Fast moving animals

[MattUK]

Hey guys, I'm looking for some advice.

One of the areas I'm looking to improve in is action photography, particularly nature (birds flying, dogs running etc).

I have a D7000 with a Tamron 18-270 as my zoom. I have real problems getting a good focus on the subject when it's moving, and often end up with a lot of blur.

I realise that my Tamron's massive zoom range sacrifices a lot of speed with regards to auto focus and shutter speed.

Am I basically only able to set it to Shutter Priority, and hope that the light is good enough and the auto focus works quickly enough?

Or are there other techniques I should be using?

Thanks for any advice.

[Cutter]

I take it you are using Al servo mode for focusing?

[karenoliver]

Originally Posted by MattUK

Hey guys, I'm looking for some advice.

One of the areas I'm looking to improve in is action photography, particularly nature (birds flying, dogs running etc).

I have a D7000 with a Tamron 18-270 as my zoom. I have real problems getting a good focus on the subject when it's moving, and often end up with a lot of blur.

I realise that my Tamron's massive zoom range sacrifices a lot of speed with regards to auto focus and shutter speed.

Am I basically only able to set it to Shutter Priority, and hope that the light is good enough and the auto focus works quickly enough?

Or are there other techniques I should be using?

Thanks for any advice.

I don't do much action photography but like Mark says put your camera in Al servo mode. You could also pan the action and make sure you've got a pretty fast shutter speed. I never used shutter or aperture priority, I always shoot in manual as I find it easier and know the exposure will be correct.

Karen

[amk1977]

Hi Matt,

Two things spring to mind. One is that if you are zoomed in when focusing on the fast moving animals, the widest aperture you can achieve is f/6.3 on the 18-270mm. If its not a bright day, the camera's auto focus system may hunt for a target, which could explain the blurred images (if they are simply just out of focus).

The other is as you mention, shutter speed. The way around this is raising your ISO up to compensate. As the D7000 handles noise very well at higher ISO values, you should be able to boost the sensitivity up without compromising image quality to any significant degree. This may help you achieve a better shutter speed with the Tamron.

It might be worth experimenting with the D7000 at various ISO levels to see where you think the cut-off is for acceptable noise levels. Bear in mind that you can remove it to a large degree in post processing. This will help you discover the limits you can go to with the camera before image quality becomes affected.

Also, its worth shooting in RAW mode. If you opt for a high shutter speed in either S or M modes, and the resulting image is dark, you can probably recover virtually all lost detail in post processing due to the EV range of the D7000.

Ideally though, any fast paced action photography is shot using a lens that is designed for the task. Nature photography of wild birds is often done with 300mm+ F/4 prime lenses. For flexiblity, the 70-200 f/2.8 VR / VRII Nikkors + teleconverters, are often the lenses of choice. Fast focusing and good sharpness even wide open. Unfortunately, all lenses of this calibre carry a heft price tag. Unless you can afford the £1000-£1500 for a 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, you're limited to raising the ISO to achieve the stops of light that an f/2.8 lens would give you.

Hope that helps

[MattUK]

Originally Posted by Cutter

I take it you are using Al servo mode for focusing?

AF-C, yep - I assume I should use the 39 point focus setting?

[MattUK]

Originally Posted by amk1977

Hi Matt,

Two things spring to mind. One is that if you are zoomed in when focusing on the fast moving animals, the widest aperture you can achieve is f/6.3 on the 18-270mm. If its not a bright day, the camera's auto focus system may hunt for a target, which could explain the blurred images (if they are simply just out of focus).

The other is as you mention, shutter speed. The way around this is raising your ISO up to compensate. As the D7000 handles noise very well at higher ISO values, you should be able to boost the sensitivity up without compromising image quality to any significant degree. This may help you achieve a better shutter speed with the Tamron.

Thanks AMK - I thought that might be the case. It's hard to find a suitable subject to practice on! Maybe I should stop by a bridge and use cars to practice, unless anyone has a more practical idea?

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Markulous]

Cars would certainly help as getting good at panning helps no end with getting to grips with moving subjects - and cars are predictable in that they keep to a track (you hope! ) and have consistent speed. So it's pick up the car some distance out and smoothly follow, press shutter and smoothly continue to track - prevents snatched shots

Since you're always going to suffer 'focus hunt' with smaller subjects, you might want to think about manual focus. I use seagulls for practice as there is a degree of consistency to their swooping (and you can often find them about) - and I find manual focus essential for getting Dragonflies (which aren't always predictable in their flight pattern)

[OldBoy]

If you are shooting birds then spot focus is the best option. Panning is also important and the more you practice the better you become. As an example I've posted a Heron in flight below, taken with the Sigma 50-500mm F4-6.3 at 500mm using spot.

[matt wilson]

agree .Use a centre spot to focus .Otherwise the camera will more often than not hunt for focus or focus on background.

Practice practice .Try cars ,bikes skateboarders

[MattUK]

Thanks guys, I'll give it a go.

Lovely shot OldBoy