Settings Help for EOS M50 and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens

[Far-Out-Dude]

I am hoping for help in figuring out some settings, when it comes to having more speed I understand setting 1/200-1/2000 we will say. Now when it comes to the settings that are in fractions I have a problem, I am set up on a tripod in a blind taking pictures, when at 400mm I am set to 1/1200-1/1600 to capture the speed with which turkey and deer move but my images are darker than I would like. Is there a setting that will still allow me to capture the speed with which these animals move but give me cleaner/bright results? I am shooting anywhere from 10 yards to 200 (9144mm-182880mm)  (9.144-182.88meters) yards out or more if larger animals like deer.

Camera is a Canon eos M50 and the lens is a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM LensLook George, it's a girl!

[Tronhard]

Don't fear that you are annoying me in any way - you definitely are not.  I am trying to look at the evidence you present and compare it to your remembered experience.  It seems clear to me that the light is more above the birds than in front of them in your first two images. It may well be a matter of degree - you sense the sun on you but that is not enough to overcome the overhang of the birds' heads and necks casting shadow over their bodies.  The top and sides are clearly significantly more lit than the neck and chest.

In the last two images the sun is much more in front of the birds, but the issue is that they are so far away that it really is hard to make out the details.

In your last image posted the grass is not dramatically lit compared to the bird, and the overall scene has a much more softly contrasting feel to it - which is typical of the light of a cloud over the sun.

Perhaps therein lies the solution for you.  If you have to stick with your current location and times of day, then hope for cloud - either a general light cloud overall, or waiting until some cloud comes between the sun and subject.  You got a great result in that last image, it seems to me the only thing that changed was the intensity of the light.

[Far-Out-Dude]

Thank you. Yes I agree with this completely. "It seems clear to me that the light is more above the birds than in front of them in your first two images. It may well be a matter of degree - you sense the sun on you but that is not enough to overcome the overhang of the birds' heads and necks casting shadow over their bodies. The top and sides are clearly significantly more lit than the neck and chest."

I THINK I mentioned my blind sits just inside the woods so as close as they were the shadows from the trees would have had an effect for sure. I have a couple of places more I can set up, the grass is getting tall in one but it is not the same as in these pictures, the grass in these pictures are some kind of crop, but a farmer I am not, maybe Switch Grass? The other spot is more grass the way you and I would normally think of so I think I can shoot it better but I will have to move my tripod up to that blind. I need to get at least 2 more tripods by next year, 3 would be better though. I would like to get a carbon fiber one for when I am trekking.

[Far-Out-Dude]

I have to run to bed, 3:A.M. comes mighty early but I will reply tomorrow.

[Far-Out-Dude]

I picked up Lightroom and Photoshop and worked with it in Lightroom, I feel it is the best version yet, though I do have to work on shooting angles for sure.

[wq9nsc]

You can slow the shutter speed a little if needed for the type of images you posted if you are running into a situation on cloudy days or at dawn/dusk where the ISO is going higher than you like with lens setup you are using.  1/800 will easily freeze the motion of these and you could even lower it further if needed. 

1/1600 will freeze eagles in flight.

I am not sure what AF setup you were using but you probably will be best with a single AF point to ensure subject of interest is used for the AF reference.

I shoot pretty much everything in manual mode with auto ISO, I change metering as needed depending upon subject and conditions.  With dark birds like these turkeys, you should try either a center point or center point weighted and see how that works.

Eagles at 1/1600 using EF 400 and EF 800 glass.

Rodger

[Far-Out-Dude]

Nice pictures. I think they were right above about the sun position, this was a picture taken today with the settings not all that different and auto ISO Also the Evaluative Metering mode that had been suggestion. 400mm ISO 1250 F/5.6 This has not been edited in any way.

[jfj17]

There are a number of responses about the camera so let's talk about post production. If you're shooting in RAW you then have a great deal of latitude to safety adjust exposure in post production. You can also tweak shadow and highlights and fine tune the image to your liking.  

Okay, a bit on the camera. Are your focus points set for the entire image or do you select focus points that choose to focus just on the subject? Your camera may be influenced by the grass rather than the birds. Also are you paying attention to the exposure needle before shooting and being sure it is centered. If it is centered then as mentioned I suggest overriding a stop or so. 

[Far-Out-Dude]

Yes I always shoot both RAW and J.peg I was using Evaluative Metering mode and I do not recall what it is called but it focuses on the eye or is supposed to. This was don't this morning at 10:33 The lighting was much better today. Oh I am not sure how to use the exposure meter.