Canon R5 Set up for Video - Birds in Flight

[@VJ40000]

Thanks for the Harness. Just ordered one. I have closely followed your channel and appreciate what all you put together. Somehow I find lot of similarities between you and Ben long's Teaching style (appearance too😀). Ben's videos got me learn fundamentals of photography 12 years ago and yours of wildlife and birds. Thanks Again.

[@dipanka]

Big thank you, exactly what I needed to know before I go on a trip to shoot video on Snowy Owls on my new R5! Cannot thank you enough, very informative, very helpful.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

My Pleasure

[@glynnelectric]

Thanks for the tips!!

[@tompapadopoulos.photography]

Great tips, I have the R5 and using the M-fn shortcut to switch between stills and movie shooting is a great tip. Thanks again!!!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Hey, thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@alandimery3379]

Great video, thanks. I was surprised that you never turned 'eye detect ' on. Why is this please?

[@jean-louisrousselle1794]

Thanks you, in fact I was hoping you would produce a clip on this very subject. I have been shooting stills for about 10 years. I am finally interested in exploring the video function on my R5. What an incredible jump start to receive this type of information. Like in stills, capture is half the game, processing being the other half. Hope you plan at some point on producing a clip on how the magic occurs once the footage has been captured. Sincere thanks and please keep up the great work 😊

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

JL, thanks so much. I greatly appreciate your watching and commenting. Cheers, Ron

[@Dilemma1962]

Very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to make this. --T

[@scottzorro]

Very informative video thanks - as you mention using movie servo alongside the AF (initiated by pressing a button), what is the purpose of using the af whilst movie servo is working & also just wondering why you use zone af rather than eye af?

[@daviddigby5122]

Very informative video, as I have previously only shot stills, but now I have an R5 I feel I should give it a try! One other useful tip I have picked up is to use the Custom modes, with C1-C3 preset for different framerates: normal - slow-motion - super slow-motion (with appropriate shutter speeds and starting aperture+ISO). Most useful for 120 fps where you need to change a few menu options to enable it.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks so much for the comment. I am glad you found the video helpful. Also, thanks for adding to the conversation.

[@lucastphotography]

Great video, lots of good stuff. Any idea why my R5's autofocus always unlocks when I'm tracking a bird in mid flight ONCE it starts flapping its wings?

[@tarjeijensen7237]

I have seen that a photographer added elastic ropes to the videohead to avoid transmitting vibration to the camera. He moves the camera left or right by pulling on the ropes.

[@ericellingson8257]

Do you use any kind of filters to minimize light. I find in bright situations I am shooting at shooting at F22 or so

[@DuyLe-ys8qv]

Thx for very helpful info. Questions please: (1) please confirm that the shutter speed that you recommended is 1/120s (1 over (2 * 60) and (2) have you ever done a frame grab? If yes, how does an image grabbed from video look in terms of sharpness? Thx.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Yes, 1/120 for 60p video. I have done frame grabs and the sharpness depends on the how much movement the subject has relative to the panning or lack there of. If you are shooting fast moving subjects and will not be able to pan accurately with the subject then you may want to go with higher shutter speeds as this will have each video frame be sharper with regards to the moving subject. This, however, comes at a cost to the look of the video footage itself.

[@DuyLe-ys8qv]

@@whistlingwingsphotography Thx Ron

[@Rudy.Pohl.Ottawa]

Hi Ron, I know you're very busy, but I'm having some difficulties doing video footage on Snowy Owls in flight with my new R5 and RF100-500 L. One of the issues is my R5 keeps losing focus. I follow your above tutorial and shoot mostly in AF Zone mode and try to keep the bird in the center of the Zone box (Hand held no stabilization fix in post for now). I unfortunately did not use your recommendation at the 17:36 time of the above video. I set it to the opposite setting of "Locked on." You said "Responsive" is really important and it works better for you, but you didn't mention why it works better. Could I trouble you to explain a little why that is or what is happening with the camera to make this better for you, as this seems counter-intuitive to me and others? Thanks for your time, Rudy in Ottawa

[@RogerZoul]

Finally, the video I have been waiting on! Thanks. Will try these settings tomorrow. One thing, are you using an ND filter for bright sunny days to control exposure? Otherwise, you have to use aperture and then worry about diffraction killing your sharpness, right?

