This channel is the best thing that happened to me on RU-vid. So much useful and substantive knowledge. Thanks to your tips, I can see a difference in the quality of my photos. I have to thank you Jan because you made me a better photographer.
On the R3 with RF 100mm-500mm, I sometimes had occurrences of soft focus on initial shot of a sequence. I cured this by doing double tap on Back Button Focusing,BFF. This makes sense. say your lens in set up at 20ft focus, bird is at 40 feet and camera locks on at 39.5 ft but this is soft focus. Tap the BBF again and the lens now moves from 39.5ft to 40ft focus
Jan has the best channel for photography tips! I've learned so much from his knowledge and expertise. Thanks to him, I've gained confidence and have become a better photographer. Having had a few autofocus struggles with my Canon R7, I know how frustrating this can be to everyone. So thank you Jan for stepping up and always providing the information I need. Cheers!!
Jan, thanks a lot: I always ignored “Retract lens on power off” because it made no sense to me on the R5, but once again you prove that one can always learn something new!
An other great teaching video Jan. Thanks. When I am using my RF100_500mm zoom and experience difficulty with camera locked on background and missing bird that is near me. I zoom out and now camera easily finds the bird , locks on eye and I can zoom back in and compose the shot.
I was struggling with my R7 but when I lowered the sensitivity as per your recommendation the pictures have improved drastically.. Thanks for the input
I gave up using eye-auto-focus because it would always mess up. I'll try changing the settings, but in the meantime, having two buttons for two different AF methods is a great idea. It's a pain to switch back and forth, but if the AF messes up I can just default to point-focus, which almost all I've used since getting the camera. I did a portrait shoot and the AF would focus on a freaking hand instead of one of the faces in the frame. Super annoying.
Great explanations, Jan! I would only add that with very erratically flying birds such as swallows, the accel./decel. tracking on the R5 works best at +2 for me.
Thank you, Jan! I put the settings you recommend into my R5. The camera snaps onto bird eyes much faster and sticks there like glue. I was using the AUTO setting which struggled much more. Now, I need you to fix the miserable weather here in northern Ohio. I'll wait here ...
Great info! With the Z9, firmware 4.1, BIRD subject detection, AUTO-AF mode set on the shutter button and AF-ON on the Af-on button. This works really, really good, better than 3D, IMO. Firmware 4.1 was a game changer for me with BIRD detection. I am using the above setup with almost all of my bird shooting. If I need to acquire focus on a tough subject, bird in the bushes) I either use a single point setting + AF-ON (Fn1 button) or manually focus.
This is a great tip. I have a similar set up on my Sony A1. Front shutter is ready for BIF and I have a button so if a subject stops or perches, I can slide over to that button with a ss. If it moves, I release that thumb and the main shutter is ready to roll. An absolute game changer I highly recommend every user see. I believe Canon can do it too. Well worth time to play with it.
Hello Sir. My issue is loosing focus during a burst of 4-5 shots photographing hummingbirds. What settings would you recommend? I use a Sony a7r4a and 200-600mm lens.
thank you. Is it possible to show the back of the camera (canon) and what buttons you are assigning what to, you kind of talked through that fast and seeing it visually would help.
Thank you so much, Jan. I do have focusing issues with my R5 + RF 100-500 mm. I followed along with my camera and changed settings to match yours. I'm really hoping that the new settings will improve my photos. I've seen so many different suggestions for Case Scenario. I'm going to give your setting a try. Wish me luck!
This is the video I've been waiting for! :-) I have so much trouble focusing and keeping focus and I knew that it was a setting issue and also me being me. Thank you for making this video and sharing what you know about focus. I look forward to trying these in the field! Many thanks, Jan!
This was so helpful. I recently bought a sony A7IV as my first mirrorless camera. I aspire taking photos of birds and wildlife. Your tips and visual representation of how to set it up has been very helpful. I can already intuitively change the settings with my eye on the viewfinder with just an hour of practise at home. Thanks!
It took me so long to learn to use that camera well. What helped me was the ebook from Steve Perry , the ebook is for the A1 but it applies to the A7IV , hope this helps 😊
Thank you...great content....I am going to purchase the Canon R6ii, and the ef 100-400mm Lii. Your lesson saved me lots of time. I subscribed. Cheers from Victoria, BC, Canada.
So, yesterday I bought your proset and brush bundle. I had been wrestling with it because the rand to dollar exchange is a joke and I'm not new to photoshop. However, cannot believe I hesitated so long... I should have taken the plunge a long time ago!!! What a great, great purchase. What a difference it makes. Thank you!
