D800 Birds in Flight Settings

In a couple of weeks I'm heading down to SW Florida and as I haven't done any birds in flight photography for ages I'd like to ask what settings you are using on a D800.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

Hi Mike,

E.J. provided these in a previous post:

Drive Mode CH

AF-C – either S, or d-9 or d-21 (recommend against d51, auto or 3D)
a1 – Release
a3 – Short to Normal – you choose
a4 – depends on if you want the shutter button to AF or just the rear button
a6 – on
a7 – 51
a8 – off

They work very well for me.

Best regards,

Bill

Agree with Bill with one exception - a3 should, IMO, be set to LONG or normal - never short. Short will grab the background or other distractions more quickly whereas long will tend to aid you in keeping focus on your subject and ignore other distractions such as a close background. It's the same as the Canon equivalent to tracking sensitivity setting which should be set to low. Both might seem, at first, counter intuitive.

Bill is right here and the system does not behave like the Canon system. On the Nikon system Short to normal is the way to go and some Nikon Pros even turn it off completely. On Canon I went with longer settings but not on the Nikon CAM 3500 AF system (or CAM 3000 for that matter).

Robert O'tooles Nikon Guide specifically says the opposite which is what I have been telling people (since I am not a Nikon shooter I generally recommend what other pros recommend in print and otherwise) so I stand corrected but someone needs to tell Robert

Screenshot of page 18 of the guide:

Ask 10 serious Nikon shooters and 9 will be on a faster, fastest, or off setting.  Long is fine if you only shoot against sky but if you shoot against anything else, you are very likely to get the system to lock onto the background and never come back.  As an example, on an Antarctica cruise, John Shaw was teaching the Nikon shooters to shoot flight with it off on cameras that have an off or fastest on those that don't because if you don't do that, 90% of your shots will be focused on the water.  Having come from Canon I too thought slower would have been the way to go but John was right.  My own results on that trip with both a D300 and a D3s corroborate what John was saying. Since then I've personally done a lot of tests with this and for most people slow is not the way to go unless you are shooting birds only against sky.  I again experimented with it on Midway Atoll where you have low contrast Black-footed Albatross against waves with much higher contrast. On the slow setting you get essentially zero shots focused on the bird and all shots focused on the white wave tops.  On a fast setting, most shots were focused well.

All that said, certainly the settings need to be tweaked based on the skill of the photographer but the slowest settings generally aren't the best for Nikon.

I wasn't arguing as I am not that well versed in Nikon speak - but the way I read Robert's guide, which has been praised by other pros and the like, it sounded to me as if it operated the same way Canon does.

He must be wrong and perhaps need to rethink what he put in print!

I apologize for passing on misinformation - it just goes to show you even some pros print stuff that is subjective or just plain wrong

I'm sure I've written many things that I'm sure others disagree with as well

Now I am really confused.....

"I again experimented with it on Midway Atoll where you have low contrast Black-footed Albatross against waves with much higher contrast. On the slow setting you get essentially zero shots focused on the bird and all shots focused on the white wave tops. On a fast setting, most shots were focused well."

The settings we are referring to are "long" or "short" (or in between) but you're saying "fast" and "slow" - so what am I confusing?

Yeah I guess the menu nomenclature is Long and Short.  Fast = short, slow = long

My excuse, rock concert last night

The problem with long is that if you don't track accurately and the focus shifts to the background, no amount of pumping of the focus button will get the focus to change from the background before the subject is gone. I'd rather have it shift and be able to shift back when I get the focus point back on the target.

Oh annie - dreamboat annie....LOL

Anyway thanks to both - always learning! Now someone needs to tell Robert to perhaps update his PDF

More like Magic Man!

Many thanks guys. I've entered in those settings and I'm all ready to get some flight shots of Least Terns , Black Skimmers and all the other good stuff down there.

Thanks again.

Mike

FWIW, I keep a3 off.

