Out of focus fast moving targets EOS R6 Mark II

[Brocstar]

Hello. I’m a novice photographer. But I’ve been shooting with the R6 Mark II for about a month now. I have the RF 100 x 500 lens from Canon. I was shooting some fast moving birds that were feeding today and a lot of my photos were out of focus.  my lens was set from 100 to infinity. I had auto focus on. And I was shooting high-speed. From a far the photos look great but once you zoom in you can tell there is a lot of noise. I kept my ISO at 100 for most of the shooting as it was very bright out. Is shutter 1/500 too slow with an aperture of 5.6f, ISO 100 not great for high speed. I was hoping to get more tact photos. 

Another couple shots I placed were water shots of big groups of birds, dive bombing bait. I was hoping to get some tack shots of the pelicans and seabirds penetrating the water. But they’re pretty dull and not very sharp.One instance of that my settings were 1/5000. F7.1 and iso 1000, water super sharp birds not. 

Another example is 1/640, f7.1 iso… Water sharp birds not. 

I am fully zoomed at 500mm

I want to make sure I am using the best settings for fast birds feeding and catching food as theses opportunities do not come up very often. 

Seemed like on the solo shots with fish hanging from birds mouths, camera was having hard time focusing.  

Any help helps. 

Thanks 

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

“ I will have to check how my settings are set up.  I think I am in servo and I was in Spot or single point at first but it kept jumping off my subject so I moved to Area. I am gonna take a look then get back to you. “

The most likely cause for you losing tracking on a single bird is camera shake. If you only use a single focus point, then you are fully responsible for keeping the single focus point on your subject. 

Refer to a DOF table or app. All the birds would probably be in focus no matter which one you followed.

Cropping an image to a much smaller size can significantly reduce the resolution of the image, making it seem as if the image is out of focus. 

[Tronhard · Accepted solution]

Conventional wisdom suggests that one uses the following rule of thumb for shutter speed to account for hand-holding, being 1/focal length.  However, that is only for camera shake.  Fast-moving birds present their own challenges, so for that one needs to up the shutter speed significantly above that.   I would suggest shooting at something over 1/1000sec, and adjust ISO accordingly.  A bit of potential noise is easily fixed in post, but a fuzzy image from shake or bird movement is a much more difficult issue to sort out afterwards.

I shoot wildlife predominantly, and I personally use Back button focus, with servo, single-point with animal (or human as required) face and eye tracking.  I shoot using the R5, R6 and R6II and they all have fabulous focusing and tracking abilities, but they will not solve the issue of subject movement while the shutter is open. Upping your shutter speed will also reduce the chances of camera shake.

For shooting hand-held, I have always found the following technique to be effective:
Eye tight to the view finder
Hand under the lens, heel of hand under the body and the fingers curled under the lens.  Think of it like holding a rifle, it's the same principle.
Arms with elbows tucked tight to the torso to form a triangular support
Right hand lightly manipulates the controls - no weight bearing and a light touch.

[Brocstar]

HI there, 

On the bird in flight. Yes it is cropped because it was a little distance and I only caught him or her in the right side of the screen. My zoom was 500mm, freehanded, Aperture 7.1, 1/1600 shutter, ISO 400. Second photo of the still photo, 500mm, ISO 400, F7.1, 3200, I was trying to add another photo but it was too large to load into the messenger...  Can you explain to me one thing please.  When you use the AF-On button do you have to hold it down to acquire the AF of the animal, same question for the star button for Single point focus? Hold it down or just hit the button once?  I appreciate all your help.  These photos have been cropped slightly  

[March411]

Hey Broc, thanks for the follow up information. The simple answer is that your BBF is really set up best for moving targets, in servo to track subjects. You should keep the button depressed as you target is moving and the focus will need to adjust. The star button , static subject press it obtain focus and release. If the subject hasn't moved you focus is locked and should be sharp. 

Again there is several elements that have to come together for capturing birds in flight some of which have nothing to do with the camera set up. You stated that you shuttered the camera when the subject was on the right side of the screen. That is a result of your panning speed when tracking the bird, you fell a bit behind and the bird almost left the viewfinder when you shuttered the camera. Auto focus will perform best away from the edges of your viewfinder. Also, your shutter speed may have been a bit slow for BIF. As Trevor stated in another post, hit rates for birds in flight can be low, especially when you first start out.You have set up your camera for wildlife and now you simply need some practice. Your shutter speed may have been a bit slow for this capture. While you are practicing you may want to keep it a bit higher.

