You were wondering how to get the evf to activate immediately your eye gets to the Viewfinder (in another post). What I do, swipe my right thumb infront of the evf sensor as I lift the camera... By the time the camera is at my eye the screen is on!
You are the best, Ron. Thank you for your explained very clearly. Just got Canon R5 last week after read a lot articals and saw a lot from TH-cam, but I dont have any RF lens yet, trying to use my 7 EF lens, I think I have to change my lens to RF later. This is not working with my EF 100-400mm II with EF EOS RF control ring adapter.
Good to know this. I have the R6 togheter with the RF100-500. My working mode is Fv. Have ISO on AUTO, aperature most of the time wide open, and I use the top wheel to change the shutterspeed if needed. Exposure compensation with the big wheel in the back. Working this way the changing aperature will change the ISO, and the exposure will stay the same. I am used to it and it works fast and flexible for me.
Ron, Great video, as always. Really enjoying all the R5 specific stuff you have put out. A question though: I am a newbie wildlife shooter, but have settled in with shooting in full manual but with auto ISO set for wildlife. This lets me control the aperture (typically set wide open on my 100-500), the shutter speed to make sure I am high enough to stop action or motion, and then let the camera give me the ISO, which I think should then be the lowest ISO I can be using to ensure a good exposure under the circumstances of the other parameters. if I need to change the exposure from this I can dial in some exposure compensation with the control dial. Seems like having a set up that guarantees 1) lens is always at the widest aperture possible, 2) shutter speed is always fixed at the speed you select to ensure no motion blur, and 3) ISO is always as low as possible to allow criteria 1 and 2 to be met is the best set up? Otherwise using this feature mentioned above you might actually end up at an ISO that is higher than you needed, or with an aperture that is stopped down or a shutter speed that is too slow? Best Regards, ML
For me, there would be a problem to how you are set up as explained in your comment. Given you are letting the camera's meter set your exposure based on whatever metering setting you have chosen and you use exposure compensation to change exposure when needed, how do you change the exposure in a split second when shooting a flying bird that is moving between light and dark backgrounds many times during a few seconds of flight? By shooting truly full manual, that is the camera's meter does not change any parameter that effects exposure and setting the exposure for the flying bird in the light that you want it in, you are assured of the correct exposure on the bird no matter if it is against a bright background one split second and a very dark background the next. There is no way I can change Exp Comp that quick, so I just set the exposure for the bird in full manual mode. Then when I zoom in or out the setting I discussed in the video keeps that correct manual setting for the bird that I set. Any exposure mode other than truly full manual where you set the Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO and don't let the camera's meter change any of the parameters will result in incorrect exposures on a flying bird that is moving among backgrounds of varying brightness. So, I always shoot truly full manual. But, that is just me. I like to be in full control of my photography. Cheers.
@@whistlingwingsphotography Ron, thanks for the detailed reply. I see what you are saying. My thoughts on using the ring to compensate exposure are for the initial set up - definitely not too useful in the heat of the moment as you say. And in cases where the bird stays in the same light while the background changes (no doubt a very common occurrence for BIF photography) I see your point - my approach could cause the bird exposure to be changed in an undesirable way. I guess though there could be cases (probably less common) where the bird lighting is also changing very quickly, in which case my approach might rescue a shot that would otherwise not be exposed optimally? This all really highlights the fact that even with these very smart cameras, the photographer's skill and set up choices still have an important effect on the ultimate results. In any case, I appreciate the time and effort you put into these videos to share so many fantastically useful insights on how you get your world class bird photography. I am now a subscriber :) I will have to go out and try this set up on my next shoot - I can put this in my C3 position and compare it with the auto ISO approach I have been using and see how it goes. Much appreciated! ML
@@michaellewis5921 I use the same technique as you. I would love to hear back what you find. Unfortunately my R5 has been sent back to Canon for hopeful repairs due to the auto focusing system locking up the camera! So I won't be able to try this for a couple of weeks I imagine. Having changing shutter speeds on a BIF seems counter productive and would cause some shots to be blurry and the other setting for ISO changing seems like it's no different than auto ISO. Setting the control ring on the lens to adjust exposure compensation doesn't take too much time to adjust when taking pictures, just practice.
