Canon R5 Set Up - Birds and Birds in Flight an Update

[@eerofi]

Great video, very useful. One comment: "Release shutter without a lens" is a useful option when you are using third-party lenses that the camera does not recognize. When having this setting off, the camera will give an error message saying that there is no lens connected. But when this is on, the camera will shoot even when it thinks there is no lens, even though there actually is one. I am not sure if R5 reacts like this with third-party lenses, but my Canon M6ii mirrorless definitely did, and this setting was extremely useful.

[@gregorydobson4307]

Best explanation i have found regarding settings on the r5 for bird photography, i have just ordered the r5 and cant wait to try this on my journey into mirrorless photography 😊

[@adelacour]

I am new to the R5, and found your video excellent in terms of setting up for birds. I was amazed to hear what you were saying about I.S and IBIS,. I need to listen again to get it all in. So thank you very much. Andy Jersey UK.

[@davebengston5912]

This video is the most excellent "how to video for the Canon R5/100-500 lens". Love it!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Hey, thanks so much. Really appreciate the comment.

[@kristalwalsh1393]

Finally someone to actually say “you have to hold the back button down while shooting”…to keep the autofocus lock on! Thank you! I can’t tell you how many videos I’ve watched and posts I’ve read just to get this clarified. Thank you!

[@anthonyhershko]

I bought the R5 last April and I got tons of problems, THANKS TO YOUR VIDEO IT'S NOW WORKING PROPRALY!!!!!!!!! Bless you man!

[@TheKatWatto]

I can't thank you enough for this video! Received my R7 (used) yesterday, which came with a Canon mount adapter EF-EOS R. Watched your video to set it up last night. Took it out to a local wetland this morning with my Sigma 150-600mm lens. OMG! Blown away with how good it is! Upgraded from a Canon 700D. Thank you Ron.

[@grahampears1564]

Hi Ron. After years of watching the evolution of mirrorless cameras my wife and I finally took the plunge and each bought R5 plus 100-500 zoom and invested in all the bits and bobs. Very happy with initial results on static/slow/large subjects but pretty rapidly got to point of deciding to selling all kit again once we tried and failed miserably with birds in flight. Results were truly dreadful, against a history of success and multiple awards etc with the trusty 1DX series. Fortunately we didn't actually sell. Watched your introductory video on the R5 + 100-500, and now most of the way through this one - think you might have saved us! Still very early days but within minutes of applying some of your tips and settings, what an improvement! We need to keep listening to you and applying; I am sure we have a lot to learn and get used to. As I say, very early days, but the the two things that still worry me (I am sure you will have addressed these somewhere) are 1. getting our heads around that when you zoom in on a high megapixel camera things look less sharp than on a lower megapixel - you have explained that in passing but we need to really get to grips with that, and 2. more concerning at moment is the fact that for moving subjects to be sharp you say we need considerably higher speeds than with 1DX series; that translates into much higher ISO, and as we live in UK where good light is often lacking, plus we often take in low light evenings and mornings when creatures tend to be more active, the high speed & high ISO thing still feels like an issue because of noise. However, just the two of your videos we have watched so far have given us the confidence that we will get cracking results with this kit once we learn how to use it - so we will persevere till we understand capabilities and limits properly. The two of your videos we have watched so far are really great and I can assure you I will do my homework by watching all the rest. You are a star. Thank you.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Hey, thanks so much. I am so glad you found the videos informative. Don’t give up on the R5 it is very good as is the 100-500. Super IS capabilities for sure. Ron

[@waynewilliams3487]

What a great 50 minutes of my new camera experience! At least four great settings that will change the way I use my R5! Greatly appreciated!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Great to hear! Thanks so much for the comment.

[@TheNewMexicoMan]

Thanks! This video saved me a lot of frustration. I had 5 days to photograph bald eagles last week. I thought I had it set up properly based on BIF R5 set-up videos. The first two days of images were not a good as I had hopped for. At the hotel, I watched this video and made some adjustments to my EOS R5 and it made all the difference in the world. What you do matters my friend. Thanks again!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Hey, thanks so much for the feedback. I am really glad you found the video helpful. Sincerely, Ron

[@randycamera]

Hi Ron! I just watched this latest update from you. I want you to know that I watched about 30 different "how to set up" videos for bird photography a year ago after being so frustrated with trying to figure out the R6 focusing system. Your video on settings that I watched back then is what got me rolling. I have thoroughly enjoy photographing birds since then. Thank you so much for being the first one that I found that knew what the hell they were talking about. I've always said that there were people who knew how to photograph and then there were people who made videos. You sir, do both well. I'll take these latest changes in your setup and use what works for me, now that I've learned over the past year how to fine tune things. Thank you!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Hey, thanks so much. I really appreciate the feedback. It is very much appreciated. Glad you are getting out and getting some great images.

[@patthompson1253]

Incredible Ron - you're the man! Best R5 instruction manual for Birds on the internet. Thank you.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Wow, thanks! Glad you found the video informative.