• Pan with your subject and attempt to keep it in the center of the frame.
• When possible shoot with a shutter speed of 1/2000 or better.
• Attempt to get as close as possible to your subject. Remember that atmospheric conditions such as heat or wind can impact focus. When at the beach water spray can have the same impact.
• The direction of the birds flight will impact the cameras focus. A subject moving across your path or away from you will be more difficult than a bird flying towards you.
• Your hit rate will improve with practice, it's not always the equipment. 

https://www.naturettl.com/understanding-autofocus-points-and-modes/

This Kildeer was shot with my R5 and the RF100-500 lens. I had to push my shutter speed to 1/4000 because my first attempt @ 1/2500 failed. These birds are fast and fly erratically. I shot several frames and had three tack sharp images, this is one. And if you would have been watching me in this field you would have thought I was crazy, that bird spun me around for quite some time and I kept walking towards it to close the distance to the subject while I was taking pictures. 

[Brocstar]

Thank you soo much. This is awesome advice and I will take it to the field. So I know I need to change my AF from Single point to a more dynamic set up for these birds in flight. Hold down the AF-ON while the subject is moving or panning..  I was shooting in a very hot desert area. This is down by Imperial Valley Ca. Where tempetures exceed 120 degrees F’ so we get a lot of weird mirages etc. So just to recap I am going to use my star button for single point focus, stationary items/animals and use the AF-ON to obtain and hold focus on moving item. Hold the AF-ON while also increasing the Shutter speed above or at 2000 for fast moving birds or animals. I know there is more to it and I am learning little by little. I do appreciate you taking the time and helping someone you do not know with all these questions. 

Broc 

[March411 · Accepted solution]

Everyone here wants to see you post your pictures of BIF tack sharp so we are all here to help.

The distance and the extreme heat did not help you with the Owl in flight!

I posted this link before and believe that it will give you the answers on how to use the camera with the setup you programmed on the R6 MkII. It's really worth watching since you used his setup for your camera.

[Brocstar]

[Brocstar]

So I watched the Alaska set up guide. Now I followed his set up tips. Does he have more videos on how to use those custom focus settings in the practical sense.. He kinda ends the video once the customs settings are set. I plan on watching more of his videos but thought you might have a quick link to it. 

[March411]

He does have a video on next steps. He uses an R7 for the tutorial but it applies to several of the R series bodies.

How to use Autofocus System in the Field - Wildlife Guide for the R5, R6, R6II, R7, & R10 

[Waddizzle]

You’re too far away to capture tack sharp photos of individual birds.

How much do you know about the basics of photography?  Learning to use a camera effectively is a bit like learning how to play a new musical instrument effectively.

You are facing two learning curves. You would need to learn some music theory before you can learn to play any instrument.

 Learning to drive a car is no different. All cars pretty much work the same way.  Their dashboard might look different but the same controls are there.  But you must learn the rules of the road to go from point A to point B.

Cameras are no different. They may look a little different but they all work the same way.  I bring this up because learning about the basics of photography is what is most important.  

There are many videos on YouTube covering “Exposure Triangle” and “Depth of Field”.  It is also important to learn how to properly hold the camera, too. 

[Brocstar]

Thank you for the help. Sorta.. 

I do understand what Exposure Triangle is and Depth of field and how Aperture affects those two things greatly. I also understand that I am a novice to say the least so take that with a grain of salt.  I appreciate all those who can help someone like myself learn the art without criticism.. With that said I appreciate your input about being to far from my subjects. The birds that were flying over my house with bait they had just plucked from the ocean were both far way and flying at very quick paces.  This was my first attempt at capturing a feeding frenzy like this. It was pretty exciting to watch and I did get a few keeper shots but not as many as I would hope. There’s always tomorrow 

[March411]

Broc,

Waddizzle is correct there is a learning curve and you have picked a challenging way to start. Birds in flight (BIF) is not one of the easiest ways to get started. I can tell you one thing is certain, the body and lens that you are using can produce outstanding images!

Canon offers a free piece of software that works well identifying your point of focus but I believe you need to be shooting in RAW.  If you don't shoot RAW go into your menu and set it up , then download Digital Photo Professional.

Digital Photo Professional 

This application will clearly show you where your point of focus is on a RAW image.

Also, it appears that you are attempting to photograph the entire cluster of birds and as Waddizzle pointed out at a pretty good distance. Heat from the sand, the wind and overall atmospheric conditions on the beach could be contributing to your focus challenges. Get close, pick a specific bird and using spot focus target that bird, follow its actions while taking pictures. See if that doesn't improve your hit rate. Taking a cluster photograph and cropping out of the group isn't going to produce sharp images. For the lack of any better term you have to be more tactical.

We all started out pretty much like you, stick with it! I sounds like you are educating yourself, kudos to you. Continue to watch some videos and learn. The video I linked to, that gentlemen is a Wildlife photographer and he shares some good information, tricks and tip, setting up back button focus (BBF) focused on primarily wildlife photography.