@@whistlingwingsphotography I guess what I'm wondering is whether or not you can set a minimum shutter speed that the camera will not drop below for Day to Night timelapse shooting. As the light goes away, the camera will want a longer and longer shutter speed until it hits 30 seconds but at that point (without switching to BULB) you've run out of shutter so you have to start riding the ISO (aperture remains constant throughout) But if you could set a minimum shutter speed of say 5 seconds and then force the ISO to adjust to maintain an equivalent exposure, that would be a nice way to achieve Day to Night or "Holy Grail" timelapse sequences.
@@jaybeckman3749 I have never tried to do this, but I think it is possible. Let me check into this and see what I can come up with doing some experimenting. Thanks for the question as I like experimenting with new setups.
May I ask please, do you have any problems with the camera not wanting to focus on your subject? Sometimes no matter what i do it will not focus on the bird! I have to focus on the tree and come up the trunk to the bird then it finds it….sooo frustrating….i have yet to figure out why it does this….any help would be greatly appreciated. It is random, doesnt happen all the time….even if the bird is a bright red cardinal sometimes it is just a big blur unless i find a limb or something to follow over to the bird. I have same settings as you with the back button focus
Yes, this does happen and for me it has happened with all mirrorless camera bodies I have used including Sony and Nikon. This is especially the case when in Zone or eye detect with tracking AF modes. The solution I have found is to set up a back button AF button that is set to Spot AF. The Spot AF does a much better job of focusing on what you put the spot AF point on with regards to a subject. The other thing that helps remedy this situation is to pre-focus on the area the birds will likely be so the area the bird ends up in is not way out of focus to start. Mirrorless cameras have a hard time going from way out of focus to focusing on that area. If the area you want to focus on is at least close to being in focus the AF system will do a lot better at grabbing focus on that area.
Wonderful Ron, I've been enjoying your videos since I began my own R5/100-500 journey last summer! I'm curious as to why people choose full manual mode as opposed to the new FV setting? It seems as bird photographers when some opportunities come and go in a moment, we will always want quick access to aperture and shutter speed as the main options - and allowing the camera to adjust the ISO automatically for exposure is just faster than doing it manually. And if you want to over or under expose you can still make that happen by dialling the wheel for exposure compensation. What is your view on that? It seems to me that FV is essentially Manual Mode but with a mini-canon-camera-assistant doing the ISO adjustments for you?!
Some people just like to have total control over all settings and they don't want the meter to make changes to any of the parameters based off of the luminosity "it" is "seeing." I do a lot of birds in flight and when shooting dynamic flying birds the background can go from very dark to very bright in a split second as the bird flies. I like to set my manual exposure for the bird in the light I am looking to capture it in as it flies, because I know, by doing this, the bird will then be exposed correctly no matter what background it passes in front of. If you let the meter change a parameter be it shutter speed, aperture, or ISO it will be changing the overall exposure based off of the overall brightness of the scene, not the luminosity of the bird (no metering mode available will meter just off the bird while a bird is flying), thus the bird will not be exposed correctly much of the time. I can't see changing the Exp Comp up and down every split second trying to compensate for the meter as the bird is flying against light then dark then light and then dark backgrounds. It just does not work. For perched birds or birds moving against more even backgrounds where the light is just changing due to cloud cover changes then shooting a different mode other than Manual works out okay. Hope this helps explain why full Manual Mode still exists for some photographers.
@@whistlingwingsphotography Thanks a lot Ron, that makes a lot of sense - the changing background issue. Anyway, thanks again for these videos, they are very helpful and clear - I hope to be able to come and visit you one day and see some of the amazing birds you post. All the very best and thanks again, N
Great video! Unrelated to this, have you had the opportunity to try the Sigma F4 500mm on the Canon R5? If so, I was wondering if you experienced vignetting when shooting at the F4.