[@janeanngriffin5161]

I just found your video and I am so pleased that I did. I have now been able to capture Great Horned Owls in flight! Thank You!

[@royalscanlon3217]

I really appreciate this update, especially your discovering (and sharing) the part about assigning different AF modes to three different back buttons to facilitate switching between AF modes rapidly and easily. Very ingenious. A great idea. Also thanks for the clarification concerning lenses with multiple IS settings that is really useful and helpful knowledge to have including the thought that shooting at relatively high shutter speeds can often negate the need for IS & IBIS all together. Great stuff.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks so much and for taking the time to comment.

[@douglasgillarddcprofessoro5285]

Wow! Thanks so very much! This really helped me go the the next level w/ my R5 and RF100-500! You should have way more subscribers!

[@laurieandersonphotography1065]

I appreciate this info so much! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come back and reset my settings. Seems like after I do a camera update I lose my settings - so thankful for this info! ❤

[@kevingriffin5774]

Just got my r5 today and set it up accordingly for bif. like the control ring for the focus points, that saves a lot of time, thanks again.

[@RogerZoul]

Back in Aug or Sept of 2020, I set my r5 up for 3 back buttons as you described here. After months of shooting like that, I found that during intense action, my thumb would hit the wrong one (not AF-On, but the other two). Frankly, I think Canon put them too close together. I don't have extremely large fingers, either, so others who do have a "fat" thumb may find that using 3 back buttons doesn't work for them. What I finally decided to do is to make #2 and #3 back buttons do exactly the same thing. This way, I get what I want with no fear of hitting the wrong one. And another thing I found, which was surprising and may have something to do with how I changed settings over time, is the custom buttons keep the AWB setting I had when I originally set up the camera. I later changed to K, but those buttons kept AWB, which really screwed things up for me when setting buttons and finding my WB all over the map. So someone who wants to shoot K should be sure to set WB on each custom button just to be sure. Thank for the video. Reviewing settings after 6 months or so is a useful thing.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks for the comment and adding to the discussion Always valuable to others to get as many viewpoints as possible.

[@tc6912]

Thank you. I am a Nikon DSLR shooter thinking R5. This was a fantastic look at the menu system.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad you found it helpful.

[@angelpoe8448]

Great video! I've recently purchased the R5 after shooting for many years on a secondhand Canon EOS 7D/EF 100-400 (Version 1!!) set up. I felt like I finally had reached a point in my photography where the better kit would be worth splurge. Thanks for the solid advice and explanations. I feel like you've explained well enough that I can better understand how to take your suggestions and tweak for my personal use.

[@catpeterson4577]

Aloha from Honolulu, Can't thank you enough for sharing your R5 thoughts. So, so helpful. I am shooting birds in tough situations and it's not easy making the 80D to R5 leap. Truly appreciate the time you put into sharing what you've learned-and updating it! As I've not, typically, shot in M (Manual) - I've gone for TV with a high shutter speed on my 80D, and with good results - would be curious about your thoughts about shooting in M. I'll be experimenting with M, but some sage guidance would nice. If you've already done this, I'll find it! Mahalo nui loa again!

[@danvollstedt5135]

Great video. Straight forward, detailed, explained and illustrated well. The last "Customize Buttons" setting could be a game-changer. The IBIS/IS functionality discussion at the end clarifies questions I and others have had ... very helpful and important. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Dan, thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I am glad you found the video helpful. Cheers.

[@petrisonkeri9604]

Thanks, Ron. The 3 button back button focus setup is really great! And lot of other good advice as well!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Hey, thanks for the comment. I am glad you found the video informative.

[@stephenkahrs4671]

Thanks Ron! For me these settings have made a huge difference in acquiring focus and keeping the bird in focus and going home with many more keepers. My first day out after setting up my camera with your recommendations I had a Bald Eagle fly through an opening in the treetops and was able to get about 12 shots off on high speed electronic shutter and every one was in focus! This video with these settings are a good reference to new R5 users without have to experiment for the optimal bird in flight settings.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad the settings helped. Good shooting to you.

[@hawgbreath]

Thanks for revisiting this subject, this was a good refresher and the explanation of having to hold the back button focus to continue tracking properly was something I didn’t know. Also, the IS/IBIS setting; I wouldn’t have expected that you turn it off but your explanation is very helpful. I recently got some bald eagle’s in flight and was unhappy with the results. I hope to get out and try this again using your technique. Thanks again for this video and those osprey and wood duck images are gorgeous! Happy shooting!

[@tomfinley8572]

Cheers for the update on the camera settings. They will help no end

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks.

[@miserableedwards54]

Brilliant video, Really informative, Can't wait to get out and try switching all the stabilization modes off for birds in flight! Thankyou.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks for watching and I am glad you found the video informative. Good luck shooting. Cheers.

