Need some AF tips

[480sparky]

Not likely. Manual focus is best for this sort of photography.

Care to elaborate to us dolts?

 

[beagle100]

I'm doing lots of bird photography lately with my d7100 and my AF is missing more of the shots than not. I'm wondering if there are any rule of thumbs or techniques i'm not aware of that could help me to use my AF system better?

Not likely. Manual focus is best for this sort of photography.

LOL !

 

[Ornello]

I'm doing lots of bird photography lately with my d7100 and my AF is missing more of the shots than not. I'm wondering if there are any rule of thumbs or techniques i'm not aware of that could help me to use my AF system better?

Not likely. Manual focus is best for this sort of photography.

LOL !

Note the focus is on his eyelashes. Taken with 560mm Telyt-R Leitz lens, manual focus.

 

[coastalconn]

I'm doing lots of bird photography lately with my d7100 and my AF is missing more of the shots than not. I'm wondering if there are any rule of thumbs or techniques i'm not aware of that could help me to use my AF system better?

Not likely. Manual focus is best for this sort of photography.

LOL !

Note the focus is on his eyelashes. Taken with 560mm Telyt-R Leitz lens, manual focus.

Funny looking bird you have there...
Note the focus is on the eyes if you know how to use AF..
George Jr. 1_1 8 by Kristofer Rowe, on Flickr

 

[Ornello]

I'm doing lots of bird photography lately with my d7100 and my AF is missing more of the shots than not. I'm wondering if there are any rule of thumbs or techniques i'm not aware of that could help me to use my AF system better?

Not likely. Manual focus is best for this sort of photography.

LOL !

Note the focus is on his eyelashes. Taken with 560mm Telyt-R Leitz lens, manual focus.

Funny looking bird you have there...
Note the focus is on the eyes if you know how to use AF..
George Jr. 1_1 8 by Kristofer Rowe, on Flickr

What kind of bird is that? It's a pretty one!

 

[480sparky]

I guess you could call that 'bird' photography if the team goes by the Eagles, Falcons, Owls or Hawks.

 

[coastalconn]

What of bird is that? It's a pretty one!

Thanks, Red Tail Hawk. I know MF was prevalent 30 years ago, but technology has come a long way and to get some of the series I get with AF would be just about impossible with MF... Birds are very unpredictable...

 

[Ornello]

I guess you could call that 'bird' photography if the team goes by the Eagles, Falcons, Owls or Hawks.

It's sometimes very hard to take these kinds of photos. The kids are often hidden in a scrum, and you can't easily see who has the ball, let alone get time to compose a photo. Their movements are unpredictable too!

 

[Ornello]

What of bird is that? It's a pretty one!

Thanks, Red Tail Hawk. I know MF was prevalent 30 years ago, but technology has come a long way and to get some of the series I get with AF would be just about impossible with MF... Birds are very unpredictable...

Right. No autofocus system on a 500mm or longer lens can keep up.

 

[coastalconn]

Right. No autofocus system on a 500mm or longer lens can keep up.

Huh?
Are you shooting an old film camera or something?
The shot I posted is with my 500 F4 and it auto-focused just fine..
Here is one at 700mm with the 1.4x and guess what, it auto-focused just fine..
Osprey 9_3 4 by Kristofer Rowe, on Flickr

 

[Peeb]

I try to avoid shooting wide-open, too, when shooting wildlife. Not saying you CAN'T shoot at your lowest f-stop, but going up even just a bit seems to help me with my shots

 

[coastalconn]

I try to avoid shooting wide-open, too, when shooting wildlife. Not saying you CAN'T shoot at your lowest f-stop, but going up even just a bit seems to help me with my shots

It really depends on your lens. Most lenses are sharpest at least 1 stop from wide open. Also fine tune can effect focus if your body permits it. I generally shoot my 500 F4 at F4.5 on the 1D4 and F5 on the 7dm2 if light permits. But you pay a lot of money to have a lens that can be used wide open at F4..

 

[MSnowy]

What of bird is that? It's a pretty one!

Thanks, Red Tail Hawk. I know MF was prevalent 30 years ago, but technology has come a long way and to get some of the series I get with AF would be just about impossible with MF... Birds are very unpredictable...

Right. No autofocus system on a 500mm or longer lens can keep up.

AF worked pretty good today on my Nikon 500mm f4 w/1.4tc

 

[480sparky]

Right. No autofocus system on a 500mm or longer lens can keep up.

So I guess I should just toss out all those shots I took at 500mm and longer as they're now out of focus?

 

[Ornello]

Right. No autofocus system on a 500mm or longer lens can keep up.

So I guess I should just toss out all those shots I took at 500mm and longer as they're now out of focus?

Try it with kids playing football sometime, when you can't even see who has the ball, and everything is stacked up....what is the AF going to pick?