I have not used the Sigma on the R5. I would expect some vignetting given the R5 is full -frame and the light fall-off toward the corners on super teles on full-frame sensors is hard to escape. The 500 and 600 f/4 Canons show it too. So, again no first-hand experience. Sorry.
I always loved this feature in my Canon days. Fun fact: this setting was first released when Canon brought the 200-400 with built in 1.4TC to market. It was used so you could flick in and out the TC and keep your exposure. As you point out it is great for variable aperture zoom lenses. It is also useful when swapping TCs....however you have to keep the camera powered on for it to work when swapping. Some people have an issue with keeping the camera powered on. I always kept it on with DSLRs but I'm a little more hesitant with the R5. I can't recall if the R5 allows this feature to work even if the camera is powered off for a TC swap? I've now sold my R5 so can't check. FWIW neither Nikon nor Sony have a feature like this. Would be great if they did.
Thanks so much for adding to the discussion. Thought sure Nikon and Sony would have this feature. I will check to see if it works when powered off for TC change. Cheers.
It works great. For example, if a bird is flying toward you and you are pulling back zoom and the aperture is changing the exposure stays the same. I have it set to change the ISO when shooting BIF.
@@stevengoodall2310 Nope. Not the same. In the above situation the ISO is only changing because the aperture is changing due to the zooming of the lens. This change is not based on the camera's light meter. So if I am not zooming the lens in or out the ISO will not change even if the camera's light meter "sees" a change let say because it became cloudy and the light dropped. Auto ISO changes the ISO based on what the camera's meter is reading even if the aperture is not changing. So if it becomes cloudy, for example, and no change is made to aperture or shutter speed the camera's light meter will increase the ISO.
Cool, so this is kind of between "Full manual" and "Auto ISO" - and of course adds the shutter control. I typically use "Auto ISO" and change the EV to my liking really quickly from a dial. But the function you showed here is probably better when changing focal length in fast action situations.
As you know that are many ways to do things, and this video was mostly for those folks who shoot full manual. Others can take what they want from the info and apply it to their way of shooting. That is the beauty of the cameras we have now. Thanks for adding to the discussion.
@@whistlingwingsphotography Yes, absolutely! I didn't mean to criticise at all. To be honest I actually didn't know about this constant exposure function - so your video was really helpful for me too. I know some think that using Auto ISO and -0,3/-0,7 EV is all you need but at least for me it's not at all that simple. Though depending on camera and situation that often works at lest to some extent with spot metering connected to focusing point. But still to get optimal results some tweaking is needed. And depending on composition the results could be really bad with Auto ISO + center spot metering. I tend to use evaluative metering with Auto ISO and tweak the EV setting a lot with the dial. So because Auto ISO approach is far from perfect I think this method you showed is a really welcome addition to every wildlife/sport photographer's arsenal with variable aperture zooms!
Interesting, but since the R5 handles high ISOs so well, I am happy using auto ISO. I find that controlling shutter speed and aperture and exposure compensation more important than ISO.
I do the same. I use auto iso for 90% of my photos. However, this does make it more difficult to edit similar photos in Lightroom. Often similar photos will have slight changes in iso and that makes synching exposure settings between the photos more complicated.
really helpful; stumbled on this after purchasing my new 100-500 and quickly learned the downfall of Av priority from a manual shooters perspective.
Glad you found it helpful and thanks for watching.
You were wondering how to get the evf to activate immediately your eye gets to the Viewfinder (in another post). What I do, swipe my right thumb infront of the evf sensor as I lift the camera... By the time the camera is at my eye the screen is on!
You are the best, Ron. Thank you for your explained very clearly. Just got Canon R5 last week after read a lot articals and saw a lot from TH-cam, but I dont have any RF lens yet, trying to use my 7 EF lens, I think I have to change my lens to RF later. This is not working with my EF 100-400mm II with EF EOS RF control ring adapter.
Thanks for the recommendation 👍
Saw this setting before, but never thought about what it does.