[@DavidDAndrews]

Thanks for the update it was super helpful to me to go back and setup my focusing methods from wide to spot at the fingertips... Very Cool!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad it helped!

[@chrisschindler7634]

This was fantastic! I just received the R6 and I knew you had done a total settings walk through. Glad I saw this update. Only a couple menus that either had more or fewer items than your R5. I am pleased with my first day efforts and look forward to wringing this camera out.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad you found the video helpful. Thanks for watching and commenting. Ron

[@chrisschindler7634]

@@whistlingwingsphotography Ron thanks again for this video as I sent my R6 to Canon for some work and they reset everything! As expected but grr. One thing of note I reverse the first two back button focus settings. AF-ON is a zone focus and * is the eye tracking. My reasoning is that if something is static and a bit far for my lens I can hit the magnify button and tickle my focus ring to ensure focus for potential cropping later. If AF-ON is programmed for eye detect that digital EVF magnify doesn’t work. And that’s the beatify thing about preferences. We each get to decide! I’ll just reiterate that I use your videos all the time for reference and recommend them to others often. Thank you!

[@johanwagner7642]

Thank you Ron. The third back button option was news to me and your comments made me reconsider some other settings. You made a comment about the option on function menu 4 to enable release shutter w/o lens. I agree that for birds in flight this would not be of any benefit, it is however a useful option for non-electronic and therefore fully manual lenses for example digiscoping. Great video again, thank you.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks so much for the comment and adding info to the discussion. Great add with the fully manual lenses.

[@vsmcl3979]

Hi Ron! Thanks for another highly informative video on the R5. I appreciate your approach to the settings and your logic as to why you set up as you do. Got a giggle for the lens IBIS settings..... Cheers, Vicki

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks so much for the comment Vicki, I hope you are doing well. Cheers.

[@richardpopish2737]

Thanks for this, especially like the spot autofocus being activated with one button instead of requiring two buttons to be pressed simultaneously as in your previous video.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad it was helpful! and thanks for your comment.

[@jmich5123]

Superb! The triple AF I’m adopting. I follow you bird guys because you all know how to compose properly yet quickly. Birds, kids, dogs, bridal parties can all be pretty fast so look at how the specialists work their gear I say. But now you’re gonna cost me 2800 bucks since I want that 100-500 for birds. I’m a bird convert…. Just phenomenal shots sir.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Hey, thanks so much. Yep, the new cameras allow for a lot of customization and I love the AF options.

[@thementoringclub6006]

Thanks for your useful tips on setting up the R5 for bird photography. I've got a possible workaround for the Canon R5/LP-E6NH sad battery life. (Others viewers may have come across this, or a similar solution already). I used this setup just once in the field, so far. I went to an estuary in my area and had my Canon R5 powered on continuously for a full 3 hours and utilized about 3/4 of my battery, shooting mostly video. My gear list is below. Just be very careful about which dummy battery you choose. You'll want one that actually regulates the voltage down to 8.0 volts. If you search KZbin, there are R5 owners who bricked their R5 because they used a dummy battery that was meant to be paired with an AC wall adapter that output 8.0 volts. If you've got a voltmeter handy, you'll feel more confident if you measure the output of an LP-E6NH and then measure the output of the setup below, before you actually install the dummy battery into your Canon camera. One more tech tip: When I got back home, it only took one hour to recharge the battery back to 100% capacity. The latest battery chargers use GaN III / PD 3.0 technology for cooler operation and reduced physical size. 65W and 100W versions are typical. My alternate Canon R5 battery setup: - GyroVu D-Tap to Canon LP-E6 Intelligent Dummy Battery - FXLion Nano One V-Mount Battey - SmallRig Mini V-Lock battery Plate with Belt Clip Thanks!

[@ttthai9837]

I hope you do the same for Canon R3. Can hardly wait for your new video of R3. Thank you, again.

[@brianmorrison9937]

Thank you, I use all your settings except for eye detection and animal mode for the upcoming airshow.

[@thecuriocat]

This video was so helpful! And the way you set up the back buttons was a total game changer for me as well!! I’m new to Canon and have watched several videos over the past few months trying to get my bearings but haven’t really made good progress until I set it up the way you instructed - so excited! I got some flawless shots yesterday! Thank you for sharing this video!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

My pleasure.

[@lewisabulafia4358]

I'm going on an east Africa safari later this month and reviewed your R5 set up. Having the camera for several months it starts to make more sense. Thanks very much for that. You obviously shoot a lot of video and I would love to see on of your tutorial videos go into some of the R5 movie settings that you regularly use. Thanks again

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks so much for watching. I hope to do a video set up video in the near future.

[@susanmeyer8885]

Great, informative video. I now have my R5 set up for BIF. You greatly helped me understand the camera with this video. I now need to set up a Landscape custom setting.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad it was helpful!

[@janetteplanck4504]

Thanks Ron. Hugely helpful. I am definitely going to set up another back button focusing method. I had two, but I love your idea of three!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad it helped!

