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    

01 July 2020

Thick-knee in the Table Bay Nature Reserve

Stand-off with one of the two local water thick-knees in the Table Bay Nature Reserve. He was a bit grumpy on first sight, but a win-win situation.

Images by Vernon Chalmers with Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens.

Continuous Shooting at 10fps: 3 consecutive frames

Canon Camera Settings
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Auto-ISO 500
  • Shutter Speed: 1/4000s
  • AF: Large Zone (Case 1)
  • 10 fps / handheld
  • CF Card: Lexar Professional 800x / 120MB/s 32GB
(Click to Enlarge)
Thick-Knee in the Table Bay Nature Reserve Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography
Water Thick-Knee in the Table Bay Nature Reserve / Woodbridge Island

Spotted Thick-Knee in the Table Bay Nature Reserve / Woodbridge Island
Water Thick-Knee in the Table Bay Nature Reserve / Woodbridge Island

Thick-Knee in the Table Bay Nature Reserve Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography
Water Thick-Knee in Flight : Table Bay Nature Reserve / Woodbridge Island

Thick-Knee in the Table Bay Nature Reserve Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography
Water Thick-Knee in Flight : Table Bay Nature Reserve / Woodbridge Island


My Woodbridge Island / Table Bay Nature Reserve Bird Species Index

Canon EOS 7D Mark II : AI Servo Autofocus / FPS Test

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Autofocus / Frames Per Second Test
Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Egyptian Goose Woodbridge Island
Canon EOS 7D Mark II / Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens - Birds In Flight AF / FPS Test Woodbridge Island / Cape Town

Objective
: Testing the Canon EOS 7D Mark II body / EF 400mm f/5.6 USM lens AF / FPS accuracy and image sharpness.

Note: I capture Birds in Flight in AI Servo Autofocus mode in shorter bursts of 4 to 5 shots. The faster / smaller the bird the more frames per one consecutive burst. These consecutive images were all captured in less than 3 seconds (using the Canon EOS 7D Mark II's impressive 10 fps multi-shot mode).

All images processed in Lightroom 5.7. Converted from RAW to JPG. Lens profile correction. Minor colour correction.

Cape Town Location

Milnerton Lagoon Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

Equipment (Birds In Flight / Action Photography)

  • Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR camera body 
  • Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens 
  • Lexar Professional 800x / 120MB/s 32GB CF Card 

Manual Mode Settings

  • Shutter speed: 1/3200s 
  • Aperture: f/6.3 
  • Focal length 400mm 
  • Auto ISO (ISO 500) 
  • AF Mode Option (Extended Zone / Case 1) 
  • Continuous shooting mode (10 fps) / AI Servo 
  • Lens AF On / No IS / Handheld 

(Click to Enlarge / Slideshow)

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Autofocus / Frames Per Second Test 01
Canon EOS 7D Mark II @ 400mm Manual Mode: f/6.3 / ISO 500 / 1/3200s Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Autofocus / Frames Per Second Test 02
Canon EOS 7D Mark II @ 400mm Manual Mode: f/6.3 / ISO 500 / 1/3200s Cape Town 

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Autofocus / Frames Per Second Test 03
Canon EOS 7D Mark II @ 400mm Manual Mode: f/6.3 / ISO 500 / 1/3200s

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Autofocus / Frames Per Second Test 04
Canon EOS 7D Mark II @ 400mm Manual Mode: f/6.3 / ISO 500 / 1/3200s Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Autofocus / Frames Per Second Test 05
Canon EOS 7D Mark II @ 400mm Manual Mode: f/6.3 / ISO 500 / 1/3200s Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Autofocus / Frames Per Second Test 06
Canon EOS 7D Mark II @ 400mm Manual Mode: f/6.3 / ISO 500 / 1/3200s  Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Autofocus / Frames Per Second Test 07
Canon EOS 7D Mark II @ 400mm Manual Mode: f/6.3 / ISO 500 / 1/3200s Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Autofocus / Frames Per Second Test 08
Canon EOS 7D Mark II @ 400mm Manual Mode: f/6.3 / ISO 500 / 1/3200s Cape Town

Canon EOS 7D Mark II : Automatic Selection Autofocus Testing

Canon EOS 7D Mark II : Wide Zone Autofocus Testing 

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Birds in Flight Photo Gallery

Landing Sequence of a Speckled Pigeon

Landing Sequence of a Speckled Pigeon Image Copyright Vernon Chalmers
Speckled pigeon in flight at Woodbridge Island, Cape Town
During my morning routine of Birds in Flight Photography at Woodbridge Island I was close enough to witness and quickly capture the landing routine of one of the local speckled pigeons on the Otto Du Plessis roadside of the Diep River.

