Sony 200-600mm Lens Settings for Bird & Wildlife Photography: My Setup for Capturing the Action
The Sony 200-600mm telephoto zoom lens is an awesome choice for bird and wildlife photographers. In this video I share what lens settings I use and a few customizations to make the setup even better. ↓↓↓
Between the AF/MF toggle, the focus limiter switch, the image stabilization settings, and the focus hold buttons, the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens may seem a little more complex than what you're used to with other smaller lenses. For the purpose of bird photography where every moment counts, I've simplified my use with these switches so I spend less time fiddling around and more time shooting the action.
Check out my Sony 200-600mm Long-term Lens Review on Fstoppers:
fstoppers.com/animal/fstopper...
Sony 200-600mm Accessories Video:
• Three Awesome Accessor...
►Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS
B&H: bhpho.to/2pnPutc | Adorama: adorama.rfvk.net/Kkyka | Amazon: amzn.to/2ZAFf28
►LensCoat Lens Cover
B&H: bhpho.to/3205Wgh | Amazon: amzn.to/2xo3o2b
►Kirk Replacement Foot
B&H: bhpho.to/35399xf | Adorama: adorama.rfvk.net/WB2xn
►BlackRapid Sport Strap
B&H: bhpho.to/34mfmEP | Adorama: adorama.rfvk.net/5O1XD | Amazon: amzn.to/2Q6K00r
►Sony a9
B&H: bhpho.to/2XGXiU0 | Adorama: adorama.rfvk.net/rjRnd | Amazon: amzn.to/2XQuybm
►Sony VG-C3EM Vertical Grip for a9, a7R III, a7 III
B&H: bhpho.to/304AFeW | Adorama: adorama.rfvk.net/NA2AO | Amazon: amzn.to/2XYv3Aa
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Really appreciate this video. My brother and I laughed out loud when you got to your pet peeve about the focus hold button. We have the exact same Lens Coat Camo sleeve and we spent an hour in the field trying to figure out why our autofocus stopped working! We also took your idea about over-lapping the foam to stop the zoom ring from moving. Thanks for making the video.
Love this lens! Tack sharp, crazy fast auto focus! I rarely have out of focus shots, and if I do it’s because of something I’ve done. Can’t imagine a day in the field without it.
got mine today, yay!, can't wait to try it, thanks for the tips mate
Extremely helpful. Thanks 👍👍
Brilliantly helpful, thanks mate :)
You rock Ryan! You keep doin you!
Thank you!
Very useful, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the tip on the MF control hold!
You bet!
The Kirk foot also has a QD socket which is very convenient. Put a QD swivel on your strap and now you can quickly disconnect when you want to switch to a tripod.
Good vid. I'm thinking of switching to Sony. One thing I like about all my Nikon F mount lens that I own is, I can leave the switch on /M mode & can use it either way without having to touch any switches. Now if I could just get the camera to auto focus in low light busy scenarios!
I got the lenscoat and tripod foot! So helpful! I set everything like yours apart from the focus lock button - it is crop on/off because I use A7R4.
That's a great use for it. Thanks for watching!
why hadn't I thought of that. brilliant. Just setup my lens button to switch to crop mode on my R IV. thanks for that tip.
Ok perfecto Ryan, probaré con el 5 pues hasta ahora tenía el 4 y en el modo de estabilización lo pondré en el 1. Gracias por la información.
My thought process is that the a9 is making autofocus and autoexposure calculations at 60 fps, so even if the AF gets a little too bouncy at the 5 setting, it picks right back up on the right spot faster than the camera can shoot so you hardly miss a beat. With lower sensitivity which traditionally gives better tracking on other cameras, it feels like I'm giving the camera too much power to stick on an object which may or may not be what I wanted to focus on.
Time to check this out. I am having huge problems getting sharp images with this lens together with my A7R3.
Same problem! I've had the a7R3 for 2 years, but just got this lens. It's awful! I know this was an old comment. Did you figure anything out?
@@RobinSue74 i sent mine back. Got sick and tired of it.
That sucks. What do you use instead? It'll be so disappointing to have to go back to my adapted Sigma C combo, but at this point it seems I've spent $2000 to go backwards. :( I don't think I've gotten one usable BIF shot and stills are far, far more miss, than hit. I've seen countless blurry and/or fuzzy unusable shots and I don't think a single one yet that makes me feel glad I finally broke down and bought that lens. Crazy.
I believe mode two is for compensation shake during panning movements
Excellent Video 👍
Hey Ryan! Good tips. You should do a video on camera settings for your specific purposes. Noob friendly of course.