On my Sony a1 I set dual back button focus. I usually have af-on set to wide and let the camera guess the subject and the AE-L button set to a registered focus area, usually spot focus small in the center of the frame. Works well for me.
Nicely explained ❤. In my Nikon Z7ii I don’t find face and eye tracking setting. Also in Nikon Z7ii getting noise even if on camera flash used in TTL mode.
Thanks a lot Jan for this great video! I dont shoot much of wildlife, but it helped me a lot and the last thing you mention there with the Lens Retract when power off....that was one of the things I was asking myself for long why is my R6 doing it, but never realised it is due to wrong function setup in the menu!
I think your video was a good introduction into the AF in the modern cameras. I do appreciate that you've distinguished AF acquisition (combined with subject detection) from AF tracking. Actually I would even add one more area so finally there would be: 1) Focus acquisition + object detection 2) Focus tracking without taking shots 3) Focus tracking during taking shots I'm coming from Sony world, and these days #1 and #2 is the best with cameras equipped with AI chip, e.g. A7RV or A9III, and #3 is the best with stacked-sensors cameras A1 or A9III. Of course A1 is also a perfect for #1 and #2 but adding AI chip into A1II will make it even better.
More great tips especially that one about retracting the lens when off. That has been driving me nuts for 3 years !!! I have my R 5 setup so that I have single point AF on, on the 1/2 press, eye tracking on one back button and a zone set up as a registered AF function on a second back button. The last one requires the AF on button to be held on, which is why I like the 1/2 press set to that otherwise you have to hold down two back buttons. I can meter and get in the focus zone I want with the half press and hit the back button at the time I want to take the image and it works great for me .
Thanks Jan, your golden tip in this this episode is for me the logic about not constantly hitting the eye-AF button 👍 Somehow I was subconsciously already a bit aware of this, but never reflected this clear about it. And does make sense, certainly when a human beats the AI in predicting when the bird is about to flap its wings ;-) Also perfect timing, this episode is a must-see for my wife to explain her nicely illustrated why I set up her new R7 the way I did ..
Thank you again for excellent tips ,I changed my R8 settings according your advice ,Ive been using auto setting and others on zero. On my new Sony a7Cll I have tracking sensivity on one button but there is something to learn. Yes its really annoying when af stucks on branches and not finding birds eye,lots of photos that Ive missed...
Very informative and well presented. Sadly, I’m still shooting an older Nikon D810 and being retired on a fixed income, I have no plans to move to mirrorless. Some of the settings recommended I can use but others are unavailable to me.
This is a very helpful video as I often struggle with the AF settings of my Eos R. I think things will improve thanks to the tips shared here.. Thanks!
Thanks Jan made a few minor tweaks you suggested and see how it goes as you said the Canon system a little easier to set up so not hard. If anybody knows how to set up their autofocus better than me then it you.
After the Z9 Firmware Update 4.1, the addition of bird detection, the Auto Area focus mode is working exceptionally well. You missed that point though. This works best when the bird is flying over water body or against a clear background like sky or trees far behind.
Excellent truly impressive information so well put together especially since I use Sony as well as Nikon units thank you for posting this and being so in-depth with each … stay blessed
Vielen Dank, super Lerneinheit. Selber nutze ich mittlerweile C, N und S in der Häufigkeit absteigend. Mit Deinen Tipps zu Nikon ist m. E. der Autofokus absolut konkurrenzfähig zu den beiden anderen Marken.
This is a great video. Thank You! I'm having a weird problem with my Canon R8. In most cases, it's nailing focus, but something is happening with horses. I can nail a bald eagle eye from way far off, but my wild horse photos are rubbish. On playback it shows the red box perfectly on the eye, but the images are soft and I can tell the focus is off. I've gone back to the area twice and have had the problem each time. My R10 did not have this problem so I'm stumped. I'm using the 100-400mm RF 5.6-8 I know it's not a shutter issue, I've been shooting wildlife for 10 years. f8 - 1/1000 lowest ISO possible for most shots. It's just odd because horses are listed as one of the detected critters. I've had no problem with dogs or deer. I sure hope I don't have a problem with bears when they come out of hibernation. Other than this issue I'm loving the R8
It's just with horses. It's been in a couple of spots but always the same terrain. I'm going to have to run some tests I guess. Lol. I still enjoyed this video a lot and thanks for getting back to me :) If you come up with any ideas I'd love to hear them, it's just such a weird problem.@@jan_wegener
Some good tips to be sure. Perhaps one of the better suggestions included the "focus bump" technique. That's very handy for following subjects before the actual capture. The issue related to takeoff is one where we might have different impressions. The cameras, for example have no difficulty in capturing landings where there are a lot of distractions with the wings flaring, while take offs are another story. My interpretation is that the AF becomes rather "complacent" when following a static perched bird about ready to take flight and the AF logic doesn't keep up with the sudden launch. With the landing, the subject is in constant motion and the tracking logic is primed to sort out what is happening. One would hope that the programmers would be able to account for this scenario. Also, purportedly with the latest FW upgrade on the Z9, the auto AF area is much more useable. Take care, and continued health!