[@QVL75]

Excellent, excellent explanations, tips, and tricks! Thanks! I will experiment with turning off IS for high shutter speed settings while doing bird in flight. It does make sense to me.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jasperbuitenhuis6771]

Really love this video! Just got my R5 and getting set up now. So much Thanks

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks so much. I am glad you are finding it useful.

[@ttthai9837]

Thank you so much for the video . A lot of good information specially about the IS on the lens.

[@dougridgway8889]

Thank you for the tip to be able to set the AF Point Button to spot focus. I was able to do this before but, I had to hold down both that and the AE Lock button to get the spot focus. One problem I had with your method was that when I set my settings and hit the register current setting tab, it defaulted to the animal eye auto focus. My work around was to go through the set up and don't register it. Now when I hit the AF Point Button, I get the spot focus to work.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Ah, good point, I may have misspoken in the video.

[@cathco9]

I found a lot of information that was useful. I use the Canon EOS R6 which has the same AF system. I set up that third back button for a zone. Also, the advice about turning up the shutter speed and turning off IS on the RF100-500mm L lens while shooting birds in flight is very interesting. I'm going to try this next time I'm out. Thank you so much!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks so much for the comment.

[@robinlee7531]

Hey Rob, thanks for the brilliant video about the R5 setups. Hopefully I'll get to photograph them snail kites again once the restrictions eases up!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Sounds good.

[@gatehouse82]

Wonderful video. Exactly what I needed. I have been struggling with BIF. Had never thought of turning IS off. Am off to try the new setting right now!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad it was helpful. Given the new firmware 1.4.0 has really improved the IS/IBIS performance on the R5 with many lenses I would install the update and then try shooting BIF with mode 2 or 3 along with turning it off. Then, compare your results. Mode 2 and 3 are working much better now after the firmware update.

[@marklaussade7197]

This was an excellent review. I made several changes that I know will help improve my bird photography. Thanks!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

you are very welcome.

[@rherteux]

Thanks for another great and helpful video Ron! A couple of suggestions...I don't want to sound critical, just trying to help. First off, something is up with your audio. The audio for your intro and conclusion are fine but for everything in-between I only hear audio in the left channel, nothing in the right. The I've noticed this with a few of your videos. Maybe it's just me somehow? Second, it might be helpful to flag the more recent changes you've made for those of us who have already watched the earlier video, so we know exactly what you've changed more recently instead of having to watch the whole video. Thanks again for all the help you pass along to the community!

[@copperwoof]

Great review of the settings, Ron! One thing I also do is set C1 for BIF (1/2000 at ISO 800) and C2 for static birds (1/500 at ISO 500). All other settings are the same for both. I then toggle between them using the M-Fn button. That way I can be in the ball park for a static bird using C2, get some shots, and then toggle to C1 to be ready in case the bird flies off.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks for sharing! Love your creativity with settings and thanks for sharing it here.

[@michelebelotti2022]

I will try your settings (not all of them but 90% of them). Hopefully I will get better results. Anyway, good explanation on your video

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Good luck! and thanks for commenting

[@angelathomas2117]

Thank you this is my first time doing bird photography so hopefully I can set it all up :-)

[@frankjackson2942]

Thank for the vast amount of useful info you have shared. And the marvellous images, especially via your earlier video on extreme BIF. Way down under (in Aus)I have recently acquired the R5 and100-500 R lens, principally for birds/wildlife, and am amazed at the increase in keepers thanks to the extraordinary technological advances, especially in auto focus - but I have one issue, and (hopefully!) you may have a solution. It goes to the speed with which I can switch to custom modes for my BIF settings in that often very small time frame available when an opportunity suddenly presents. With my old 7D/400mm prime setup I could do that simply and very quickly. With my BIF settings at C3, I could simply turn the mode dial until it couldn't go any further - which was at C3. This change could be achieved without taking my eye off the bird/birds as the camera was raised to shooting position. Mechanical but effective. With the R5, as I yet understand it (!), I have to visually find C3 (or C2 or C1, whichever) via the Mode button, select it, and then and only then go back to trying to get the shot/shots. Problematic. My eye has been off the target/potential target so more valuable time is inevitably lost while I regather it. If it's still worth shooting - which it often will not be. The R5, in many positive reviews, has been hailed for the extent to which it can be customised, so it seems almost incredible to me that there is not some means of allocating my BIF settings to a button where a single press would give me that opportunity. (I appreciate many BIF specialists will be dedicated to that single task, and be set up just for that, but one of the very many beauty's of the R5/100-500mm combo, for the generalist amateur like me, is that you could be taking a landscape one second, while rambling about, and then have the opportunity for a great BIF shot. Hopefully I've missed something, and a tweet will give me access to that opportunity....)

[@topilot]

One of your best clips, Ron! I used the settings for my R6 after watching this and captured some great bird shots this AM. See you soon!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Fantastic!