Thanks! Good idea, I'm planning on it.
Hi Ryan, nice video. I just switched over from D500+200-500 to A6600 and rented this lens. But I am not happy with the action shots. The detail just isn't there and it has a mushy look to it. I've read up on the settings but maybe I am missing the secret sauce?? Tracking off seems to work better. Mostly using centre focus. This lens doesn't seem as sharp as the Nikon 200-500? I haven't been able to try any other lens for comparison.
ok perfecto. Gracias
hey Ryan great tips, a question....if you take photos at a distance of 50 to 100 meters ore so,... and the photos are a bit soft and not sharp with the A7rIII at 600mm what settings do you use? thank you, Wim
Any suggestions on AF settings for birds in flight with this lens? Shooting on an A7RIV and sometimes I can capture some fantastic shots (for the noob I am) and then others I’m like - how is it possible that was blurry? Maybe it’s just I need to hit the gym and build up some muscles but would love a crash course in AF for birds.
I have been having trouble tracking bif and I had it set at 10m to infinity ♾ I will try your recommendation set at full. Thanks
It’s strange, you would think that limiting the focus range would be helpful for picking out the subject. But for me at least it really does seem to change its function to favoring whatever’s furthest away inside the focus area.
You're awesome.
Thanks!
Hi Ryan, I would like to know if you have tried to adapt an auto focus macro extention between the lens and your a9. I used an A7iii with a meike 16mm extention ona Tamrrom 150 to 600mm on A mc11 adapter. Ha. So, the results of this crazyness I was able to achieve great auto focus performance for steady shots of birds sitting at about 25 meters away. The magnification i get is that at that distance I could fill the full frame with a birds head 25 meters away. Also the macro capabilities at closer distance are awesome,,,,I would like to know if sony would do the same. Thanks for the video
What steady-hold setting do you recommend for when the camera is on a tripod, or should it always be turned off?
hello ryan if you mind what focus area you using most of of fast moving birds? thank you
Ryan, where do you get the "safety strap". I think it's a great idea but I can't find anything similar in all of the regular places. Would appreciate your direction on this.
Good info. Thought, check on dmf focus. You can set to custom button. Pretty nice feature
DMF is AF-S only so isn't very helpful to me. Thanks for watching!
Hi Ryan, great video! Just a question about how you hold your lens. I always use the lens with the foot at the bottom to get a stronger grip to help steady it but I noticed that you seem to use it with the handle on the top side. Is there a specific reason for this or is it just something that you have gotten used to? If you did that with the Black Rapid strap attached to the foot wouldn't the strap be draped over your lens barrel and tend to get in the way?
Just my preference. To me, it feels like the foot is getting in the way and I think it's more comfortable holding the wide barrel than a little foot, but I know others prefer it the same as you do. When I use the Black Rapid I remove the foot, attach it directly to the hole there, and rotate it so it's on the bottom.
Muy buenas Ryan, yo tengo el combo A9+200-600G y la verdad es que estoy muy contento con los resultados. En mi caso tan solo uso dos modos de enfoque, el punto flexible en S para casi todo y el de enfoque de seguimiento para los vuelos que es con el que me siento más cómodo. Mi pregunta es la siguiente: para los vuelos uso el enfoque de seguimiento y en el apartado 1 en el 6-14 Sens. Seguim. AF lo tengo en 4. Para ti que número es el más aconsejable y en cuanto a la posición 1,2,3 del estabilizador del objetivo cual es la que mejor funciona en líneas generales. En el objetivo los botones que tiene tengo asociado el factor recorte, muy útil en algunos casos. Un saludo desde España.
For the sensitivity, I started out with 5 because that's how I had my a7R cameras. Then for the past month or so I had it on 4 to try. I ended up going back to 5 because I just like how it's a touch more responsive. As for the stabilization mode, I'm not sure I understand the Google translation but if you're asking which one I use in general it's Mode 1.
Thank you for your video, I just bought a new lens and I'm having some trouble with the focus. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, my birds come out blurry and there's much noise. I'm using A7III.
Can I use the buttons on this Len’s on a standard Sony a7
Hi Ryan, Im using a a7r4 with a 200-600 A)Whats your default bird focus area set to ? Flexible small, medium or large? B)do you find the eye af giving you much more positive hits when combined with medium spot ? Or is it hit or miss ? This is regarding smaller birds like warblers and songbirds . You can also use the focus hold button remapped to manual over ride , helps when shooting handheld . ( my manual override method. Middle finger to trigger override , thumb and index to focus ring)
A) Small B) I've only seen Eye AF work on maybe three birds ever. A Clark's Nutcracker was one but I can't remember the others exactly. I only remember the Clark's because I proudly exclaimed that it was actually working to the photographers with me, haha. So most of the time Eye AF isn't giving me any assistance regardless of focus area. For me, I rather just be in the mindset that Eye AF doesn't exist from the get-go so I don't waste time hoping it shows up when a bird appears. So for that I'll keep to the Small area for smaller birds.
