Digital SLR cameras have a bewildering array of settings. INFO button display options: All checked good for looking at important camera settings and the level works pretty well for shooting on a tripod. To get a little more focal length, a 1.4X teleconverter can be used with the 300mm lens to bring the total reach to 420mm. WB Shift/Bkt. Further to this, I take a little time to configure the controls for Ai Servo operation, so that I am able to minimize unnecessary button presses or eliminate extra menu steps, whilst shooting. Canon 7D Mark II Specifications Sensor: 20.2 MP APS-C CMOS sensor, 4.1m pixel size Sensor Size: 22.4 x 15.0mm Resolution: 5472 x 3648 Native ISO Sensitivity: 100-16,000 Boost High ISO Sensitivity: 25,600-51,200 Sensor Cleaning System: Yes Image Processor: Dual DIGIC 6 Autofocus System: 65-point all cross-type AF system with EV -3 sensitivity Few cameras in the history of digital photography have withstood the evolutionary pressure of market dynamics as has Canon's 7D Mark II. Use Aperture Priority mode to set your exposure 2. Playback grid: Off it is nice to see a grid in the viewfinder, but I dont want to see it after the image is captured. Also, birds on smaller branches just sway because the branch moves around. Is this useful in bird photography? Manual Selection: Single Point AF - Any of the 19 AF points can be selected when shooting in Program (P), Shutter Priority (Tv), Aperture Priority (Av) or Manual (M . How do I get a copy of this article please? For AF, I would just use something that prioritizes closeness like Group AF or single spot, or use bird eye AF if your camera has it and it works well. Later, these settings will be quickly available by turning the Mode dial to C1 (or whichever you've saved them to). This can be achieved by going to Menu -> Camera Menu 5 (Camera Icon with dots) -> Custom Controls -> M-Fn -> AE lock (hold). ISO (Auto-ISO 640 - 1250) Focal length 400mm. This creates a dreamy background with motion blur that is worth exploring. Release Mode: High Speed Continuous (fastest fps). Umm lol settings advice? For BIF use 9 point, for static birds use single point (centre). A safe ISO is one that doesnt blow out any important highlight values. Such birds often pause, and you want to get them at around that time. Picture Style: Standard does not matter for shooting RAW images. The shutter is rated at 200,000 cycles (versus 150,000 with the original 7D), which means more bang for your buck. So if your lens is sharp wide open, leave it wide open. Query: Doesnt focal length come into play when deciding the shutter speed? Canon EOS 7D Mark II: . White balance: AWB Just like ALO, white balance setting also does not matter, as you can adjust it later in post-processing. AI Servo 1st image priority: Focus Priority I set mine to focus priority for the 1st image, because I do not want the camera to start shooting if the subject is not in focus. Burst mode or high FPS mode instructs the camera to keep taking shots as long as the shutter button is held down. Print or save to your phone. Your article shed a breath of fresh air and a simple approach. However, this comes with the caveat that your scene will slowly get brighter if you are shooting in the early morning, and you may gradually end up with overexposed images. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"ue3Pzpc5TB49F5wUtjKJMDQYRM.fowP_0xPm5k0P5ck-100800-0"}; The reason is that in brighter light, if you forget to change your shutter speed, the camera can stop down the aperture too much. Brendon uses his 80D as a second body in the field. The new AF system of the Canon 7d mark II is inherited from the Canon EOS 5d mark III and the Canon EOS 1DX. Learn how to setup your Canon EOS 7D for portraits, sports, landscapes, nature, animals and more. Allows the camera to automatically change your set shutter speed, aperture, or ISO. But settings are the first step in bird photography and one of the most important. There is an extra button called M-Fn on the top of the camera right next to the top dial. Therefore, my recommendation is to shoot wide open and only stop down when necessary to get more depth of field. On your computer: Open up the email with the download link and save the cheat cards in a location that can easily be found. Imagine that youre on a beautiful beach and you see an unusual bird fly towards you. I prefer the top dial to change aperture and the rear dial to change the shutter speed. With AF point direct selection enabled, you simply press any side of the multi-controller and the focus point will immediately move there. So is it safe to determine the exposure from the compensation? Whether this is worth keeping half-press autofocus available is up to you, but I at least recommend familiarizing yourself with back-button focus if youve never used it before. I typically always use auto ISO as well, and adjust the exposure compensation as needed. So, -1 is my recommendation here.2. mode: