I use Aperture priority but in my camera I can set also the minimum shutter speed! This way I can use it wide open and I know the shutter speed always going to be equal or higher than the required!
You can get great shots in both modes if you know what you're doing. Even sometimes if you don't. Great photographs aren't about getting an image clear, it's about knowing what or how much to blur. Aperture priority gives us the most control of our background. I teach photo workshops in Alaska. I had this conversation a couple weeks ago. I was getting a class set up to shoot a moose. I told them to get into the biggest f-stops they had. None were shooting 2.8 glass. I told them this gives us maximum shutter speed. One gentleman said, "why not use shutter priority and set it to 125th of a second? That will capture a moose standing in a field." It was a very bright day with few clouds. I'm thinking on that day with that speed his camera would've thrown him into f-16 or f-22. That would've been too busy. By using large f-stops we can blur all but the moose. This leads the viewers eyes straight to the subject. We also get maximum shutter speeds. I realize there's always gaussian blur. I use it and love it. I still try to capture what mind is creating, in capture, not in post. Just my opinion, as I said both modes will work.
To me it doesn't really matter whether you use shutter or aperture priority or manual. What matters is that you understand exposure, know your camera and can quickly adjust iso, shutter, aperture and use exposure compensation in the field as needed. You need to know when your camera will get it right and when your camera will struggle - such as a dark bird against a bright sky - no camera will work this out for you. That is where you have to understand exposure and understand your camera. The camera settings are not important - it does not matter how you get there but it is the picture you get that counts.
I use aperture priority most of the time. I select the aperture depending on what I am after, soft bokeh, depth of field or a fast shutter speed. I am not restricted by low light here in Spain or indeed many other locations where I have photographed birds. Another factor is the sweet-spot of your lens, some are not quite so sharp when wide open. I believe Av has given me the best possible results over time.
I love yt channels like yours - only pure content, without any pmodern tricks for videomakers and asking for likes of following. content for your videos speaks for itself.
I'm a wildlife photographer and I must say that there are some misconceptions and fallacies being stated here. For the record, I shoot primarily in Aperture Priority, choosing to shoot in Shutter Priority and Manual only when required, depending upon my creative intent and conditions. Firstly, discussions in forums should not be the yardstick by which this should be measured, as mostly people discuss things in forums when they have doubts or are looking for answers. That's like asking tourists for directions. Having said that occasionally professionals do share their opinions and frankly, there's more than one way to skin a proverbial cat. However, allow me to address some of the fallacies being stated: 1. You said, "whatever settings you have, the lens is going to be wide open anyway" and "If you're shooting in low light, the lens is going to be wide open anyway". How? The lens doesn't automatically open wide in ANY mode (except Auto), unless and until you dial in certain values or a combination of values, whether f-stop, ISO or shutter speed in Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual modes respectively. You have to dial in the values that will determine how wide the lens opens. Neither the camera, nor the lens do that automatically, no matter which lens you use, whether a zoom or a fixed focal length. 2. "The things is, with wildlife photography your'e struggling with low light anyway". Sorry, that's not true. Yes, you should start early and usually the light conditions are poor, but as the sun rises the light conditions improve. Unless you're in conditions where even at 8:30-9am there's no sun at all. However that is specific to certain places or conditions, not wildlife photography in general. Usually you have great light till around 9ish and then it gets harsh and again in the evenings, just like early morning, the light is great at the golden hour. The majority of good wildlife images are taken in good light conditions. 3. You said, "If you use Aperture Priority and set the lens wide open....you're essentially just using Auto mode and leaving everything up the the camera because the lens would have been wide open anyway". Sorry, that is just not how Aperture Priority works. In Aperture Priority, we set the aperture first and foremost, depending on the subject, the frame and the overall feel of the image we want to convey. Then we choose the ISO according to the desired shutter speed. If we shoot wide open (example using a 500mm f/4) at f/4, we still need to choose the ISO depending on light conditions, which is why we need to meter the subject, by half depressing the shutter button to get a reading. We adjust the ISO accordingly; if the light conditions are poor, to give us a faster shutter speed, say before the golden hour at dawn or sunset. If the light conditions are brighter, then drop the ISO, as brighter conditions ensure a faster shutter speed. Now if we were shooting the same light conditions, but if we wanted to showcase the habitat by increasing the depth of field, this would be done by closing down the aperture to f/5.6 or even f/8 or more depending upon how much of the scene we wanted to include. This would mean changing the ISO accordingly, to achieve the desired shutter speeds. So, shooting in Aperture Priority is NOT just Auto mode, as you are still in control and have to control the ISO to achieve the shutter speed you need. 4. "If you have your camera set to Aperture Priority, you have no control over that (controlling shutter speed)". Sorry, that is not true. That is precisely the role of the ISO in Aperture Priority, to control shutter speed. Why? because, as the name suggests, you have given priority to fixing your aperture, so the camera will not change it, so the only thing it can change is the shutter speed, which you determine by controlling the ISO. In Shutter Priority, the role of the ISO is to control the aperture which decides how much light falls on the sensor, because in this mode, as the name suggests, you have given priority to fixing your shutter speed, so the only thing the camera can play with is aperture. Remember that changing the aperture drastically affects the bokeh (depth of field) which determines the aesthetic feel of the image, something that is critical in wildlife photography. So, why shoot in Aperture Priority for wildlife and sport photography? 1. In wildlife photography, depth of field is critical. Controlling your background by narrowing or widening your depth of field can drastically change the feel of your image from being an intimate portrait, to being a habitat image. Aperture Priority allows you to control your depth of field and thus control your creative vision of what you want to convey to the viewer. 2. By setting your aperture and controlling your ISO, you control your shutter speed, so you can choose whether you shoot at 1/250 sec or 1/8000 sec, by controlling your ISO (keeping in mind the light conditions). 3. In Aperture Priority, if you have your desired aperture and shutter speed, but need to further control your exposure, you can do so using the exposure compensation buttons. Note that Shutter Priority is generally used by professional wildlife and sport photographers to SLOW the shutter speed down intentionally, for creative images like panning images, slow exposures, etc. While you can freeze the action using Shutter Priority, note that as already mentioned, you cannot control the depth of field. However, you can use Aperture Priority to shoot panning images too, by simply closing down the aperture, which cuts the amount of light hitting the sensor, thus the shutter compensates by slowing down to allow more light in. So you can drop to f/22 and an ISO of 100 (according to the conditions) and this will drastically cut your shutter speed, allowing you to pan or make a slow-exposure image. Shooting in Manual mode is rarely used in wildlife and sports photography, as you have to juggle 3 values, aperture, ISO and shutter speeds to achieve a desired image. Not what you want to be doing in a field where animals or birds can change their behaviour and move at any time. Having said that, may professional wildlife photographers out there use Manual as a semi-automatic mode by using Auto-ISO. If people are comfortable shooting in a particular mode, that's perfectly fine. However, misconceptions and fallacies need to be cleared up and that is why I have chosen to comment.
Rob Blight Hi Rob. I noticed that you didn’t address any of my statements, whereas my statements were a point by point technical breakdown of the statements made in the video. If your video was about Aperture Priority vs Manual with Auto-ISO then your reply to my comment is understandable, but that isn’t the premise of the video at all. My comment was in response to the fallacious claim that Aperture Priority is not a good mode for wildlife photography. I have categorically shown why Aperture Priority is a great mode for the genre and the fact is that most professional wildlife photographers across the world use Aperture Priority. Your video is based on the premise that Aperture Priority is not the right mode for wildlife photography, a claim that is repeated over and over again throughout the video. For the record, Manual with Auto-ISO is a semi-automatic mode, in which case it is comparable to Aperture Priority. It does not provide “all the benefits in a simplified way”. Again, how?? They are both semi-automatic modes, though in Manual with Auto-ISO I have to control both aperture and shutter speed, while in Aperture Priority I set the aperture and have to regulate only my ISO. This is why I prefer Aperture Priority and for the reasons I have already clearly stated, ad nauseum.
@Zhayynn James Photography I'm not that interested in getting into a point by point technical argument in the youtube comments. It's more simplified because you can adjust the shutter speed directly rather than indirectly through ISO and with no need to hold down the ISO button (your shutter finger can stay on the shutter). You also don't have to worry about lighting changes altering your shutter speed. I'm not sure why you think you have to adjust aperture more frequently in manual mode than in AP mode (you don't).
Zhayynn James Photography - You are spot-on! I would also add that Nikon and Canon moved the location of the ISO button on their flagship cameras to support this method of shooting in direct response to requests by professional sports and wildlife photographers.
Sorry. I'm not sold. I do aperture priority. With auto ISO. With a minimum shutter speed set based upon my situation. With exposure compensation. With the direction of my exposure compensation dial set so that as I dial to the right I'm increasing exposure and moving my histogram to the right. As it gets darker my ISO increases. As it gets lighter my shutter speed increases. If there's no sky in my image I use matrix metering. If there's any sky in my image I do highlight metering. If I'm shooting one animal or one object I can reduce my depth of field, as more people or more animals or more objects are in the scene I can directly increase my depth of field.