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

You are absolutely correct. I do use ND filters, but also, the nice thing about shooting C Log 3 is that you want to overexpose your image a bit as that is how you gain the extra stop or so of dynamic range that C Log 3 can give you. Here is the VND filter I use. amzn.to/3DXfI6Q

[@MikeOry911]

I love your work and your videos for BIF are so very helpful. I was a little surprised to find in this video there's not a parallel of what your do with back button focusing for stills; 1-button to spot focus and 1-button to hold for eye tracking. I find your settings here work great when you have a clear, open shot, like the kingfisher examples you show. But when trying to video a bird nestled behind some branches in a tree, I need a way to press one of the back buttons and have it focus on the specific item I want and then another back button to lock on eye-tracking. Is this a limitation of what the camera AF can do for videos? or am I missing something. Thanks much!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Unfortunately, that type of focusing set up is not really possible for video shooting. You must rely more on zone type AF I have found.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

I feel I need to clarify my first comment. It is not that you can't set up a back button to AF and use the various AF methods, I just don't find that they work for me. The thing about SERVO focus in video mode is that it is always focusing, not just when you are holding down the back button you have set up to focus. So, it behaves differently than when employed for still shooting. what AF set up works best for video really depends greatly on the shooting scenario. I find for most of my shooting a center zone works very well for flying and perched birds. I set the AF Point Button to toggle Servo AF on and off to keep it from trying to refocus when I don't want the camera to refocus.

[@MikeOry911]

@@whistlingwingsphotography thanks so much for the speedy reply. I'll go out in the field and experiment and if I find anything revolutionary I'll write back. If not, I'll stick with your excellent advice.

[@joshhaas2410]

How does the AF do when the birds are very distant in the sky? Does it keep with the bird at all times?

[@adinew8920]

Thenks...

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Welcome.

[@fintanmctiernan8284]

Your video, like all of the others you have produced is excellent. Early on when you mention the frame rate 59.94 you choose to shoot 4K in you suggest that you also sometimes switch on the 4K HQ mode. Am I correct in stating that by switching on the 4K HQ mode, the frame automatically switches to 24 FPS ?

[@victorbanerjee2306]

Great video. What shutter speed you use for video for fast moving subjects. Is it also similar to the photo settings i.e around 1/ 2000 to 1/30000 or just 1/120 in case of 4k 60?

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Just 1/120 of a second. Unless you want to do individual frame grabs, then you may want to experiment with faster shutter speeds.

[@ivanivanoff1401]

[@billbeverly2864]

Question about setting up back button focus. I have my buttons set up following your video, with the right hand button set to 'Register/Recall Shooting.' My question is -- how do I use the 'Register/Recall Shooting' button? How is it different from the AF-ON button? When do I use this one and not the other one? Do I hold this one in while I am shooting or is it an on/off toggle button?

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Are you referring to setting up your back buttons for still images from a past video? If so, you need to set up, under the customized buttons menu, the column designated to video. For video the I have the far right back button set up for pausing video servo AF.

[@robgerety]

Thanks for this. Am i correct that the R6 does not permit setting up a button to switch video to still and back on the fly? Any other differences between the two bodies that impact these R5 settings you use?

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

You are correct, you cannot set the M-Fn button to switch between stills and movie shooting. I am not well versed in the R6 as I only had one for a very short amount of time. Sorry I cannot be of more help.

[@markgallerani3491]

Hi Ron, Thanks for the video. Trying set up your video settings. When you switch from stills to movie there are numerous video options. Are you using Manual? I used that setting but I keep getting a message when I try and use the video that says When 4kd 59 ALL1 is set SD card rec. not available?? Any thoughts about what I messed up? Thx!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Yes, you have your settings set to record 4K D at 59.96 fps and in ALL - I, and you have it set to record to the SD card instead of the CFe card. You cannot record in 4K 60p in ALL-I to the SD card as the card is not fast enough. If you want to record in 4K 60p ALL-I you need to record to the CFe card. Just switch the setting to record to the CFe card and you should be good to go. Cheers, Ron

[@tilakch]

Hi Ron, Thank you for the video. Will try these settings soon. Quick question on the latest firmware version 1.5 for canon EOS R5, have you tried it what's your feedback on the AF system after updating the firmware. Appreciate your help. Cheers Tilak

[@LindaSmitWildlifeImpressions]

Thank you for this video. I like the harness. I have a similar setup with a monopod in a belt, but I noticed that when shooting video at 300mm or more the images get shaky because of the monopod. When I'm panning it is fine, but when I try to keep it steady it gets very shaky, more than without the monopod. Also when I try to keep it steady by leaning on to something. Did you notice that too or am I doing something wrong?

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

I turn on IS/IBIS (Mode 2) when shooting with the harness. That way when I stop panning and continue to shoot a more static subject the footage comes out much more stable. There will always be some shake, but given there is no stabilized gimbal system for lenses as long and as heavy as the 100-500 that is at all portable enough to use under the field conditions I shoot, the harness system is the best thing I have found so far.

