Canon EOS 7D settings for birds (1 Viewer)

[kuzeycem]

Hello

I just bought a Canon EOS 7D + 400mm f/5.6 yesterday. I did some trial shots today, they were generally rather nice but there were some photos which were slightly worse than I expected.

So what are the right settings for birding on 7D? It is pretty much sunny here, so ISO's not a very big problem. But still some of my pictures get a little too bright or dark, and sometimes even blurry.

I am pretty sure it's me rather than the camera but I still wanted to ask about this. Of course there is no "right setting" for anything but I would like to hear your opinions and advice!

Thank you.

 

[a.dancy]

Hi Kuzeycem

It might be a good idea to post a few of the shots you are not happy with. If showing a cropped shot indicate how much is cropped in percentage terms. Leave exif data in the images.

If you are getting pictures that are too dark or too bright then it would seem that you are having problems with exposure. Do you look at the histogram or do you look at the picture on the camera's screen to determine exposure?

Photographing birds in bright light (overhead sun) does not always give good results no matter how good your equipment is. The camera cannot cope with the contrast (dynamic range) and besides the shadows created are not pleasing.

Without further details and example images to help it will be impossible to advise you with any authority since there are so many things to consider.

 

[kuzeycem]

Thanks for your response Unfortunately, I don't have my card reader with me, I will probably get it tomorrow night (we have moved to a new place).

First of all this is not a good year in Turkey to do trial shots. Summer of this year is rather funky, with sun and rain at the same time... So I play with ISO like a toy. Morning was fine but in late afternoon it got rather dark.
Also in the morning I experienced some exposure problems, not with birds but flowers (odd!).

However the main issue in my mind is the slight blur in the images, which I think has something to do with the shutter speed. As I shoot in the Av mode the camera sets the shutter speed itself, which is usually quite lousy for birding (1/250 generally). I tried the Tv mode but I never saw anyone use it while photographing birds.
I read that ISO affects the shutter speed (low ISO=high speed) but as I mentioned earlier, there are times when I need an ISO boost.

However as I never got the chance to look at the photos from my Mac's monitor, looking through the tiny screen of the camera might be affecting how the image looks. It is actually very normal that pics are blurry, as I usually have no support and I keep moving.

I think I have to cope with the fact that "perfect photograph" doesn't exist

I will send the pictures as soon as possible.

Cheers

 

[punta]

Have a look at this, it may help.

http://www.deepgreenphotography.com/2009/12/setting-up-your-new-canon-7d/

 

[Mackem George]

site appears to be on maintenance mode at present,no doubt normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.Actually it is an excellent site and should be even better when completed.
GEORGE.

 

[a.dancy]

You can also try this
http://www.ermoro.com/?p=185
I vary my settings from time to time so nothing is cast in stone. It does seem to me that your likely problem is getting enough shutter speed and exposure. You should not be too shy of increasing ISO. Hand held you should be looking for shutter speeds of around 1/640-1/800 for consistently sharp results. I await to here from you again.

 

[punta]

Also remember there is no IS on that lens. I would use the TV settings, auto ISO and set you shutter speed to 1000 for hand holding.

 

[Roy C]

With the 400/5.6 and 7D just use Tv mode and auto ISO. You just dial-in the shutter speed you want (for hand holding you need 1/800 sec or faster). The 400/5.6 is super sharp wide open so no need to stop down - when you use auto ISO in Tv mode on the 7D the Camera will always return a aperture of f5.6 (very occasionally f6.3) which is ideal for bird photography.
I had always been used to controlling the aperture with Av mode but with the 7D and 400/5.6 it is far better to control the shutter speed when hand holding.Because you do not need to control the aperture using this method it is best with this lens to control the shutter speed instead.
At the end of the day you have got to have the right shutter speed when hand holding a non IS lens and this is obviously best done in Tv mode. There is no advantage whatsoever in using Av mode for this combination unless you specifically want to stop down for some reason.

As far as exposure goes then that is down to the individual user to control this via Exposure compensation, like any other set-up you cannot just leave this to the Camera to do it automatically as there will always be situations where you need to use some Ev comp to correctly expose the bird. Examples:-
With a dark bird against a light background you will need some Ev+, how much depends on how big the bird is in the frame.
With a light bird against a dark background you will need some Ev-

 

[kuzeycem]

Thank you all, and sorry I saw all these messages so late

So I took another set of trial shots this morning, and saw that in bright sunshine the images or not as sharp as the ones in e.g. late afternoon, with little sun.

The first lens I've ever used was Canon 100-400 so I am used to shoot in Av mode. It is quite reasonable now to use Tv as you suggested I set the shutter speed to 1/1000.

I didn't get to try Tv yet (birds disappeared) but as soon as I do it I'll post it here, along with the trial photos (still no card reader!) and camera setting information.

Sorry to keep you waiting.

 

[kuzeycem]

BTW I checked the sites given, one is under maintenance (as stated), and the other one is in Italian (English version?)

