How to Set Up the Nikon D500 for Bird Photography
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- The D500 is still NIkon's best DSLR for bird and wildlife photography. This week I'm at Bempton Cliffs photographing Gannets, Herring Gulls, Razer Bills, Puffins and more. Along the way I'll be sharing exactly how I set up the D500 for bird photography and covering everything from autofocus mode and metering to burst settings and the back-button focus method.
Having scoured the internet for months, I have just purchased a d500! The reviews are (almost) unanimous - the d500 is the BEST dslr for shooting birds and wildlife generally. Thanks for an informative and enjoyable video.
Thanks Liam. I'm still using mine a lot, and really happy with the results. Enjoy using it. 😊
The D500 is still highly relevant in 2022. At a recent local airshow I was using only my Z bodies and regretted it as my keeper rate was much lower than if I’d brought along my DSLR
Thanks for this Philip. I haven't compared the D500 to my Z7 extensively, but I suspected as much - good to get confirmation. 😊
Wow, I did not expect that answer at all. Waiting for my 500 to come in for Aprils air show Sanford
Just got a D500 and Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG Contemporary, your video is very helpful, thank you!
Great - it's a really good setup. Also the Contemporary is the lighter version of the lens, so less likely to make your arm ache! Have fun. 😊
I run the D500 with a Tamron 150-600. I like manual with auto ISO but on bright day as you mentioned things can get a touch blown out so on those days I run between -0.3 and -1.0 full stop of exposure compensation. I shoot mostly medium to large wading birds like Herons and Egrets along with Osprey, Eagles and Kingfishers. Next outing I'll try your method of Aperture Priority! Love my D500 & Tammy 150-600.
I’ve had my D500 for over three years now and I’m still finding little tweaks to further enhance its performance and to also give me an advantage. I’ve been managing to get to a local hide only 10 mins drive from where I live and because I’ve been going during the evening in good light on consecutive evenings, I’ve learned a lot on what works best for me. The AF sensitivity in the D500 can be very sensitive and sometimes I find I have to tame it a bit by selecting 4 in the AF Sensitivity menu so it doesn’t lock on to the background while photographing BIF. I’ve also found for static subjects, It’s best to use AF-S instead of AF~C as the AF can lock on to something an inch away from the bird’s eye resulting in a slightly out of focus subject. I have the 500mm PF so it could the speed of the AF on the lens making it very sensitive.
I’ve also found for BIF against a plane sky, 25 point Dynamic is best but if the bird is flying in front of a textured background such as hedges and vegetation, Group AF is best. If you do a lot of BIF,set your function buttons up to various AF Area Focus modes so you can change from one to the other while you are still tracking your subject in the viewfinder. I have my AF On button set to Single point, my PV button set to 25 Point Dynamic area and my Function 1 button set to Group AF. Have a look at Steve Perry on YT, he has an ebook about the Nikon AF system. He explains which mode is best to use and he also explains why. I learned from his book that Group AF can be your saviour because it regains lost focus immediately and anything under the Group AF points, it’s the closest part of the subject that is in focus.
Thanks for sharing your experience Gary. I was thinking about doing a more advanced video at some point, including altering settings in the menu etc, so some of these things will definitely be included in that. I just say Group Af has never seemed to work that well for me, but perhaps it works better with a fast prime lens, like your 500mm. Thanks for watching. 😊
@@Robert-Bishop Possibly Robert. I used 25 Point Dynamic Area instead of Group AF when I had my Sigma 50-500 lens on my D500.
Wonderful nature.
Additional notes for users/buyers of D500 bodies:
If or when you find and purchase a D500 body, check the firmware. If it is too old, it will need to be upgraded in multiple steps, not just one.
Be sure you do, though, since the camera was designed to use XQD cards from the factory, but with the most recent firmware, you can now use CF Express Type B cards, which are faster and cheaper!
Two of the bodies that I now own had firmware that was old enough (1.00 and 1.01) that I had to find archived copies of older firmware and then upgrade to 1.12 before they would go further. All of them now have 1.31 and can use both XQD and CF cards. Two of my CF cards are 512 GB and work flawlessly.
As mentioned in this video, use back-button focus. Also, use the body MF/AF switch to engage or disengage auto-focus, set the CH speed to 10, and set the artificial limit for maximum number of continuous shutter releases to 200 (the max allowed).