Lightroom Post-Processing
All images processed in Lightroom 8. Converted from RAW to JPG. Lens profile correction. Minor colour correction. Sharpness and noise reduction applied. Due to the low light / higher ISO images I spent more time with post-processing that I would in good light.

Setup and Tips For Birds in Flight Photography View

Cape Town Location
Milnerton Lagoon Woodbridge Island, Cape Town. Over the Diep River flowing past the Milnerton Golf Course

Equipment (Birds In Flight / Action Photography)
  • Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR camera body
  • Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
  • SanDisk Extreme 64GB 120MB/s CF Card

Manual Mode Settings
  • Shutter speed: 1/4000s
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Focal length 400mm
  • Auto-ISO (ISO 640 - all 5 images)
  • Continuous shooting mode (10 fps)
  • AI Servo / AF Mode Option (Large / Wide Zone AF / Case 1)
  • Lens AF On / No IS / Handheld

Landing Sequence of a Speckled Pigeon, Woodbridge Island Image Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography
Image 1: Landing Sequence of a Speckled Pigeon, Woodbridge Island

Landing Sequence of a Speckled Pigeon, Woodbridge Island Image Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography
Image 2: Landing Sequence of a Speckled Pigeon, Woodbridge Island

Landing Sequence of a Speckled Pigeon, Woodbridge Island Image Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography
Image 3: Landing Sequence of a Speckled Pigeon, Woodbridge Island

Landing Sequence of a Speckled Pigeon, Woodbridge Island Image Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography
Image 4: Landing Sequence of a Speckled Pigeon, Woodbridge Island

Canon EOS 7D Mark II Birds in Flight Photography Gallery View

Birds in Flight Photography Training Cape Town View

Birds in Flight Photography Training Gift Vouchers View

Challenges of Small Birds in Flight Photography

Challenges of Small Bird in Flight Photography - Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens
Challenge of Small Bird in Flight Photography  Canon EOS 7D Mark II / EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Telephoto Lens

Objective: Fast and small bird in flight shooting with Canon EOS 7D Mark II in early morning / changing light and windy conditions (Woodbridge Island / Cape Town).


Small Birds in Flight Photography Challenges
Photographing a small, fast moving bird is in most cases quite a challenge, but indeed possible with patience and the correct camera body and lens settings. Small birds are erratic movers / flyers and when they get ready to fly / or already in flight it could result in some hit and miss captures.


For capturing this particular bird I did a fair amount of viewfinder / autofocus tracking and shot in multi-shot mode at 10 frames per second. The low light into the reeds increased my Auto-ISO to ISO 1600 which was still manageable in my Lightroom post-processing.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II Auto-ISO
With the Canon EOS 7D Mark II's quite remarkable Auto-ISO I'm shooting as such most of the time - I must add that we have reasonable to good light even in winter and the Auto-ISO almost never exceeds ISO 1600 (even at shutter speeds op to 1/5000s). More on the Canon EOS 7D Mark II's advanced Auto-ISO: Canon DLC: Article>>


AI Servo: Large / Wide Zone AF Selection

I was once again satisfied with the Canon EOS 7D Mark II's ability to track the small bird using AI Servo mode with Large / Wide Zone AF point selection. The fast AF of the Canon EOS 400mm f/5.6L USM lens assisted quite a bit for capturing two short burst of 7 images (in total) of which three were good enough for meeting my small Bird in Flight objective for creating this post. Herewith a few images of a starling I captured - as another example of a relatively small bird in flight: Starling in Flight>> Another Large / Wide Zone AF selection Birds in Flight demonstration: Red-knobbed Coot>> In further testing of the Canon EOS 7D Mark II's AF options I've added a few images captured with the Zone AF Manual Selection option.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II Large Zone AF
Canon EOS 7D Mark II Large / Wide Zone AF 

Levaillant's Cisticola Birds in Flight Images

All images were captured in Manual Mode: Multi-shot / continuous mode at 10 fps AI Servo. Post-processing done with Adobe Lightroom 6. RAW to JPG conversion with some sharpening and noise reduction applied.



