KITLIST ▲Canon EOS-1D X ▲ ▲
Mark III
Guy is a committed Canon user, and
while he swears by his EOS 5D Mark IV
and 1D X, he is looking forward to
using the new EOS-1D X Mark III.
‘Moving AF points is more like using a
mouse control, which will
make focusing even faster.’LensAlign
‘With long lenses it’s important to calibrate your lens,’
says Guy. ‘You can pay to get this done, but I use Lens
Align. All the adjustments
are done in camera and
you can be sure you
won’t get front or back
focusing by mistake.’ See
michaeltapesdesign.com.Decent tripod and spikes
‘It’s all very well having a sturdy tripod,
but if you set it up on spongy ground,
you lose all the benefits and you’ll
be compromising the sharpness of
your images. I use a set of 12cm
long aluminium spikes that screw
into the feet of my Really Right
Stuff TVC-34 tripod.’Back-button focus lock
I always use Canon’s AI Servo (continuous
AF) for moving subjects. I don’t use
back-button focusing as I end up having
to press two buttons with action shots; I
simply don’t get on with it. If I want to hold
the focus, I will use back-button focus
lock. So if a bird suddenly moves or
perches I can hold focus, recompose and
take the shot. This can make effective
composition easier too.Push the ISO
as necessary
I will use higher ISOs for
wildlife when necessary in
order to cope with low light
and keep up the shutter
speed. On my Canon EOS
5D Mark IV and 1-D X
I will push the ISO to 6400
and sometimes to 12,
and still get good results. it
is better to have a noisy,
sharp shot than a soft,
low-noise one.
Wait until the bird is right
in the frame
When focusing on subjects in fl ight, I try to prefocus
on the point that the bird is the right size in frame,
carefully following it until it’s in the correct position
(even if it’s coming from a long way off). When the
bird is the right size in frame, I will then quickly focus
so the AF snaps onto the bird without it accidentally
focusing on the background. For static subjects, I
like to use AF in live view, as it means I can magnify
right in on the subject.Be careful with
stabilisation
For low-light shots or
portraits, or whenever I am
shooting with big telephoto
lenses, I will use a tripod.
However, I shoot handheld
for fast-moving subjects
and with smaller lenses. In
these cases, it’s important
that I set a shutter speed
that is as high as possible.
I also turn off image
stabilisation when shooting
over 1/1000sec. The
stabilisation takes power
away that could be used
for tracking or other
important AF features.The eyes don’t always have it
While it’s good to try to focus on a bird’s eye, this is not always possible,
particularly if the subject is quite a distance away. So focusing on the birds’ chest
or neck can be easier for the camera and lens, particularly if bright colours or
lighter tones contrast with the background.Make the most of central AF points
Remember that not all AF points are created equal and
it’s still the case that the central points tend to be the
most sensitive for action and tracking shots, which is
basically what a lot of bird photography involves. Again,
using the focus and recompose technique via the
back-button focus lock means I can make greater use of
the central points.