D600 Settings for shooting bald eagles in flight

[chuck_sullivan]

<p>Hi All:</p>

<p>This weekend I plan to go on a bald eagle photo shoot at the Conowingo Dam in MD. I'll be taking my D600 and a new 80-400mm AF-S VR lens. I expect to mostly hand-hold and shoot using spot-metering at 1/1000, at whatever ISO is needed.</p>

<p>Based on your experience, what suggestions do you have for settings? I usually shoot AF-A, Picture Control VI, Metering Center-weighted 12 mm. Do you have any other tips or advice?</p>

<p>Thank you for any guidance you can provide.</p>

<p>Chuck in VA</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>I would use AF-C and either 9 or 21-point AF. If possible, I would use 1/1500 to 1/2000 sec shutter speed. You may not be able to freeze all the motion at 1/1000 sec.</p>

<p>If you get good sunlight, you should end up with ISO 400 or so. If lighting is poor, you need to bump up the ISO and perhaps sacrifice some shutter speed to bring down the ISO a bit.</p>

<p>Most likely, you'll be shooting at 400mm most of the time. I would check your results after 25, 50 captures and adjust your settings according to your initial results.</p>

[chuck_sullivan]

<p>Thanks!</p>

 

[Dieter Schaefer]

<p>AF-C and 9-point AF (I often shoot in single point mode). S mode at 1/1600 or faster, Auto ISO (1/1000s should be enough as bald eagles aren't all that fast but you may get some blur in the wings). Matrix metering with exposure correction dialed in if necessary (against the sky you will need +2/3 - +1 1/3; more if really bright) - or manual if the light is constant. Forget about spot metering, you are just in for a lot of hurt (I have done spot metering when I started with bird photography until no other than Arthur Morris convinced me otherwise).</p>

<p>Alternatively, you can use A mode with the shutter speed selected to be no slower than 1/1000s - it may make a difference if its bright as you allow the lens to stop down a little. But it can be a pain to be in that mode if you need quick access to slower shutter speeds - you have to dig through the menus to change things.</p>

<p>Camera on Hi and always fire a short burst (two or three images). Decouple AF from the shutter button and reprogram the AEL/AFL button to AF-ON. It takes a little practice but is well worth it.</p>

[chuck_sullivan]

<p>Great ideas!</p>

[steve_congrave]

<p>I used a 70-200 VR at f5.6 1/4000 @ ISO1600 - I wish I had reduced the ISO to 800 and used 1/2000 for a little less noise. I used spot metering and AF-C on a D800</p>

<p><img src="http://www.ywip.com/photos/ospreysm.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p><img src="http://www.ywip.com/photos/mallardsm.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[elliot1]

<p>If you are shooting in good light, I would suggest stopping the lens down a bit so the DOF increases and will keep your subject(s) in focus if there is any focus error. Looking forward to seeing your shots!</p>

[chuck_sullivan]

<p>Thanks all. I truly appreciate the suggestions.</p>

[www.flickr.comphotostone]

<p>I set my D-300 on A shoot at f/4 Iso 640 in the Morning light. I have also noticed that I have to Adjust the compensation to the plus side when over water or in the air. ( lens 300mm f/4 af)</p>

<div></div>

[joseph_smith3]

<p>My starting D 600 settings for BIF:</p>

<ul>

<li>Aperture Priority Mode</li>

<li>Matrix metering, with exposure compensation if necessary. For a blue sky set EV+1 as a starting point.</li>

<li>Autofocus Mode--AF-C, high speed. Never set AF-A.</li>

<li>F-Area Mode—Select Dynamic Area AF, 9 point as a starting point. Select the focus point and lock it in.

<ul>

<li>Select 39 point dynamic area AF when there are lots of birds in the frame.</li>

<li>Make sure Control panel shows the correct symbol, not the black rectangle.</li>

</ul>

</li>

<li>A1—AF-C priority selection set to Release</li>

<li>A2- AF-S priority selection set to Focus, although I expect to shoot landscapes in AF-C to avoid changing back and forth between AF-S and AF-C. That’s why I use rear button focusing.</li>

<li>A3—Focus tracking with lock on set to normal or short or to off. If your background keeps interfering with the BIF, like waves or trees lines, use short or turn it to Off.</li>

<li>A4—Focus Point illumination. Set to On</li>

<li>A6—Number of focus points set to 39. </li>

<li>C2-Standby timer. Set at 4 sec.</li>

<li>D1—Beep set Off.</li>

<li>D2-grid-set to On</li>

<li>D5-CL shooting speed-set 3fps</li>

<li>D9—LCD Illumination. Set at Off.</li>

<li>F4—Assign AE-L/AF-L Button to AF-ON. Shutter button cannot be used to trigger AF. This is rear button focusing.</li>

<li>Set Auto ISO from the Shooting Menu. Set base at 100 or 200, max at 1600, and minimum shutter speed of 1/1200 or faster, like 1/2000, and see what happens. Make adjustments as needed. To prevent widest aperture from being used, set the minimum or desired aperture using the wheel.</li>

<li>Turn VR off and see what happens. With really fast shutter speeds, you do not want VR on.</li>

<li>Set NEF bit depth to 14 , lossless compressed and see how the buffer handles 5.5 fps.</li>

<li>Use 90MB/sec cards. Fast read cards are a must.</li>

</ul>

<p>Joe Smith</p>

[ArthurRichardson]

<p>Steve,</p>

<p>What brand of Bald Eagle is in your second picture?</p>