But I think what you're getting to with the shutter speed is sometimes like during action you want a faster shutter speed and then other times like when the athletes are standing getting prepared or the animals are staying in one place then you want a lower shutter speed so you can use a lower ISO. Back when I shot a lot of volleyball I used two custom settings. One was high ISO high shutter speed. The other was low ISO low shutter speed.
Yea with you on that, I’ve used Av mode for years for my wildlife, unless I’m shooting action, birds in flight, fights etc. Deffo don’t have my lenses wide open unless it’s lowlight, I like 7.1 for sharpness, but varies for composition and subject
you're using the exposure compensation to adjust the shutter and ISO. I get the same from manual mode with auto ISO, but using the front and back dials for shutter and aperture. That is a more recognised way to do it. You get the same result, just not as normal to do it, but it works for you.
Aperture priority comes into its own for fast moving animals where reaction times are critical. Like birding. You rely on the speed of a good camera to give the correct exposure so you can do everything else. By the time you cycle shutter speeds and check exposure etc, a bird can be gone. And that's not including BIF. Problem with shutter priority is when something moves across different lighting like dark forest floor to extremely bright canopies, an aperture change of a number of stops can completely change the separation of the background and therefore the image. Later cameras often have a minimum shutter option when you can dial in the lowest number you can get away with a sharp image for what you're after. Add auto ISO (with a max value) on top of that and you increase your chances of getting bankable shots. Different methods for different types of shooting.
Hi Rob, I use aperture priority with my XT3 with a 100-400 lens for stationary wildlife because the lens is much sharper at about F11, and the IOS allows shutter speeds as low as 1 fortieth of a second hand-held. For birds in flight I use shutter priority for up to 1/2000 wide open, Auto Iso. Cheers, Richard.
Auto ISO has really increased my enjoyability for photography. It's not 100% but I would say that its increased the likelihood I get the shot, or atleast get something I can edit. Atleast, I can use it until I understand it a bit better. But I can use Exposure compensation to fine tune. Great video and some really wonderful photos. Thanks.
I believe AP auto ISO can be useful in close up work where the DoF needs controlling and detail is best kept by lower ISO. If you set the minimum shutter speed to 1/125th or 1/60th and have good VR, the ISO will be low in all but the lowest light level. This works for still subjects like flowers and resting insects. For mobile subjects like birds, mammals and flying insects I do use manual exposure with auto ISO. Just discovered your channel and I like your helpful videos, including this one. It made me think this subject through. Thanks.
Thank you Rob, for explaining how to shoot Wildlife Photography. I just recently shot some photos while at a safari. I notice that I was shooting at F8.0, 1/500, Auto ISO3200 on a Canon EOS Rebel T7. The lens I had was a Canon Zoom Lens EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 (300.0m). My photos seem to turn out okay. But once I reduce the size to use them as wallpaper, I notice grain in my photos. Good tip, man! Manual Mode or Shutter Priority.
I agree Manual is really the only way to control your camera, for the reasons you have given it's the easiest way to manage shutter speed and aperture. I also use auto ISO but not always, it's important to remember this is actually an auto mode and takes away some of your control ! I'd also say to those learning photography manual mode can help speed your learning and makes you aware of how adjustments to shutter speed/ aperture/ iso affect your photos.
I shoot a lot of small, “stationary” birds. I use aperture priority, F8, auto ISO. Or if the light is low, Program Auto, (my Nikon 200-500 has a maximum aperture of 5.6, but is very sharpe in the center where my subjects usually are), also with auto ISO. It seems to work pretty well, but I do keep a saved setting in my user save setting U2 for moving subjects that uses shutter priority.
I use two custom settings, one with SP and the other with AP, and dial up or down depending on conditions. I attempt to use both for static wildlife and select in post which was best for the conditions. Mostly hand held so usually SP is best. Moving wildlife then always SP. ISO is set with a limit of 400.
Aperture priority - because a BIF can fly from bright to darker and vice versa at any time. Aperture priority handles this very well! Few pro photographers use shutter priority for BIF, most use Av or Manual. Using Av, I get wonderful pix with my Canon 7D Mark II with a 400mm L series lens.
this is funny because i just saw a video yesterday from another youtuber who was promoting Apeture priority. i think this is why there is so much discussion because there are many photographers who have different styles and teach it on youtube. i guess you just have to try both and find out what works for you best. i havnt had the chance to do any wildlife photography yet but ill deffinately be using manual and for the first time ever, auto iso if i get the chance.
Auto ISO is great. I think people are scared of letting the ISO go too high, so they try to control it or limit it. But really that's the wrong way of looking at it - you reduce noise in your image by collecting more light, not lowering ISO.
@@RobBlight nice thanks for the explanation. i will definately try with auto iso in some of my shots. i have never used auto iso and always tried to keep it as low as possible. i tend to under expose a lot to get the shutter speeds i want as its easy to retrieve detail in darker shots. for landscape i will continue to use full manual but i really want to try my hand at wildlife and will definitely be trying out this auto iso feature. thanks mate. love your videos.
I honestly don't care about bokeh that much. I care about context and with totally blown out images I loose most information on the subject. Great video and tips, thanks man
Here's another way of looking at it: When using shutter priority, you know your shot won't be ruined by motion blur, and like stated in the video: if the image is especially dark, the aperture is going to be set to the lowest value anyway. When using aperture priority, sure, you might get a less grainy photo, but there's no guarantee the photo won't be completely ruined due to motion blur. If you care that much about retaining bokeh, use manual mode with auto ISO.
Peter Schmidt Why would you know that your shot won’t get ruined by motion blur by using shutter priority? There’s some very bad information being given here. Just like the miss information in this video, that’s wrong. Of course you can get motion blur, choosing that option doesn’t suddenly remove that possibility. Choosing your aperture wide open will automatically give you the fastest shutter speed. If that’s not fast enough, then changing to shutter priority isn’t going to make it any faster if the lights not there. Only altering your ISO can help in that circumstance. People don’t seem to be able to understand a very simple concept and are getting confused because it is ‘shutter priority’. That just lets you choose what you want to be able to set. It doesn’t change the physics of light.
@@frankanderson5012 Ok - go ahead and use a 300mm+ lens, no image stabilization and no tripod. See how good your shots are going to come out when your shutter speed is slower than the shakiness of your hands. Not a hard concept to grasp.
Thank you for your video which I must admit, I learnt quite alot from it especially with settings of the Aperture and Auto ISO in Manual Mode and the liberty of playing around with the Shutter Speed dial according to the situation. My question is that my D5 does not have the EV button to play with when set on Manual Mode. What can I do please?
Yeah, I agree with some of your points but I have to say that Auto ISO is a NO GO for me when shooting birds in flight as the exposure meter of the camera completely buggers up what auto ISO is trying to do because the meter wants to expose for the large area of bright sky. People say "Oh well just move to spot metering and it will be fine", NO, you can't keep a spot meter dot on a bird in flight. As for getting sharp images of birds in flight at 1/500th sec, well good luck with that unless they are heading straight at you, even a slow moving bird like a Little Egret will be blurred at 1/500th if its flying across your path, eg, right to left or left to right. My minimum shutter speed for a bird in flight is 1/1250 but if I can I can attain it then I prefer 1/4000 or better still 1/8000. Try shooting a Swallow, Swift or Martin at 1/500th and see what you get !!
I personally use (full) manual mode unless its really high contrast and or changeable lighting situations where i find manual with auto iso never quite exposes correctly so I then use shutter priority with exposure compensation. I am envious of the Lumix G9 that can do full manual with exposure compensation - all it is really doing is adjusting the ISO but you can fine tune it easily.
Just finished watching another video, from a pro wildlife photographer, banging on about how good aperture priority is for beginners at wildlife photography. Set all my camera up ready to go out and try it. And then watched this one lol. Confused ain't the word 🤔. This one did seem to make more sense though, but hey, what do I know ?. Not a lot is the answer to that lol
Hey Pete. I think I watched the same video this morning by a BBC wildlife photographer. And then this fellow says no to aperture priority. I normally use manual, but do like to see different ways others use their settings. I think it simply boils down to what each photographer feels confident using.
If you're photographing static wildlife, depth of field is really important and shutter speed less so (compared to birds in flight for example). Manual mode is a lot for a beginner to handle. It's important to learn about aperture because that controls depth of field which is critical to all creative photography whereas for 95% of photographs you only need a shutter speed that's "good enough" for the shot. So I would say it depends on the wildlife.
Manual with Auto ISO is good stuff you are basically only limited by your cameras noise performance at higher ISO and will have to make shutter or aperture decisions based on that. And of course Exposure Comp comes into play as well.
