exposure comp on a cloudy day for wildlife.

[dannylightning]

well i still find this hard to understand. it just sounds complicated when people explain it..

the only time i use auto ISO is when shooting with the 150-600mm lens and since flying birds often come into play here i guess i am trying to figure out what setting would be optimal for that.. 30s all the way up to 1/4000s or are my options

generally 1/1000 or 1/1250 are what i use for the shutter speed i usually do not go higher than that since i am shooting at F/8 most of the time with that lens.

any other lens i shoot in full manual.

 

[JacaRanda]

well i still find this hard to understand. it just sounds complicated when people explain it..

the only time i use auto ISO is when shooting with the 150-600mm lens and since flying birds often come into play here i guess i am trying to figure out what setting would be optimal for that.. 30s all the way up to 1/4000s or are my options

generally 1/1000 or 1/1250 are what i use for the shutter speed i usually do not go higher than that since i am shooting at F/8 most of the time with that lens.

any other lens i shoot in full manual.

Some of this you will have to figure out on your own because it should be slightly different for each kind of bird and depending on how much motion you want to stop. 1/4000 is more than enough for any bird I can think of. Actually 1/2500 is.

 

[soufiej]

As always, people do things to suit their own tastes. However, if you are after birds in flight, shutter priority is where you should live. Simply place "photographing birds in flight" into a search engine.

Resting birds with little movement is probably best done in aperture priority.

Like a wedding photographer, wildlife, and most especially bird specialist, photographers need to develop the skill of reading the scene. Anticipating the event is going to up your keeper rate as much as anything else you can do. This is really a matter of practice and discussing things other more seasoned photographers look for. You can't control what the birds will do but you can learn when they are likely to do "this" and not "that". Anticipate them doing "this" and you're more likely to get that shot that sets itself apart from the rest.

And I know you've just purchased your new Nikon but I see more and more bird photographers moving to a secondary camera such as a superzoom bridge.

If you are simply trying your hand at bird photography with your new Nikon, then stick with it. If you are serious about birding, you might consider having a somewhat simpler camera - and the superzooms will give you more apparent reach while not sacrificing pixel count in cropping - that is virtually always at the ready for those quick shots that develop suddenly.

Check out the two links I provided earlier for more ideas and more information on using such a camera for birding. They are not a substitute for a great DSLR, just an addition that serves a useful purpose.

 

[JacaRanda]

I would not suggest shutter priority in most cases because you are already trying to use a lens that is closer to it's sharpest at the long end at F8. Shutter priority will have your aperture bouncing all over the place. That is why you want to stick with manual so you can set shutter and aperture. Let your great new camera use ISO to compensate. If it's a slow bird, in manual decrease your shutter, if it's a hummingbird, increase your SS. Don't forget about hand holding (steadily) a heavy lens at 600mm. Not the easiest thing to do even with VR. At that focal length, many choose even faster SS than the often minimum of 1/focal length. That kind of magnification requires it (for many of us) without a tripod.