everything checked I want to be able to toggle between all AF area modes. I never use this feature, since I prefer cleaning the camera sensor instead. Until I can post the photos, you can check this out and let me know what you think o. Read more about Nasim here. Thanks for your support! JPEG files can look perfectly good unedited, but theyll quickly start to show compression artifacts as you edit them more and more. Love your article on Canon 7D Recommended settings. For those with poor eyesight, I recommend rotating your device to the horizontal orientation. For Wildlife Photography 8. Personally, I am a fan of the Auto ISO setting, as it automatically selects the right ISO for me depending on the brightness of the scene. ISO speed range: 100-16000 this setting affects what you are able to see when changing ISO through the ISO button or through the Quick menu. This technique is known as . Setup and Tips For Canon EOS / EOS R Birds in Flight Photography, Yellow-Billed Duck in Flight - Canon EOS 7D Mark II / EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens, Mastering Canon Birds in Flight Photography, Quick Setup used for Birds in Flight Photography with Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens, Little Egret in Flight - Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Prime Lens, Red-Knobbed Coot - Woodbridge Island Milnerton, Cape Town, Grey Heron in Flight - Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Prime Lens, More Birds in Flight Photography Information, Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town : Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Greater Flamingos Woodbridge Island - Canon EOS 7D Mark II / 400mm Prime Lens, Canon Photography Training Woodbridge Island | Kirstenbosch | Intaka Island Cape Town, Understanding the Canon Autofocus (AF) Systems, Effect of Low Light in Birds in Flight Photography, Birds in Flight Photography Cape Town Support, Continuous Shooting Mode up to 10fps (depending on EOS body), No IS (lens used does not use IS, but not an issue at 1/3200s), Lexar Professional 32GB 800x / 120MB/s CF Card, SanDisk Extreme PRO 32GB 95MB/s SD memory Card, SanDisk Extreme PLUS 32GB 80MB/s SD memory Card. For ID shots of far away waterfowl (basically when they are tiny specks in the viewfinder) I have also found that stopping down can help since my camera cannot focus as accurately at that extreme distance. Date/Time/Zone: make sure to keep the date and time zone settings accurate. The Canon 7d Mark II also uses a larger capacity battery (LP-E6N) for longer days in the field. This is particularly useful when doing long exposure photography and when working with neutral density filters. I use a Nikon D500 + Nikon 200mm-500mm. Bracketing sequence: -, 0, + I prefer bracketing in this order. For more details about this, check out my article . Use the multifunction button (M-Fn) near the shutter button to select the AF mode. The Canon EOS R6 Mark II is a high-performing, mid-priced camera body that delivers outstanding full-frame image quality at medium-high resolution. Speed & Autofocus. F stop: Although its true wide open is great to get the most light possible, I often shoot fowl way out on water (mostly for ID purposes in birding, not quality photo) and sometimes the camera will focus a bit before or behind, so I like f/8 once in a while to help fix that issue. Birds in flight with the EOS 7D Mark II Step 1 - set the camera to AI Servo focus These are moving subjects, so for the best results use the focus mode designed for moving subjects. The 80D is considered an enthusiast range camera by Canon, and is not the latest camera in the enthusiast range, as that would be the 90D which has been out for about a year now. As you may see above, there are three dimensions one my play with when fine-tuning the Canon 7d mark II AF settings: 1. A listing of various supporting documents I have used for creating my Birds in Flight Photography Workshops and Training programmes. Once birds start moving, you need to use a faster shutter speed. Let's dive right in. Some photographers actually shoot in aperture priority mode for almost all their bird photography for this reason. This video talks about the key camera settings on the Canon 7D Mark II for effective bird and. Even better, I'm available to answer any questions you might have along the way. In July 2010 I wrote a couple of short articles about Canon's two "Secret Weapons" (1, 2) for landscape photography; the EF 17-40mm f/4L USM ultra-wide angle lens and the EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM medium telephoto lens.Since these two articles got a lot of page views I thought I'd finish 2011 with an article about two of Canon's secret weapons for wildlife photography; the EOS 7D . To the top right of the camera, you can find three buttons: AF-ON, AE Lock (Asterisk) and AF Area Mode. If you want to understand and use the camera to it's fullest potential, then this is the . //