AF for Flight Photography

Buried in the Canon 1D mark 3 thread , some helpful tips and questions have appeared about how best to use AF for photo's of birds in flight. A new thread on this topic would help many of us improve our techniques.

Could the experts/moderators explain some of their techniques and why:
- single centre point AF versus 45 pt AF
- inner or outer focus points/zone?
- rear AF button technique versus front shutter button
-settings on D3 (Artie initially recommended setting tracking sensitivity at high, Galbraith now recommends normal, and some BPN threads are suggesting low)
-how useful is rapid/auto firing ( ie 7 or 10 fps)
-how many shots need to be taken in a flight sequence

Perhaps when threads post in-flight photos , this type of info would really be helpful.

Thanks for this Peter, this is exactly what I wanted to achieve with my last reply in that thread. I am glad you managed to extract the above.

I specialize in photographing birds in flight and I make my living teaching others how to do this. I have been using the 1D3 with no AF problems since July 1, 2007. Prior to that I used a 1D2N.

I use the center AF point only. I do not use multiple Af points or Af expansion. The reason I use onlyh the center Af point is I want precise control over AF. I don't want the camera to focus on an unintended subject by itself. It is much easier to keep one AF point on the subject than to keep multiple Af points on the subject. If you photograph BIF against a varied bg with multiple af points, the camera may become confused as to what is the intended subject. This will often cause the camera to focus on the bg. By using only the center af point I maintain precise control. Then if I focus on the bg it's because I missed,not because the camera messed me up. It is beneficial to use multiple AF poiunts when the Bg is smooth like the sky. A featureless bg does not confuse the camera and having multiple af points makes it easier to aquire and maintain focus, but only against a smooth bg. Aquiring and maintaining af against a smooth bg is much much easier than against a varied bg. Since it is relatively easy to aquire and maintain focus against the sky, I just stick with the center AF point. Multiple af points aren't needed and I don't have to bother switching back and forth.

Tracking sensitivity is misunderstood by many. It does not speed up Af or make the af track better. What it is is a delay when the camera switches focus from one subject to another subject. For example; if you are tracking a BIF against a varied bg and you miss and the af point hits the bg, there will be a short delay beffore the camera focuses on the BG. The delay in this case is a good thing. It may allow you to get back on the bird without losing focus. If you do mistakenly focus on the bg, the same delay will cost you time when trying to return focus to the BIF. In thiscase the delay is a bad thing. The delay is really a double edged sword. Sometimes it works for you and other times against you. I used to balnce this by setting the tracking sensitivity to STANDARD, but then I discovered a way to use the delay when it helps me and override (get rid of) the delay when it doesn't. I override the delay by bumping the focus. By bumping, I mean let off and refocus. This will override the delay. Now I have the best of both worlds and I can maximize the benefits of the delay by setting tracking sensitivity to SLOW. So SLOW is the way to go if you learn how to bump the focus to override the delay when needed.

I use the shutter button to focus and not the * or AF buttons on the back of the camera. I use the shutter button because I press it with my index finger and not my thumb like the ither buttons. My index finger is much more coordinated than my thumb. This allows me to focus and bump the focus better. (Note: there are other, more frequent, uses for the bump focus technique, so this becomes important) Since I specialize in BIF I like to remain ready for action all the time. To accomplish this I stay in AI Servo and use the center point only all of the time, even when shooting still subjects. I set the * button to AF lock. This allows me to lock Af for still subjects so I can recompose the image in the camera without switching to one shot mode. That way I am able to compose images for still subjects and be ready to capture them in flight if they should takeoff and fly away.

jim -
thanks , a great detailed explanation
it explains a lot for those of us not yet familiar BIF techniques

one last follow-up question - what AF drive mode do you prefer ( ie : do you ever use the high speed continuous 10 fps shooting (that's what it's called in the Canon manual) feature on the 1D3 or do you prefer to take rapid individual photo's in succession. I tried 10fps at Sanibel over Xmas with pelicans against varying ocean BG's and although it sure sounded good - wasn't really impressed that i got more good photo's. I think it was at the NYC seminar that Artie suggested it's better to take 2-3 images at the right time, than try and extract them from a long sequential sequence.

thanks again - at least know i know a little better what i should be trying to do in BIF
peter

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter Hawrylyshyn

jim -
thanks , a great detailed explanation
it explains a lot for those of us not yet familiar BIF techniques

one last follow-up question - what AF drive mode do you prefer ( ie : do you ever use the high speed continuous 10 fps shooting (that's what it's called in the Canon manual) feature on the 1D3 or do you prefer to take rapid individual photo's in succession. I tried 10fps at Sanibel over Xmas with pelicans against varying ocean BG's and although it sure sounded good - wasn't really impressed that i got more good photo's. I think it was at the NYC seminar that Artie suggested it's better to take 2-3 images at the right time, than try and extract them from a long sequential sequence.

thanks again - at least know i know a little better what i should be trying to do in BIF
peter

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I leave my camera in continuous high speed mode all the time. When photographing BIF I photograph in controlled bursts of 2 or more images. It is very difficult to make just one image.