Originally posted by Frogfish Some very very interesting posts here - especially to someone whose never been hunting or shooting (with a camera) wildlife in the wild.
Ron : I went to your website from the link given, some very very impressive shots there (though I would PP out the high tension cables, in an otherwise beautiful deer shot, that I noticed). One thought immediately popped up reading your post .. wouldn't something like the 60-250 (with quick shift) be absolutely perfect for most amateurs trying to imitate your methods ? AF to the general area then MF to focus precisely on the target.
I have quick-shift on my DA*200mm, but I don't find it quick enough. I tried what you are suggesting, but found it required too many steps for the often quick shots necessary with wildlife, so most of the time I left the lens switched to MF. When I set up on wildlife, I chose a spot where I know they will travel and pre-set the focus in the general area, so when something comes along, I don't have far to twist in MF. Using AF to get close, then shifting to MF, then focusing is too many steps and too time consuming. Too much movement as well. Reaching up to move the quick-shift is enough to spook close critters.
Sometime ago, however, I found what I think is the best compromise. In the custom menu (K20D), I turned off the AF on the half press of the shutter and use the AF button (on the back of the camera) whenever I get a simple scene where AF is reliable. As I mentioned, my primary method is MF, but with AF set to the AF button, I can leave my 200 quick-shift on AF, but still use MF with it, because the camera overrides the quick shift AF selection. (I'm not sure I'm explaining this well.) If, however, I want to use AF with the 200mm (or any other lens for that matter) all I have to do is press the AF button. I think the AF button, by the way, is quicker and more accurate than half-pressing the shutter.
In other words, try disabling AF on the half-press in your camera, or enabling AF on the AF button (not sure which is the right way to put it). Set your quick-shift to AF and leave it there. This way you can use MF any time you want (even while half-pressing the shutter to check exposure) and AF any time you want, simply by pressing the AF button. It's right there under your thumb all the time, but does take a little practice finding without looking.
Quick-shift is one of those features that sounds good in theory, but doesn't work so well in practical situations.