Case Settings Canon 7Dii, just wondering!

[Fred Woodman]

Just wondering how owners would suggest setting case settings for canon 7Dii in following circumstances of BIF !

1. Ospreys flying with fish in talons
2. Swallows in flight
3. Mallards cupped and landing on water.

I think these would be three good examples

Any pointers, would be appreciated thx....

[arash_hazeghi]

There are some general settings and guidelines but they depend on the lens you are using, your distance to the subject, the BG and of course the level of your skills in hand holding your rig and tracking BIF.

[Fred Woodman]

Ive been following many of the guidelines but was wondering whats others have experienced, given everything you've outlined above its a bit of a process working thru them by yourself, just wondered what others thought. I mostly use.Canon 500 f4 II and a 100-400 ii. Thanks

[arash_hazeghi]

Use expansion mode 4 points (when the bird is about the same size as the center meter circle), 8 points when larger. set tracking sensitivity to -3, AF pt. auto switching to 0. AI servo priority in the middle. for landing/take off set acceleration to +3.

[Fred Woodman]

which case scenario awesome .Ill give it a try, thanks...

[arash_hazeghi]

which case scenario awesome .Ill give it a try, thanks...

The case doesn't really matter, it's just a preset for a given permutation of these settings. you can edit any of them and set the parameters

best

[Fred Woodman]

The case doesn't really matter, it's just a preset for a given permutation of these settings. you can edit any of them and set the parameters

best yes, thats makes sense, thanks again !

[David Stephens]

Great, specific advice so far. Be very aware of the BG. I duck landing on a pond with willows 20-feet in back of the bird is way different than shooting an osprey against blue sky. Besides AF point selection, whether it's single-point or four-point expanded, be sure that you have the AF point on the bird when you "bump" AF. As you track a duck in, for instance, bump the AF regularly and do bursts of two when the bird is close enough and then save a big burst for when the duck flares and lands. You can change from Case to slow response to BG changes, but nothing beats having the AF point on the bird's head whenever AF is activated.

[Fred Woodman]

Great, specific advice so far. Be very aware of the BG. I duck landing on a pond with willows 20-feet in back of the bird is way different than shooting an osprey against blue sky. Besides AF point selection, whether it's single-point or four-point expanded, be sure that you have the AF point on the bird when you "bump" AF. As you track a duck in, for instance, bump the AF regularly and do bursts of two when the bird is close enough and then save a big burst for when the duck flares and lands. You can change from Case to slow response to BG changes, but nothing beats having the AF point on the bird's head whenever AF is activated.

Thanks David, I believe the points you and Arash make points directly to some the questions I have regarding the optimal set up for my 7Dii. I tend to be a walk around shooter, I take my gear and just go walk, sometimes I know where and what Im going to shoot, but often I don't or I encounter something along the way. Practically are you guys making adjustments as you go or setting them in custom functions ? I consider myself to be fairly good at switching or dealing up and the simple, AI servo, one shot, switching focus points, and adjusting exposure on the fly. But adjusting acc/dec, or tracking is this something you guys are doing on the fly ? Example, Im just back from Florida, on any given morning I could be walking out to shoot lets say soaring, fishing Osprey but encounter a Kingfisher, Kestrel for example. Maybe a black bellied Plover. Point being the subjects can appear out of no where and you want to adjust. How would you be handling this type of circumstance. Right now I am using a general setting and basically hoping for the best, I think its case 3 ,given the shooting rate of the camera I often do get my keepers but wondering if theres advice to improve the ratio.? Thanks

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Fred,

For shooting a random mix of birds it's best to set acceleration to 0. The rest of the settings still apply. You can program the M-fn btm. on the camera to switch to a given set of AF settings, this is sometimes helpful in specific situations like the example below

http://arihazeghiphotography.com/blog/eos-1dx-quick-af-trick/

But, do keep in mind that, 90% of the BIF is the technique of the photographer rather than the camera settings (as long as you don't make a gross error such as setting your camera to one-shot AF). For any of the situations you mention, such as large raptor fishing or small shorebird flying fast etc. there are specific techniques and approaches, but it is just too exhaustive to squeeze in one thread. If you want to take your photography to the next level I recommend taking a few workshops that specialize in flight photography to cover these points in the field, or at least you can start with flight photography guides that cover these topics

best

[Fred Woodman]

Hi Fred,

For shooting a random mix of birds it's best to set acceleration to 0. The rest of the settings still apply. You can program the M-fn btm. on the camera to switch to a given set of AF settings, this is sometimes helpful in specific situations like the example below

http://arihazeghiphotography.com/blog/eos-1dx-quick-af-trick/

But, do keep in mind that, 90% of the BIF is the technique of the photographer rather than the camera settings (as long as you don't make a gross error such as setting your camera to one-shot AF). For any of the situations you mention, such as large raptor fishing or small shorebird flying fast etc. there are specific techniques and approaches, but it is just too exhaustive to squeeze in one thread. If you want to take your photography to the next level I recommend taking a few workshops that specialize in flight photography to cover these points in the field, or at least you can start with flight photography guides that cover these topics

best

Do you have aby workshops that you would specifically recommend.

[David Stephens]

Thanks David, I believe the points you and Arash make points directly to some the questions I have regarding the optimal set up for my 7Dii. I tend to be a walk around shooter, I take my gear and just go walk, sometimes I know where and what Im going to shoot, but often I don't or I encounter something along the way. Practically are you guys making adjustments as you go or setting them in custom functions ? I consider myself to be fairly good at switching or dealing up and the simple, AI servo, one shot, switching focus points, and adjusting exposure on the fly. But adjusting acc/dec, or tracking is this something you guys are doing on the fly ? Example, Im just back from Florida, on any given morning I could be walking out to shoot lets say soaring, fishing Osprey but encounter a Kingfisher, Kestrel for example. Maybe a black bellied Plover. Point being the subjects can appear out of no where and you want to adjust. How would you be handling this type of circumstance. Right now I am using a general setting and basically hoping for the best, I think its case 3 ,given the shooting rate of the camera I often do get my keepers but wondering if theres advice to improve the ratio.? Thanks


Case 3 will work for what you're doing. The Cases are nice, but they won't save your butt from bad technique. Just being aware that you're shooting a cluttered contrasty BG vs. a blue sky will help you. With the blue sky, you can relax a tiny bit and use a few more AF points, but with the complicated BG, you have no room for error, no matter which Case you're using. You technique will be what determines the success of the shot. So just as you notice the light conditions and direction of the light and change your EV accordingly, you'll need awareness of BG conditions and adjust your AF strategies accordingly. Generally, the more precise you are, the higher your success rate. Also, be sure to get your ISO up where your shutter speeds are at 1/1000-sec. and higher. I prefer shooting birds in the 1/2000-sec. to 1/3200-sec. range.

[arash_hazeghi]

Do you have aby workshops that you would specifically recommend.

I sent you a PM.

[Karl Egressy]

Great advices from experts like Arash.
I can add only three more things; practice, practice, practice.
Start with relatively slow flyers that are available at most places; Gulls.
Take 50-100 shots every day until your hand-eye coordination and the synchrony with the flight motion becomes your second nature.
Good luck.

[Fred Woodman]

thank you Karl



Great advices from experts like Arash.
I can add only three more things; practice, practice, practice.
Start with relatively slow flyers that are available at most places; Gulls.
Take 50-100 shots every day until your hand-eye coordination and the synchrony with the flight motion becomes your second nature.
Good luck.