# Which Focus Mode to use for Wildlife?



## timarp000 (Sep 24, 2013)

I have a D7100 and there are many many focus modes... I not sure which one to use. Let me List Them out for you.

AF-S:
1. Single Point AF
2. Auto Point AF

AF-C:
1. Single Point AF
2. Auto Point AF
3. Dynamic 9-Point AF
4. Dynamic 21-Point AF
5. Dynamic 51-Point AF

AF-A
1. Single Point AF
2. Auto Point AF
3. Dynamic 9-Point AF
4. Dynamic 21-Point AF
5. Dynamic 51-Point AF


Which mode should I use? I guessing AF-C and under AF-C, Which setting?

I primarily shoot birds.


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## Big Mike (Sep 24, 2013)

Whatever mode or combination of settings that works for you, in the situation that you are in.  There is no right or wrong answer.


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## timarp000 (Sep 24, 2013)

What would be best? AF-C 51-point or 3D Tracking AF?


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## KmH (Sep 24, 2013)

What would be best will vary with the situation, which is why all those options are available.

Neither AF-C or 3D tracking are needed for subjects that aren't moving, which is when you would use AF-S and choose a single AF point.

Ultimately the camera can only use 1 of the 51 AF points when the shutter is released.
15 of the 51 AF points are cross type AF points. Cross type AF points are more accurate than the other 36 regular AF points.

Learn more about how to effectively use Nikon's Advanced Multi-CAM 3500DX auto focus system: 51 Point AF System | Benefits of the Nikon 51 Point AF System Technology from Nikon


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## SCraig (Sep 24, 2013)

I never use 3D tracking on birds or wildlife since every time I've tried the focus has gone to something I did not want in focus.  I always use single-point autofocus and AF-C for birds and wildlife.


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## timarp000 (Sep 24, 2013)

SCraig said:


> I never use 3D tracking on birds or wildlife since every time I've tried the focus has gone to something I did not want in focus.  I always use single-point autofocus and AF-C for birds and wildlife.


Which Mode of AF-C Do you use?


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## sm4him (Sep 24, 2013)

SCraig said:


> I never use 3D tracking on birds or wildlife since every time I've tried the focus has gone to something I did not want in focus.  I always use single-point autofocus and AF-C for birds and wildlife.


 
^That. But then, I used those settings at Scott's suggestion, so I guess it's no surprise I'd agree with it!  It's worked out pretty well for me, in over 90% of my bird shooting.

What do you mean by "which mode of AF-C?" Probably obvious, but my thinker's not really doing its job today.


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## timarp000 (Sep 24, 2013)

sm4him said:


> SCraig said:
> 
> 
> > I never use 3D tracking on birds or wildlife since every time I've tried the focus has gone to something I did not want in focus.  I always use single-point autofocus and AF-C for birds and wildlife.
> ...



By what mode of AF-C, i mean the 9point, 21point or 51point or auto


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## CaptainNapalm (Sep 24, 2013)

Single point focus works best for me For wildlife


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## sm4him (Sep 24, 2013)

timarp000 said:


> sm4him said:
> 
> 
> > SCraig said:
> ...



Ah, okay. I use single-point and try to focus on the eye.


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## SCraig (Sep 24, 2013)

sm4him said:


> Ah, okay. I use single-point and try to focus on the eye.


Same here.


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## Aloicious (Sep 24, 2013)

I've successfully used AF-S and AF-C, though I'm always using single point, I prefer AF-C single point, and I turn a3 to anywhere between 3 (normal) and 1(short), a4 to AF-ON only (this forces you to use the AF-on button to activate auto focus and decouples it from the shutter release button, you can research about this if you want but it has some benefits), and a8 off. I like a7 on 51 points, but 11 points has its benefits too for example if you need to move your focus point across the frame quickly, (those numbers may be different than 51/11 depending on your camera model)....


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## TheLost (Sep 24, 2013)

Autofocus Mode: AF-C (continuous)
AF-Area Mode:  Dynamic - 9 or 21 (I like 9.. but play with both)
AF-C Priority Mode: Release Prority (menu a1)

Thats what i would (and do) use..  YMMV.


