{"id":10030,"date":"2021-12-28T01:30:09","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T17:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/?p=10030"},"modified":"2022-12-31T03:20:25","modified_gmt":"2022-12-30T19:20:25","slug":"canon-r5-autofocus-settings-for-birds-in-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/canon-r5-autofocus-settings-for-birds-in-flight.html","title":{"rendered":"Canon R5 Autofocus Settings for Birds in Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”10033″ animation=”None” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” img_link_large=”yes” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]My recommendations for the Canon R5 settings for birds in flight.<\/em><\/p>\n

The world doesn’t need another image of a brown pelican in flight<\/a>, but I enjoy trying to make different renditions of my favorite seabirds flying and it keeps me in practice during the winter between dive trips. Recently we had a confluence of conditions that offered ideal flight photography and I took advantage of it several mornings in a row. We had clear skies to the east, wind from the east, high tides in the morning, high surf and, on top of that, a large aggregation of bait just offshore. In those tidal and surf conditions the birds choose to roost higher up on the rocks since the lower areas are awash with waves, and with wind from the east the birds approach at the perfect sun angle. With the bait present, the birds would go out and forage (dive-bombing balls of sardines and mackerel<\/a> alongside, terns, gulls and sea lions) and then return to rest, dry and preen before cycling back out to forage. In this way pelicans were constantly coming and going. Over several days I experimented with different focusing modes and sensitivities on my Canon R5, eventually settling on a combination that produces tack-sharp-on-the-eye most of the time. Sometimes the first handful of frames will be soft on the eye as the camera acquires focus, but once it is locked it remains sharp throughout most of the sequence, rarely loosing focus. \u00a0This means one should engage the AF early, at least a few moments before releasing the shutter – but that has always been a best practice. All I have to do is stand in the right spot (there are three depending on wind angle and how many birds are on the cliffs) and pull the trigger. The light reaches the birds at 7:30 and by 8:30 I am picking up a cappuccino at Girard Gourmet on my way home with a bunch of images to review later in the day.<\/p>\n

Below are the settings I currently use when shooting large slow birds in flight. I hand-hold a Canon 200-400, usually around 250-300mm for the flight shots depicted here. I no longer use a tripod for flight images as it simply gets in the way except for those few situations where the bird is steadily tracking a straight line and you can pan with it perfectly. Some can do that well but not me. I find handholding is better.<\/p>\n