Panning + focus

[icanimagine]

I seem to be getting a soft focus when taking pictures of waterfowl in flight. Do you shoot in AI servo? I sometimes think I focus on the sky in the background. Canon 7d, 300mm f/4 IS L lens.

[Graystar]

(I have a Nikon but Canon is similar...)

Are you taking the shot in two steps? That is...are you focusing, and then pressing the shutter? I find that separating the focus action from the shutter actuation (even when keeping focus on the shutter button) gets me lots of blurry shots of birds.

I now prefer to have the camera in focus priority. I guess that would be setting "C.Fn III-2 AI Servo 1st/2nd image priority" to 0 (oy vey these Canon settings!) Also, I don't "focus first." I'll track a bird, drumming the shutter button lightly just to keep the focus near to the correct point. When I want to take the picture, I press the shutter fully...no stopping at the half-press. The camera will focus, lock, and fire the shutter immediately after acheiving focus. This provides the least amount of time from focus-lock to shutter release.

So that's something that works for me. As always, YMMV.

[dan marchant]

I seem to be getting a soft focus when taking pictures of waterfowl in flight. Do you shoot in AI servo? I sometimes think I focus on the sky in the background. Canon 7d, 300mm f/4 IS L lens.

I shoot sports instead of birds but it is basically the same, a moving target. I always use AI Servo and have my camera set to back button focus so that focus and shutter release are separate. I currently have the 5DIII but previously owned a 7D and found it to be very good with these settings. That means I am doing the opposite of Graystar - so you will just have to try both ways and see which is best for you.

Also, don't forget to check that your IS is in the correct mode. Your lens has two IS modes, one for stationary shooting (corrects for horizontal and vertical movement) and one for panning (only corrects for vertical movement). You need to be using the second of these.

[Steve S]

Yes, moving objects, servo mode.

[icanimagine]

Thanks for the response. I'll try your method out.

[herbert]

Hi Sonny,

Good tips so far. It helps your camera track the bird if you use more than one focus point. Set your 7d to point expansion mode or central zone focussing. Don't use all the focus points as you will likely pick up the background horizon.

Also watch your shutter speed. For waterfowl I would start at 1/1500s. Push the ISO to achieve this. Then bring the ISO down and slow the shutter depending on your initial results. Even big birds like a grey heron will need 1/750s.

If I am not moving my shooting angle relative to the scene I shoot in manual mode to ensure the settings are consistent. I'll switch to shutter-priority if I need the metering to be automatic due to constantly changing light conditions (shadows from trees as you pan, partial and changing cloud cover, etc.)

If shooting very high birds then the sky will hugely effect metering. Use around +2 exposure compensation and experiment. If you have a background scene then the metering will usually be more consistent. In either case manual mode will help you understand the scene before you and the compromises involved.

Alex

[icanimagine]

Central zone focussing is the ticket then. I just tried that a few times out ago and had good results. How fast I forget to remember everything. Thanks fire the reminder. You nailed it.