Hi guys
Being new to photography, can anyone advise me on the best settings to use for general bird/wildlife photos. I use a Fuji HS20 EXR Bridge camera which has a manual 30x zoom which goes from 28mm wide to 720mm telephoto. It also has the ability to use manual focus. There are a number of settings the same as a DSLR, Programme auto, Aparture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual and EXR auto etc. It also is capable of RAW shooting as well as jpg.
I have tried most of the programmes available and Programme Auto is giving me the best results. However, I feel that if I knew how to set the camera in the other modes the results would be better.
Also, I have read that when using a tripod you should switch off image stablisation. Is this the case?
The reason I opted for this camera was even though it looks like a DSLR, it is a lot lighter and you don't have to carry any extra lenses. It's great for ID shots and has a really good macro setting which allows you to get as close as 1cm from the subject.
Below is an example shot taken on max zoom at about 150 feet away using Programme Auto.
Regards
Steve
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Hi Steve, generally, I use Aperture Priority, keep the aperture as wide open as your camera will handle to isolate the subject. Keep the shutter speed up as high as possible to freeze motion. If the camera will handle it, up the ISO a little. I generally shoot at 800ISO, but I don't get much in the way of noise at that setting.
Hadn't heard that you should turn off IS when using a tripod. I'll look into it, but it sounds counter intuitive to me (doesn't mean it's not right).
Cheers
Neil
Steve, I always walk round with my Bridge camera (and DSLR) in aperture priority mode set to the widest aperture and the highest ISO setting that won't give too much noise. The reason for this is that for bird shots is that you will always get the fastest possible shutter speed for the given conditions giving the best chance of a sharp shot under pressure. This will also give the best chance of a blurred background making the shot less cluttered. This is of course a generalisation but in my opinion the most reliable starting point. Then if you have time you can retake the shot in a more considered way. e.g if you have sufficient light you could lower the ISO and maybe move a stop or two away from widest aperture where the lens will be even sharper.
It is recommended that you turn off shake reduction on a tripod but I often forget and honestly haven't seen any difference.
Shooting in raw gives the most flexibility and potentially the best final image but involves more post processing which without will probably give you a worse instant picture than a JPEG.
Hope this helps, have fun,
Dave
my.opera.com/.../435331.aspx
I take it back, Google really is your friend :-)
IS and tripods don't work well together.
From Canon’s Chuck Westfall
"The IS mechanism operates by correcting shake. When there is no shake, or when the level of shake is below the threshold of the system’s detection capability, use of the IS feature may actually *add* unwanted blur to the photograph, therefore you should shut it off in this situation. Remember that the IS lens group is normally locked into place. When the IS function is active, the IS lens group is unlocked so it can be moved by the electromagnetic coil surrounding the elements. When there’s not enough motion for the IS system to detect, the result can sometimes be a sort of electronic ‘feedback loop,’ somewhat analogous to the ringing noise of an audio feedback loop we’re all familiar with. As a result, the IS lens group might move while the lens is on a tripod, unless the IS function is switched off and the IS lens group is locked into place.”
You live and learn!!!
Thank for advice Dave. I will be down at Rainham on Saturday and I will give this a go. I have taken some shots in RAW and edited them in Photoshop Elements 10 and get some really good results. However, these take a long time to process in the camera, up to 10 seconds which isn't good.
Thanks WickWelsh, I will switch this off next time I use a tripod and compare some shots with it on and off.
You may be able to speed with up by getting a faster memory card.
Hi Lolly
Fuji does indeed use IS on this camera. It controls the shake at the sensor rather than the lens.
Hi WickWelsh
I'm using a Class 6 SDHC card at present which jessops recommened.
I just checked out your photos on Flickr. If you are getting those results in manual mode then I will definitely give that a go at the weekend. ;-)
Hi all,
also remember that if you can turn IS off for static shots that is fine and recommended. However, if you are panning etc you may want to try with and without IS on as the camera is still moving. My Canon lens has a special IS mode for panning but I am not sure how other cameras/lenses work in this situation.
Gary