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## timarp000 (Sep 25, 2013)

What metering modes do you guys use?


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## sm4him (Sep 25, 2013)

timarp000 said:


> What metering modes do you guys use?



I generally use spot metering, and meter on the bird.


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## Aloicious (Sep 25, 2013)

sm4him said:


> timarp000 said:
> 
> 
> > What metering modes do you guys use?
> ...



yeah, spot or center weighted most of the time for me.


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## timarp000 (Sep 25, 2013)

So I should Use AF-C, 9-point Dynamic and Spot Metering


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## SCraig (Sep 25, 2013)

timarp000 said:


> So I should Use AF-C, 9-point Dynamic and Spot Metering



You should if that's what works well for you.


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## timarp000 (Sep 25, 2013)

SCraig said:


> timarp000 said:
> 
> 
> > So I should Use AF-C, 9-point Dynamic and Spot Metering
> ...


Actually, when i shot last weekend, i found out that i often missed focus... The Birds were in trees and my camera kept focusing to the leaves and branches. Many photos were out of focus and un-usable... This made me curious as to what settings i must use...

I was shooting AF-C, 3d Tracking mode. 

Will These settings make a difference?


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## SCraig (Sep 25, 2013)

timarp000 said:


> Actually, when i shot last weekend, i found out that i often missed focus... The Birds were in trees and my camera kept focusing to the leaves and branches. Many photos were out of focus and un-usable... This made me curious as to what settings i must use...
> 
> I was shooting AF-C, 3d Tracking mode.
> 
> Will These settings make a difference?


As I said in a previous post in this topic, 3D tracking does not work well with birds.  In my personal opinion it does not work well with ANYTHING.  Birds are frequently in trees and that 3D tracking mess is going to lock onto what has the most contrast and/or is closest.  This is seldom the birds and is normally the limbs.  It does not even work well with birds in flight if there is more than one of them since it will, once again, focus on the one with the most contrast or the one that is closer.

The first thing I do when I get a new camera body is figure out how to disable that 3D tracking mode because I absolutely detest it.  I've tried it several times and lost a number of shots because of it.  It does not work for me.

That said there is **NO** setting that you "Must" use.  You should TRY all of them and see what works best for you.  I'm not you.  Nobody here is you.  If you read all the posts you'll see that there is no 100% consensus on what is best, only what each individual person feels works best for them.  You will have to try things for yourself and see what works FOR YOU.


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## Aloicious (Sep 25, 2013)

I agree with Scott...I don't like the 3D tracking either, anything is better than that, I've also had hit or miss results with the dynamic multi point stuff too, but some guys love it. the key is to test them out and see what works best for you. There is no one "right way" to set it up...there are some ways that will make things easier (like turning off that 3d tracking)....but most everything will just be personal preference....

let me give you some examples, most wildlife guys only use AF-C mode, mainly because it makes things easier for action shots, but that doesn't mean AF-S is incorrect either, for example here's a couple action shots I took in AF-S single point mode:











And AF-S is usually used for non action shots, but again here are a couple non-action shots I've taken in AF-C mode, again single point:










it really just comes down to what you like, and how you work. nowadays I typically shoot everything, non-action, and action alike in AF-C mode, single point, usually spot or center weighted...but try out the dynamic modes, see how they work for you, try out AF-S vs AF-C, try decoupling your shutter and focus buttons (AF-ON), etc...

really the only things most every wildlife shooter has in common with AF settings is to turn off the AF confirmation beep, and turn off the AF assist light, because they can and will scare off your subjects.

another thing that can help (again personal preference) is to shoot in a mode that will let you keep control of your shutter speed, what I like to do is shoot in manual mode, set my aperture to what I want (usually wide open or close to it depending on the situation), set my shutter speed to what I want (usually fast, something like 1/1600 give or take a little), then turn auto-ISO on with the base ISO at 100, but allow it to adjust itself up to 3200ISO (the high end may vary depending on what you're comfortable with on your body) this way I can make sure to keep my shutter speed high, and let the auto-iso handle the small fluctuations in lighting as the subjects move, or walk through shadows, or whatever.