[@gojoe36]

Thanks for this tutorial...I got mine coming in tomorrow and need to set it up.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Have fun! and thanks so much for commenting.

[@markm7237]

Saw your comment about occasional blurry images. I shot mechanical shutter for the first month and was having a heck of a time getting consistent sharp images. Seemed very hit and miss. Frustrating because I came from a 5DSr with the 100-400 and a 1.4x and had much more consistent results (always used mode 1). This weekend I began experimenting with the electronic shutter and noticed that in mode 1 with shutter speeds under 1/500 and braced or on a rest using short 4 shot bursts that I'll get one sharp one out of the 4. This held true for flying birds at speeds over 1/2000 too (mode 1). I have yet to get a sharp flying bird head using slow shutter 1/250 or less, whereas with my prior set-up I could nail them often. I wish I could disable ibis and just shoot with the lens stabilizer to see if its that combo creating the problem... Thanks for the great videos, very helpful advice.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Of course Mode 1 is not intended for moving subjects as it is designed to stabilize in all axis. So, I am not surprised at the low hit rate for flying birds. I have very good success with mode 1 for static birds. However, I have found that sometimes it takes the IS/IBIS a bit of time to fully stabilize and bracing the system keeps it from fully stabilizing as quickly as it would if is sensed more shaking when you were say hand holding free and clear with no bracing. I too wish we could use IBIS or IS separate from each other. Thanks for the comment. Always good to hear what others are experiencing.

[@markm7237]

@@whistlingwingsphotography One final thought. I trusted mode 1 on my 5DSr for most of what I do because I could se that the image was stable in the viewfinder. I see the same thing with the 100-500. My theory is that there must be imperceptible high-frequency stabilization adjustments happening. I live in an area of the country where sunny days are less frequent than low-light days. I envy you guys with good light!

[@andy68364]

Awesome congratulations many thanks 🙏 from Brazil

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thank you very much!

[@ceesnabuursfauna2115]

Thanks for this update! The 3 options for AF are great, saves me time. Think I lost some shots but feel that this will help to get them the next time.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad it was helpful!

[@eloycastroverde2452]

Ron thank you for the video. Very helpful and informative.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad it was helpful!

[@georgestiros4392]

GREAT video. Thank you . I have learned so much. I own the R 5 now for 6 months and although the images are amazing I still have trouble learning all of its functions. Coming from Sony 7R. Thank you again

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks so much.

[@thecadschool1114]

sir, ur introductory video is excellent, my suggestion increase the timeline it would be fantastic

[@rentoulzz]

Brilliant and I fixed some things I missed before thanks so much. I use mode 1 on my 100-500 . It works well . I find it difficult to switch the settings quickly and tend to forget to change back to the right setting so I leave it on 1. I find if the bird suddenly lands then mode 1 is brilliant. It works really well for birds in flight . I haven't noticed loosing shots.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Great to hear! I have an awful time with BIF with IS on and set to Mode 1. So, it is good to hear of the opposite. Always glad to see folks adding to the discussion.

[@michaelnott2104]

Hi Ron! Excellent update delivered in your usual friendly, informative manner. Especially liked the IS on or off description at the end but I also went through my R5 menu item by item. Didn't adopt everything but that is because I use auto iso a lot. Maybe a topic for a future video? Even if it's to say it is rubbish :-)

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Hey, thanks. Auto ISO is def not rubbish, it has its place for sure. I just don't use it much because I do so much BIF work. I will def consider doing a video on it in the near future.

[@djack4125]

"Release Shutter without a Card" is a feature which Canon gave to the camera stores. Firing the shutter on demo cameras helps get sales over-the-counter.

[@halmarietta7952]

Can't thank you enough! Cleared up a lot of questions I had.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Great to hear! Thanks for the comment.

[@robsmith1965]

keep up the great work Ron

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks Rob. Good to hear from you.

[@KymGphoto]

You are awesome!! Thank you so much for this!!! Going to give it all a try…..i like the third back button….i have the two but not the third one….cant wait to give it a try….hope it will help me finally get my bird in focus when it comes in closer!!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

You are so welcome!

[@NoSuRReNDeR001]

I think its great that you can export your setting to a card then import on another canon r5 ---my friend bought one it was all set funky ---2 minutes later he had my settings and my presets even... brilliant.

[@stevemoore-vale5632]

Superb video full of great tips. Out of interest, your Case 2 adjustments for birds in flight, would they be as useful for a moving bird on the ground perched birds? I do all and want to find a settings that works without having to fiddle with it depending on the subject.

[@davet3530]

Thanks Ron, I have revisited my settings after having had my R5 for a little while and am going to implement your settings . I found the last section re IS on the lens really interesting. I have been struggling trying to get accurate focus on some of my BIF images (peregrines flying around a cathedral). I’ve lost no end of images to blurry outcomes when I thought they should be sharp. I have been using Setting 1 on my lenses (100-500 or 500 prime.] the problem is sometimes they are perched and I want that stabilisation for that moment, but then they take off and fly around. Following your thoughts I might want to turn off IS altogether. Not something easy to do when in situations like this. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if there was some way that I could set my IS to turn off and back on just by pressing a button on my camera….. I would customise my DOF button to that. Canon are you listening 😊. Great tips Ron …. Thank you.