I think it depends on the individual and the situation. As a beginner A-priority works well. Plus some lenses don't always perform to their best when wide open, so it means finding the optimal f stop. Plus, shooting a perched bird requires less focus on shutter speed than aperture. Therefore, your comments are valid but only in certain circumstances i.e. birds in flight and moving wildlife. I will try to use S-priority based on this vid and see how I get on, to compare.
I think it works well for still subjects too, since you can drop your shutter speed way down and get cleaner shots. If you need to stop the aperture down because it's too soft, try manual mode + auto ISO.
Some small corrections in your statement about how ISO doesn’t matter and just aim for lowest value. The D850 (along with other cameras like Sony a9 or a7iii) all have dual gain sensors, which means that at some specific value of ISO ( 400 for Nikon, 640 for Sony) the read noise will be lower at the higher ISO setting. So for example the D850 will have less read noise at ISO 400 than it will at ISO 200 or 300, so given the same subject and lighting conditions, your image will have less noise if you shoot at ISO 400 than if you could drop it to 250 or 300. At some value around 150 it evens out and going lower than becomes beneficial
I never said ISO doesn't matter and just aim for lowest value. What I'm talking about there is more of a quirk in how the camera won't drop your ISO below what you have it set to, unless it has exhausted other options (aperture, shutter speed).
@@RobBlight at 6:10 you say "the goal is to modulate your shutter speed to and get your ISO as low as possible" which I agree is true in general, more light is good. All I'm saying is that dual gain cameras like the D850 actually produce less noise when the dual gain "kicks in" so if you have the choice between shooting something at ISO 200 or 300 vs 400, you're better off shooting at ISO 400 and using slightly faster shutter speed (which is also better to avoid motion blur). For the D850 the read noise @ ISO 400 is almost on par with ISO 160, so anything between ISO 160-350 range will have more noise than manually setting your ISO at 400.
I shoot manual with auto ISO for birds...I set the high limit to 1600 or 3200 depending on the camera I'm shooting with...I play with the shutter speed and aperture if I have time to adjust...for birds in flight at least 1000 sec...or higher .
There is different way to get great wildlife shot so telling don't use aperture priority is maybe too much. I often use aperture priority and Auto ISO and results is amazing sometime. But I agree with you that Speed priority may be a good setting too. It's really depending of the light and if the subject is fixed or moving. There is never only one road to reach Roma ! Truth is never from one point of view
What do you find useful about aperture priority for wildlife? I can't think of many situations where you'd want control over the aperture with little to no concern about the shutter speed.
I shoot Manual mode 100% of the time for all photography. With meter set to spot or mutispot for Landscape. I will use Average/Matrix meter mode when flash is used and setting my ambient light first then adjust my flash for just the right amount of fill flash using (auto)TTL flash meter. I always use TTL flash metering when subject distances are not known or constantly changing. In Manual mode I can change any setting with the touch of a button or dial. And still achieve the results my camera can in Auto modes like Aperture,Shutter or auto A.S.A... YES A.S.A.. I 've been a pro photographer since 1977 and A.S.A.was the standard then and I see no reason to change now. I say 100 A.S.A. you say 100 i.s.o. the meaning is the same. It's ALL just photography and that's the fun part.
Manual with auto iso here. Max iso set to 16000. Usually don't get up to there since I drop my shutter speed in low light but you never know what you'll need to freeze.
Exactly. If the ISO starts skyrocketing it's easy to see and you can drop the shutter speed further. Once you've hit your lower limit for shutter speed and ISO it's still up there it's simply getting too dark.
@@ZaberAnsaryOfficial lol nope I meant 16,000. That's my preferred cut off on my camera as I still get great pictures with a little bit of noise reduction. Try not to let your ISO govern your image choices. If needed I'd even push it to 56k and just turn it into black and white, you'd be surprised what you come away with. 😉😁
Thank you, I recently took up wildlife photography and I couldn't understand why I was getting nowhere with Aperture priority. I don't know enough to use manual, but I will get there,.
Been watching your videos and find them very helpful, im just getting into wildlife photography and have a entry level Nikon DSLR (D3500) also i have a Nikon AF-P 70-300 4.5-6.3 G ED lens. Can you suggest some basic settings for me to help with getting nice sharp photos. I do have a tripod, would i still use Shutter Priority with a tripod or only for handheld also can you recommend the best auto-focus and area mode. I am using auto-iso which is capped 3200. Thanx :)
um... I use AV mode "Canon 5D Mark IV" - I also use Auto iso in conjunction with AV mode. Not sure about Nikon but when in AV mode not only can I set an auto iso range but can also set a Minimum Shutter speed. I tend to float around minimum iso 100 and maximum 3200 with a minimum shutter speed of 1/500 or 1/1200. Works perfect for me when not in manual mode.
I use a 5D4 and a 7D2. Manual mode on both with auto ISO and full iso range for auto iso. I need control over shutter speed at all times for wildlife. No other way to fly.
I have a g9 with PanaLeica 100 400. I zoom in and it automatically changes from f4 to f6.3. Zooming back out leaves the aperture at 6.3. I constantly have to flick the aperture dial to get back to widest possible aperture. There is no time to then balance the shutter speed as well and watch the exposure markings.
Have you tried shutter priority? The camera would try to keep the aperture wide open and would only start closing it down if your shutter speed was quite low.
@@METAL4K-UK Not quite sure I understand. So the problem is if you're in manual mode at f/4 and you zoom in, the lens will stop down to f/6.3, but then if you don't touch the aperture and zoom back out, it will just stay stuck on that f-stop? I don't know if that's normal for that camera, but regardless of that I think it could still work pretty well. For example in shutter priority with auto ISO, when you zoom out the camera would open the aperture and drop the ISO. The exception to this would be if you were already at base ISO, in this case you'd just have to bump up the shutter speed a bit to get the aperture opened up. The only time you'd ever have to change settings is if you wanted to force a higher f-stop.
@@RobBlight I will try shutter priority next time I'm out. Maybe the g9 will not automatically return to f4 because it assumes I want to control that in aperture mode, I don't know. Thanks for your time.
HI Rob, for sure I am not a photographer, but will travel to Kenya for a 10 day safari ( gifted) I will take a Panasonic Lumix FZ300. I guess shutter speed priority will be fine for bright light pictures, what to do in dawn and dusk times low light? I know those early morning and evening drives will cause me photo problems, any help from you and those in the know would be great, best Peter
Shutter priority is still ideal, as long as the ISO is on auto. Just keep the shutter speed high when you're moving and lower it if you slow down or stop. Have fun.
The question i ask is this. What if youre lens is the sharpest at 3,2 and not 2.8 ? og 7.1 and not 5.6? Then you can use Aperture priority, set it too example 7.1 on a 200-500 5.6 lens and the set the camere never to go under lets say 1/800 Shutter. Then you can control the exposure with the front back dial. From there the camere will change either the shutter or ISO. Whats youre thoughs about this ? Nice channel Btw. Jens.
Well that's a great case for using manual mode. Set the aperture to whatever's sharpest and then adjust the shutter depending on the conditions. If you use aperture priority and are shooting a still subject in the shade at 1/800 your ISO will be pushed high when you could instead drop your shutter speed right down to 1/125. Or an animal might start moving quickly and you need to quickly change to 1/2000 to get a sharp image.
@@RobBlight Like the tought, will try this for a while. I have always done it the other way to be shure ( handheld) that my photos will not have any motionblure in them.
For video, full manual including manual ISO, manual focus, manual white balance. Shutter speed locked using the 180 degree rule. VR mode sport. To change exposure use ISO or aperture.
@@RobBlight Thank you very much for the tips! I am a total beginner in videography so I will have to do some research but I've noticed there are not as many resources out there as there are for photography, at least for wildlife videography. Maybe you could occupy that niche
Manual with auto ISO but sometimes have to use exposure compensation- still trying to work out what works best for me. I use back button continuous autofocus usually group autofocus. I have the Nikon D500 but just got the D850 and planning to sell the D500. Currently trying to decide if the grip is work the two extra frames per second. Do you use a grip with the D5 battery with your D850? I had gotten used to 10 fps but not sure if I really need the higher frame rate.
Hi Angela, I own the D5, D850 and the D500 as well as the Nikon 600 E FLED and 23 other prime Nikon lenses, trust me, you always want the extra frame rates for wildlife! ALWAYS... I only shoot in Manual with Auto ISO and Back button focus, unless I am using fill flash! 500px.com/photo/214061289/great-white-egret-by-jeff-rzepka?ctx_page=3&from=user&user_id=8439385
For some reason, my camera doesn’t let me set my iso to auto. It comes up with a message saying ‘this option is not available at current settings, or in the camera’s current state’. Is there a reason for this? I’ve searched online everywhere and I can’t get an answer anywhere! Thanks for the tips :)
I had that issue with mine, but I can't remember how I solved it. If I can work it out again, I'll let you know. I'd have thought someone would have helped you out by now though.
