[Music]
Hi. My name is Danny and I'm a Canon Technical Support Representative.
Birds in flight can be one of the most challenging subjects to photograph.
In this video, you'll gain a basic understanding of how to set up the Canon
EOS 7D Mark II digital SLR camera to capture birds in flight.
Even with the best camera and lens, it can be difficult to get photos that are in focus 100% of the time.
With this video, we hope to increase that success rate.
Let's start with the camera settings.
First, I recommend using TV mode or shutter
priority to make sure you have a fast enough shutter speed. Evaluative metering
usually does a great job occasionally for a light-colored bird against a dark
background, spot metering will work best. Use an ISO setting that you're
comfortable with. I personally use ISO 200 most of the time but with current
camera technology you can go much higher and still get great pictures with minimal noise.
Setting up an auto ISO range can also facilitate quick
automatic ISO setting changes. I also recommend a shutter speed of at least 1/2000
to make sure you're freezing the action in your frame.
Next, the auto focus mode should be set to AI servo. Press the Drive AF button and turn the main dial
to select AI Servo. Pressing the shutter button halfway will auto focus. You can
also use the back button focusing method to take away auto focus from the shutter
button. To do this go to the Custom Controls menu, then go to the display and
operations section. Select custom controls and press the Set button.
Select the shutter button icon, and press Set. Then select Metering Start to remove
auto focus from the shutter button. Now only the AF-ON button will trigger auto
focus. Just hold the AF-ON button to keep your subject in focus. Your shutter
button is free to take the shot without accidentally refocusing on another part
of your composition. After setting the focus mode to AI Servo, let's make sure
that the camera is set to continuous high-speed shooting. Press the Drive-AF
button and then turn the quick until you see the high-speed shooting
icon. Silent continuous shooting is also an option if you're close to your subject.
Now, let's set the AF area selection mode to Expand AF Area
Surround. A quick way to do this is to press the Info button until the shooting
information is displayed on the LCD screen.
Then press the AF point select button. Use the multi-function button labeled
M-Fn near the shutter button, or the AF area selection lever
around the multi-controller to select the AF mode.
Expand AF Area Surround lets you use eight
supporting focus points around one primary focus point.
Now, let's move to the AF configuration tool in the AF menu and pick a case that matches the bird's
behavior. Case 1 is the default case and work well in many situations as long
as the bird is at a constant speed. For birds that are accelerating and
decelerating case four is recommended. For example: ducks taking off and landing.
Case 5 is recommended for birds that quickly change direction. Swallows are a
good example. Another setting is Safety Shift located in the first custom
function menu. This setting allows the camera to automatically change your set
shutter speed, aperture, or ISO. The Shutter Speed/Aperture option will lower
your shutter speed when there's not enough light for good exposure at your
chosen shutter speed. The ISO speed option will increase ISO as needed.
There are so much to keep track of during bird in flight photography and
Safety Shift can help ensure accurate exposure. Once you have your camera set up,
I recommend saving the settings as a Custom Shooting Mode. To do this, go to
the wrench menu in the Set Up 4 section and select Custom shooting mode.
Select Register settings and assign your custom shooting mode to one of the three
available options. C1, C2, or C3.
Let's say you previously saved your bird in flight settings to C1. You're
photographing a landscape and all of a sudden you see a bird flying towards you.
You can quickly revert to the settings you saved by turning the mode dial to C1.
Now that we have the camera set up, let's give it a try. As you can see
I'm using the canon EOS 7D Mark II camera with the Canon EF 100-400mm
L IS version 2 lens on a monopod. If you're using a
larger lens you might need a sturdier setup like a tripod and a gimbal head.
Make sure that the lens you're using is set to Auto Focus. If you're on a sturdy
tripod you can turn off the Image Stabilizer. It takes a lot of practice to
keep a focus point on a bird in flight. Using Expand AF Area: Surround helps a lot but again,
practice makes perfect. I also recommend keeping the Sun behind you so your
subject is well lit. Once you spot your bird in flight, keep the center focus
point on the bird and press the focus button to acquire and maintain focus.
Press the shutter button to take short continuous bursts instead of long ones.
High-speed continuous shooting can fill up your memory card quickly.
Check your images occasionally to make sure that everything is properly exposed and in focus.
Also this is a good time to make sure that your settings are still where
you want them. These techniques are a good starting point for bird in flight
photography. There are many other ways to photograph birds depending on the
situation. The techniques we covered will help you develop your own methods for
photographing birds. Continue to hone your skills and create your own style.
It takes practice, patience, and perseverance. For more how-to videos please visit our
YouTube channel. Thanks for watching!