Will change it as soon as I come home.
Glad you found it useful.
This is very useful Video, I’m planning to get RF 100-500 f4.5-7.1 L IS USM in couple of days.
thanks so much for the comment.
Came here looking for this feature for Sony 😁 My Canon has this, but this would be a really useful feature on the Sony for video
Good to know this. I have the R6 togheter with the RF100-500. My working mode is Fv. Have ISO on AUTO, aperature most of the time wide open, and I use the top wheel to change the shutterspeed if needed. Exposure compensation with the big wheel in the back. Working this way the changing aperature will change the ISO, and the exposure will stay the same. I am used to it and it works fast and flexible for me.
There are many ways to do things and I am glad you found one that works for you. Thanks for the comment and adding to the discussion.
Great discussion. Thanks!
Thank you.
many thanks Ron. very useful Information and I did not know so far.
kind regards Bernhard
Glad it was helpful!
Cool. Thanks.
thank you, Sir!!
You are welcome!
Thanks Ron! For the info
I have my R5 over a coupel off days👍 now
I hope you found it useful. Have fun with the R5.
Ron, Great video, as always. Really enjoying all the R5 specific stuff you have put out. A question though: I am a newbie wildlife shooter, but have settled in with shooting in full manual but with auto ISO set for wildlife. This lets me control the aperture (typically set wide open on my 100-500), the shutter speed to make sure I am high enough to stop action or motion, and then let the camera give me the ISO, which I think should then be the lowest ISO I can be using to ensure a good exposure under the circumstances of the other parameters. if I need to change the exposure from this I can dial in some exposure compensation with the control dial. Seems like having a set up that guarantees 1) lens is always at the widest aperture possible, 2) shutter speed is always fixed at the speed you select to ensure no motion blur, and 3) ISO is always as low as possible to allow criteria 1 and 2 to be met is the best set up? Otherwise using this feature mentioned above you might actually end up at an ISO that is higher than you needed, or with an aperture that is stopped down or a shutter speed that is too slow?
Best Regards,
ML
For me, there would be a problem to how you are set up as explained in your comment. Given you are letting the camera's meter set your exposure based on whatever metering setting you have chosen and you use exposure compensation to change exposure when needed, how do you change the exposure in a split second when shooting a flying bird that is moving between light and dark backgrounds many times during a few seconds of flight? By shooting truly full manual, that is the camera's meter does not change any parameter that effects exposure and setting the exposure for the flying bird in the light that you want it in, you are assured of the correct exposure on the bird no matter if it is against a bright background one split second and a very dark background the next. There is no way I can change Exp Comp that quick, so I just set the exposure for the bird in full manual mode. Then when I zoom in or out the setting I discussed in the video keeps that correct manual setting for the bird that I set. Any exposure mode other than truly full manual where you set the Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO and don't let the camera's meter change any of the parameters will result in incorrect exposures on a flying bird that is moving among backgrounds of varying brightness. So, I always shoot truly full manual. But, that is just me. I like to be in full control of my photography. Cheers.
@@whistlingwingsphotography Ron, thanks for the detailed reply. I see what you are saying. My thoughts on using the ring to compensate exposure are for the initial set up - definitely not too useful in the heat of the moment as you say. And in cases where the bird stays in the same light while the background changes (no doubt a very common occurrence for BIF photography) I see your point - my approach could cause the bird exposure to be changed in an undesirable way. I guess though there could be cases (probably less common) where the bird lighting is also changing very quickly, in which case my approach might rescue a shot that would otherwise not be exposed optimally? This all really highlights the fact that even with these very smart cameras, the photographer's skill and set up choices still have an important effect on the ultimate results. In any case, I appreciate the time and effort you put into these videos to share so many fantastically useful insights on how you get your world class bird photography. I am now a subscriber :) I will have to go out and try this set up on my next shoot - I can put this in my C3 position and compare it with the auto ISO approach I have been using and see how it goes. Much appreciated!