It could be something to do with flash? I know that my camera locks the iso if I'm using flash. Or are you in some sort of fully automatic mode on the camera? They sometime disable the more advanced settings. Also, if you're going to ask questions lie this, it's worth saying which camera you're using and what mode you are in when you get the message. Worth asking on a photography forum where you can find users of the same camera (or at least same make) as some "features" are different across manufacturers.
Interesting thoughts, but I really wouldn’t be holding a camera with a long lens like that.... you’ll be putting some serious stress on the lens mount... you run the risk of damaging the mount, leading to some very expensive remedial work!
I don't think there's much of a risk - lens mounts are strong. The examples of lens mount damage I've seen are always associated with impacts (tripod falling over etc).
I shoot manual myself but I know plenty of professionals who use aperture priority + exposure compensation with great results. Focus on making videos showing what works for you versus telling people what they are doing is wrong.
You know "plenty" of people who shoot wildlife professionally in aperture priority? I mean, I guess it could work in some situations, but it puzzles me why anyone who knows what they're doing would relinquish control over shutter speed. Thanks for the feedback.
I don't agree, when I shoot wildlife macro I use aperture priority, I need full control over aperture, then ISO lastly shutter speed so your statement is not correct for me. If I'm close and taking portraits I again prefer aperture so I can make sure I get good separation or increase dof when wildlife come closer. For instance I'm photographing grebes at F4 for nice backgrounds then it dives and resurfaces close to me, I know at that distance I need F11 to get the head full in focus dial it in and shoot. My priority is dof so aperture priority is best no? Both setting are for different purposes and wildlife photography is diverse so each can be beneficial in different circumstances.
You shoot all your photos with a D850? D500? I personally use a D500 and have been thinking more about a D850. But if I’m cropping anyways it just seems like a waste. I do a lot of bird photography and cropping most of the time.
I used to have a D500, but sold it after I got the D850. Regardless of whether you crop heavily I still think the D850 is better for a variety of reasons.
@@Falkenroth1 Incorrect! The D500 focus points cover most of the viewfinder, has an endless buffer 200 frames which does not compare to the D850 and you get 10FPS not 9! But the D850 does handle specular highlights better than the D500.
If I were you I would stick to the D500 as if you were to use the DX crop mode on the D850 to achieve the same field of view it will give pretty much identical results (okay, the D850 is a newer BSI sensor but I bet the difference in practical terms is not much). I have seen photographers wildlife images on the web shot with both the D500 & D850 & the D850 images still look grainy at about ISO 3200 due to the 45MP. I have the D7500 (which has the same sensor & processor as the D500) and it is very good, even in low light; just watch those blown highlights! I tend to shoot RAW and underexpose a bit.
Manual, yes. Shutter priority, never. Aperture priority, especially wide open, will always select the fastest possible shutter speed for the light. In shutter priority, if there is more light the lens will stop down instead of I creasing shutter speed. A waste of light!
Hi Rob, are you totally sure about what you explain at 7:34? In my experience with the D850 there is no such risk of unnecessarily applying a too high ISO when using Auto ISO. But that's maybe because I'm almost always using it in manual mode. Did you experience the issue when using aperture or shutter priority modes?
I did make a slight mistake here, thanks for highlighting it. It does happen, but only in one of the auto modes. In manual mode it does freely drop below that number.
Too general, sorry. If you know what you are doing, AP determines the quality of your shot. Going full manual would be an option when you have tons of time, never happened to me with wildlife. SP theoretically sounds well, but the overall quality of the shot will easily suffer.
Well you completely missed the point of using the aperture priority.... it is used to ensure that you control the depth of field DOF. When you photograph a flying bird which normally have more of an erratic movement, you want to be in the safe zone where the image is in focus, giving yourself a room to ensure image sharpness. No one in the right mind shoots at f2.8 simply because of the shallow DOF. You would let your ISO be controlled by the camera to ensure good exposure. What you have shown us are photos of still subjects or moving slowly, and not flying birds, you can shoot easily with either aperture or shutter priority. Everything being equal, i.e. distance to subject, sensor size, etc.. shooting with a stopped down aperture gives you deeper DOF i.e. sharp images
Aperture or speed? Quite why everyone gets in a huff about it I don't know! It all automated. All these "proffesionals" take thousands of photos. Good job 35mm has gone by the wayside. Because they will have as many duff images as mere mortals to be honest. Plus tinkering with an image nowadays gives an extra hand
Hi Rob,i am certainly NOT convinced with your statement.I know plenty of people who use Aperture priority and they get amazing shots in A/P especially of moving birds.Your pics proved nothing,sorry but they didnt.
Wow this video has butthurt a lot of people lol 😂 Personally I think it's one of the best videos I've seen and while not preventing anyone from using Aperture Priority if they want to, it does make a great case for using Shutter Priority or manual in scenarios where they might have just gone with the generally accepted dogma. Thanks for sharing your ideas Rob 👍
I found this video very frustrating. I think maybe you didn’t come across in saying what you were trying to explain, but much of what you said made no sense. You said in aperture priority you have no control over the shutter speed. Firstly, by having it wide open, it will give you the fastest shutter speed. If you want to effect the shutter speed, change the aperture. Secondly, you said it would be wide open anyway in shutter priority - only if you choose the fastest shutter speed. Manual mode is going to give you the more options, especially combined with auto ISO. Personally, I shoot often in aperture priority with auto ISO limited to go no higher than 3200. This way, with my lens wide open, I will always get the fastest shutter speed which is nearly always what I want.
Auto ISO is for idiots.. iso -1000 or you don't take the picture.. every wildlife picture you take of animals who are moving fast is 1/2000 at least.. maybe the result is nicer at 1/50 in some cases but if you need to take 5000 shots to get 1 perfect one.. good luck with that. light is the key.. F2.8, iso -1000 and hoping the light is good enough to have a good shuttterspeed. if not, you just do not try to take a picture.
First of all we birders dont use A/Av not to control background. But to control Iso. In manual mode we often get underexposed shots because scene always keep changing. No time to react, thus getting a noisy image when trying to lift shadow in post. Auto iso results in very noisy image too because it mostly chooses to select the maximum set limit mostly. We dont want that. Shutter priority is a bad idea because you gotta look for iso and shutter both which is distracting in run and gun scenarios.. Av/A is best because all you change is ISO. (We dont change aperture anyway, that is stuck at wide open 90% of the time.) And with just iso at your fingetip you just keep watch if there is enough shutter speed, change accordingly and keep shooting. Av/A gives you exposure compensation too which we need very much for always getting a properly exposed image. I know you shoot mammals and stuff and European Robins mostly when you have lots of time for setting adjustment. Run and Gun birding is a whole different story. so yeah, stfu. Theres a reason 90% of all shooters use either manual or Av. not S/Tv.
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Apologies for the extremely "casual" presentation style - I was super tight on time. What settings do you like to use?
I use Aperture priority but will try your suggestions next time
Shutter priority or manual.
I use Aperture priority but in my camera I can set also the minimum shutter speed! This way I can use it wide open and I know the shutter speed always going to be equal or higher than the required!
Manual with auto iso
Aperture priority
You can get great shots in both modes if you know what you're doing. Even sometimes if you don't. Great photographs aren't about getting an image clear, it's about knowing what or how much to blur. Aperture priority gives us the most control of our background.
I teach photo workshops in Alaska. I had this conversation a couple weeks ago. I was getting a class set up to shoot a moose. I told them to get into the biggest f-stops they had. None were shooting 2.8 glass. I told them this gives us maximum shutter speed. One gentleman said, "why not use shutter priority and set it to 125th of a second? That will capture a moose standing in a field." It was a very bright day with few clouds. I'm thinking on that day with that speed his camera would've thrown him into f-16 or f-22. That would've been too busy. By using large f-stops we can blur all but the moose. This leads the viewers eyes straight to the subject. We also get maximum shutter speeds.
I realize there's always gaussian blur. I use it and love it. I still try to capture what mind is creating, in capture, not in post.
Just my opinion, as I said both modes will work.
To me it doesn't really matter whether you use shutter or aperture priority or manual. What matters is that you understand exposure, know your camera and can quickly adjust iso, shutter, aperture and use exposure compensation in the field as needed. You need to know when your camera will get it right and when your camera will struggle - such as a dark bird against a bright sky - no camera will work this out for you. That is where you have to understand exposure and understand your camera. The camera settings are not important - it does not matter how you get there but it is the picture you get that counts.
I use aperture priority most of the time. I select the aperture depending on what I am after, soft bokeh, depth of field or a fast shutter speed. I am not restricted by low light here in Spain or indeed many other locations where I have photographed birds. Another factor is the sweet-spot of your lens, some are not quite so sharp when wide open. I believe Av has given me the best possible results over time.
