Canon EOS 5D Mk3

[Senalizacion]

Would welcome general advice on ideal/recommended camera settings for bird photography in the UK - eg ISO, aperture and speed. Any advice aperture, speed or Program priority main dial settings. Have focussing set on the centre 9 AF point expansion. Been using aperture priority in the main.

I am using Canon EF L 100/400 IS Mk2 and Tamron 150/600 G2 zoom lenses.

My better UK wild photos, some better than others! can be seen here: http://tillyweb.biz/gallery/natureindex.htm

[EOS_User]

Re: Canon EOS 5D Mk3

Hi John;

I assume that since you're using a 5DIII you're no starter! Bird shots in the UK are no different to anywhere else; it's all light dependant

Provided you're after a 'sound' image, rather than an 'art' shot; my starting point is generaly to aim for;

For Birds in Flight; f/8 : 1/1600 (or greater if I can get it) : Push ISO to whatever it takes to achieve 1/1600 (or more) : Use Exposure Compensation as required to protect blown whites...

Static or slow-moving ground birds; you can bring AV down to f/5.6 and TV down to say 1/1000 (they still move pretty fast!) - thereby reducing ISO...

It's all a question of playing around for whatever the light conditions are on the day...

HTH...

[Senalizacion]

Re: Canon EOS 5D Mk3

Thanks Lee, much appreciated.

Not new to Canon EOS cameras (40+ years) but relatively new to 5D3 and even newer to wild bird photography - the photos (via my link) in Australia were taken with a 40D on the 'A' setting; The captive UK birds with a small Canon Powershot.

Despite reading the manual several times, I'm not clear on the Exposure Compensation function, but assume you darken in bright light and brighten in poor light. I struggle with camera adjustments in the field due to age related eyesight problems

Unfortunately some Canon manuals e.g. 5D3, 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 & Extender lens manuals (on use of extender lenses) are all different on settings info etc which is not helpful!

[Nathaniel]

Re: Canon EOS 5D Mk3

I know that the majority of the members here prefer to set the AV to f8 and keep the speed to approx 1/1600 adjusting the ISO to accomodate this. I am sure I am one of the few members (I think) who prefesr to set the TV to either 1/1600 or 1/2000, set the ISO to around 400 (depending on the light) and allow the AV to adjust itself. If I am going out specifically to shoot BIF like in a Red Kite feeding centre, I would use Manual setting with the speed to say 1/2000, and take all my reading from exposing to the ground and transfer the readings to my manual settings.

[the black fox]

Re: Canon EOS 5D Mk3

due to experience i would suggest that every single camera has its own quirks regarding exposure ,it should in reality be the same but rest assured it isn't .
so for starters with either of those lenses i would start by using a/v mode with the shutter set to f8 ,once on site look through the viewfinder to ensure your shutter speed is in the range of 1/1000 to 1/1600 or above ,if below that increase your i.s.o values till it is DO NOT USE AUTO ISO .
for normal ground level shots ,birds in bushes etc leave your metering as normal for birds in flight against a blue sky you will need positive exp comp .this is extremely easy on ALL canon cameras by slightly depressing the shutter to engage metering then turn your rear command dial to the right with your thumb . anywhere between 2 thirds of a stop up to 2 full stops of compensation ,as i said earlier every model of camera is different depending on the lenses used as well ,so trial and error . this will stop the bird just becoming a black blob in a bright sky .
the same applies to birds on water but with less compensation required .tis easy once you get the hang of it

i would also advise using only single point focussing using your joystick to move the focus point over the birds eye where possible

also remember that a lot of shots on here have been processed they are not OOC shots ,and its worth learning to P/P correctly as this will boost your shots .

[Senalizacion]

Re: Canon EOS 5D Mk3

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated.