, continual focus is best because in most cases there's actually some movement toward or away from you, and that's when continual focus shines. And of course, if the birds are quartering toward you or coming directly at you, continual focus is the only way you'll get sharp images because there's not time to lock focus and trip the shutter on a bird flying toward you before the bird flies out of the focus plane.
Again, I'm not familiar with focus points on the D300, but most Canon cameras in the mid-price range are most effective in continuous focus mode when using the center focus point.
My flight shots with it and the 500 are usually about 1/2500 or higher, plus an ISO of 600-800.
I think your images were soft because you did not have enough "film" speed OR shutter speed.
you have a great camrea and an great lens now, so will start getting great shots with a little more practice.
Use continuous focus and "bump" the focus regularly when tracking.
sandy r
I always use AF-C for flight photography! I also set the focus on the back of the camera to single area AF with spot metering and the mode dial to CL1!
I hope this helps – cracking lens by the way! (I love mine!)
Ryan, I think Steve's advice is spot on
good luck, and let us know how it goes
I've been trying out the same kind of stuff with my D300 + 80-400mm VR...
Scott