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Nikon D500 has an amazing AF system

Posted: Wed 10 May 2017 21:11
by Stany Buyle
Photographing swallows in flight isn't very easy with top glass, and even much more difficult with a slow zoom like the sigma 150-600 C. "Slow" because of aperture, not because of AF mechanism...
Upto that, because IQ increases significantly when stopped down to F7.1-F8, I was shooting this pictures in M with auto iso, F8 and 1/8000 sec to compensate for the high speed of the birds...
With pictures 3,4,5,6 the challenge to nail focus was even more difficult because of the close background behind the playing birds...
The D500 has an incredible AF system...

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The above image cropped...
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The number of images where my D500 nailed focus when the swallows were flying erratic and fast just in front of the sandwall is unexpected high... :idea: :arrow: AF settings...


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related topic :arrow: Nikon D500, the long time awaited D300 successor...
related topic :arrow: Nikon D500 vs D5 in lowlight from iso 100 --> iso 102400
related topic :arrow: Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR user review
related topic :arrow: Lens VR setting on tripod

AF settings for the above pictures

Posted: Wed 10 May 2017 21:11
by Stany Buyle
AF-C / auto / and in the menu A3 to "quick" and "erratic".
I normally don't use the "auto" AF setting, but in this very challenging case with a static background 20-50 cm behind the very fast and erratic flying swallows, and after taking +500 pictures, it worked the best.
As a matter of fact not just "it worked the best", but significantkly better than all other possible AF settings.

With this setting, the keepers rate number where a swallow was in focus reached over 70 % of the images.
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Further more, for all my BIF pictures I use for the A1 AF setting "release+ focus"; "Release + focus" gives me a very significant higher number of keepers than "focus + release".

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Update: Underneath some recent images with AF-C set to "release + focus"

Click on the image to open the link.
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related topic :arrow: Nikon D500, the long time awaited D300 successor...
related topic :arrow: Nikon D500 vs D5 in lowlight from iso 100 --> iso 102400
related topic :arrow: Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR user review
related topic :arrow: Lens VR setting on tripod
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Swallow in flight with D500 and nikon 200-500

Posted: Sat 20 May 2017 11:05
by Stany Buyle
Same style of extreme challenging AF situation, with better light and the nikon 200-500 AF-S VR
:o :o :o
Nikon makes great gear!

Click on the image to open the full size jpg.
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related topic :arrow: Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR user review
related topic :arrow: Lens VR setting on tripod