AF Setting for Birds in Flight

<p>I think that for birds, AF-A or AF-S does much better job than AF-C which is supposed to be the tracking mode for fast moving objects such as birds in flight. However, in practice AF-C tends to keep focusing background and it seems to be very hard to get focus especially on full background.<br />High shutter speeds and other settings are important, but af selection is critical:<br>

Set af to af-a and use only the central point. When bird crosses the center, click the shutter to focus and immediately after, press it all the way down to take the picture. If you wait too long you may have to re-focus the bird. This is important for birds in flight shots. <br>

Any comments are welcomed.<br>

</p>

<p>Goker, not sure which model camera you use, but my (limited) experiences with a D300 and D700 are that AF-C is really the way to go, with single-point dynamic AF using 9 or 21 AF points (so not the 51-point 3D tracking mode, which is too slow). The speed with which the lens can focus obviously also makes a pretty big impact; I do not have AF-speed demons, but the AF-S 300 f/4 and AF-D 80-200 f/2.8 on these bodies can do tracking on fast moving subjects pretty well using the settings I described. To me, AF-S most certainly isn't a better solution (these bodies do not have AF-A).<br>

Before I had a D80, and found that AF-A pretty often managed to select the wrong mode: AF-S when I needed AF-C and vice versa. But the AF tracking abilities of the 11-point AF in that body were very mediocre compared to what the D300 and D700 can do. So, as said, it might help understanding which body you use.</p>

<p>I agree with Wouter Willemse on this.<br>

It is also benneficial to use a bit higher ISO if needed, and do not shoot at your widest aperture , ( F8 is better than F4) , if the light allows it, so that the bird stays within your DOF better . <br>

I rather have a shot with a little bit of noise than no shot at all, or blurry because of to little DOF ..</p>

<p>I use AF-C with either 9 or 21-point AF, on the D300, D7000, and D7100 alike. If the bird is small inside the frame and your background are trees (or something with texture) instead of the sky, it is rather easy for the AF system to lock onto the background. In that case I favor using just 1 AF point, still on AF-C. When the background is the sky, there is nothing the AF can lock onto.</p>

<p>I also use AF-C, and 9 or 21 point AF, I'm using a d7100.</p>

<p>Anyone ever had any success with the new 3d mode?</p>

<p>Same settings as Shun - for me, usually at 9-point and quite often, single point; always AF-C. Using AF-S doesn't give you tracking and since the bird is moving but your focus is locked once acquired, it's not a recipe for success in getting sharp images. Before I started to decouple focusing from the shutter release button (using AF-ON), I had the problem that I was in AF-S (because I had been shooting something static and needed to lock down focus) and then moved to a moving bird - the result was almost always an out-of-focus bird. AF-ON is definitely the way to go since it gives you the option to track (keep the button depressed) or to lock (lift the finger off the AF-ON button) - best of both worlds (never have to set the camera to AF-S again).</p>

<p>I also use AF-C, High, and 9 on my D 610 and D 300s. On my D 610, AF-A did not work well at all. For the problem you described, Look for the setting called "Focus Tracking with Lock On." It might be Custom setting A3. I usually have mine set of Short as a starting point. No matter what the setting, if you are losing focus on the bird to the background, lift your finger off the focus button and let the AF reacquire the bird. If your background is busy—like with twigs and such instead of a clear blue sky, switch from Normal to Short or to Off. If these settings do not work, set to Off and see if this makes things better. This is one setting where most do not agree on what is best. It all depends on the background and your shooting style. Like Dieter I use back button focusing, AF-ON button or reprogram the AE/AL button to AF-ON.<br /> Joe Smith</p>

<p>I currently own a d600 and this may be the reason for bad af performance.<br>

But still, from my earlier cameras like d300, I remember having the same type of problems, albeit with better results.<br>

It seems to me that as long as the focus is set to af-c, any camera has a good chance to hunt back and forth against full background. As a remedy, AF-C tracking software should be upgraded so that it catches what is closer in the frame. This way, the focus should never switch to background. Simple logic. I don't know why they don't do that for long time.<br>

I'll definitely try the single af-a or af-s for bif, it seems to me a better way to go at least with the d600.</p>

I shoot part time for the local newspaper in my area here north of NYC and shoot plenty of sports. I've also shot birds on my own free time as well, and on my D7000 in those situations I always use AF-C, Ch (6fps), 3-D tracking, and dial up the ISO anywhere between 800 to 3200 depending on the light.

I use an Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 and the 3-D AF tracking

feature works wonderfully with baseball and soccer a little

trickier when shooting football and basketball, because

players are bunched together more often, but still, without

the tracking it would be more difficult. Just my .02