EOS 90D & EF 70-300mm IS II: Best settings for wildlife

[tejasavaiya]

Any recommendations for the best settings for shooting wildlife with a canon 90D using Canon EF 70 - 300 mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM Lens

[Ron888]

Hi and welcome🙂
I havent used the 90D but it's very similar spec'd brother, the M6mk2.You don't say how experienced you are so i'll give some basic hints in case you're a beginner.
If the animals are in good light and not moving much you are free to choose almost any setting.Usually one would set the ISO for best quality and use Av mode to set aperture for the look you want to achieve.Eye focus recognition can be useful.I'm pretty sure that camera will choose the eye of the closest animal, or if a large group one of the animals in the center. In dim light a tripod may be necessary.
If the animals are moving,things get more difficult. You'll need to choose a shutter speed high enough to freeze the action.Focus tracking will struggle if the subject is coming towards you.Increasing aperture (if possible) to give a deeper depth of field might help with that

[tejasavaiya]

Thank you Ron for explanation.  Yes, I am beginner

[deebatman316]

Eye focus IS NOT available during viewfinder shooting only live view shooting.

[Waddizzle]

That’s not how cameras work.  Use P mode.  AF Servo with either all AF points enabled, or just a 3x3 box of AF points.  

[ebiggs1]

I like the P mode as a beginning place but I would also suggest One shot and not any Ai-servo modes. Generally just the center focus point is prefered. If you use Ai-servo mode I guarantee you will have missed OOF shots.

As to ISO you will need a pretty high number say 800 to 1600 or even higher if you are good with it.

As you progress I would recommend you switch to Av mode and set the aperture yourself. This gives the 90D the ability to set the fastest SS it can for proper exposure.

You didn't mention just what wildlife you wish to photograph. There is a lot of difference between shooting a dinosaur VS a canary bird. As, again, a general rule 300mm is a bit on the short side for a good FL for any wildlife really. A small bird is going to be a small bird unless you get very close to it. Probably do fine for elephants. Probably not sop good for a grizzled bear as you may want to keep a significant distance from him.

The top things to know about wildlife photography is where you shoot from as the number one and most important. Number 2 is a good editor and 3 always, always shoot raw, never jpg. Camera and lens are next. You have a great camera. You have a so-so lens there is better.

[Waddizzle]

There are settings in the Custom Function menus called Image Priority, which apply exclusively to using AI Servo mode in Continuous Drive Mode.  

The 1st Image setting applies to the first shot in a burst.  The 2nd Image setting applies to all subsequent images in a burst.  

While these settings can drop the frame by 1-2 fps, the number of shots in focus can approach 100%.

 

 

[Tintype_18]

What type of wildlife? Good advice, as always, from the members. I like to experiment with birds and squirrels in my backyard under all kind of conditions- cloudy, bright, etc. I look at the info and mentally file it away for reference.