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## timarp000 (Sep 25, 2013)

SCraig said:


> timarp000 said:
> 
> 
> > Actually, when i shot last weekend, i found out that i often missed focus... The Birds were in trees and my camera kept focusing to the leaves and branches. Many photos were out of focus and un-usable... This made me curious as to what settings i must use...
> ...



How to do you disable the 3d Tracking in the D7100?


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## timarp000 (Sep 25, 2013)

Aloicious said:


> I agree with Scott...I don't like the 3D tracking either, anything is better than that, I've also had hit or miss results with the dynamic multi point stuff too, but some guys love it. the key is to test them out and see what works best for you. There is no one "right way" to set it up...there are some ways that will make things easier (like turning off that 3d tracking)....but most everything will just be personal preference....
> 
> let me give you some examples, most wildlife guys only use AF-C mode, mainly because it makes things easier for action shots, but that doesn't mean AF-S is incorrect either, for example here's a couple action shots I took in AF-S single point mode:
> 
> ...



Ok. First of all, those are some pretty wicked shots! WOW!

Also, I shoot in Shutter Priority and if the image is under/over exposed, i use exposure compensation to correct it... Is this a good method to shoot? Or should i follow Manual with Auto ISO as you said?


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## Aloicious (Sep 25, 2013)

timarp000 said:


> How to do you disable the 3d Tracking in the D7100?



http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/dslr/D7100_EN.pdf

page 73 and 74

basically when you change to single point, or dynamic points, you're turning off 3d tracking, its just one of the AF-Area modes.



timarp000 said:


> Ok. First of all, those are some pretty wicked shots! WOW!
> 
> Also, I shoot in Shutter Priority and if the image is under/over exposed, i use exposure compensation to correct it... Is this a good method to shoot? Or should i follow Manual with Auto ISO as you said?



Thanks, you can use shutter priority if that works for you. but try them both and see what you like. I've done both and they're each capable of delivering good results. They're both very similar except with manual you're setting the aperture as well as shutter speed. for me I like doing that because I can set the aperture where I want and keep it there, either for lighting situations, DOF preference, or even lens performance....I usually set the aperture where I want it and leave it there, then adjust the shutter speed for lighting (if its bright, personally I'd rather go with a faster shutter speed than stop down, if it's dark I'll lower the shutter speed to where I'm comfortable with it, and let the auto ISO make up the difference), I sometimes use exposure compensation too, but mainly to compensate for my subject, for example, if I'm spot metering on a DARK animal like a raven or bison or something, I don't want it to boost the autoISO way up trying to expose the black feathers/fur, just to blow everything out, so I'll set the exposure compensation down a little to allow the camera to shoot for a lower metered exposure, or vice versa with a bright white animal like a snowy egret or something. if that makes sense


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## timarp000 (Sep 25, 2013)

Aloicious said:


> timarp000 said:
> 
> 
> > How to do you disable the 3d Tracking in the D7100?
> ...



Can you walk me through how to set the auto ISO? I really dint know as ive never tried it...


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## sm4him (Sep 25, 2013)

timarp000 said:


> Ok. First of all, those are some pretty wicked shots! WOW!
> 
> Also, I shoot in Shutter Priority and if the image is under/over exposed, i use exposure compensation to correct it... Is this a good method to shoot? Or should i follow Manual with Auto ISO as you said?



I *generally* shoot just like Aloicious; Manual mode, set my aperture, set my shutter speed (at least 1/1000 if I'm after birds in flight), and then Auto-ISO with a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 3200. 
BUT...just like Scott said, you'll have to just experiment and see what works for YOU. I know some who love shutter priority, I'm just not one of them. For more, the majority of the time if I'm shooting birds, the manual settings with auto-ISO is what most often allows me to get the sharpest, best exposed shot.


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## Aloicious (Sep 25, 2013)

timarp000 said:


> Aloicious said:
> 
> 
> > timarp000 said:
> ...



its on page 81 of that link to the D7100 manual. I'd highly recommend reading through the manual or some kind of book about your body to get used to how your specific camera works. I don't have a d7100, so although lots of things are very similar between different models, there may be a few nuances here and there.


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## sm4him (Sep 25, 2013)

^THAT.  READ the manual. More than once.
It can be boring, but it really IS very helpful.