I love yt channels like yours - only pure content, without any pmodern tricks for videomakers and asking for likes of following. content for your videos speaks for itself.
I'm a wildlife photographer and I must say that there are some misconceptions and fallacies being stated here. For the record, I shoot primarily in Aperture Priority, choosing to shoot in Shutter Priority and Manual only when required, depending upon my creative intent and conditions. Firstly, discussions in forums should not be the yardstick by which this should be measured, as mostly people discuss things in forums when they have doubts or are looking for answers. That's like asking tourists for directions. Having said that occasionally professionals do share their opinions and frankly, there's more than one way to skin a proverbial cat. However, allow me to address some of the fallacies being stated:
1. You said, "whatever settings you have, the lens is going to be wide open anyway" and "If you're shooting in low light, the lens is going to be wide open anyway". How? The lens doesn't automatically open wide in ANY mode (except Auto), unless and until you dial in certain values or a combination of values, whether f-stop, ISO or shutter speed in Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual modes respectively. You have to dial in the values that will determine how wide the lens opens. Neither the camera, nor the lens do that automatically, no matter which lens you use, whether a zoom or a fixed focal length.
2. "The things is, with wildlife photography your'e struggling with low light anyway". Sorry, that's not true. Yes, you should start early and usually the light conditions are poor, but as the sun rises the light conditions improve. Unless you're in conditions where even at 8:30-9am there's no sun at all. However that is specific to certain places or conditions, not wildlife photography in general. Usually you have great light till around 9ish and then it gets harsh and again in the evenings, just like early morning, the light is great at the golden hour. The majority of good wildlife images are taken in good light conditions.
3. You said, "If you use Aperture Priority and set the lens wide open....you're essentially just using Auto mode and leaving everything up the the camera because the lens would have been wide open anyway". Sorry, that is just not how Aperture Priority works. In Aperture Priority, we set the aperture first and foremost, depending on the subject, the frame and the overall feel of the image we want to convey. Then we choose the ISO according to the desired shutter speed. If we shoot wide open (example using a 500mm f/4) at f/4, we still need to choose the ISO depending on light conditions, which is why we need to meter the subject, by half depressing the shutter button to get a reading. We adjust the ISO accordingly; if the light conditions are poor, to give us a faster shutter speed, say before the golden hour at dawn or sunset. If the light conditions are brighter, then drop the ISO, as brighter conditions ensure a faster shutter speed. Now if we were shooting the same light conditions, but if we wanted to showcase the habitat by increasing the depth of field, this would be done by closing down the aperture to f/5.6 or even f/8 or more depending upon how much of the scene we wanted to include. This would mean changing the ISO accordingly, to achieve the desired shutter speeds. So, shooting in Aperture Priority is NOT just Auto mode, as you are still in control and have to control the ISO to achieve the shutter speed you need.
4. "If you have your camera set to Aperture Priority, you have no control over that (controlling shutter speed)". Sorry, that is not true. That is precisely the role of the ISO in Aperture Priority, to control shutter speed. Why? because, as the name suggests, you have given priority to fixing your aperture, so the camera will not change it, so the only thing it can change is the shutter speed, which you determine by controlling the ISO. In Shutter Priority, the role of the ISO is to control the aperture which decides how much light falls on the sensor, because in this mode, as the name suggests, you have given priority to fixing your shutter speed, so the only thing the camera can play with is aperture. Remember that changing the aperture drastically affects the bokeh (depth of field) which determines the aesthetic feel of the image, something that is critical in wildlife photography.
So, why shoot in Aperture Priority for wildlife and sport photography?
1. In wildlife photography, depth of field is critical. Controlling your background by narrowing or widening your depth of field can drastically change the feel of your image from being an intimate portrait, to being a habitat image. Aperture Priority allows you to control your depth of field and thus control your creative vision of what you want to convey to the viewer.
2. By setting your aperture and controlling your ISO, you control your shutter speed, so you can choose whether you shoot at 1/250 sec or 1/8000 sec, by controlling your ISO (keeping in mind the light conditions).
3. In Aperture Priority, if you have your desired aperture and shutter speed, but need to further control your exposure, you can do so using the exposure compensation buttons.
Note that Shutter Priority is generally used by professional wildlife and sport photographers to SLOW the shutter speed down intentionally, for creative images like panning images, slow exposures, etc. While you can freeze the action using Shutter Priority, note that as already mentioned, you cannot control the depth of field. However, you can use Aperture Priority to shoot panning images too, by simply closing down the aperture, which cuts the amount of light hitting the sensor, thus the shutter compensates by slowing down to allow more light in. So you can drop to f/22 and an ISO of 100 (according to the conditions) and this will drastically cut your shutter speed, allowing you to pan or make a slow-exposure image.
Shooting in Manual mode is rarely used in wildlife and sports photography, as you have to juggle 3 values, aperture, ISO and shutter speeds to achieve a desired image. Not what you want to be doing in a field where animals or birds can change their behaviour and move at any time. Having said that, may professional wildlife photographers out there use Manual as a semi-automatic mode by using Auto-ISO.
If people are comfortable shooting in a particular mode, that's perfectly fine. However, misconceptions and fallacies need to be cleared up and that is why I have chosen to comment.
Zhayynn James Photography exactly
@Zhayynn James Photography Why not just use manual mode with auto ISO? Gives all the benefits you listed above in a more simplified way.
Rob Blight Hi Rob. I noticed that you didn’t address any of my statements, whereas my statements were a point by point technical breakdown of the statements made in the video. If your video was about Aperture Priority vs Manual with Auto-ISO then your reply to my comment is understandable, but that isn’t the premise of the video at all.
My comment was in response to the fallacious claim that Aperture Priority is not a good mode for wildlife photography. I have categorically shown why Aperture Priority is a great mode for the genre and the fact is that most professional wildlife photographers across the world use Aperture Priority. Your video is based on the premise that Aperture Priority is not the right mode for wildlife photography, a claim that is repeated over and over again throughout the video.
For the record, Manual with Auto-ISO is a semi-automatic mode, in which case it is comparable to Aperture Priority. It does not provide “all the benefits in a simplified way”. Again, how?? They are both semi-automatic modes, though in Manual with Auto-ISO I have to control both aperture and shutter speed, while in Aperture Priority I set the aperture and have to regulate only my ISO. This is why I prefer Aperture Priority and for the reasons I have already clearly stated, ad nauseum.
@Zhayynn James Photography I'm not that interested in getting into a point by point technical argument in the youtube comments.
It's more simplified because you can adjust the shutter speed directly rather than indirectly through ISO and with no need to hold down the ISO button (your shutter finger can stay on the shutter). You also don't have to worry about lighting changes altering your shutter speed. I'm not sure why you think you have to adjust aperture more frequently in manual mode than in AP mode (you don't).
Zhayynn James Photography - You are spot-on! I would also add that Nikon and Canon moved the location of the ISO button on their flagship cameras to support this method of shooting in direct response to requests by professional sports and wildlife photographers.
Sorry. I'm not sold. I do aperture priority. With auto ISO. With a minimum shutter speed set based upon my situation. With exposure compensation. With the direction of my exposure compensation dial set so that as I dial to the right I'm increasing exposure and moving my histogram to the right. As it gets darker my ISO increases. As it gets lighter my shutter speed increases. If there's no sky in my image I use matrix metering. If there's any sky in my image I do highlight metering. If I'm shooting one animal or one object I can reduce my depth of field, as more people or more animals or more objects are in the scene I can directly increase my depth of field.
But I think what you're getting to with the shutter speed is sometimes like during action you want a faster shutter speed and then other times like when the athletes are standing getting prepared or the animals are staying in one place then you want a lower shutter speed so you can use a lower ISO. Back when I shot a lot of volleyball I used two custom settings. One was high ISO high shutter speed. The other was low ISO low shutter speed.
I use the same settings!
Yea with you on that, I’ve used Av mode for years for my wildlife, unless I’m shooting action, birds in flight, fights etc. Deffo don’t have my lenses wide open unless it’s lowlight, I like 7.1 for sharpness, but varies for composition and subject
you're using the exposure compensation to adjust the shutter and ISO. I get the same from manual mode with auto ISO, but using the front and back dials for shutter and aperture. That is a more recognised way to do it. You get the same result, just not as normal to do it, but it works for you.
Couldn't agree more, Av all the way for me 👍
Aperture priority comes into its own for fast moving animals where reaction times are critical. Like birding. You rely on the speed of a good camera to give the correct exposure so you can do everything else. By the time you cycle shutter speeds and check exposure etc, a bird can be gone. And that's not including BIF.
Problem with shutter priority is when something moves across different lighting like dark forest floor to extremely bright canopies, an aperture change of a number of stops can completely change the separation of the background and therefore the image.
Later cameras often have a minimum shutter option when you can dial in the lowest number you can get away with a sharp image for what you're after. Add auto ISO (with a max value) on top of that and you increase your chances of getting bankable shots.