ML
@@michaellewis5921 Thanks again for contributing the the discussion
@@michaellewis5921 I use the same technique as you. I would love to hear back what you find. Unfortunately my R5 has been sent back to Canon for hopeful repairs due to the auto focusing system locking up the camera! So I won't be able to try this for a couple of weeks I imagine. Having changing shutter speeds on a BIF seems counter productive and would cause some shots to be blurry and the other setting for ISO changing seems like it's no different than auto ISO. Setting the control ring on the lens to adjust exposure compensation doesn't take too much time to adjust when taking pictures, just practice.
So could you set Max/Min Shutter Speed and Aperture and let the ISO adjust as necessary for timelapse shooting?
I would need more information on the shooting mode you would be setting to comment on your question.
@@whistlingwingsphotography I guess what I'm wondering is whether or not you can set a minimum shutter speed that the camera will not drop below for Day to Night timelapse shooting. As the light goes away, the camera will want a longer and longer shutter speed until it hits 30 seconds but at that point (without switching to BULB) you've run out of shutter so you have to start riding the ISO (aperture remains constant throughout)
But if you could set a minimum shutter speed of say 5 seconds and then force the ISO to adjust to maintain an equivalent exposure, that would be a nice way to achieve Day to Night or "Holy Grail" timelapse sequences.
@@jaybeckman3749 I have never tried to do this, but I think it is possible. Let me check into this and see what I can come up with doing some experimenting. Thanks for the question as I like experimenting with new setups.
May I ask please, do you have any problems with the camera not wanting to focus on your subject? Sometimes no matter what i do it will not focus on the bird! I have to focus on the tree and come up the trunk to the bird then it finds it….sooo frustrating….i have yet to figure out why it does this….any help would be greatly appreciated. It is random, doesnt happen all the time….even if the bird is a bright red cardinal sometimes it is just a big blur unless i find a limb or something to follow over to the bird. I have same settings as you with the back button focus
Yes, this does happen and for me it has happened with all mirrorless camera bodies I have used including Sony and Nikon. This is especially the case when in Zone or eye detect with tracking AF modes. The solution I have found is to set up a back button AF button that is set to Spot AF. The Spot AF does a much better job of focusing on what you put the spot AF point on with regards to a subject. The other thing that helps remedy this situation is to pre-focus on the area the birds will likely be so the area the bird ends up in is not way out of focus to start. Mirrorless cameras have a hard time going from way out of focus to focusing on that area. If the area you want to focus on is at least close to being in focus the AF system will do a lot better at grabbing focus on that area.
Wonderful Ron, I've been enjoying your videos since I began my own R5/100-500 journey last summer! I'm curious as to why people choose full manual mode as opposed to the new FV setting? It seems as bird photographers when some opportunities come and go in a moment, we will always want quick access to aperture and shutter speed as the main options - and allowing the camera to adjust the ISO automatically for exposure is just faster than doing it manually. And if you want to over or under expose you can still make that happen by dialling the wheel for exposure compensation. What is your view on that? It seems to me that FV is essentially Manual Mode but with a mini-canon-camera-assistant doing the ISO adjustments for you?!
Some people just like to have total control over all settings and they don't want the meter to make changes to any of the parameters based off of the luminosity "it" is "seeing." I do a lot of birds in flight and when shooting dynamic flying birds the background can go from very dark to very bright in a split second as the bird flies. I like to set my manual exposure for the bird in the light I am looking to capture it in as it flies, because I know, by doing this, the bird will then be exposed correctly no matter what background it passes in front of. If you let the meter change a parameter be it shutter speed, aperture, or ISO it will be changing the overall exposure based off of the overall brightness of the scene, not the luminosity of the bird (no metering mode available will meter just off the bird while a bird is flying), thus the bird will not be exposed correctly much of the time. I can't see changing the Exp Comp up and down every split second trying to compensate for the meter as the bird is flying against light then dark then light and then dark backgrounds. It just does not work. For perched birds or birds moving against more even backgrounds where the light is just changing due to cloud cover changes then shooting a different mode other than Manual works out okay. Hope this helps explain why full Manual Mode still exists for some photographers.
