Happy Leap Year! When you shoot birds in flight, turn off the image stabilization feature on your camera. It slows down the autofocus, and with the fast shutter speed you are using, the IS or VR becomes irrelevant. If your aim is showing motion blur, then you'll be using a slow shutter speed and, again, the image stabilization is not relevant. When birds fly toward or away from the camera, every millisecond the subject-to-camera distance changes and hence the focus changes as well. The autofocus tracking, or AI servo, has to perform at optimum speed. Using the IS or VR will work against you. The settings for this picture were 1/2000, f/13, 640. I should have used 1/2500 because the tip of the left wing isn't perfectly sharp. This is a lilac breasted roller that I captured in South Africa on my last African photo tour.
11 Comments
Mar 17, 2020, 7:46:44 PM
Rick Bear - I'm actually an aviation photographer, but almost exactly the same rules apply regarding Image Stabilization (IS). A key point about IS is that it cannot cope with a diagonal tracking movement. Full IS attempts to stabilise in every direction. Whereas your other IS modes (including Auto IS) allow you to tell the IS system to ignore movement in the horizontal or vertical panning plane. But, your typical bird or aircraft in flight is often flying diagonally towards you, so you really need to tell the IS system to ignore panning movement in *both* the horizontal *and* the vertical; in other words, IS Mode = OFF. Good article. Rick
May 1, 2019, 6:22:37 PM
Jim - Bob, I've never heard of that -- turning IS off when using a teleconverter. I really don't know why they would say this.
May 1, 2019, 5:38:16 PM
Bob Komarek - Great capture, and good info!
I was on the Kenko Global site last night, and they recommended turning off IS when using a teleconverter. Ever hear of such a thing? I'm not doubting their own expertise about their own products, but I've never heard anyone suggest that before.
Mar 2, 2016, 9:04:29 AM
Jim - You're welcome, Bob.
Mar 2, 2016, 12:12:24 AM
Bob Vestal - Thank you, Jim, for this very important technical point. I remember you tell us this last year on the snowy owl trip, and I appreciate the reminder.
Mar 1, 2016, 2:39:46 PM
Jim - Ian, Teleconverters don't really affect focusing. They affect sharpness. The 1.4x on a long lens, however, is virtually undetectable. The 2x does degrade sharpness slightly, but if you need the extra length, there are no other choices excepting cropping.
Mar 1, 2016, 1:22:12 PM
Ian - Hi Jim, just a quick question whilst on the subject of sharpness, would the use of a 2x or 1.4x converter on a long focal lens have any effect on focusing?
Thanks
Ian.
Mar 1, 2016, 1:06:19 PM
Jim - Hi Rosemary, Most people think exactly what you thought. I'm glad you found this information helpful.
Mar 1, 2016, 10:16:41 AM
Rosemary Sheel - That info is worth a million dollars. I was under the impression that the stabilizer would help me get sharp shots in all situations.
Mar 1, 2016, 7:32:15 AM
Jim - You're welcome, Ian. It does make a difference.
Mar 1, 2016, 2:50:44 AM
Ian's Open Shutter - Hi Jim, I did a shoot the other night after reading your article on faster shutter speeds for birds in flight, I was using my 500mm lens on a Canon 7Dmk2 although I got some sharp images the majority had some degree of blurredness in them. now I know why! thanks or the belated tip.