Different methods for different types of shooting.
Hi Rob, I use aperture priority with my XT3 with a 100-400 lens for stationary wildlife because the lens is much sharper at about F11, and the IOS allows shutter speeds as low as 1 fortieth of a second hand-held. For birds in flight I use shutter priority for up to 1/2000 wide open, Auto Iso. Cheers, Richard.
Auto ISO has really increased my enjoyability for photography. It's not 100% but I would say that its increased the likelihood I get the shot, or atleast get something I can edit. Atleast, I can use it until I understand it a bit better. But I can use Exposure compensation to fine tune. Great video and some really wonderful photos. Thanks.
I believe AP auto ISO can be useful in close up work where the DoF needs controlling and detail is best kept by lower ISO. If you set the minimum shutter speed to 1/125th or 1/60th and have good VR, the ISO will be low in all but the lowest light level. This works for still subjects like flowers and resting insects. For mobile subjects like birds, mammals and flying insects I do use manual exposure with auto ISO.
Just discovered your channel and I like your helpful videos, including this one. It made me think this subject through. Thanks.
Thank you Rob, for explaining how to shoot Wildlife Photography. I just recently shot some photos while at a safari. I notice that I was shooting at F8.0, 1/500, Auto ISO3200 on a Canon EOS Rebel T7. The lens I had was a Canon Zoom Lens EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 (300.0m). My photos seem to turn out okay. But once I reduce the size to use them as wallpaper, I notice grain in my photos. Good tip, man! Manual Mode or Shutter Priority.
Very enlightening, from a 77 year old that has been photographing for 65 years. What you say, just makes sense.
I agree Manual is really the only way to control your camera, for the reasons you have given it's the easiest way to manage shutter speed and aperture. I also use auto ISO but not always, it's important to remember this is actually an auto mode and takes away some of your control ! I'd also say to those learning photography manual mode can help speed your learning and makes you aware of how adjustments to shutter speed/ aperture/ iso affect your photos.
I shoot a lot of small, “stationary” birds. I use aperture priority, F8, auto ISO. Or if the light is low, Program Auto, (my Nikon 200-500 has a maximum aperture of 5.6, but is very sharpe in the center where my subjects usually are), also with auto ISO. It seems to work pretty well, but I do keep a saved setting in my user save setting U2 for moving subjects that uses shutter priority.
I use two custom settings, one with SP and the other with AP, and dial up or down depending on conditions. I attempt to use both for static wildlife and select in post which was best for the conditions. Mostly hand held so usually SP is best. Moving wildlife then always SP. ISO is set with a limit of 400.
Aperture priority - because a BIF can fly from bright to darker and vice versa at any time. Aperture priority handles this very well!
Few pro photographers use shutter priority for BIF, most use Av or Manual.
Using Av, I get wonderful pix with my Canon 7D Mark II with a 400mm L series lens.
this is funny because i just saw a video yesterday from another youtuber who was promoting Apeture priority. i think this is why there is so much discussion because there are many photographers who have different styles and teach it on youtube. i guess you just have to try both and find out what works for you best. i havnt had the chance to do any wildlife photography yet but ill deffinately be using manual and for the first time ever, auto iso if i get the chance.
Auto ISO is great. I think people are scared of letting the ISO go too high, so they try to control it or limit it. But really that's the wrong way of looking at it - you reduce noise in your image by collecting more light, not lowering ISO.
@@RobBlight nice thanks for the explanation. i will definately try with auto iso in some of my shots. i have never used auto iso and always tried to keep it as low as possible. i tend to under expose a lot to get the shutter speeds i want as its easy to retrieve detail in darker shots. for landscape i will continue to use full manual but i really want to try my hand at wildlife and will definitely be trying out this auto iso feature. thanks mate. love your videos.
I honestly don't care about bokeh that much. I care about context and with totally blown out images I loose most information on the subject. Great video and tips, thanks man
Here's another way of looking at it:
When using shutter priority, you know your shot won't be ruined by motion blur, and like stated in the video: if the image is especially dark, the aperture is going to be set to the lowest value anyway.
When using aperture priority, sure, you might get a less grainy photo, but there's no guarantee the photo won't be completely ruined due to motion blur.
If you care that much about retaining bokeh, use manual mode with auto ISO.
Peter Schmidt Why would you know that your shot won’t get ruined by motion blur by using shutter priority? There’s some very bad information being given here. Just like the miss information in this video, that’s wrong. Of course you can get motion blur, choosing that option doesn’t suddenly remove that possibility.
Choosing your aperture wide open will automatically give you the fastest shutter speed. If that’s not fast enough, then changing to shutter priority isn’t going to make it any faster if the lights not there. Only altering your ISO can help in that circumstance.
People don’t seem to be able to understand a very simple concept and are getting confused because it is ‘shutter priority’. That just lets you choose what you want to be able to set. It doesn’t change the physics of light.
@@frankanderson5012 Ok - go ahead and use a 300mm+ lens, no image stabilization and no tripod. See how good your shots are going to come out when your shutter speed is slower than the shakiness of your hands.
Not a hard concept to grasp.
Thank you for your video which I must admit, I learnt quite alot from it especially with settings of the Aperture and Auto ISO in Manual Mode and the liberty of playing around with the Shutter Speed dial according to the situation. My question is that my D5 does not have the EV button to play with when set on Manual Mode. What can I do please?
I usually use shutter priority. Sometimes manual
Yeah, I agree with some of your points but I have to say that Auto ISO is a NO GO for me when shooting birds in flight as the exposure meter of the camera completely buggers up what auto ISO is trying to do because the meter wants to expose for the large area of bright sky. People say "Oh well just move to spot metering and it will be fine", NO, you can't keep a spot meter dot on a bird in flight.
As for getting sharp images of birds in flight at 1/500th sec, well good luck with that unless they are heading straight at you, even a slow moving bird like a Little Egret will be blurred at 1/500th if its flying across your path, eg, right to left or left to right. My minimum shutter speed for a bird in flight is 1/1250 but if I can I can attain it then I prefer 1/4000 or better still 1/8000. Try shooting a Swallow, Swift or Martin at 1/500th and see what you get !!
I personally use (full) manual mode unless its really high contrast and or changeable lighting situations where i find manual with auto iso never quite exposes correctly so I then use shutter priority with exposure compensation. I am envious of the Lumix G9 that can do full manual with exposure compensation - all it is really doing is adjusting the ISO but you can fine tune it easily.
Just finished watching another video, from a pro wildlife photographer, banging on about how good aperture priority is for beginners at wildlife photography.
Set all my camera up ready to go out and try it.
And then watched this one lol.
Confused ain't the word 🤔.
This one did seem to make more sense though, but hey, what do I know ?.
Not a lot is the answer to that lol
Hey Pete. I think I watched the same video this morning by a BBC wildlife photographer. And then this fellow says no to aperture priority. I normally use manual, but do like to see different ways others use their settings. I think it simply boils down to what each photographer feels confident using.
If you're photographing static wildlife, depth of field is really important and shutter speed less so (compared to birds in flight for example). Manual mode is a lot for a beginner to handle. It's important to learn about aperture because that controls depth of field which is critical to all creative photography whereas for 95% of photographs you only need a shutter speed that's "good enough" for the shot. So I would say it depends on the wildlife.
Manual with Auto ISO is good stuff you are basically only limited by your cameras noise performance at higher ISO and will have to make shutter or aperture decisions based on that. And of course Exposure Comp comes into play as well.
I think it depends on the individual and the situation. As a beginner A-priority works well. Plus some lenses don't always perform to their best when wide open, so it means finding the optimal f stop. Plus, shooting a perched bird requires less focus on shutter speed than aperture. Therefore, your comments are valid but only in certain circumstances i.e. birds in flight and moving wildlife. I will try to use S-priority based on this vid and see how I get on, to compare.
I think it works well for still subjects too, since you can drop your shutter speed way down and get cleaner shots. If you need to stop the aperture down because it's too soft, try manual mode + auto ISO.
Some small corrections in your statement about how ISO doesn’t matter and just aim for lowest value. The D850 (along with other cameras like Sony a9 or a7iii) all have dual gain sensors, which means that at some specific value of ISO ( 400 for Nikon, 640 for Sony) the read noise will be lower at the higher ISO setting. So for example the D850 will have less read noise at ISO 400 than it will at ISO 200 or 300, so given the same subject and lighting conditions, your image will have less noise if you shoot at ISO 400 than if you could drop it to 250 or 300. At some value around 150 it evens out and going lower than becomes beneficial
I never said ISO doesn't matter and just aim for lowest value. What I'm talking about there is more of a quirk in how the camera won't drop your ISO below what you have it set to, unless it has exhausted other options (aperture, shutter speed).