[@JGZphotography]

To save the modified settings for registering a new recall setting, just hit the Menu button when done. If you press register the "Current" settings, all changed settings reverts to the camera settings before the changes. I learned this on the R3, and likely true for the R5.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Yes, that is correct. Do not hit the Register Current Settings button.

[@mohdsyafiqsivakumaran2255]

Superb! Many thanks Ron.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad you found it worthwhile viewing.

Thanks for a great video and sharing your camera settings with us! A lot of learning and optimizing the use of my camera in this video! Highly motivated to go out shooting now! :-)

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

So glad you found the video useful. Thanks so much for the comment.

[@mohammadchayirli1574]

Awesome video Ron Thanks

[@joydeephalder506]

Hi Ron, following you ever since I have R5. Honestly, ur each and every video surpasses my expectation. Just wondering if you could also plan to have all of your settings saved in card (that came with new FW update) and then share that file in your channel. It would be great help .

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

I will consider that. Thanks for the comment.

[@dewarner12]

This was a great video that was really helpful. Thanks -

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jamesthompson1279]

Excellent video. Thanks so much.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for commenting.

[@dyfrgi]

Thanks for the tips, especially about the AF method on the control wheel, I've been trying to figure out something useful to put there and that seems perfect. One note on the video, the audio is only coming through the right channel for most of the video. Probably happening in your audio interface, often they send two inputs separately in that way. If you mix to mono in your video editing app it'll fix it.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks so much for the comment. I have been having issues with my sound set up and I believe I have it fixed.

[@joeletizia8171]

Excellent video Ron and your birds in flight photos are awesome. I have a question will these settings work with the R6. I managed to to get the settings registered in my R6 but can't get out until the weekend.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Yes, absolutely they should. Let me know how it goes this weekend.

[@maureenking4739]

Thank you for this video. so much great information. I've got an r5 now after using the Mark iii for years. Besides photographing birds in flight, I also photograph my 7 year old granddaughter's soccer games. What setting changes from this video would I need to make for that scenario? Thanks!

[@brianmerrill7399]

Thanks Ron. Great info. I made a couple of changes that may help.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Glad it helped and thanks for the comment.

[@johnhead6463]

Thank you, Ron. On the R6, what settings would you recommend for the AE Lock Button (*)? I love your settings for the AF-ON and AF Point Selection buttons but not sure about the AE Lock Button. Many, many thanks for sharing your expertise.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

It is really hard to say what would be best for you given I do not know how and what you shoot most often. I would just experiment with various AF setups until you find one that meets your needs. Sorry, I could not be more specific.

[@tomlonergan5512]

Thanks Ron. Love your BIF work with the Belted kingfishers. Fabulous. One question... My R5 w/RF100-500 has a devil of a time acquiring birds at eye level when the background is all trees. In the sky, no problem, but when the background is camouflaged it has a terrible time acquiring the subject. Not just kingfishers, I mean Egrets, Anhingas and Ospreys. I suspect the AF has a difficult time finding a bird when the camoflauged background is a mixure of greens, yellows and browns. Because of all the work you do in the field, I suspect you've seen this as well. Any suggestions?

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Hey, thanks so much. Yep, the AF will have trouble picking out a bird against a dirty background at times. There are so many variables that affect the AF performance in this type of situation that without being there, and also knowing more about how you have the camera set up, it is difficult to suggest changes. Also, are we talking birds in flight, perched birds, or both? Are you using backbutton AF or half-press? Here are a few things I have found work for me. For perched birds I have my "AF Point Selection" button set up for "Spot" AF, so if I try eye detection or zone and the AF does not pick the bird I go directly to spot and it almost always focuses on the bird. Once the AF has the bird I then switch back to eye detection using the "AF-ON" button that I have programed for eye detection AF. Now that the AF knows what the subject is it almost always finds the eye as long as the eye is visible. For birds in flight against a dirty background, I tend to start with eye detection AF if the bird's eye is visible. I help out the AF system by not pressing the backbutton to initiate AF until the birds head is in or very near the center of the frame. If the AF misses I pump the backbutton until it grabs the bird. If eye detect is having a problem then I will try the "Center Zone" and make sure the bird is squarely in the zone before I press the backbutton to initiate AF; again pumping the backbutton until the AF grabs the bird. Almost always I am able to do pretty well using these techniques and settings. Since the latest firmware update I have made on additional change to my AF settings in the R5. For the AF cases, I used to shoot Case 2 modified to all negative for Tracking Sensitivity and all the way Positive for Accel/decel. Now I am using the "AUTO" setting. I am not one to use many auto type settings, but this setting seems to adjust to a lot factors and find the bird and stick with it very well. As well if not better than tweaking a case. I hope this helps. Cheers, Ron