Watching your video its amazing to hear you say all the things that remind me of what I do but dont realise It after so many years of snapping birds. I really liked your tip on when the birds actually takes off as I too have had many out of focus take off shots, I will think on this next time for sure. It was also good to see even with the greatest cameras you use the Osprey loosing focus as it went off the cliffs. In the past you have said you use back button focus, is this not a technique you would use at take off for a split second? Great video as usual and of course I am recommending to all my friends on different platforms they watch you, as I do believe you are the best person for technique and actually out there doing it and not just talking about it. Many regards from the other side of the world uk.
Thanks Jan... this was really helpful and possibly one of the best and simple explanations on maximizing AF success. As a nature photographer who shoots a lot of subjects agains a snowy background, I have found that the AF system on my bodies really struggle to acquire and hold onto their target. This often shocks me, as there is great contrast between snow and subject, but this has been an Achilles heal for my Z9/Z8 bodies. By narrowing the target, I have had more consistency, but will try a few of your suggestions to see if things improve even more.
In my experience, all cameras struggle a bit in this situation as the specular snow highlights throw off the AF. Canon generally does a bit better, though you'll improve your hit rate if you use spot (or a small 1x1 custom) AF and hand off to 3D.
My biggest struggle with AF is just not having a camera with great tracking AF (Sony a7Riv). The detail it gets is great, it's amazing for perched birds & swimming waterfowl (and winter here is mostly "weird duck season" so that's most of what I see) but it's not so good for BiF. No bird eye AF & generally poor tracking means I tend to just take a *lot* of pictures using manual focus: try to focus a bit "wrong" in the direction the bird is traveling, take a burst of shots, and hope it passed through the focus plane. 0.1% of the time, it works, which is better than the AF focusing on the background!
Hi Jan, I have used your Canon settings ever since I found your videos. However, I just returned from Namibia and the frustrating auto focus issue was with large birds and animals. Rather then going for the eye like on small birds the auto focus went to lighter spots on the body. It never did focus on the eyes of ostrich especially when the head was down. I always had to force the attention on the eye and then press eye tracking.
Another great video. I know it must be tedious to include the different settings for Canon, Nikon and Sony, but now that so many are using the brilliant OM-1 for bird & wildlife shooting, I’m wondering if it might be fair to include that too.
I'm one of those rare people that uses the focus ring to get my zones and switch off to autofocus. It was a technique for me since the manual focus days of sports photography. Back then I used zone, follow and prefocus. This is a lost art that sports photographers use to practice everyday.
Hi Jan...Dos the Setup Guide for the Canon R5 that you have listed listed have the settings you are using at the present time, or are there any up dates? Thanks, George H
Hi Jan, do your comments with the Nikon Z9 still apply post fw 4.1 with the new bird eye AF mode. It certainly locks much faster than the older fw on birds now. Not sure when the bird AF is coming to the Z8, but it should be within Q1 2024.
I haven't tried it yet. I think the real step ahead for Nikon would be if the whole area AF will work as well as with the others. That's why Canon is so easy to use, just press one button and it works
Thanks Jan, very helpful tips. On a related subject, when a bird's wings are spread out, sometimes(mostly) one wingtip is sharp and the other is not. Usually, shooting F8 or F9, shutter speed 3200, and using eye tracking and good lighting. Is this still a depth of field issue or a misalignment of the lens or should I focus in another spot? I am using a Sony mirrorless system. Thoughts?
Hi Jan, great video. I struggled with AF on my Sony a7iv with 100-400 GM with or without x1.4tc attached. Convinced it was probably me I still decided to have the lens and camera checked out to at least know the camera and lens were ok. Interestingly an issue was found with the lens that was exacerbated by the tc. With now knowing my setup is all ok I can focus on the settings and my skills, or lack there of. Your video is very timely. Even before your video I noticed a lot I was doing was ok, but also areas that needed improvement. As the camera and lens was still under warranty Sony Australia 18:14 did the check and repair for free both the camera and lens.
