Help! Seeking advice on D500 focus modes and setup for BIF and other wildlife

[jhorsch]

Have also found Grp AF to be best on my D500 for BIF. Furthermore, really like the suggestion re. Grp for the AF-On button and SP for the Pv button and will give it a try. Just changed the settings on my camera accordingly.

 

[Abinoone]

Hi all,

After shooting a Nikon D7100 for the last few years, I got a new D500 for my birthday last November.

Ten days from now my wife and I will be spending a week in the beautiful Scottish Highlands (near Skye). Having done some research and planned a couple of one-day trips while we're there, I'm expecting various opportunities to shoot wildlife, including but not limited to eagles (white-tailed and maybe golden) and other birds in flight.

Now, under normal circumstances I would have made good use of my D500 since November to ensure I got a reasonably good handle on its ins and outs before taking it with me on a major trip like this. Unfortunately, circumstances have been far from normal (mainly due to prolonged lockdowns), with the result that I've had hardly any opportunities to put it through its paces and get used to it in the field. In truth, it still feels like something of an unknown quantity to me.

From reading Steve's books (admittedly a while ago, well before I got the D500), I'm pretty sure manual exposure with auto ISO is the best way to go. What I'm much less clear on is the best combination of AF modes and how best to set them up for ease of access.

On the D7100 I used back-button focus and would simply use the focus mode button and rotary dial to switch between single point and D9 (though I used the latter infrequently).

I guess I have two main questions:

1. Not having had the opportunity to test out the various AF modes other than single-point AF, what would you recommend as the best focus mode to start out with for birds in flight (and potentially other creatures in motion) on the D500? I've seen different people claim that group AF is better than the various dynamic modes or vice versa, and at this point I have no clear sense of which is potentially be more suitable and why.

2. If I want to be able to quickly switch between single-point AF and another AF mode (say group AF) without using the AF mode button and rotary dial, what would you recommend as the best way to set this up? For instance, I could leave the AF-On button set to BBF with single-point AF and configure the joystick button for BBF with group AF… but are there any problems I'm likely to run into with this setup (for example, accidentally moving the focus points while pressing the joystick button)? Or I could set one of the buttons on the front of the body to switch to group AF. But that would mean getting used to using another finger to press and hold that button while still using my thumb for BBF and my forefinger to release the shutter, and I'm worried that might take a bit of getting used to…

I thought Steve might have some D500-specific videos on his channel that would address these points directly, but I don't see any. (I know he has plenty covering Nikon focus modes and such more generally, but at this point I don't have time to sift through them looking for the relevant parts.)

To be clear, I'm not expecting anyone to tell me, "Do it like this and you're guaranteed to be filling your card with wall-hangers from the word go". To reiterate, in an ideal world I would already have spent ample time putting the D500 through its paces so until I was as familiar and comfortable with it as I was with my D7100. Unfortunately that's not the case. So I'm just looking for a bit of advice from anyone who shoots (or used to shoot) a D500 that might be a good starting place and give me a bit of a head start when I arrive in Scotland at the end of next week.

Thanks in anticipation

I hate to say it, but it all depends. I frequently use group AF for birds in flight, but sometimes switch to AF9, depending on the situation. For slow moving mammals, I'm almost always at single point AF. Generally, it's best to use the fewest AF points for optimal control. If you have time before your trip, you might want to review Steve's Secrets of the Nikon AF System - it's excellent, and filled with tons of great examples and tips!

 

[MYount]

As you can see, everyone uses what works for them. Getting some starting points is great but over time you will find out what works for you and where you want it on your camera. One thing I like about the d500 is that it is very customizable to the individual. I've moved things around a lot to get where I am now and I still experiment. Happy shooting.

 

[Calson]

I have been shooting with Nikon autofocus cameras since buying a Nikon F5 in 1997. And despite much time doing test shooting and reading the manuals in depth, I found the e-book by Steve Perry on Nikon Autofocus to be quite valuable and a worthwhile purchase and use of my time.

The D500 was the first camera that I found that provided a usable Group AF mode and I found it worked exceptionally well when photographing individual hummers.

 

[MYount]

I second that about Steve's books. I have both Nikon books and the stunning Wildlife book. A wealth of information.

 

[robg]

Thanks so much to all who have commented. I'm sincerely sorry for not engaging more in the thread: normally I would have taken time to respond to each comment individually, but I've been snowed under with work (ain't it always the way before a holiday?) and just haven't had enough hours in the day.

Anyway, you've all given me exactly what I asked for, which is some useful starting points for AF settings when shooting BIF/wildlife with the D500. I'm going to dial in some settings before we leave and then adjust to taste as I go along.

To those who have recommended reading Steve's book on the Nikon AF system: I bought the book and read it cover to cover three or four years ago, but have been rereading bits of it at bedtime over the past few days. It remains a fantastically helpful resource. (I also have Steve's Secrets of Stunning Wildlife Photography book but have yet to read that one.)

Thanks again! What a great group this is

 

[Nikondale]

I like to read Steve's eBooks while I have my camera in hand. I usually try the different settings until I get the one I like. His eBooks are great.

 

[robg]

Update: we had a fabulous time in Scotland, helped by excellent weather. As luck would have it, though, photographable wildlife proved rather elusive: although we saw golden eagles, sea eagles and otters, all were either too distant to usefully photograph or appeared at moments when camera was not in hand. As a result, I ended up shooting more landscapes than wildlife.

I nevertheless managed to put your advice into practice by getting used to using manual exposure with auto ISO and having an alternative AF mode (group) assigned to a custom control.

Thanks again to all who responded here!

 

[J J]

Glad this thread helped you. I hope you devoted some more time to the distilleries since the wildlife was scant!

The first section of Steves 'Stunning Wildlife Photography' is priceless. I doubt you will find that information and advice anywhere else.

 

[robg]

Glad this thread helped you. I hope you devoted some more time to the distilleries since the wildlife was scant!

I'm afraid distilleries were off the menu. Alcohol and I had to divorce a few years ago after our relationship got very messy

The first section of Steves 'Stunning Wildlife Photography' is priceless. I doubt you will find that information and advice anywhere else.

I'm working my way through it at the moment.