[@tomlonergan5512]

Wow, I understand completely. Yes, I was refering to BIF when having difficulty acquiring a moving subject across a dirty background. My settings and back buttons are set similar to yours. As you mentioned, I think the trick is using a smaller zone and then centering the bird in the zone as much as possible before hitting AF-On. The backup plan is single dot or group. Also, I'll try the custom case #2 and Auto setting as you described for the AF parameters. The dirty background challenge will likely continue to be a shortcoming of the object searching technology. My wife just received a Nikon Z9 with a PF500 lens. It will be interesting to see how it does with those dirty background situations. In the meantime, here's my new rule for object detection technology: Bird in the sky, easy as pie; bird with the trees, help me please :-) Thanks, TL

[@hedleyjohnson2657]

Thank you for such an indepth video. This will cetainly assist me in setting up my camera. I would just like to add that if you remove your lens and go to the red camera setting in the menu and Tab 7 IS(stabilizer) mode is shown but not when a lens is fitted. Select it and you can choose on or off, Still photo IS Always or one shot and then Focal Length and im not sure what that means. What length do you suggest and what are they referring too. Would love some feed back.

[@Galo1955]

I adopted your new setting for birds in flight, thanks a lot for all that hard work Ron doing those tutorial. They really help my Birds in Flight with my Canon R5. 1- Will or would your choice of setting in the menu change with the new Firmware 1.4.0 ? 2- Is there a way to show you some pictures that we did of Birds in Flight ? 3- They say there is no stupid question... I would like to know if the shutter count ad-up when using electronic shutter ?

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Hey, thanks so much for watching. Regarding your questions. 1) Nope. the new firmware affected the IS/IBIS performance, so no camera menu changes, but I have now started to use IS Modes 2 and 3 again like I used to do with my DSLR bodies. So, that is good. 2) Sure, you can send me images. Depending on how large the files are you could just email them to [e-mail] or you can use WeTransfer or DropBox to share them with me. 3) from what I understand, no, it does not. Only mechanical shutter releases count on the camera's "counter." This is from a Canon field rep. He was not sure this was the case, but was almost sure; whatever that means. I have yet to confirm this.

[@cahigley1]

Thanks Ron ~ this was great!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thanks for watching.

[@danspangler2592]

Thanks so much for this update. I tried these settings today and had some nice results. I didn't hear you mention metering. Do you typically use spot metering, evaluative, or other for birds in flight?

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Dan, I shoot full manual exposure and so the meter does not affect my exposure. So, in essence I don't use any metering. Of course the meter is still active in the sense that the pointer on the metering scale is still moving around providing me input if I want it, but I have found with mirrorless cameras set to show the exposure through the VF I just use that to set my exposures.

[@jorgmehling4263]

Hi Ron, excellent Videos!!! One question: which grip did you mount on the tripod clamp? Thx, Jörg

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Sorry, but I am not sure what you are asking.

[@zumba5012]

I'm confused, so I set everything up; love it, fantastic !. You nailed it. My head cant wrap around AF Servo, so now its set to Case 2 with the sensitivity -2 , and accel +2. That's for panning fast-moving Birds; use BBF with eye detection or spot; it should track, right? So, the question is if I go to shoot a non-fast bird, say sitting... do I leave Servo AF as is and lens IS on, in the same settings, or should I change something else? (ie. Case 1, ? IS would be a benefit in low light hand held, etc... I think Im confused when does Servo AF kick in and should I change modes? If yes, how?... whats easier than diving into MENU AF menu 3 ?? Also, I keep hearing Mode 1 and 2, that's on my len's? All my lenses are at Canon... cant look at them (have one RF ,800f/11; the others are EF's 70-200 ii; 100-400ii, 16-35 4.0, 24-105 4.0). Thanks for the help... ;-)

[@jgreco742256]

Thanks for this video, maybe a dumb question but can these settings be used for all moving and motionless wildlife? Thanks for your time.

[@vivienbird3622]

Thank you very much for the Update

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

You bet

[@chasinghippoz]

I went through your entire setup---its terrific--do you turn off Image Stabilization on your Lens when using a Tripod?

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Yep, I turn it off.

[@gailbisson7565]

This was very good! Loved the info about the "Same expo for new aperture" (at 37:00 minutes) and switching it to ISO. Makes it so much more reassuring to use the 100-500. I have been all over the map over the past 4 months with my custom dials and buttons and I have been struggling. So I look forward to trying this new set-up.I am confused about one thing. I set my AF point button to large zone AF, hit register current settings then apply settings but it defaults back to the single point AF. I no longer do much BIF so would prefer to have the zone AF on the harder to reach button ie. the AF point button and use the * button for metering and AF single point start. What am I doing wrong? Or Plan B: How would I set up my custom buttons if I wanted to use my shutter button to acquire focus? My main AF method would be Animal eye detect+ tracking and then could I use the * button for single point and the AF button for large zone? Would this work? I just tried to do this and once again the AFbutton reverts back to what I have set in my main menu which is animal eye detect/tracking and not large zone AF. Help!

