31 July 2020

Fast Shutter Speed / Action Photography Settings

The majority of fast shutter action photography I do with the Canon EOS 7D Mark II is Birds in Flight and with that comes the occasional perched bird and / or some other fast action birding activity.

Advantage of Two Settings / Specifications:
  • Fast Shutter Speed
  • Fast Frame Rate

The effect of a relatively fast shutter speed used for birds in flight photography is not always clear to see, but the effect of a fast shutter speed where there is i.e. the photographing of moving water, the stopping of the water motion is much more apparent and visible.

Fast Shutter Speed
For freezing motion, i.e. a bird in flight or from the examples below - the freezing of the water motion I generally use high shutter speeds of 1/3200s and 1/5000s. Note that (very) high shutter speeds of 1/4000s - 1/5000s could have an impact on ISO - the higher the shutter speed the higher the ISO principle should be remembered.

Fast Frame Rate
The Canon EOS 7D Mark II is capable of 10 fps (frames per second). Although this is not necessary for capturing high shutter speed action (of a single frame), it assists the photographer for more high-quality in focus shots (of an a event sequence) - as I have here of the feeding little egret in the Milnerton lagoon at Woodbridge Island, Cape Town. Example of of an continuous high frame rate Action Photography Sequence.


High shutter speed / action photography settings
Frame 1 : Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Shutter Speed 1/4000s

High shutter speed / action photography settings
Frame 2 : Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Shutter Speed 1/4000s

Equipment Used (Birds In Flight / Action Photography Settings)

Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR camera body
  • Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
  • Lexar Professional CompactFlash UDMA 7 32GB

Canon EOS 7D Mark II Manual Mode Settings
  • Shutter speed: 1/5000s
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Focal length 400mm
  • Auto-ISO (ISO 5000)
  • AF Mode: Zone / Wide Zone
  • AF Cases 1
  • AI Servo / 10 fps multi-shot
  • Handheld

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens Settings
  • Autofocus On
  • No Image Stabilization
  • Focal Length 400mm