I hoped to learn about my biggest trouble with AF of mirrorless cameras the many cases were AF locks on the background. Most focus limiters limit the close range not the long range. Hence they are of little help. Maybe only the focus set point button of some very expensive lenses help. Did I miss something in his video?
Great tips. I have basicly set my R5 already as you describes. But i have recently found that many photos in a series/burst at just out of focus. Realy strange because this was not a issue in the past. In a 20 pics burst sometimes over half is a bit soft. In the eyefinder it looks good and focus point seem to stick to the eye of the bird. It kind of started after the latest FW update… i Use the EF100-400 4,5-5,6L mkII with the TC 1,4 mkIII
That is lack for that set up. My R5 will not eye af track bif with the ef100-400 + 1.4x. Not at all, nada. That lens works ok on my R5 without the 1.4x tc. Canon wants you to buy new glass, amd I did, I bought the RF100-500, works great, af eye tracking actually works with the rf 1.4x, but... af is still better without a tc.
@@nordic5490 Thanks for feedback. eye-tracking works in the scence it should but very inconcistent with getting sharp pictures. I did pull the trigger on the RF100-500 , It should arrive next week I hope it solves my issues.
Any tips for us people that are still using non- mirrorless cameras I have a Canon 77d what would be the best autofocus setting for like shooting an osprey in the sky the 77d has a 45 Square tracking system but believe it or not it seems the single point to be the best to get focus on the bird while it's hovering in the sky but yet then when it moves you would think it needs to be in servo? One more thing when I checked them on the computer the Red Square often is right on the Osprey but yet it's blurry and the shutter speed was a thousand so this is confusing as to why the red square is right on the head but yet the bird is blurry keep up the great videos.
With the Sonys with the new AI chip for focus, I have found through experimentation that Animal/Bird is actually quicker and more accurate in picking up and staying on your subject than either Bird or Animal. :)
This was great, I really needed those settings. I just went and purchased your Canon R6 MK II setup guide. I have no idea how to get the file, there was nothing emailed to me. Please let me know :)
I recently purchased a Canon R6 Mark ll. I tried to set it up by following along on your RU-vid video for setting up the R6 Mark ll. For some reason the histogram does not appear in my eye piece or on the LCD screen. Where and when should the histogram appear and for how long? How do I get it to appear properly in my camera?
Jan, I have been watching your videos for several years. All are excellent. But this video is so famous that I thought you deserve to buy something from you.
Hi Jan. Good topic and coverage! I have an issue with default autofocus distance that was not touched. Do you have opinion on that? I use Canon R7 + 100-500 mm. When I am trying to photo [distant] birds in flight against open blue sky, I would love camera focus to be set at infinite distance. However, if you lose bird out of focus box, the camera starts focus search and after a while AF search stops at the "default" position, which is the closest for my Canon R7. Even with the focus limiter (at 3 meters) camera is completely defocused, and to see bird again I need to get focus back to infinity (focus at horizon) which is annoying, takes time, and the bird might be already gone. My friend with Nicon (D40? + 150-600 mm) does not have this issue: it's "default" focus position is right at the infinity. So if AF missed the bird once, you can continue trying again and again. So my question: is it possible to do anythung about that?) Also would be great to know whether this problem exist on other Canon and non-Canon cameras.
I'm glad I stumbled upon your channel. The only feedback I have is that when you jump around between the different camera manufacturers settings, I lose my focus and interest because I don't care about the settings from the camera's I don't use as it's distracting and confusing. That might just be me though. Definitely appreciate you sharing your experiences and tips and tricks with all of us. Thank you!
@@jan_wegener Jan I think the very vast majority appreciate the multi-brand approach you take. I shoot two brands and one reason I watch you videos is due to you being someone that works with non-Canon brands as well. It's hard to find people that shoot multiple brands and can give honest feedback of competitors. You are one of the few people that highlighted struggles with Z9 with older fw, most Nikon influencers glossed straight over the problems
Will this Settings in the pdf also work in Wedding photography. Whats Settings you will Start in church With the Canon r6. I Start my First Wedding and Since i know ist i am very nervous, please help.
I really hope a firmware update comes to NIkon Z7ii (and Z6ii) that adds a bunch of these features because they seem super useful and it strikes me a insane that you need to move to a pro tier expensive body to access these simple features. (For example, you can't assign af-on to a different focus mode)
Not ever going to happen. The EXPEED 6 cpu is just way too slow to do the calculations needed. It's the slowest in the entire class and even using 2 of them didn't help. EXPEED 7 is IIRC 30x faster. You will have to wait for Z6/Z7III I'm afraid.