@@whistlingwingsphotography Thanks a lot Ron, that makes a lot of sense - the changing background issue. Anyway, thanks again for these videos, they are very helpful and clear - I hope to be able to come and visit you one day and see some of the amazing birds you post. All the very best and thanks again, N
Great video! Unrelated to this, have you had the opportunity to try the Sigma F4 500mm on the Canon R5? If so, I was wondering if you experienced vignetting when shooting at the F4.
I have not used the Sigma on the R5. I would expect some vignetting given the R5 is full -frame and the light fall-off toward the corners on super teles on full-frame sensors is hard to escape. The 500 and 600 f/4 Canons show it too. So, again no first-hand experience. Sorry.
@@whistlingwingsphotography Thanks for the input.
I always loved this feature in my Canon days. Fun fact: this setting was first released when Canon brought the 200-400 with built in 1.4TC to market. It was used so you could flick in and out the TC and keep your exposure. As you point out it is great for variable aperture zoom lenses. It is also useful when swapping TCs....however you have to keep the camera powered on for it to work when swapping. Some people have an issue with keeping the camera powered on. I always kept it on with DSLRs but I'm a little more hesitant with the R5.
I can't recall if the R5 allows this feature to work even if the camera is powered off for a TC swap? I've now sold my R5 so can't check.
FWIW neither Nikon nor Sony have a feature like this. Would be great if they did.
Thanks so much for adding to the discussion. Thought sure Nikon and Sony would have this feature. I will check to see if it works when powered off for TC change. Cheers.
How does this work with birds in flight?
It works great. For example, if a bird is flying toward you and you are pulling back zoom and the aperture is changing the exposure stays the same. I have it set to change the ISO when shooting BIF.
@@whistlingwingsphotography Isn't that the same as using auto ISO?
@@stevengoodall2310 Nope. Not the same. In the above situation the ISO is only changing because the aperture is changing due to the zooming of the lens. This change is not based on the camera's light meter. So if I am not zooming the lens in or out the ISO will not change even if the camera's light meter "sees" a change let say because it became cloudy and the light dropped. Auto ISO changes the ISO based on what the camera's meter is reading even if the aperture is not changing. So if it becomes cloudy, for example, and no change is made to aperture or shutter speed the camera's light meter will increase the ISO.
@@whistlingwingsphotography Thank you!
Cool, so this is kind of between "Full manual" and "Auto ISO" - and of course adds the shutter control. I typically use "Auto ISO" and change the EV to my liking really quickly from a dial. But the function you showed here is probably better when changing focal length in fast action situations.
As you know that are many ways to do things, and this video was mostly for those folks who shoot full manual. Others can take what they want from the info and apply it to their way of shooting. That is the beauty of the cameras we have now. Thanks for adding to the discussion.
@@whistlingwingsphotography Yes, absolutely! I didn't mean to criticise at all. To be honest I actually didn't know about this constant exposure function - so your video was really helpful for me too.
I know some think that using Auto ISO and -0,3/-0,7 EV is all you need but at least for me it's not at all that simple. Though depending on camera and situation that often works at lest to some extent with spot metering connected to focusing point. But still to get optimal results some tweaking is needed. And depending on composition the results could be really bad with Auto ISO + center spot metering. I tend to use evaluative metering with Auto ISO and tweak the EV setting a lot with the dial.
So because Auto ISO approach is far from perfect I think this method you showed is a really welcome addition to every wildlife/sport photographer's arsenal with variable aperture zooms!
Interesting, but since the R5 handles high ISOs so well, I am happy using auto ISO. I find that controlling shutter speed and aperture and exposure compensation more important than ISO.
Thanks for sharing
I do the same. I use auto iso for 90% of my photos. However, this does make it more difficult to edit similar photos in Lightroom. Often similar photos will have slight changes in iso and that makes synching exposure settings between the photos more complicated.