What type of metering and shutter speed for outside pics at the zoo?

[lance70]

I will be going to the zoo next weekend and would like some input on shutter speed and type of metering to use when shooting outdoors. I will have my 70-200 f/4 with a D7000, thanks!

 

[astroNikon]

I think you are asking a question that has an answer such as: What and how do you want your photos in relation to the environment ?

The environment dictates your exposure triangle - Shutter, Aperture and ISO.

For instance. Taking a picture of a giraffe just standing there, versus one running would be different on shutter, dependent if you want to try and capture motion, or just to freeze the motion. (ie, 250 vs 80)

Metering on that same individual Giraffe I would use Spot metering. I also probably would use a aperture such as f/4 to isolate that one giraffe, which helps dictate the shutter speed which can be faster.

But if you wanted to capture a wider picture of the entire Giraffe area with several giraffes and other animals that that would be different. I would use a wide metering such as Matrix, and probably a faster shutter to get a frozen shot, and a smaller aperture to get more depth and width such as f/9.

Also, what is lighting like? Bright sunshine outside (ISO 100), dark inside the snake area (say ISO 800). Dark outside (say ISO 400) or you decrease the shutter speed the darker it is and/or increase the ISO.

This goes back to how you want to work the ISO, and shutter, aperture.

So I'm afraid there is just not one answer.

Practice on the local squirrels and birds before going. You just have to go outside to practice.


Or use one of the auto modes, such as Aperture Priority. Then you don't have to worry about Shutter. you can use f/4 for isolation and say f/9 for more depth.

And then use Either Spot or Center Weighted for an individual animal, or Matrix for an entire pen of animals.

 

[robbins.photo]

Ok, well opinions on this one vary - a lot. As for my own method, generally I find that I get my best results overall using A mode (Aperture Priority) - I can set the Aperture so that I get my desired depth of field, then adjust my ISO so that my shutter speed gets set high enough to get the sort of effect I want. I prefer a high shutter speed, my preference is for shots that are "frozen" and have little to no motion blur. So in practical terms I generally adjust my ISO so I have something like 1/800 shutter speed or higher for large critters, 1/1250 or higher for smaller, faster critters.


There are times, particularly when I'm shooting smaller, faster animals and particularly birds and the light level is varying a lot that I'll switch to S mode and that way I can be certain my shutter speed stays high enough regardless of lighting, it's a lot easier to fix exposure in post process whereas a shot ruined by motion blur is most likely unfixeable.

As for metering I find matix usually produces really good results for me, on occasion I'll switch to center weighted if I'm looking for more of a facial closeup "portrait" style shot. About the only time I'll use spot is if it's kind of an odd situation, a very light critter against a much darker background, such as a polar bear or white tiger. But I'd say I probably use matrix 90% of the time.

You can see some samples of my own zoo misadventures here:

Flickr: robbins.photo's Photostream

 

[lance70]

Good points, thanks

 

[lance70]

Ok, well opinions on this one vary - a lot. As for my own method, generally I find that I get my best results overall using A mode (Aperture Priority) - I can set the Aperture so that I get my desired depth of field, then adjust my ISO so that my shutter speed gets set high enough to get the sort of effect I want. I prefer a high shutter speed, my preference is for shots that are "frozen" and have little to no motion blur. So in practical terms I generally adjust my ISO so I have something like 1/800 shutter speed or higher for large critters, 1/1250 or higher for smaller, faster critters.


There are times, particularly when I'm shooting smaller, faster animals and particularly birds and the light level is varying a lot that I'll switch to S mode and that way I can be certain my shutter speed stays high enough regardless of lighting, it's a lot easier to fix exposure in post process whereas a shot ruined by motion blur is most likely unfixeable.

Thanks, yes motion blur was in almost every shot I had a few years back when I spent a day at the zoo, used my D60 & kit lens and I really did a bad job.

 

[runnah]

ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/800.

 

[robbins.photo]

Ok, well opinions on this one vary - a lot. As for my own method, generally I find that I get my best results overall using A mode (Aperture Priority) - I can set the Aperture so that I get my desired depth of field, then adjust my ISO so that my shutter speed gets set high enough to get the sort of effect I want. I prefer a high shutter speed, my preference is for shots that are "frozen" and have little to no motion blur. So in practical terms I generally adjust my ISO so I have something like 1/800 shutter speed or higher for large critters, 1/1250 or higher for smaller, faster critters.


There are times, particularly when I'm shooting smaller, faster animals and particularly birds and the light level is varying a lot that I'll switch to S mode and that way I can be certain my shutter speed stays high enough regardless of lighting, it's a lot easier to fix exposure in post process whereas a shot ruined by motion blur is most likely unfixeable.

Thanks, yes motion blur was in almost every shot I had a few years back when I spent a day at the zoo, used my D60 & kit lens and I really did a bad job.

One other thing I've noticed, again on the bigger critters who aren't moving around too much usually you can get good results from using AF-C autofocus mode and Auto Area - but only if there isn't a very cluttered background. If there is a lot of stuff in the background then autofocus single point gives you a lot more control over what the camera actually uses as a point of focus. I find the best results using the focus point is to leave it on the center point - if I need to compose the shot a bit what I do is press the shutter part of the way down and point the camera at the point that I want focused (generally the eye or head), then I leave the shutter pressed half way and move the camera until I have the composition I want, then depress the shutter the rest of the way.

This method works well when you have a lot of vegetation or other things in the shot that might confuse the cameras auto area focus. Tall grass in particular seems to really mess with the camera's auto area focus quite badly.

 

[Andrew Boyd]

You're going to want the animals to be sharp with the backgrounds thrown out of focus, so set your lens wide open (f4 in this case) and adjust your shutter speed accordingly: you want the shutter speed high enough to stop any action (may 1/400th or so to start), which brings us to the third leg of this stool: the ISO. Set it to allow you to shoot that 1/400th @ f4 and you'll be set to go.
Here's a piece about ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture that might help this all make sense. Good luck!

 

[Braineack]

I'd would using A mode at f/4. Auto-ISO. matrix metering. and at least ~1/400 shutter speed.