Holland sun/cloudy Grey Heron (Blauwe Reiger) size 95cm distance 60m Z7 II Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF VR equivalent 1050mm 1/1000 sec f/8 ISO 400 -1.0EV substantial camouflage crop 5400 x 3600 catching crawfish …
Optimal settings APERTURE mode Z7 II for lightweight bird photography
| Item | Setting | Explanation, comment |
|---|---|---|
| =========== GENERAL =========== | ||
| Language: | English | matching camera buttons, shortcuts Lightroom, online info |
| Camera PASM switch | A | APERTURE mode |
| Picture Quality | RAW 14 bits lossless | maximum detail |
| Color Space | Adobe | compatible with Lightroom, ViewNX, Faststone Editor, etc. |
| Camera speed (Pictures/second): | Continuous High | prepared for fast bird action … |
| Beep Pitch | low (maybe strong if windy) | in-focus-beep AF Pinpoint mode (very useful if bird behind branches!) |
| ============ LIGHT ============ | ||
| No stopping down lenses | Irrelevant using modern telelenses. 100% light for AF, contrast detail | |
| Actual photography using … | stay under f/8 APERTURE value | more reliable and faster AF |
| Centre weighted sensor area automatic light measurement: | 8 mm | significant part bird image |
| (we) mostly position bird in centre viewfinder | centreweighted light measurement | we mostly position bird in centre viewfinder, focus and possibly recompose … |
| Apply systematic underexposing | -0.5 – -2.5 EV | protect detail highlights picture |
| Increments | 0.5 EV | quick and easy changes EXPOSURE during photography |
| b4: EASY EXPOSURE | ON | set under/over EXPOSURE via subdial camera, not via small +/- button |
| Auto ISO Sensitivity Control: | ON | Camera calculates actual EXPOSURE TIME picture. You define parameters used: 1) Base ISO Z7 II 64 ISO 2) Max. Sensitivity 3.200 ISO *) 3) Min. Shutterspeed 1/1000 sec |
| Whitebalance | Automatic, AUTO2 (occasionally imperfect white) | Whitebalance is perfectly correctable in post production. |
| ========= AUTOFOCUS ========= | ||
| AF mode default: | AF-C GROUP mode | |
| AF parameter a1 | focus | priority focus: only in-focus pictures written to card |
| AF parameter a3=1 | focus | Hold current AF value until subject reappears in picture any time subject temporarily blocked by something passing by in front of it. Also “applied” when bird suddenly starts flight, dive, etc. |
| a8 | AF-ON Only | AF via AF-ON button (and shoot picture via Release button): “Back button autofocus“: separate autofocus from shutter release function! |
| a9 | Only Single point mode and GROUP mode are enabled. | qqq |
| PHOTO SHOOTING MENU | Item: Choose Image Area | DX mode: our default setting, set as last menu item before actual photography it works like “soft 1.4 converter“. Switching Z7 back into FX mode “dismounts the converter”. |
| CAMERA HANDLING ***) | ||
| Front dial camera not used | APERTURE value constant! | |
| Thumb at AF-ON button: enabling autofocus camera | Forefinger at Release: shoot picture(s) at the right moment(s) | When required use focus and recompose (often repeatedly). |
| Thumb at back dial camera for EXPOSURE Conpensation | Thumb controls “Easy EXPOSURE Compensation“ | Far more easy and reliable than using small +/- button camera. |
- Autofocus mode: AF-C, Wide area AF (L) (continuous AF & tracking)
- Reassign AF-L/AE-L function to Fn2 (enabling back button AF)
- Assign AF-ON to AF-L/AE-L button (enabling back button AF)
- Autofocus parameter: a1=focus (only in-focus pictures written at memory card)
- Autofocus parameter a4=Off (AF-ON only)
Using these settings your Nikon Z7 II camera will set ISO and EXPOSURE TIME values automatically within your personal limits in bird photography. You can adjust EXPOSURE TIME infrequently with thumb at subdial so you always will have the other hand free to redirect camera or tripod, support telelens, touch manual focus ring, etcetera.
About autofocus parameter a1
Autofocus parameter a1 = focus (priority Focus, not Release): we want no blurred pictures, camera may need more time checking this, so sustained burst rate may drop from 11 fps to 8 fps or the like.
About APERTURE values
We mostly successfully use values up to f/11 at Nikkor 300mm PF VR or 500mm PF VR lenses and even value f/13 at Sigma Sport or Tamron G2 150-600mm lenses, with quite acceptable detail and in-focus pictures. And yes, the autofocus is definitily slower, sometimes even difficult, but after all this works fine.
About Raw workflow and Quality
Set Quality to: RAW 14 bits lossless compressed: compress without any loss of image quality and maximum detail and (colour) contrast.
In case of RAW workflow the RAW images will not be optimized by the camera. They need to be cropped and edited in for example Lightroom into high quality pictures with minimal noise, good light, color contrast and detail. This implies larger files and more work but results in far better pictures.