If you run across any YT videos who attempt to demean the value of the D500, don't listen to them. They're either ill-informed or completely uninformed. These are darlings!
Fantastic video new subscriber,I just had to send my D500 to Nikon for repair trouble with the mirrors not working. I miss shooting Ive herd nothing but horror stories about Nikon customer service I pray I get it back soon and working properly. The D500 is a fantastic camera great marriage with the Nikon 200-500 for wild life.
Thanks, that's much appreciated. I hope Nikon get back to you soon - I've never had to send anything back to them for repair, but I suppose they should know what they're doing at least! Thanks for watching. 😊
Bought one used for under 550 € Last Weekend. Currently rocking a z6 II which is Fine for Most wildlife work but i think that the 1,5 crop comes in handy.
I have a 500mm pf. cant wait to pair the d500 with that amazing Lens.
Sounds like a bargain. I'd love to get hold of a 500mm PF at some point. Thanks for watching. 😊
We have a great Gannet Colony here in Auckland at Muriwai Beach but I loved seeing your Puffins that we don't get here in NZ. Thanks you
Thanks. That's interesting, I thought you might also get Puffins down there. You get penguins in certain parts of NZ though, right?
Enjoyed this video and it was easy to follow and understand i feel like some videos just like to show off and use as much jargon as possible which means you just come away confused whereas this was very informative but simplified at the same time
Thanks Claire, glad it was of some use to you. 😊
Great shots and a great explanation of your setting Robert, I especially like the images of the razorbills and puffins. I'm not sure I'd be getting so close to the edges of those cliffs though!
Cheers Andrew. Yeah, definitely got to be careful at the edges, especially if there is any erosion because you can't always see it from the top. We'd had a good scout out though, and decided it was okay.
10:07 .... what a cool shot. brilliant Robert 🙂
Thanks Daniel. Yes I liked that one too, it's nice to include some of the surrounding environment sometimes. Thanks for watching. 🙂
awesome photos you've captured and tips explanations. great sharing 👍
Thank you. The puffins always make very subjects, so it's easy to get good photos of them. 🙂
Great tips in this one mate. That lens is such a beast! Great in-flight shot at 1:40! And really enjoyed the puffin shots, would really like to see those someday. I think my favorite one was the dead on one at 12:42, love that salty expression he had LOL Great stuff as always mate, really enjoyed it. Hope you guys are doing well over there!
Cheers mate. Yeah it's a great lens - although I'd also like a fast telephoto prime one day. Just need to win the lottery first! 😂
Awesome and helpful. Got to love puffins. Still struggling to choose between the Sigma and the Nikon 200-500mm for the D500. Tough choices for wildlife.😅
Thanks Nick. I've heard good things about the 200-500, and I also spent some time comparing it to the 150-600. I don't often use the 150mm end, but the 600mm end is the focal length I use most of the time and I think I'd miss it if I 'only' had 500mm. If you do go for the Sigma, consider the contemporary version. It's not weather sealed like the sport one, but is lighter. Thanks for watching. 😊
Very nice video Robert thanks so much.
Thanks Thomas, cheers for watching. 😊
I have had the D500 now for many years and agree it is the best tool for wildlife, I would say even better than the Z9. They are incomparable, one costs more than my car and has a constant steam of firmware updates, the other can be bought for less than a grand and works. You took some great photos in the video. I have the same lens as well. For the money a hard set up to beat. I set my D500 up a little different in that I always shoot in manual with auto iso, unless the situation is controlled, then I go fully manual. I would ask this question of you, what difference does it make shooting in manual iso and auto? While in auto I am still in control of it, it just means I can do this with one finger, and in my experience when the action starts the less buttons that need pressing the better. But I would be interested in your take on this? I also use single point focus because I have found that group can and will focus on a wing tip or something other than the subject. I do how ever set up my d500 so that I can toggle from a group of 9 to single spot using my bottom front fn button. I find this is a complete game changer for picking up birds flying, as soon as I am locked on I release the button and revert to single to refine the focus. Great video thanks for posting.
