I have been taking flight shots of terns and I have had some success but have noticed at times even though I have the bird framed up my auto focus won't acquire the target fast enough. Any suggestions on settings and technique would be helpful.
Mike, I have struggled with the same thing on flight shots. We use the same gear (same body as well as the 500 + 1.4 combo). One thing that I've found can be a big help is using the button on the side of the lens to change the focal range from 4.5m to infinity to 10m to infinity (or whatever the exact numbers are). That way the AF has less range to search.
Another thing I need to try is going out for a day to focus on flight shots and taking the TC off to see how much that helps. I keep my TC on virtually all the time, because I'm usually shooting songbirds, and shoot raptors and things like that opportunistically, meaning I don't have time to take off the TC.
Hello Michael and Brian,
I have the same camera and am also interested in flight shots. Do either of you have a preference or recommendation regarding autofocus mode; AI focus or AI servo and regarding autofocus area mode?
thanks,
Jeff Young
Portland, Oregon
Fellas, I'm not gonna say that this works for everyone, but I've had great success with using Al Servo mode and either spot focusing or spot with the expansion on. I to use the same lens + tele set-up with the 7D 90% of the time. I've not had any focusing problems at all. One of the things to keep in mind is to pick your focusing zone/ point and that should solve most of your focus search issues.
Hey guys. I can't tell you rhe amazing shots I could have had if that problem didn't exist. I especially have it with my 2x on with the 300 lens. I definately have better results with the advice from Brian and he pretty much is where I am. I'm a bit disapointed. Guess it's time for a M3 or 4
Michael, I have noticed some sporadic autofocus performance on the 7D. In a series of shots on a BIF, one will be super sharp and the next out of focus, while holding down the shutter button. I ran across an informal field evaluation documenting the same problem. He found that it is mainly a problem with birds against a busy background, even when he uses spot autofocus (with the spot indicator directly on the bird) and AI Servo mode. To be fair, the author is comparing the performance with that of the 1D3S, which costs thousands more than the 7D. Anyway, here is the link to that site:
http://www.stanford.edu/~ahazeghi/Photos/EOS7DAF/
One thing I wonder about is the size of the autofocus point. I think I recall that the manual states that the actual area is larger than the size that is indicated by the square. That might relate to the performance against a cluttered background. It doesn't seem that this sporadic behavior could point to a bad copy because some of the flight series shots are perfect.
Thanks for starting this discussion. I'm looking forward to reading more replies.
~ Michele
Posted by Garry Revesz on June 10, 2010 at 8:43 AM
This is a great discussion, narrowly "focused" mind you (couldn't help myself), but very useful to the folks that like taking shots of birds in flight. I too have a 7D and I found it very difficult to keep the spot focus right on the bird and was racking up hundreds of out-of-focus images. I found the area focus works much better for me in Al Servo mode. Like Brian was saying about the distance selection button on the side of the lens, it's very helpful to have that set properly, if the bird is flying across your field of vision, but if the bird turns and is flying towards you, it's a great head on shot but many times I've missed it because it took too long to focus. You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
I would also be interested in hearing who hand holds and who uses a tripod. I've done both and recently purchased a Jobu gimbal head which is a sweet piece of equipment. It perfectly balances my camera and lens and is so smooth the camera just floats anywhere I point it. I'm still getting used to it, but the shots I'm getting are very sharp and my arms and shoulders stopped hurting.
Garry Revesz
Toronto
Posted by Brian Gatlin on June 10, 2010 at 9:53 AM
A few more things:
Jeff, you should certainly use AI Servo, since a BIF is necessarily a moving target.
In terms of which type of AF to use, I've mostly heard people recommend AF Point Expansion mode, but I can't necessarily say what works best for me.
The custom function settings can be important too. C.Fn III-1 should probably be set to slow, so that when you do get on the bird, if the focus point slips off as you track, the focus doesn't automatically zip off to something else.
I have C.Fn III-2 set to AF priority/Tracking priority, C.Fn III-3 on Main Focus Point Priority, and C.Fn III-4 set to Focus Search On, but I'm unsure if this is the right way to go on that one.
Finally, one thing I've read (but not yet tried) that sounds like it could be helpful is to quickly focus on a stationary object at about the same distance, then move to your subject to try to reduce the search time.
And I'm sure that practice is key. I know that the folks whose flight shots I most admire tend to be the ones who have devoted a great deal of time to learning how to get them. The 7D is certainly up to the task when it's in the right hands--just look at Ron Bielefeld's photos.
I played around a little more and one area that I think will be very difficult to overcome is birds flying straight at you. For example I have the bird in the finder but the camera had a difficult time keeping focus. It was a tough situation with a light colored bird against a light sky. I think this is one of those area where practice makes perfect and also defines the equipment limitations.
Another problem that occurs with long focal lengths with narrow depth of field is the focus will bounce back and forth between the body and wings. I've noticed this when photographing raptors where near wing tip will be in focus one shot, then the body or far wing will be in focus the next.
Hi Michael, here is a link that a fellow NPNer gave me regarding the 7D setup for birds in flight. I hope it can help you. http://www.deepgreenphotography.com/blog/?p=226
Discussion
11 repliesAnother thing I need to try is going out for a day to focus on flight shots and taking the TC off to see how much that helps. I keep my TC on virtually all the time, because I'm usually shooting songbirds, and shoot raptors and things like that opportunistically, meaning I don't have time to take off the TC.
I have the same camera and am also interested in flight shots. Do either of you have a preference or recommendation regarding autofocus mode; AI focus or AI servo and regarding autofocus area mode?
thanks,
Jeff Young
Portland, Oregon
http://www.stanford.edu/~ahazeghi/Photos/EOS7DAF/
One thing I wonder about is the size of the autofocus point. I think I recall that the manual states that the actual area is larger than the size that is indicated by the square. That might relate to the performance against a cluttered background. It doesn't seem that this sporadic behavior could point to a bad copy because some of the flight series shots are perfect.
Thanks for starting this discussion. I'm looking forward to reading more replies.
~ Michele
I would also be interested in hearing who hand holds and who uses a tripod. I've done both and recently purchased a Jobu gimbal head which is a sweet piece of equipment. It perfectly balances my camera and lens and is so smooth the camera just floats anywhere I point it. I'm still getting used to it, but the shots I'm getting are very sharp and my arms and shoulders stopped hurting.
Garry Revesz
Toronto
Jeff, you should certainly use AI Servo, since a BIF is necessarily a moving target.
In terms of which type of AF to use, I've mostly heard people recommend AF Point Expansion mode, but I can't necessarily say what works best for me.
The custom function settings can be important too. C.Fn III-1 should probably be set to slow, so that when you do get on the bird, if the focus point slips off as you track, the focus doesn't automatically zip off to something else.
I have C.Fn III-2 set to AF priority/Tracking priority, C.Fn III-3 on Main Focus Point Priority, and C.Fn III-4 set to Focus Search On, but I'm unsure if this is the right way to go on that one.
Finally, one thing I've read (but not yet tried) that sounds like it could be helpful is to quickly focus on a stationary object at about the same distance, then move to your subject to try to reduce the search time.
And I'm sure that practice is key. I know that the folks whose flight shots I most admire tend to be the ones who have devoted a great deal of time to learning how to get them. The 7D is certainly up to the task when it's in the right hands--just look at Ron Bielefeld's photos.
Mike
www.BirdMad.com