 

[Jack Dawe]

Would you recommend spot metering as a norm?

 

[Roy C]

Would you recommend spot metering as a norm?

Absolutely not Jack, spot has its uses but can cause unpredictable results at times, especially when the bird is not big in the frame (e.g when the spot is not entirely over the bird). Even if you spot meter directly off of a white bird you will find that it will be 18% grey unless you apply some Ev comp.
Far better to stick to one mode like evaluative IMHO and learn how you Camera meter's in any given situation - after a while you will get to know exactly how much (if any) exposure compensation is needed for a certain toned bird against varying backgrounds.

 

[kuzeycem]

So Evaluative is better for birding ? Also for birds is it AI Focus or AI Servo ?

 

[kuzeycem]

Settings

Until I can post the photos, you can check this out and let me know what you think o

 

[Roy C]

So Evaluative is better for birding ? Also for birds is it AI Focus or AI Servo ?

Whichever metering method you use you will still have to understand about exposure compensation and when to use it. Metering is perhaps the most difficult thing to get right in bird photography but it is important that you do get it more or less right straight from the Camera (RAW gives you a bit of wriggle room). If you just try to 'correct' the exposure in post processing you will find that:-
With underexposed shots you will increase the noise when you push in in PP especially in any shadowed areas. Besides which if you do not shoot right up to the right side of the histogram you are not getting the best dynamic range (80% of the tones are in the brightest 20% of the histogram).
If you overexpose you are in danger of completely blowing parts of the bird - no amount of processing will retrieve this as a completely blown area will be devoid of any detail.

In answer to your other question, do not use AI Focus - it sucks!!!!. I personally use AI servo all the time (with back button focusing) but a lot of folks use one shot for stationary birds and AI Servo for flyers.

 

[Roy C]

Until I can post the photos, you can check this out and let me know what you think o

as above, do not use AI Focus.
Remember if you are using Tv mode you will need to also use auto ISO to ensure that the aperture is wide open (therefore getting the lowest possible ISO).

 

[kuzeycem]

So is it safe to determine the exposure from the compensation?

 

[Roy C]

So is it safe to determine the exposure from the compensation?

What I am saying is that you need to learn about exposure compensation to make sure that the bird is correctly exposed (often at the expense of the background). No Camera will get it right all the time if you just rely on auto exposure, this is where the photographers skill comes in. It is not as easy as just pointing and shooting - if it was we would all be top bird snappers !.
A lot of folks think that if you just use the same gear and recommended settings and snap away all the shots will be great - if only it was that easy

 

[kuzeycem]

OK

So after reading this I had a quick lunch and went outside to practice (and test these tips) with a lovely Spotted Flycatcher.

The weather was really "moody", but never too dark or too bright. Anyways the ISO was Auto

The main thing I tested was One Shot, AI Focus and AI Servo.

I first used AI Servo. I was aware that AI Servo is usually used with moving objects, but I decided to use it in case the bird would do one of its typical short-flights.
How camera followed the subject was very good, and got some good take-off shots (but as you know flycatchers have very clumsy flight with unpredictable turns; so no true flight shots).

Then I used One Shot to try to get some good stationary shots. However just like AI Servo, it was not as good as I expected. It lacked sharpness.

Then I used AI Focus. I was not expecting any difference as it "sucked"; but I took all my bird photos yesterday with AI Focus and got good results, so I wanted to give a try.

I don't know if it was because I was motivated or I exaggerated, but the photos seemed sharper than the other two moods.

Other than that I tried to do some work with exposure with a street dog P). Even though I seem to get it now, I still need to work hard

 

[Roy C]

OK

So after reading this I had a quick lunch and went outside to practice (and test these tips) with a lovely Spotted Flycatcher.

The weather was really "moody", but never too dark or too bright. Anyways the ISO was Auto

The main thing I tested was One Shot, AI Focus and AI Servo.

I first used AI Servo. I was aware that AI Servo is usually used with moving objects, but I decided to use it in case the bird would do one of its typical short-flights.
How camera followed the subject was very good, and got some good take-off shots (but as you know flycatchers have very clumsy flight with unpredictable turns; so no true flight shots).

Then I used One Shot to try to get some good stationary shots. However just like AI Servo, it was not as good as I expected. It lacked sharpness.

Then I used AI Focus. I was not expecting any difference as it "sucked"; but I took all my bird photos yesterday with AI Focus and got good results, so I wanted to give a try.

I don't know if it was because I was motivated or I exaggerated, but the photos seemed sharper than the other two moods.

Other than that I tried to do some work with exposure with a street dog P). Even though I seem to get it now, I still need to work hard

Good for you if you are getting good results in AI Focus - you are the first bird photographer I have ever come across that likes it. In fact the vast majority of photographers I have come across cannot really understand why Canon even bother to keep such a mode on their Cameras !!!. If you are shooting in AI focus mode then the best of luck because you will need it, if I knew that was your preferred option then I would not have even bothered commenting in this thread lol.