I love everything about the Z9, except its size. If they put it into a regular body (perhaps even APS-C) I would definitely be interested. Regarding the auto ISO - you're right, it would be marginally quicker/easier to use that set up, and control shutter speed and aperture while monitoring ISO. I'm just used to aperture priority now though, and it's hard to break habits! Thanks for watching. 😊
Subscribed. Awesome video and photos, thank you for the information. I recently upgraded to a D500 (used a D3500 for almost 4 years) and am using a Sigma 170-500mm f/5-6.3 lens. Would you say f/6.3 is ideal? I'm photographing wildlife, mostly birds.
Many thanks. The D500 will be a huge upgrade from the D3500. Generally for wildlife you want the widest maximum aperture possible. If you're shooting moving subjects and therefore need shutter speeds in excess of 1/1000s, f6.3 can actually be a bit narrow if the light isn't particularly bright. Luckily, with the D500 you can push the ISO a fair bit - don't be afraid to get up to 5000/6400 if necessary. Noise removal in software is really good these days. Have fun, and thanks for watching. 😊
My d500 can only read my cfexpress card if NOT fully inserted -- if I fully insert it says err. if I leave the door open and the card not fully inserted it works?
I have found using Aoto iso with my D500 and the 200 - 500 5 .6 and ss at 3200 work well for me
This is something I want to explore George - thanks for making the point and watching the video. 😊
Some great images mate, always a sucker for a good puffin shot and you got a few - love the 'dancing' puffin! I really want to get to this place, it's going to have to sub in for my monthly Lake District visit one of these days (although I guess I'll miss the Puffins unless I get up there in the next couple weeks) - did you have to book in advance or just rock up on the day?
Thanks Dave. No, you can just rock up. It can get fairly busy when the weather's good, but it's a big area and you can usually find a decent spot to get some shots. Yeah, I think you've got until about July to see the Puffins - get your skates on! 😁
🙏👍👍 thanks 👍
Thank you for watching. 😊
Do you ever find when shooting faster shutter speeds that the lens stabilization causes any sort of issue with sharp focus? Do you have a speed where you tend to turn it off shooting at?
I don't think so Christopher, but it might be a good test for a video. If I didn't have any stabilisation I would try to ensure that my shutter speed at least matched my focal length. So at least 1/500s at 500mm for example. When shooting birds you're nearly always going to be well over that though. The exception is in low light where you can't afford to push the ISO any more and that is perhaps when stabilisation is most useful. Thanks for watching. 😊
Great video, thank you! I currently shoot birds with the Nikon D7500 (your camera's little sister) and the Nikon 500mm f5.6 PF. I am not thrilled with the mirrorless Nikon options so far. I'm sure the Z9 is amazing but it is super big and heavy. How do you find you camera and settings perform with smaller, faster birds in flight?
Thanks. I had the D7500 for a few years and loved it - the AF in the D500 is the only reason why I made the change. I'm very jealous of your 5.6pf lens! It is a bit trickier with the faster moving subjects. I tend to use 153 points in those cases. Still haven't managed to get good results with the 3D tracking - perhaps I need a faster lens. Thanks for watching. 😊
@@Robert-Bishop so you are saying that the AF on the D500 was substantially better than on the d7500? Interesting! Yes, the 500PF is lovely but there are times when your lens would be better!
@@robinc-k7162 Yes - the autofocus is definitely better - much fewer shots missed. Image quality is identical though. I've got a video comparing the two cameras. 😊
@@Robert-Bishop 3D tracking uses the colour metering (181k pixels) and is probably better suited to sports than wildlife photography although I have successfully used it on species that are very different from the background. For most photography I use luminosity (contrast) based Dynamic AF including Group AF. Your video makes me want to go back to Bempton!
@@jamescorton6288 Thanks for the info James - that's good to know. I'm planning to head back soon too. 😊
What is the best time to visit Bemton cliffs for photographing puffins and gannets?
From March/April and into summer. The puffins are gone by about August - gannets you can sometimes see a bit later. I usually go around May/June. Thanks for watching. 😊
Where did you get the Philadelphia Eagles cap?
From a sports shop here in the UK Keith. I don't know much about American football, but I liked the hat! 😁
Not all Nikon do work well with Auto ISO D5 will not be sure about D850 as I do not try it on Auto Iso I use it on A for landscapes on low Iso 64
Cheers George. One way to find out, I suppose. 😊
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Thank you. 😊
I tried one of those Sigma lenses and it broke on day two. Seems they have a common problem. You have to send it in to get it fixed.
No more Sigma for me. 👎