Pentax K7 AF.C bird pics...

K7er · 03-23-2010, 09:03 PM

Fabulous pictures!

I'm surmising the reason I didn't get things in focus was because there was a motion blur caused by the fast moving object or my own camera panning to track the objects (my shutter speed was only 1/250). Now, it makes me wonder what mode you guys shoot in? Is it Tv...Also, is SR on?

pingflood · 03-24-2010, 06:43 AM

Originally posted by K7er

Fabulous pictures!

I'm surmising the reason I didn't get things in focus was because there was a motion blur caused by the fast moving object or my own camera panning to track the objects (my shutter speed was only 1/250). Now, it makes me wonder what mode you guys shoot in? Is it Tv...Also, is SR on?

I don't shoot Pentax, but this really applies to any brand.

I would HIGHLY recommend shooting in manual Why? No meter no matter how good can properly handle the following scenarios well:
*) Dark bird small in the frame, bright sky (slightly overcast)
*) White bird nearly filling the frame
*) Dark bird nearly filling the frame
*) Bird flying against blue sky, next shot bird is in front of some dark trees

etc etc.. find me a rig that accurately meters in all those scenarios and I'll sell it to every bird photographer out there. Sure, you can fiddle with exposure compensation, but if you're shooting a dark (e.g. Cormorant) or light (e.g. tern) bird that's coming towards you the ratio of bird to background changes significantly and will throw that off as well.

So, make it easy on yourself and shoot manual. Exception being if the light changes a lot, in which case Av mode *might* be preferable.

Set the shutter to at least 1/1000. Turn off SR. Keep the lens wide open unless performance is a lot worse there in which case you need to stop it down a bit. Set ISO manually, ensuring you can get enough shutter speed. Snap off some test shots, chimp the histogram to make sure you're not clipping (if shooting JPEG) or clipping too much (if shooting RAW).

Go shoot, adjusting shutter/ISO as needed when the light changes.

That's my $.02...

K7er · 03-24-2010, 09:25 AM

Thanks... very helpful tips!

**jpzk** · 03-24-2010, 10:59 AM

Something here bothers me: for BIF, using AF.C (which I almost never do but willing to try again), folks mention turning the SR off.

Would you still turn the SR off if you were using AF.S as well^ (question mark is gone)

This far, I have been using AF.S in all of my BIF shots with a shutter speed of at least i.e.: for a 300mm lens, I would aim for (... argghh ... lost the slash character) one eight-hundred of a second or faster.
I always have the SR on on the K7 and the K20D.

I assume that setting the SR off in either AF.C and or AF.S would make a difference according to some folks here.

Would be nice to know for sure.

JP

zackspeed · 03-24-2010, 11:10 AM

Hmm.....i never had the SR off...only on Tripod

pingflood · 03-24-2010, 11:23 AM

Pentax SR like Canon's later IS is supposedly smart enough to know when not to interfer. Considering IS/SR really isn't needed at the shutter speeds used in this case, I'd rather not take the chance.

Marc Sabatella · 03-24-2010, 03:10 PM

The claim made by some is that SR doesn't handle panning motion well, and that would presumably apply whether using AF-S or AFC - or MF as I usually do. I have not tested this claim.

**Lowell Goudge** · 03-24-2010, 04:32 PM

Perhaps not quite a fair comparison

this is a PZ-1 with SMC 300mm F4 and 1.7x AF TC. I don;t know what the issue is, but I have always been satisfied with the Pentax AF. Not that it can't be defeated, but when used within reasonable limits it performs well

**jpzk** · 03-24-2010, 05:59 PM

So, what is the concensus on using or not using the SR?
As far as I am concerned, using AF.S WITH the SR on, at shutter speeds of 1/800s or more, does not really affect the results.
Now, because I very seldom use(d) AF.C, I am not so sure if the results would be the same.
With both the K7 and the K20D, I did try the AF.C a couple of times but ended up with 9 out of 10 shots really messed up, focus-wise. That detered me from using AF.C.

JP

**Lowell Goudge** · 03-24-2010, 06:01 PM

Originally posted by jpzk

So, what is the concensus on using or not using the SR?
As far as I am concerned, using AF.S WITH the SR on, at shutter speeds of 1/800s or more, does not really affect the results.
Now, because I very seldom use(d) AF.C, I am not so sure if the results would be the same.
With both the K7 and the K20D, I did try the AF.C a couple of times but ended up with 9 out of 10 shots really messed up, focus-wise. That detered me from using AF.C.

JP

I had shots messed up at 1/500 with SR on, while tracking a diving tern, because the camera did not understand panning to track motion. SR works well with stationary objects, but can be messed up panning to track motion,

**jpzk** · 03-24-2010, 08:24 PM

Originally posted by Lowell Goudge

I had shots messed up at 1/500 with SR on, while tracking a diving tern, because the camera did not understand panning to track motion. SR works well with stationary objects, but can be messed up panning to track motion,

Therefore, I shall try again with this AF.C.
By the way, I use Av, RAW, and "point" (centre?) focus as well as spot metering.
Am I OK to assume that this would be compatible with the use of the AF.C?

