FPS: Pro Secrets To Better Keepers And Sharper Shots!

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@Steve Another helpful video Steve, thank you. Yes more culling advice would also be welcome.
In the video you mentioned using the highest frame rate that's not compromised and the example was the ability to shoot raw.
What about viewfinder limitations? I shoot my D-500 at its fastest frame rate with no problem but the Z7II viewfinder switches to a slide show effect in Continuous High (10 fps) making tracking action difficult.
 
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Molesworth said:
@Steve Another helpful video Steve, thank you. Yes more culling advice would also be welcome.
In the video you mentioned using the highest frame rate that's not compromised and the example was the ability to shoot raw.
What about viewfinder limitations? I shoot my D-500 at its fastest frame rate with no problem but the Z7II viewfinder switches to a slide show effect in Continuous High (10 fps) making tracking action difficult.
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In the video, I'm referring more to image compromises - JPEG instead of RAW or facing riling shutter. However, if eh slide show is causing missed shots, it might be better to opt for the slower frame rate. That one will depend on the individual. After a bit of practice, I sort of got used to the slide show and could manage with it (most of the time LOL), so I keep it up high with the Z7ii.
 
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Steve said:
In the video, I'm referring more to image compromises - JPEG instead of RAW or facing riling shutter. However, if eh slide show is causing missed shots, it might be better to opt for the slower frame rate. That one will depend on the individual. After a bit of practice, I sort of got used to the slide show and could manage with it (most of the time LOL), so I keep it up high with the Z7ii.
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@Steve I'll give it a try. Thanks.
 
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Good video Steve. I use a Mac and cull a little differently than you but the end result is the same. I use Preview to look at the day's images, delete the ones that I don't like, that are out of focus, ones where I didn't notice the tree growing out of the deer's head, etc. Then I import them and look more closely and edit the "keepers". After a few days, I delete everything that wasn't a "Keeper". Every January when the weather is too bad to be outside doing a lot of outdoor photography, I go through the year's photos and cull even more.
 
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Steve said:
Would anyone like a video that went into a little detail on culling? Maybe I could cull 1000 photos or something?
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Would love it. Returned from Kenya at the beginning of July. For the most part, used 15 FPS on Z9. Total shots taken for a 12 day visit to four parks - 39,000+ and I am yet to delete a file! Therefore, please give us some details on culling Steve! Thank you.
 
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As far as shutter actuation counts and being worried about having to replace the shutter, I wouldn't sweat it. I have a D500 with 360,000 actuations, and one shutter replacement about the 250,000 mark. The replacement was something like $300. Not a big deal.
 
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On the topic of culling, I get the impression that I'm an outlier in that I don't import the entire card and cull from there, but selectively choose photos to process from the import screen before putting them on the hard disk. Are most people importing everything first and then reviewing and deleting?
 
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SCoombs said:
On the topic of culling, I get the impression that I'm an outlier in that I don't import the entire card and cull from there, but selectively choose photos to process from the import screen before putting them on the hard disk. Are most people importing everything first and then reviewing and deleting?
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You can do it that way, but I personally find it easier to sort in the library - more options and I can play with the images a bit if I want.
 
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Culling wise I scroll through the preview images at a smaller res and find unique ones or the ones that look the best, and then I'll take a second look at just those. Once you do, it's easy to skip the rest except for other unique ones (vs just looking for sharpness). Generally I do burst by burst and I can cull 10k images in an hour and some if I'm not being ultra picky
 
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Patrick M said:
Hudson Henry talks in one of his videos about culling.

Personally, I’m really bad at it, but I like Dave’s method (#6 above ) which I’m now trying .

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Thank you!! I'm going to try this. I have to wait for each image on my MacBook to show its true sharpness. That adds up to a lot of wasted time of just waiting.
 
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One tidbit that I took away from this video was that a photographer cannot expect ALL photos in a burst of photos from a state-of-the-art camera to be “critically sharp”. This seems to contradict the narrative that the newest cameras nail the focus EVERY time.

I have noticed when I take bursts of photos, with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, that the main subject in some photos does seem to be softer than in others. I wondered whether the main issue was the stickiness of a lens’s AF, or if vibrations from mechanical shutters made a difference, or if there are other factors in play.

Interesting video.
 
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Steve said:
FPS: The Secret To Better Keepers And Sharper Shots!


Frame rate - it seems pretty simple, right? However, leveraging it the right way can unlock a flood of extra keepers - and even sharper photos! In this video, we'll tackle everything you see below and more!

What's the best frame rate for wildlife photography?

Is there a secret frame rate to help you capture more of those perfect moments?

Do you need fast FPS for static subjects? (Psst - the answer will surprise you!)

Can you use frame rate to get sharper images?

How do you handle sorting when shooting at a high frame rate?

Curious?

Then check out the video below - it'll answer all of those questions and it may very well change the way you think about frame rate forever!