I don't have a D7100 either; I use a D7000, but I *think* that particular setting is the same in both. Go to Shooting Menu (in Menu, the section with the camera icon), scroll down to "ISO sensitivity settings." Choose that and you'll see at the top, "ISO sensitivity" and some value. Set that to 100. Under it you'll see "Auto ISO sensitivity control" and it will likely be "off"--select ON instead and you're good to go. Like A said, it could be slightly different for the D7100.


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## timarp000 (Sep 25, 2013)

sm4him said:


> ^THAT.  READ the manual. More than once.
> It can be boring, but it really IS very helpful.
> 
> I don't have a D7100 either; I use a D7000, but I *think* that particular setting is the same in both. Go to Shooting Menu (in Menu, the section with the camera icon), scroll down to "ISO sensitivity settings." Choose that and you'll see at the top, "ISO sensitivity" and some value. Set that to 100. Under it you'll see "Auto ISO sensitivity control" and it will likely be "off"--select ON instead and you're good to go. Like A said, it could be slightly different for the D7100.



Thanks... Its exactly the same on the d7100...

Soo i can set my aperture and shutter to whatever i want anf then the iso would change to compensate exposure... Is that how it works?


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## Aloicious (Sep 25, 2013)

yup, pretty much...


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## sm4him (Sep 25, 2013)

timarp000 said:


> sm4him said:
> 
> 
> > ^THAT.  READ the manual. More than once.
> ...



Basically. Just be aware that if you're at f/8 or 9, 1/1600 shutter speed at sunrise, shooting a heron flying along the bank, auto-ISO isn't going to save you.  Take a test shot or two at your chosen settings, under the lighting conditions you have, and see what kind of ISO values it's giving you.
Generally speaking, I *like* to shoot birds at about f/8, 1/1000 and auto-ISO, because I know my camera and lens and know that's my best "go to" settings. But I also know, generally, whether my lighting conditions are going to allow for that--I'd PREFER to avoid all my photos being ISO 3200, if I can help it.  So if I already know the lighting isn't great, I might open the aperture some--or if I know it's really, really bright, I might go on up to 1/2000.

For me, basically what auto-ISO does is gives me the flexibility to move straight from shooting into the blue sky at a bird in flight, to panning over to a shady, wooded section to catch an osprey landing in a tree without worrying about whether the exposure is going to be okay.


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## Aloicious (Sep 25, 2013)

sm4him said:


> Basically. Just be aware that if you're at f/8 or 9, 1/1600 shutter speed at sunrise, shooting a heron flying along the bank, auto-ISO isn't going to save you. Take a test shot or two at your chosen settings, under the lighting conditions you have, and see what kind of ISO values it's giving you.
> Generally speaking, I *like* to shoot birds at about f/8, 1/1000 and auto-ISO, because I know my camera and lens and know that's my best "go to" settings. But I also know, generally, whether my lighting conditions are going to allow for that--I'd PREFER to avoid all my photos being ISO 3200, if I can help it. So if I already know the lighting isn't great, I might open the aperture some--or if I know it's really, really bright, I might go on up to 1/2000.
> 
> For me, basically what auto-ISO does is gives me the flexibility to move straight from shooting into the blue sky at a bird in flight, to panning over to a shady, wooded section to catch an osprey landing in a tree without worrying about whether the exposure is going to be okay.



^This +1

auto ISO isn't going to fix horrible lighting, but when you have other things setup the way you like, it'll be one less thing you'll need to worry about when the action happens.

I prefer a wider aperture personally. but the limits and performance of different lenses may dictate different settings, some lenses don't perform well wide open, others are fine. most of the time I'm wide open, or within 1 stop of wide open (mostly between f4 and f5.6 depending on the setup I'm using at the time) both because I want to keep the ISO low if I can, and I like the DOF that the wide aperture creates.


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## shadowlands (Sep 25, 2013)

SCraig said:


> I never use 3D tracking on birds or wildlife since every time I've tried the focus has gone to something I did not want in focus.  I always use single-point autofocus and AF-C for birds and wildlife.



Ditto!!!! Same here!!!


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