@@RobBlight at 6:10 you say "the goal is to modulate your shutter speed to and get your ISO as low as possible" which I agree is true in general, more light is good. All I'm saying is that dual gain cameras like the D850 actually produce less noise when the dual gain "kicks in" so if you have the choice between shooting something at ISO 200 or 300 vs 400, you're better off shooting at ISO 400 and using slightly faster shutter speed (which is also better to avoid motion blur). For the D850 the read noise @ ISO 400 is almost on par with ISO 160, so anything between ISO 160-350 range will have more noise than manually setting your ISO at 400.
Personally I usually use manual with auto ISO, but the next option is definitely shutter priority. I NEVER use aperture priority for wildlife.
I shoot manual with auto ISO for birds...I set the high limit to 1600 or 3200 depending on the camera I'm shooting with...I play with the shutter speed and aperture if I have time to adjust...for birds in flight at least 1000 sec...or higher .
There is different way to get great wildlife shot so telling don't use aperture priority is maybe too much. I often use aperture priority and Auto ISO and results is amazing sometime. But I agree with you that Speed priority may be a good setting too. It's really depending of the light and if the subject is fixed or moving. There is never only one road to reach Roma ! Truth is never from one point of view
What do you find useful about aperture priority for wildlife? I can't think of many situations where you'd want control over the aperture with little to no concern about the shutter speed.
Thank you Rob, it is so clear and simple
I shoot Manual mode 100% of the time for all photography. With meter set to spot or mutispot for Landscape. I will use Average/Matrix meter mode when flash is used and setting my ambient light first then adjust my flash for just the right amount of fill flash using (auto)TTL flash meter. I always use TTL flash metering when subject distances are not known or constantly changing.
In Manual mode I can change any setting with the touch of a button or dial. And still achieve the results my camera can in Auto modes like Aperture,Shutter or auto A.S.A... YES A.S.A.. I 've been a pro photographer since 1977 and A.S.A.was the standard then and I see no reason to change now. I say 100 A.S.A. you say 100 i.s.o. the meaning is the same. It's ALL just photography and that's the fun part.
Manual mode iso max at 12800 exposition wheel and silent mode on my Sony a7iii 😉
Manual with auto iso here. Max iso set to 16000. Usually don't get up to there since I drop my shutter speed in low light but you never know what you'll need to freeze.
Exactly. If the ISO starts skyrocketing it's easy to see and you can drop the shutter speed further. Once you've hit your lower limit for shutter speed and ISO it's still up there it's simply getting too dark.
I hope you meant 1600 lol.
@@ZaberAnsaryOfficial lol nope I meant 16,000. That's my preferred cut off on my camera as I still get great pictures with a little bit of noise reduction. Try not to let your ISO govern your image choices. If needed I'd even push it to 56k and just turn it into black and white, you'd be surprised what you come away with. 😉😁
@@RobBlight Yes, exactly, and with the adjustments I rarely ever hit my set cap. Great video man, keep em' coming! 👌👍
Thank you, I recently took up wildlife photography and I couldn't understand why I was getting nowhere with Aperture priority. I don't know enough to use manual, but I will get there,.
Ensure that you set ISO to automatic and set a value for the minimum shutter finally set your camera to aperture priority around f8
jason look up Sean Tucker on you tube he has the best tutorial for manual on the web so easy to understand
Thank you so much for this informative video,I find your opinions very helpful.
Some good tips , I’m always manual with auto iso unless I plan to take birds in flight then I set the iso . Gem
Been watching your videos and find them very helpful, im just getting into wildlife photography and have a entry level Nikon DSLR (D3500) also i have a Nikon AF-P 70-300 4.5-6.3 G ED lens. Can you suggest some basic settings for me to help with getting nice sharp photos. I do have a tripod, would i still use Shutter Priority with a tripod or only for handheld also can you recommend the best auto-focus and area mode. I am using auto-iso which is capped 3200. Thanx :)
um... I use AV mode "Canon 5D Mark IV" - I also use Auto iso in conjunction with AV mode. Not sure about Nikon but when in AV mode not only can I set an auto iso range but can also set a Minimum Shutter speed. I tend to float around minimum iso 100 and maximum 3200 with a minimum shutter speed of 1/500 or 1/1200. Works perfect for me when not in manual mode.
I'd really miss having direct control over shutter speed, but hey if you feel it works for you then by all means, keep doing it!
I use a 5D4 and a 7D2. Manual mode on both with auto ISO and full iso range for auto iso. I need control over shutter speed at all times for wildlife. No other way to fly.
@@RogerZoul I'll check out his video, Thank you.
@@RogerZoul Come back to say yep agreed, Manual Mode with Auto iso works a treat! Thank you.
Most of the major successful wildlife photographers use aperture priority I switch between that and manual with auto iso.
I GENERALLY GO APERTURE PRIORITY NOT FOR BOKEH, BUT FOR THE LENS SWEET SPOT..USUALLY f7.1 or f8
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That's because it their job! Plenty of time.
Ppl should use whatever settings they want if they’re getting the results they want…
Very good suggestions Robert!
I have a g9 with PanaLeica 100 400. I zoom in and it automatically changes from f4 to f6.3. Zooming back out leaves the aperture at 6.3. I constantly have to flick the aperture dial to get back to widest possible aperture. There is no time to then balance the shutter speed as well and watch the exposure markings.
Have you tried shutter priority? The camera would try to keep the aperture wide open and would only start closing it down if your shutter speed was quite low.
Well I'd have to change one or the other everytime I recompose so it wouldn't be any quicker for me.
@@METAL4K-UK Not quite sure I understand. So the problem is if you're in manual mode at f/4 and you zoom in, the lens will stop down to f/6.3, but then if you don't touch the aperture and zoom back out, it will just stay stuck on that f-stop? I don't know if that's normal for that camera, but regardless of that I think it could still work pretty well.
For example in shutter priority with auto ISO, when you zoom out the camera would open the aperture and drop the ISO. The exception to this would be if you were already at base ISO, in this case you'd just have to bump up the shutter speed a bit to get the aperture opened up. The only time you'd ever have to change settings is if you wanted to force a higher f-stop.
@@RobBlight I will try shutter priority next time I'm out. Maybe the g9 will not automatically return to f4 because it assumes I want to control that in aperture mode, I don't know. Thanks for your time.
HI Rob, for sure I am not a photographer, but will travel to Kenya for a 10 day safari ( gifted) I will take a Panasonic Lumix FZ300. I guess shutter speed priority will be fine for bright light pictures, what to do in dawn and dusk times low light? I know those early morning and evening drives will cause me photo problems, any help from you and those in the know would be great, best Peter
Shutter priority is still ideal, as long as the ISO is on auto. Just keep the shutter speed high when you're moving and lower it if you slow down or stop. Have fun.
The question i ask is this. What if youre lens is the sharpest at 3,2 and not 2.8 ? og 7.1 and not 5.6?
Then you can use Aperture priority, set it too example 7.1 on a 200-500 5.6 lens and the set the camere never to go under lets say 1/800 Shutter.
Then you can control the exposure with the front back dial. From there the camere will change either the shutter or ISO.
Whats youre thoughs about this ?
Nice channel Btw.
Jens.
Well that's a great case for using manual mode. Set the aperture to whatever's sharpest and then adjust the shutter depending on the conditions. If you use aperture priority and are shooting a still subject in the shade at 1/800 your ISO will be pushed high when you could instead drop your shutter speed right down to 1/125. Or an animal might start moving quickly and you need to quickly change to 1/2000 to get a sharp image.
@@RobBlight Like the tought, will try this for a while. I have always done it the other way to be shure ( handheld) that my photos will not have any motionblure in them.
All lenses have a sweet spot, so aperture mode will beat shutterspeed mody any day in sharpness
I am also using manual mode with auto Iso and sometimes full manual. Same tips for videos would be really appreciated! Thank you
For video, full manual including manual ISO, manual focus, manual white balance. Shutter speed locked using the 180 degree rule. VR mode sport. To change exposure use ISO or aperture.
@@RobBlight Thank you very much for the tips! I am a total beginner in videography so I will have to do some research but I've noticed there are not as many resources out there as there are for photography, at least for wildlife videography. Maybe you could occupy that niche
very good explanation friend!!!!!
I agree. I use shutter priority
Manual with auto ISO but sometimes have to use exposure compensation- still trying to work out what works best for me. I use back button continuous autofocus usually group autofocus. I have the Nikon D500 but just got the D850 and planning to sell the D500. Currently trying to decide if the grip is work the two extra frames per second. Do you use a grip with the D5 battery with your D850? I had gotten used to 10 fps but not sure if I really need the higher frame rate.
Hi Angela, I own the D5, D850 and the D500 as well as the Nikon 600 E FLED and 23 other prime Nikon lenses, trust me, you always want the extra frame rates for wildlife! ALWAYS... I only shoot in Manual with Auto ISO and Back button focus, unless I am using fill flash! 500px.com/photo/214061289/great-white-egret-by-jeff-rzepka?ctx_page=3&from=user&user_id=8439385
I don't have the grip, but I would certainly welcome the 9fps for flying birds. I just don't shoot then often and prefer a lighter setup.