Thanks for the info.

JP

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03-23-2010, 09:03 PM	#16
K7er Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 58 Original Poster	Fabulous pictures! I'm surmising the reason I didn't get things in focus was because there was a motion blur caused by the fast moving object or my own camera panning to track the objects (my shutter speed was only 1/250). Now, it makes me wonder what mode you guys shoot in? Is it Tv...Also, is SR on?

03-24-2010, 06:43 AM	#17
pingflood Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Borås, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,169	Originally posted by K7er Fabulous pictures! I'm surmising the reason I didn't get things in focus was because there was a motion blur caused by the fast moving object or my own camera panning to track the objects (my shutter speed was only 1/250). Now, it makes me wonder what mode you guys shoot in? Is it Tv...Also, is SR on? I don't shoot Pentax, but this really applies to any brand. I would HIGHLY recommend shooting in manual Why? No meter no matter how good can properly handle the following scenarios well: ) Dark bird small in the frame, bright sky (slightly overcast) ) White bird nearly filling the frame ) Dark bird nearly filling the frame ) Bird flying against blue sky, next shot bird is in front of some dark trees etc etc.. find me a rig that accurately meters in all those scenarios and I'll sell it to every bird photographer out there. Sure, you can fiddle with exposure compensation, but if you're shooting a dark (e.g. Cormorant) or light (e.g. tern) bird that's coming towards you the ratio of bird to background changes significantly and will throw that off as well. So, make it easy on yourself and shoot manual. Exception being if the light changes a lot, in which case Av mode might be preferable. Set the shutter to at least 1/1000. Turn off SR. Keep the lens wide open unless performance is a lot worse there in which case you need to stop it down a bit. Set ISO manually, ensuring you can get enough shutter speed. Snap off some test shots, chimp the histogram to make sure you're not clipping (if shooting JPEG) or clipping too much (if shooting RAW). Go shoot, adjusting shutter/ISO as needed when the light changes. That's my $.02...

03-24-2010, 09:25 AM	#18
K7er Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 58 Original Poster	Thanks... very helpful tips!

03-24-2010, 10:59 AM	#19
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	Something here bothers me: for BIF, using AF.C (which I almost never do but willing to try again), folks mention turning the SR off. Would you still turn the SR off if you were using AF.S as well^ (question mark is gone) This far, I have been using AF.S in all of my BIF shots with a shutter speed of at least i.e.: for a 300mm lens, I would aim for (... argghh ... lost the slash character) one eight-hundred of a second or faster. I always have the SR on on the K7 and the K20D. I assume that setting the SR off in either AF.C and or AF.S would make a difference according to some folks here. Would be nice to know for sure. JP

03-24-2010, 11:10 AM	#20
zackspeed Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 527	Hmm.....i never had the SR off...only on Tripod

03-24-2010, 11:23 AM	#21
pingflood Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Borås, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,169	Pentax SR like Canon's later IS is supposedly smart enough to know when not to interfer. Considering IS/SR really isn't needed at the shutter speeds used in this case, I'd rather not take the chance.

03-24-2010, 03:10 PM	#22
Marc Sabatella Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Denver, CO Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,685	The claim made by some is that SR doesn't handle panning motion well, and that would presumably apply whether using AF-S or AFC - or MF as I usually do. I have not tested this claim.

03-24-2010, 04:32 PM	#23
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,888	Perhaps not quite a fair comparison this is a PZ-1 with SMC 300mm F4 and 1.7x AF TC. I don;t know what the issue is, but I have always been satisfied with the Pentax AF. Not that it can't be defeated, but when used within reasonable limits it performs well

03-24-2010, 05:59 PM	#24
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	So, what is the concensus on using or not using the SR? As far as I am concerned, using AF.S WITH the SR on, at shutter speeds of 1/800s or more, does not really affect the results. Now, because I very seldom use(d) AF.C, I am not so sure if the results would be the same. With both the K7 and the K20D, I did try the AF.C a couple of times but ended up with 9 out of 10 shots really messed up, focus-wise. That detered me from using AF.C. JP

03-24-2010, 06:01 PM	#25
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,888	Originally posted by jpzk So, what is the concensus on using or not using the SR? As far as I am concerned, using AF.S WITH the SR on, at shutter speeds of 1/800s or more, does not really affect the results. Now, because I very seldom use(d) AF.C, I am not so sure if the results would be the same. With both the K7 and the K20D, I did try the AF.C a couple of times but ended up with 9 out of 10 shots really messed up, focus-wise. That detered me from using AF.C. JP I had shots messed up at 1/500 with SR on, while tracking a diving tern, because the camera did not understand panning to track motion. SR works well with stationary objects, but can be messed up panning to track motion,

03-24-2010, 08:24 PM	#26
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	Originally posted by Lowell Goudge I had shots messed up at 1/500 with SR on, while tracking a diving tern, because the camera did not understand panning to track motion. SR works well with stationary objects, but can be messed up panning to track motion, Therefore, I shall try again with this AF.C. By the way, I use Av, RAW, and "point" (centre?) focus as well as spot metering. Am I OK to assume that this would be compatible with the use of the AF.C? Thanks for the info. JP