I think I'll need to add a3 as a My Menu setting. From what I'm reading a bird such as a hovering Least Tern against a blue sky would be better with a3 set to long whereas a Black Skimmer against the water would be better with it on short or off.

Interesting thread.

So far, I have learned that short means fast, and long means slow. I promise not discuss the overtones of these words.

I have also leaned that whether short or long depends on the environment. I really want to comment here, but will refrain.

And then there is "off." My life's experience has been that this is the default setting.

Thanks for the smile Bill - my life experience reflects yours - but when on mine is always set to fast.

Greg Downing wrote:Robert O'tooles Nikon Guide specifically says the opposite which is what I have been telling people (since I am not a Nikon shooter I generally recommend what other pros recommend in print and otherwise) so I stand corrected but someone needs to tell Robert

Screenshot of page 18 of the guide:

This comment is a little late but I would still like to clear up a couple of things that really need some clarification.

a3:Focus Tracking with Lock-On Custom Setting behavior info from Nikon:

Page 283, Nikon D800 user guide:

a3:Focus Tracking with Lock-On

This option controls how autofocus adjusts to sudden large changes in the distance to the subject when AF-C is selected during VF photography.
When the distance to the subject changes abruptly, the camera waits for the specified period before adjusting the distance to the subject. This prevents the camera from refocusing when the  subject is briefly obscured by objects passing through the frame.

D3 technical guide:

Focus Tracking with Lock-On. By preventing the camera from refocusing when your subject is briefly obscured by another subject, focus with lock-on will continue to track the main subject once the obstacle has passed.

I agree with Nikon's information regarding Nikon Focus Tracking with Lock on Options: Slow, Normal Long Etc. These options change the AF systems response to OOF objects in front of or behing the target that the AF system is locked on to. 

a3:Focus Tracking with Lock-On setting I use and recommend:

I use CSM a3: Focus tracking with Lock-On set to: Long. I also recommend the long setting you want the AF system to lock and track targets. If you dont want the AF system to lock and track the subject turn tracking off. 

Why I recommend a3:Focus Tracking with Lock-On: long

The Long setting option keeps the AF system from 'jumping' from one target, lets say from the eagle you are trying to shoot, and another target, a gull, a sea surface ripple, or a tree for example. I teach tour participants that off or short will have the AF system to instantly drop your subject if something else pops up behind or in front of your subject.

Important note, a3:Focus Tracking with Lock-On has nothing to do with AF focus acquisition speed! If the AF drops the target in both slow or long settings, just  lift your finger and reacquire the subject.  The AF will snap the subject back in focus regardless of the a3:Focus Tracking with Lock-On setting. From Nikon: ' To refocus before lock-on ends, press the shutter-release button or press the AF-ON button again.' (D3S technical guide).

What you should do if you are not sure about what Focus Tracking with Lock-On settings to use on your Nikon?

If you are having issue with your camera's AF system dropping your subjects and not tracking well and you do want the AF system to track, do a simple experiment yourself.  To see what the a3:Focus Tracking with Lock-On option effects are in the real world do the following:

1. Grab your camera and 70-200 or your favorite lens. Set a3:Focus Tracking with Lock-On to short.
2. Grab 2 diet cokes or your fav beverage from the fridge.
3. Place them in the middle of a table next to each other.
4. Slide the right can back a couple feet.
5. Place your camera in single area AF and AF "C' modes.
6. Focus on the left can then keep your finger down and move the AF point to the OOF can next to it and count how long it takes to switch. Should be an instant change on short.
7. Repeat with Normal and Long settings.

You should get something like, Short: instant response, Normal: about 1 sec, Long: about 2 sec. This is how long the AF system will stay with your subject if another object pops up behind of in front of your subject, or you fail to keep the AF system on the subject. 

Now ask yourself how you want your camera's AF system to respond when you are out shooting in the field.

I hope this info helps you master your AF system and whatever your option choice I hope it works successfully for you.

Any questions or comments or errors I need to correct just let me know.

Robert