I highly recommend back button focusing as well and never having to switch between AF-C and AF-S again - see Steve Perry's video on that
Yes back button focus is a game changer!
Good video and advice for beginners Rob!
Hey! What lens did you use for those shots? Thanks
Wish I had VR lenses. With my non VR 300mm I need to stay over 1/1000 to get no camera shake. Have to use monopod to be at about 1/500.
For some reason, my camera doesn’t let me set my iso to auto. It comes up with a message saying ‘this option is not available at current settings, or in the camera’s current state’.
Is there a reason for this?
I’ve searched online everywhere and I can’t get an answer anywhere!
Thanks for the tips :)
I had that issue with mine, but I can't remember how I solved it.
If I can work it out again, I'll let you know.
I'd have thought someone would have helped you out by now though.
It could be something to do with flash? I know that my camera locks the iso if I'm using flash. Or are you in some sort of fully automatic mode on the camera? They sometime disable the more advanced settings. Also, if you're going to ask questions lie this, it's worth saying which camera you're using and what mode you are in when you get the message. Worth asking on a photography forum where you can find users of the same camera (or at least same make) as some "features" are different across manufacturers.
Interesting thoughts, but I really wouldn’t be holding a camera with a long lens like that.... you’ll be putting some serious stress on the lens mount... you run the risk of damaging the mount, leading to some very expensive remedial work!
I don't think there's much of a risk - lens mounts are strong. The examples of lens mount damage I've seen are always associated with impacts (tripod falling over etc).
I shoot manual myself but I know plenty of professionals who use aperture priority + exposure compensation with great results.
Focus on making videos showing what works for you versus telling people what they are doing is wrong.
You know "plenty" of people who shoot wildlife professionally in aperture priority? I mean, I guess it could work in some situations, but it puzzles me why anyone who knows what they're doing would relinquish control over shutter speed.
Thanks for the feedback.
Full manual mode with auto ISO works well for me.
I don't agree, when I shoot wildlife macro I use aperture priority, I need full control over aperture, then ISO lastly shutter speed so your statement is not correct for me. If I'm close and taking portraits I again prefer aperture so I can make sure I get good separation or increase dof when wildlife come closer. For instance I'm photographing grebes at F4 for nice backgrounds then it dives and resurfaces close to me, I know at that distance I need F11 to get the head full in focus dial it in and shoot. My priority is dof so aperture priority is best no? Both setting are for different purposes and wildlife photography is diverse so each can be beneficial in different circumstances.
Different context macro!
You shoot all your photos with a D850? D500? I personally use a D500 and have been thinking more about a D850. But if I’m cropping anyways it just seems like a waste. I do a lot of bird photography and cropping most of the time.
I used to have a D500, but sold it after I got the D850. Regardless of whether you crop heavily I still think the D850 is better for a variety of reasons.
Birds in flight with the D850 would be better for sure.
@@Falkenroth1 Incorrect! The D500 focus points cover most of the viewfinder, has an endless buffer 200 frames which does not compare to the D850 and you get 10FPS not 9! But the D850 does handle specular highlights better than the D500.
Seeing and finding the bird in the view finder goes a long while shooting a moving target. D500 has more tunnel vision.
If I were you I would stick to the D500 as if you were to use the DX crop mode on the D850 to achieve the same field of view it will give pretty much identical results (okay, the D850 is a newer BSI sensor but I bet the difference in practical terms is not much). I have seen photographers wildlife images on the web shot with both the D500 & D850 & the D850 images still look grainy at about ISO 3200 due to the 45MP. I have the D7500 (which has the same sensor & processor as the D500) and it is very good, even in low light; just watch those blown highlights! I tend to shoot RAW and underexpose a bit.
Manual Mode with Auto ISO (MAX ISO SET) hehe
Manual, yes. Shutter priority, never. Aperture priority, especially wide open, will always select the fastest possible shutter speed for the light.
In shutter priority, if there is more light the lens will stop down instead of I creasing shutter speed. A waste of light!
Hi Rob, are you totally sure about what you explain at 7:34? In my experience with the D850 there is no such risk of unnecessarily applying a too high ISO when using Auto ISO. But that's maybe because I'm almost always using it in manual mode. Did you experience the issue when using aperture or shutter priority modes?
I did make a slight mistake here, thanks for highlighting it. It does happen, but only in one of the auto modes. In manual mode it does freely drop below that number.
I'm going to start getting out with my Canon 7d mkii and Canon 400mm prime lens. Think I'll start off shutter speed 1,000
Sounds like a great setup. Good luck!
I've the same - wonderful combo!.
True!
What about iso noise when on auto iso..
I use a D700 and D750
Too general, sorry. If you know what you are doing, AP determines the quality of your shot. Going full manual would be an option when you have tons of time, never happened to me with wildlife. SP theoretically sounds well, but the overall quality of the shot will easily suffer.
Well you completely missed the point of using the aperture priority.... it is used to ensure that you control the depth of field DOF. When you photograph a flying bird which normally have more of an erratic movement, you want to be in the safe zone where the image is in focus, giving yourself a room to ensure image sharpness. No one in the right mind shoots at f2.8 simply because of the shallow DOF. You would let your ISO be controlled by the camera to ensure good exposure. What you have shown us are photos of still subjects or moving slowly, and not flying birds, you can shoot easily with either aperture or shutter priority. Everything being equal, i.e. distance to subject, sensor size, etc.. shooting with a stopped down aperture gives you deeper DOF i.e. sharp images
You need control over shutter speed for birds in flight. Just use manual mode, then you can change either one as and when you need to.
I use manual mode with auto iso
You really need a tripod for vlogging!
Apologies. I usually use one, but only had 2 hours to shoot, edit and upload this vid. Next time will be back to normal (higher) production quality.
Aperture or speed? Quite why everyone gets in a huff about it I don't know!
It all automated. All these "proffesionals" take thousands of photos. Good job 35mm has gone by the wayside. Because they will have as many duff images as mere mortals to be honest.
Plus tinkering with an image nowadays gives an extra hand
Hi Rob,i am certainly NOT convinced with your statement.I know plenty of people who use Aperture priority and they get amazing shots in A/P especially of moving birds.Your pics proved nothing,sorry but they didnt.
with ap i can control sp and i have iso
Wow this video has butthurt a lot of people lol 😂 Personally I think it's one of the best videos I've seen and while not preventing anyone from using Aperture Priority if they want to, it does make a great case for using Shutter Priority or manual in scenarios where they might have just gone with the generally accepted dogma. Thanks for sharing your ideas Rob 👍
Complete nonsense..
Don't buy it
I found this video very frustrating. I think maybe you didn’t come across in saying what you were trying to explain, but much of what you said made no sense.
You said in aperture priority you have no control over the shutter speed. Firstly, by having it wide open, it will give you the fastest shutter speed. If you want to effect the shutter speed, change the aperture.
Secondly, you said it would be wide open anyway in shutter priority - only if you choose the fastest shutter speed. Manual mode is going to give you the more options, especially combined with auto ISO.
Personally, I shoot often in aperture priority with auto ISO limited to go no higher than 3200. This way, with my lens wide open, I will always get the fastest shutter speed which is nearly always what I want.
Auto ISO is for idiots.. iso -1000 or you don't take the picture.. every wildlife picture you take of animals who are moving fast is 1/2000 at least.. maybe the result is nicer at 1/50 in some cases but if you need to take 5000 shots to get 1 perfect one.. good luck with that. light is the key..
F2.8, iso -1000 and hoping the light is good enough to have a good shuttterspeed. if not, you just do not try to take a picture.
Dont use AV???? alot use AV with great results this is pants
Auto iso, lol, so you shoot with auto..... Wildlife you should shoot with manual mode, manual iso.
I disagree🤦
Utter rubbish !
stfu. Av is the best. lol
First of all we birders dont use A/Av not to control background.
But to control Iso.
In manual mode we often get underexposed shots because scene always keep changing. No time to react, thus getting a noisy image when trying to lift shadow in post. Auto iso results in very noisy image too because it mostly chooses to select the maximum set limit mostly. We dont want that.
Shutter priority is a bad idea because you gotta look for iso and shutter both which is distracting in run and gun scenarios..
Av/A is best because all you change is ISO. (We dont change aperture anyway, that is stuck at wide open 90% of the time.)
And with just iso at your fingetip you just keep watch if there is enough shutter speed, change accordingly and keep shooting. Av/A gives you exposure compensation too which we need very much for always getting a properly exposed image.
I know you shoot mammals and stuff and European Robins mostly when you have lots of time for setting adjustment. Run and Gun birding is a whole different story. so yeah, stfu.
Theres a reason 90% of all shooters use either manual or Av. not S/Tv.