[@keithmcleod457]

My experience similar to Doug Ridgway above is that you want to make the changes but then do NOT select “register current settings”, just instead hit “menu” button and exit out. The “register current settings” seems to take the camera’s current settings and overwrites the customization selections that you had just entered. This register current settings command is a bit confusing, and does not “register” the settings you had just entered. Hope this helps!!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

I misspoke in the video. Make the changes and do not Register Current Settings. Sorry, Ron

[@gailbisson7565]

@@keithmcleod457 Thanks Keith. I appreciate your help,

[@gailbisson7565]

@@whistlingwingsphotography Thanks Ron.

[@keithmcleod457]

@@whistlingwingsphotography Hi Ron, I really enjoy your informative videos and have learned so much since subscribing, many thanks!! Happy to be able to contribute back in a small way. So much to learn in how best to utilize the amazing power and customization features of the R5 .....

[@DavidRecht]

Great stuff Ron. You have really helped me fine tune things. I have read some places that there could be a difference in bokeh appearance shooting mechanical vs. electronic shutter. Not sure I believe that but was wondering your opinion and if there is any technical or physics reason why this might be true. Thanks again.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

I have not noticed anything very different. If you are panning with a fast moving bird the look of the background will be affected by rolling shutter, but I generally have things set up so my backgrounds are extensively burred. This makes any rolling shutter pretty much undetectable.

[@edshanahan]

Thank you Ron! I am new to mirrorless and to Canon and had setup my R5 through another tutorial. Yours is a much better and easier to understand approach. The only thing I have not been able to figure out how to do is to be able to review my focus point after I take a shot. I have AF Point Display Enabled in Play5 but I still can not see it when I view images. Is there anyway to see the focus point of an image after you have taken it? Tx

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Yes, and it seems you have the setting set to allow for review of the AF point. However, the AF point is only viewable in playback when the entire image is displayed. If you Zoom in at all on the image then the AF point disappears. This may be what is happening. If not let me know and I will look into it further.

[@robgerety]

I have a new R5 and I am trying to sort out how to use the 2 card slots. I tend to agree that I really don't need to use the SD card as a back up. So, I will be recording everything to a fast CFexpress card that is large capacity. Question is - what should I use for an SD card. I assume there is some concern that a too slow SD card will interfere with high frame rate shooting? What is fast enough for the SD card when used as an overflow card as you recommend? Thanks for your great work on the channel. It has been a big help to me.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

I use Lexar 1667x and they have worked well for me.

[@russell1234]

Thanks…updated my settings!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Thank you, for watching.

[@chasinghippoz]

I loved this video--it is so helpful---I was wondering if you use cRAW does it limit your ability to crop the photo?

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Nope, it does not limit your ability to crop. CRAW does not reduce the resolution of an image just the file size as compared to full RAW.

[@chasinghippoz]

@@whistlingwingsphotography Thank you so much!! I shared your KZbin with our Camera Group--your videos are super helpful thank you!!

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Your welcome

[@Enuffable]

Great video Ron, thanks for the tips. I have the R6, purchased very recently and assume the same settings will apply. Building on Andrew J's observation on the firmware V1.3.0 displayed in your video, I understand that Canon quickly released a newer version. Did all your settings continue to work? That is if you have updated to the latest Firmware.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

I updated and all my settings are working as they should. Thanks for the comment.

[@SEAWARD38]

Thanks - great update. Have two questions I would also describe as rudimentary questions. In the first video you described how to delete one shot with one button. Also, when shooting in manual how do you change the exposure up or down. When I fix it in the P mode it is so easy.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

To change my exposure when in manual mode I just change the ISO using whichever dial I have ISO set to. Very simple and easy.

[@SEAWARD38]

@@whistlingwingsphotography Thanks - The eye detection was great this morning. I love it - it really works well Thanks

[@annconstantino7953]

I am enjoying your videos and really appreciate all the detail you put into them, especially since I have just come over from the Nikon camp. I have recently acquired the R5 and RF100-500. I thought I had everything set up as you describe in this update, and really anticipated using the third back-button a lot as I shoot a lot of small birds who often disappear into foliage, so I need that spot focal point to find them. However, I find that when I have these circumstances, the camera does not focus on the spot in the center of the frame but seems to search for some other spot. Did I miss something in the set-up? I have tried both one-shot and servo and get the same result. Thanks.

[@whistlingwingsphotography]

Yes, you must have something set up not quite right. Read the note I added to video description as I miss spoke in the video itself. I think following the added note process will solve you issues. Thanks for the comment.

[@annconstantino7953]

@@whistlingwingsphotography Thanks for the reply. I'm just seeing this 3 weeks later. I have found a workaround, but will go back to your notes for sure. Thanks for the helpful vids.