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06/13/2009 08:58:35 AM · #1 |
Situation- Cloudy very early mornings, some times there are several bats feeding around my front yard. My camera Canon 400D, lens 50-1.4 , tripod and remote shutter release, on board flash. Settings- AP @ F4, ISO 800 shutter hitting at about 1/15-1/25. When my shutter fires (about half the times I ask it to) it is very slow to respond. If I happen to get a bat in the frame it is a white blur (duhh, slow shutter speed).
1) I need to increase my shutter speed.
2)I need to have the camera respond instantly.
3) I need a coverage area of between 10-50 feet.
Is this possible with my current setup?
Damn I miss my 5D and 580EX. |
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06/13/2009 10:21:24 AM · #2 |
What are you using to remotely fire it? Not familiar with the 400d, specifically, but maybe it has a focus priority and tries to achieve focus before firing? Focus for scene manually and leave it, see if that helps with the slow firing. You should also hopefully be able to switch off the focus priority if it haves it.
ETA: If you just turn off the focus priority, you won't have to use manual focus but don't expect all shots to be in focus. Bats are small and it will be a crapshoot anyway.
Message edited by author 2009-06-13 10:25:53. |
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06/13/2009 10:29:28 AM · #3 |
| Derek,the 400D probably similar to the the D40 or D50 in Nikon, I have a cable shutter release. |
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06/13/2009 10:34:14 AM · #4 |
| Bats are really fast.. I saw one just 2 nights ago.. went outside and he fluttered by right in front of me (made me jump).. at first I didn't know what it was..then realized it was a bat. It's hard enough to see them with your eyes.. catching them on camera will be difficult. Good luck=) |
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06/13/2009 10:38:13 AM · #5 |
After more thought.. a flash would help alot if you have one.
Edit: ohh...580ex = flash. So I guess you don't have one. =(
Message edited by author 2009-06-13 10:39:38. |
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06/13/2009 10:43:30 AM · #6 |
I do have a on board flash, it sucks.
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06/13/2009 10:13:10 PM · #7 |
Depending upon how much light there is... but in theory this might work: Since you don't have a flash, if you can use a bulb shutter, trip it, and then using a powerful flashlight illuminate the bat quickly. In principal this should work to some degree or another, but what that degree is I have no clue. Otherwise I'm thinking you'd need a flash. You could also try stringing up an illuminated white sheet behind you and illuminating that. Hell, all the bugs that will attract might help your cause. Focus wise though, it sounds like your best bet might be shooting with your aperture stopped down and sorta hoping for a focus.
"If you press the shutter button completely without pressing it halfway first or if you press the shutter button halfway and hten press it completely immediately, the camera will take a moment before it takes the picture."
pg 33 of the manual. Not what I was hoping to find...
Looks like the option I was looking to customize isn't customizeable on the 400D.
Those are my only guesses. I read some articles real quick on people who actually do it, but they all have several hundred pounds of gear and everything I was finding used some sort of light to supplement. Sorry to not be of much help :( |
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06/13/2009 10:33:43 PM · #8 |
| I agree with spiritualspatula--it's slow if it's looking for focus. Otherwise, there shouldn't be a delay... |
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06/13/2009 10:39:29 PM · #9 |
Thank you Derek and Wendy for your input.
Tonight do to scattered showers today, there are several bugs about "perfect bat weather" In manual mode I'm going to bump the ISO to 1,600, yes noise hell but I hope I can fix with CS3 and Noise Ninja. I will also open my 50-1.4 all the way up, and set focus at about 40 feet, shutter at 1/500( adjust by LED display). Lets see what happens..
Message edited by author 2009-06-13 22:42:45. |
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06/13/2009 10:48:09 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by vawendy:
I agree with spiritualspatula--it's slow if it's looking for focus. Otherwise, there shouldn't be a delay... |
Initially I was hoping a feature present on the d300 (focus/release priority) was available for the 400d, but later determined it wasn't. Honestly, his luck might not be too bad using any lighting technique. While backpacking last year, the tree clearing I camped in was inundated with bats so I gave capturing them with my Olympus 770SW a shot just for the hell of it. My problem was more a matter of them not getting very close to me. The flash actually lit them enough at 20 feet and gave somewhat sharp outlines. These were a far cry from what  alans_world likely wants, but my technique was pretty damn terrible, and I was absolutely unprepared for it. It was pretty much press the button for capture and follow the bat totally zoomed out until the flash went off and see what happened, so considering how directionless that approach was, I think decent results are feasible.
Also, you can try your hand at manual focus. |
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06/14/2009 09:02:02 AM · #11 |
| It's morning here--but I don't know where you're located. Did you try it? Did it work? Inquiring minds want to know... |
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06/14/2009 09:28:33 AM · #12 |
Well last night the bats where about, but the neighborhood was just too noisy and the bats stayed outside of range for the 50mm. My 70-200 is a F/4 so I doubted it would work in low light. After paying attention to the bats this weekend, and the concentration levels at dawn and dusk, Iâm guessing the âbat caveâ has got to be close, maybe within a few hundred feet. This week Iâm going to try to find the nesting site, so next weekend I can go to the perfect source and capture them as they are leaving the nest.
BTW Wendy I live in St. George, Utah. |
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