Location
Milnerton Lagoon / Woodbridge Island Cape Town

Canon Gear / Memory Card

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

Manual Mode

  • Aperture: f/ 6.3 
  • Auto-ISO 1600 
  • Focal Length: 400mm 
  • Shutter speed: 1/5000s 
  • AI Servo AF Case 1 / Wide-Zone
  • Lens Autofocus on
  • Handheld
(Click to Enlarge)
Challenges of Small Bird in Flight Photography - Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Small Bird in Flight  : Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens

Challenges of Small Bird in Flight Photography - Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Small Bird in Flight  : Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens

Challenges of Small Bird in Flight Photography - Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Small Bird in Flight  : Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Lens

Canon EOS 7D Mark II - Birds in Flight Photo Gallery View

Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town View

Birds and flowers in the Table Bay Nature Reserve

Pied Kingfisher in flight in the Table Bay Nature Reserve
Pied Kingfisher in flight in the Table Bay Nature Reserve
I took some time out mid-week for my own photography.

A brisk hike in excellent weather took me around the Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island for a few bird and flower captures.

Quite surprisingly I noticed my first Great crested grebe in the Diep River on route to the reserve.

A few birds flying and perched down the Diep River and a few wild flowers around the  Table Bay Nature Reserve.

With Canon EOS 7D Mark II / Lens Settings
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Auto-ISO 400-800
  • Shutter Speed: 1/4000s
  • AF: Large Zone (Case 1)
  • 10 fps / handheld
  • AF on
  • IS off (no IS on lens)
  • FL: 400mm (prime lens)
  • CF Card: SanDisk Extreme 120MB/s 64GB

(Click to Enlarge)
Cisticola in the Table Bay Nature Reserve
Cisticola in the Table Bay Nature Reserve

Night Heron on the small island in the Table Bay Nature Reserve
Night Heron on the small island in the Table Bay Nature Reserve

Arum Lily in the Table Bay Nature Reserve
Arum Lily in the Table Bay Nature Reserve

Wild flower in the Table Bay Nature Reserve
Wild flower in the Table Bay Nature Reserve

My first capture of Great crested crebe

Great Crested Grebe in the Diep River on route to the Table Bay Nature Reserve
Great Crested Grebe in the Diep River on route to the Table Bay Nature Reserve 

More bird watching in the Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island

African Darter Fishing at Woodbridge Island

African Darter Fishing at Woodbridge Island
During my morning routine of Birds in Flight Photography at Woodbridge Island I was fortunate to witness and capture the African darter fishing - quite a spectacle of throwing the fish up in the air and once positioned properly it  gets swallowed in one quick gulp.

Four consecutive frames with the 10 fps advantage of the Canon EOS 7D Mark II and a relatively fast shutter speed of 1/4000s..

Lightroom Post-Processing
All images processed in Adobe Lightroom 8. Converted from RAW to JPG. Lens profile correction. Minor colour correction. Sharpness and noise reduction applied. Due to the low light / higher ISO images I spent more time with post-processing that I would in good light.

Setup and Tips For Birds in Flight Photography View

Cape Town Location
Milnerton Lagoon Woodbridge Island, Cape Town. Over the Diep River flowing past the Milnerton Golf Course

Equipment (Birds In Flight / Action Photography)
  • Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR camera body
  • Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens
  • SanDisk Extreme 64GB 120MB/s CF Card

Manual Mode Settings
  • Shutter speed: 1/4000s
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Focal length 400mm
  • Auto-ISO (ISO 500)
  • Continuous shooting mode (10 fps)
  • AI Servo / AF Mode Option (Large / Wide Zone AF / Case 1)
  • Lens AF On / No IS / Handheld

(Click to enlarge)
African darter fishing in the Diep River, Woodbridge Island, Cape Town Image 1 Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography
Frame 1 : African darter fishing in the Diep River, Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

African darter fishing in the Diep River, Woodbridge Island, Cape Town Image 2 Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography
Frame 2 : African darter fishing in the Diep River, Woodbridge Island, Cape Town

African darter fishing in the Diep River, Woodbridge Island, Cape Town Image 3 Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography
Frame 3 : African darter fishing in the Diep River, Woodbridge Island, Cape Town Image

African darter fishing in the Diep River, Woodbridge Island, Cape Town Image 4 Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography
Frame 4 : African darter fishing in the Diep River, Woodbridge Island, Cape Town 

Canon EOS 7D Mark II Birds in Flight Photography Gallery View

Birds in Flight Photography Training Cape Town View

Birds in Flight Photography Training Gift Vouchers View

Vernon Chalmers Photography Popular Posts