@@minusinfinity6974 It doesn't take more CPU power to have more settings such as having the ability to map custom buttons to do a greater variety of things. I totally understand that it isn't fast enough to improve autofocus or say introduce better 3d tracking and stuff like that but arbitrarily limiting basic settings is a bit ridiculous in a $3000 body. I'm not asking for better autofocus here, I'm just asking for what is described in this video where if I press one button, it does subject tracking and if I press another button it switches to single point AF without having to jump into the menu system. (Though I still think better AF is possible, Sony has much better subject tracking on cameras with much older processors) Another example is the functionality to customize the wide area autofocus size. I'd love to be able to do that to reduce the CPU load.
I have an editing question... which brush/proset could one use, or how would I go about bringing out more clarity in my blacks? I've taken a shot of a black bird in flight that I really like except for the issue that all the black is just, well, black. There is no definition between the face and the eyes. How do I work the blacks so that I can separate face and eyes and create definition? And would your prosets / brushes assist me on this? Hope I'm explaining what I mean correctly.
I would usually use different curve layers for this so the lighten brush for instance and brighten certain areas you want to stand out The detail extractor in the dxo Nik collection can sometimes help with that too If it’s all too far gone not much can help without making it super noisy, but what you wanna do essentially is create separation of the different areas by lighten and darken them
OK, Last time Ill say this Jan. Ryan Mense mentions how to work around the back focus issues (that ALL mirrorless suffer, across brands). He will focus on the close foreground every few minutes (and to stop camera sleep power save) as mirrorless AF works best when RACKING OUT. It is what many have observed and a habit that will cost you nothing, and will save you thousands if you ditch your current brand for a technical limitation.
Hi Jan! Trying to compare my R5 settings with yours, I see that my AF, screen #1 menu looks different... Can I ask which firmware you are using? My camera is in version 1.8.1. For example, the Whole area tracking SERVO AF doesn't appear, Eye Detection can be either enabled or disabled, but not on Auto, etc. Or perhaps you were showing a different camera (R6?), where the settings are different?
Are you on firmware v1.9 on your Canon R5? It looks a little different on mine. "Switching tracked subjects" is actually in page page 5 in AF menu on my R5.
My biggest trouble with AF on R6 + rf100-500 is that very often stops focusing after it was initialy unable to focus. It is then impossible to focus on any other area. It often happens when I need to photograph something which is closer to me and then immediately focus on something in distance. My solution for this so far is using manual focusing ring. There is an option of turning of "lens drive when AF impossible" on, but then the AF becomes very hyperactive and jumps of the subject easily. Anyone has a solution for this?
Jan - I have a very low keeper rate with BIFs, particularly my R3 struggles with focus on Ospreys. It's really frustrating. Some details: 1. using an older EF 500f4 IS L mark 1 (can't afford the mark 2 yet). 2. Have set up the camera as per whistling wing and pangolin tutorial videos with AF cases set to "auto". 3. Using animal eye AF for BIFs. I have the AF zones set up with the front custom function button, and can activate tracking for the zone too, but I'm not sure how to actually focus using zone focus. Do I still have to depress my back button focus button or animal eye button, or does zone focus just auto detect the subject and auto focus without me doing anything and all I have to do is press the shutter button to take images? I used to shoot BIFs (for larger raptors) at 1/2000, f7.1 but have since switched to 1/4000 and f8, which I think offers better results. I hand hold my 500f4 too. I'm not a fan of dragging around a tripod and gimbal which is just more weight and gets in the way. I am guilty of AF tracking the subject from a distance and continuing to hold focus on it until it nears me, but I haven't noticed the AF jumping off/on the subject. I just get the body AF frame and no eye AF frame, even when the bird flies by quite closely. AF performance for perched birds with the current setup is fine, no issues. It's just BIFs. Any help appreciated. I can send my R3 settings to you if you want. I don't know if it's my handholding technique or not - perhaps I am shaky when shooting BIFs? My images for perched birds are pretty sharp, so I don't think it's a holding issue (motion blur).
@@jan_wegener yes, I'm guessing that is indeed part of the problem. I don't have access to a mark 2 to test this theory. I had considered the new RF200-800 (need to pull my finger out and hope I get enough back from my tax for this) but now I'm not so sure. How much faster is the mark 2 500f4 vs the mark 1 in your honest opinion Jan? From everything that I have read, it's only slightly faster than the mark 1.