[@LindaSmitWildlifeImpressions]

@@whistlingwingsphotography Thanks Ron. I usually keep it on mode1 for static subjects, maybe that is what I was doing wrong

[@Rudy.Pohl.Ottawa]

Hi Ron, I was wondering if you could help me with an R5 problem? I've search the web and can't find a definitive answer or solution. I cannot get jitter-free video footage when I have my R5 + RF100-500 lens mounted on a tripod unless I do not touch it. The instant I touch it and try to pan or tilt or adjust the camera, press a button, etc., I get super jittery footage. I use a half-decent tripod and a good video fluid head. All the camera and lens settings and switches are set properly. However, when I hand hold the camera the video is jitter free. There are the normal irregular movements as in all hand-held footage, but no jitters. When on the tripod, it's as if the camera and/or the lens are turning off their stabilizing mechanisms. Do you know why is is happening and more importantly what to do about it? Thanks so much, Rudy in Ottawa

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Ruby, if you are using a tripod with fluid head I would turn IS/IBIS off. The system knows when it is on a tripod as it senses no shake and basically does turn off until you again impart movement/shake to the system then it turns back on, but it takes a second to stabilize. That is why you are getting shake when you touch your system that is mounted to the tripod. When hand holding the system senses shake all the time and thus stays active. To get shake free footage on a tripod you need to not touch it when shooting static subjects, or impart false shake to the setup to make the IS/IBIS stay active if you leave the IS/IBIS on. For action, pan smoothly with a good fluid head when following a subject and this can take some practice. When shooting from a tripod, I try to do the stuff that imparts shake only when the action I am shooting is not critical stuff. Also, to start panning from a static start I find it is a lot about technique. I practice starting my panning in a way that is pleasing to the viewer. Like I stated earlier, a lot of things just take a bit of practice. I hope this helps. Ron

[@Rudy.Pohl.Ottawa]

Hi Ron, thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive and helpful reply. I really appreciate it. Since writing to you I discover a fabuluous way to eliminate hand shake and jitters from touch your camera while video recording that is fast, easy and yield wonderful results. I do it in Davinci Resolve the free version and the stabilizing method I use if called Classic Stabilization which is done on the Color page. Here' are 2 excellent short youTube tutorials: 1. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5DdpaKpbbh2b80 2. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2q9Y3hveN-bpNE Have a great day! Rudy in Ottawa @@whistlingwingsphotography

[@mobelue]

Just went through this vid and used it to setup my vid side of things. Is there no place for animal eye in the vid focus section? Or do you just rely totally on the zone. Thak you.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

This video was about setting up video for fast action birds in flight type situations. In this situation I use strictly zone. Eye detect is not fast enough. It can work well for more subdued video scenarios.

[@mobelue]

@@whistlingwingsphotography Thank you. Did you see my gear question to you about the tripod head. I found your head on amazon.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

@@mobelue KZbin is bad sometimes. I will get an email notice of a comment but the comment never shows up under the video on KZbin, so I cannot reply back. The head you linked to is the head I use. Here is the head I am going to eventually get. Link:amzn.to/31HtHQ8

[@63barty]

Great video thanks, will you be covering the post processing of the video at all ? What software do you use for the 4K editing etc...

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

I use Divinci Resolve

[@mikechapman1280]

Hi Ron, how do you get to movie mode and back to stills ?

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

I reprogrammed the M-fn button to the left of the shutter button to toggle between the two modes. You can do the re-mapping of the button in the Custom Buttons menu. Cheers.

[@rcrinsea]

When customizing buttons while you are in a video mode, say C3 Video, what does the photo column of buttons actually do? I am seeing that it does nothing. The settings seem to be ignored. Instead, when you flip to photo mode, it will honor your settings in C3 photo mode.

[@LuisPerez-fy6up]

Dose your R5 get warm when you leave it on and drain the battery fast?

[@LuisPerez-fy6up]

My R5 dose not last me 1hr when shooting photos only

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

@@LuisPerez-fy6up I use a battery grip so I am running two batteries. When shooting stills it can get warm. My two batteries are drained about 1/2 after a 5 hour shoot. I would recommend turning off the GPS, Bluetooth, all that stuff that you don't need to be on. That should help with battery life.

[@41stclair]

how are you videoing with the cap on !!!!!!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Ha! Its a video how too. Obviously I was not actually shooting.

[@helloianzakharov]

My settings are pretty much the same, I didn’t find much difference between ALL-I and IPB-B.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

I shoot ALL-I, for the most part, because it is easier for my computer to handle the files. Depending on your computer, this may not be a factor for you either. Thanks for watching and commenting.