Click to expand...

Thank you Steve!
Some feedback for what it's worth: I found some of the animations (e.g. flashing arrows) and some of the supporting text in the video a little more distracting than usual, which made it more difficult for me to focus on what you were saying.
 
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Craig Yuill said:
One tidbit that I took away from this video was that a photographer cannot expect ALL photos in a burst of photos from a state-of-the-art camera to be “critically sharp”. This seems to contradict the narrative that the newest cameras nail the focus EVERY time.

I have noticed when I take bursts of photos, with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, that the main subject in some photos does seem to be softer than in others. I wondered whether the main issue was the stickiness of a lens’s AF, or if vibrations from mechanical shutters made a difference, or if there are other factors in play.

Interesting video.
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Some camera and lens combinations seem to suffer more than others. It’s probably a combination of a multitude of factors including subject, light, processor speed, lens communication af motors and algorithms, etc.
 
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ajrmd said:
Some camera and lens combinations seem to suffer more than others. It’s probably a combination of a multitude of factors including subject, light, processor speed, lens communication af motors and algorithms, etc.
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Lets not forget that Hudson is hand holding a 800PF on a boat. I do not think anyone/camera will get all sharp photos. No one would expect that.
 
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Hand slap to the head moment while watching the culling portion. I always wanted to quickly analyze the thumbnails, but they were too small on my screen to effectively do so. Doh! Use the rows and columns view where the images are bigger instead of trying to judge the teeny ones lined up below a single larger image set for editing on the screen.

Thanks for the time saver.
 
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Patrick M said:
Hudson Henry talks in one of his videos about culling.

Personally, I’m really bad at it, but I like Dave’s method (#6 above ) which I’m now trying .

Click to expand...
Here is another culling method using fastrawviewer (much cheaper than Photomechanic at 25USD, but same idea) by Nasim Mansorov of Photographly Life. Current version unfortunately does not support Z8/Z9 HE & HE* raw files yet. Fast to review directly on card, delete moves files to a reject subfolder. Renders raw file preview much faster than lightroom and shows raw histogram and some nifty tools to judge over exposure, sharpness etc. It does not use the imbedded jpeg file, except if explicitly set to do so.

In lightroom, just import image folder without incl sub folders tick to excl rejects. Star ratings for post processing are imported from sidecar files.

 
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I was one f those guys going click, click, click believing I was picking and choosing the best moments and feeling a kind of (naive) superiority to those shooting in bursts around me. About 3 years ago - because of your videos - I started shooting in bursts and from the first time have never looked back... except to have a felt a bit silly for having resisted it for so long.
 
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Steve said:
People worry WAY too much abbot shutter count IMO. The count isn't an odometer and a shutter isn't an engine. Shutters are relatively cheap to replace and it's rare that anyone ever replaces one. I have yet to replace one in fact and I've shot the way described in the video forever :)

IMO, you buy a high-performance camera to help you get shots, so I think trying to "save" it for some future purpose (longevity, used retail etc.) kind of defeats the purpose. So, I blast away when I need to :)
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I've got a friend that shoots auto racing. He's replaced shutters on seven cameras so far - most of which were flagship cameras. The average replacement point was over 500,000 images, and he has had several cameras over 700-800,000 and still going. With that kind of volume, he considers a shutter normal wear and tear - almost a supply item compared to the cost of the camera.
 
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Culling is a good topic. I spent 10 days running some programs with Arthur Morris last year. He is very particular about what is kept because he is shooting 1000-3000+ images every day. He takes the approach for bird photography that there are only a handful of good images produced each day. Borderline images are all discards. He is ruthless about identifying his selects quickly and discarding the rest.
 
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Bennvdm said:
I agree, as I have seen very little instances of where shutter actually needed replacement And even less so on what such cost actually amounted to. Effect on used prices seems real enough though, but proberbly also driven by irrational internet fears rather than what actual repair cost would be.

My worry is probably a bit more real, as it might involve return courier costs to Uk or Germany if cannot be be fixed in South Africa (I am in Namibia).
Nikon mea - middle east and africa, lists no authorised repair centre in South Africa, but the distributor has a service centre in Johannesburg. As to what they can and cannot do at what cost remains a mistery. I see they do list authorised repair centres in Mauritius and Maldives, so I might have to take in personally then if ever needed…

Customs docs and fees can also be a nightmare as they always want a value of the repair to tax you on. I send the instrument cluster of my LR3 Landrover to the uk for repairs for canbus issue and repair cost was 120GBP and courier 300GBp. Had to pay further 50gbp for duties and taxes on repair cost, even though I am pretty sure there should be no excise duties on labour… - just not worth the fight.

On my Z8, I waited a month to get a unit not effected by the two recalls.
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I replaced the shutter on my film Canon F1 back in 1989 or 1990 but that’s the only one I had a problem with…and my Z8/9 don’t even have one obviously.
 
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