Nikon Settings and Tips for Bird in Flight Photography
Nikon D300s:
Set Dynamic autofocus 9 point expansion. This allows your closest nine focus points around the center focus point to kick in if you are having trouble hitting with the center point with your tracking.
Focus tracking set to short. This will enable the camera to refocus quicker if it hunts and locks focus somewhere other than the intended subject.
Set CH or continuous high shooting mode and release priority.
Use the quickest lens you can like a 300 2.8 a 300 f4 or a 400 5.6. Prime fixed focal length lenses focus faster than zoom lenses, period.
According to the amount of available light you will be able to have faster shutter speeds some days than others. Try to keep your shutter speed at and above 1/1000th. This may mean opening up the f stop and or increasing the ISO setting manually.
Set the focus limiter on your lens to the maximum distance, this increases focus speed.
Shoot in A or M depending if the light is constant or not. (I will explain to you in Trinidad)
AFC Continuous, release + focus
Dynamic AF, 9 point
Focus tracking with lock on Short.
AF point selection, AF11
Lens set to limited focus for BIF
In Summary 10 Tips to improve your chances of capturing birds in flight
1. Use a digital camera with 5 frames per second or faster
2. Use an autofocus telephoto lens with F2.8 or F4 aperture and turn the focus limiter on
3. Set your camera to Continuous High (CH) shooting mode
4. Set the Autofocus to AI Servo (Canon) or Dynamic AF (Nikon)
5. Use a shutter speed of 1\1000 of a second or faster - boost the ISO speed if necessary
7. Start with large or medium sized birds that are moving laterally or fly in circular patterns
8. Start by focusing on birds that are not moving and then try to follow them as they take off
9. Anticipate the direction the bird might fly and position the bird in the center of your frame or on the side opposite to that in which you think the bird will fly.
10. To increase the camera's burst rate use extra battery packs or shoot your files in JPG mode
11. Visit locations where birds congregate like marshes so you have lots of birds to practice on
12. Learn as much as you can about the biology of the bird so you can find the birds and anticipate their behavior.
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