@@RyanMenseWildlife ha!😬 just corroborated that eye af is pointless for small birds . Mammal photographers might have it better . Thanks and happy hunting .
Do you have a video that describes your camera settings for bird photography?
Not yet, I'm hoping to get to that this week.
hi , i have 200 600 + A&RM3 want to purchase 2X is it is worth and compatible ....?
Wow, your findings mimic exactly what I found through experience! That focus hold button, yep, same thing wisht there was a way to disable the bottom one only. Something you talked about is the camera focusing on the trees/foliage in the background, that frustrates me a lot with my A7R3, no matter what setting I try it's nearly impossible to get focus on BIF unless I have sky or smooth water and sadly those photos are the least desirable. I leave my lens OSS in mode 1 and have oftentimes shot a BIF without having time to change it to off, I wish that was possible to disable as part of a custom button instruction set but it is not (yet). I haven't noticed leaving OSS on to degrade my BIF images but perhaps I should be more cognizant of shutting it off. Out of curiosity what shutter speed do you use for BIF? I'm at 1/1600 or slower moving or gliding birds but move up as high as 1/2500 for kingfishers and fast moving subjects, I haven't ventured higher but I'm guessing some use even faster SS's. Thanks for the video.
Interesting thought on the disabling of certain focus buttons, and it would probably be a good idea for stopping accidental presses. As for the BIF focus, the a9 will do the same IF you don't follow what seems to be the golden rule for all Sonys in acquiring focus: your starting focus distance MUST be in front of where your subject is. So for example if I know my bird will be popping out of some bushes at 40 meters, I'm going to autofocus on those bushes, then use manual focusing to bring in that focus distance just a bit to say ~38 meters. When Sony's go to find focus on the bird that just took off from the bushes, they always start from the current focus point and work outwards; your subject can never be in front of your starting focus distance. That's been my experience at least. Maybe you've already picked up on that too. For shutter speed of BIF, my baseline is 1/2000 in general with this lens. Higher for smaller, faster birds and I have room to play with ISO, lower a bit if I need to recover some ISO and there's more distance or it's a slower bird.
@@RyanMenseWildlife I don't believe I've ever consciously realized that the Sony focus system works that way however, I'm ALWAYS pre-focuing on something in front of where my anticipated subject may be so probably on another level my brain realized it. I do know if I "miss" something and focus grabs the background it seems I can never get focus back unless I find a higher contrast object in the foreground and focus on that first. Thank you for the excellent information, we live in a good time for photography with lots of helpful people such as yourself bringing knowledge to the table and bettering us all as whole. Anyways, headed to the beach to see what's flying :)
@@RyanMenseWildlife 'the golden rule for all Sonys in acquiring focus: your starting focus distance MUST be in front of where your subject is' Seems like a good topic for a BIF video?
Hum, i have an a7r3 with the latest firmware but i don't have that custom key screen, it just has lines and options. Wha! 😳
I use AEL for man hold on A1, works great
Does this lens handle video well? Subjects would mainly be songbirds and shorebirds. I would pair this will an A7III body. Photos are covered with my D500 atm.
Honestly, I'm probably not the person to ask this since I don't really have a good measure of what is good and bad for video.
Ryan Mense alright, thanks for replying back.
@@SeanONeill01 I am finding no luck on video review for this lense. So I'm just going to take the plunge and try it out.
What about your autofocus mode? Single spot? Single shot? Continuous shooting single spot etc? That’s what I’d like to know not just the lens settings but also the focus settings / mode on the camera
Thanks for watching, Matt. I cover all the camera settings in a separate video here: kzhead.info/sun/obaxlrp5aX2ugqM/bejne.html
Have you ever looked at the Sun Sniper Rotaball-Pro?
Hey David, no I haven't heard of that until now. Have you used it?
Ryan Mense I have one and like it but I can’t compare because it’s the first one I bought (after doing some research).
I guess I'm in the same boat but with the Black Rapid. It's the first of that style of strap I used after a friend recommended it to me but I really have nothing bad to say about it.
does having a filter on the front to protect the lens effect autofocus?
If you mean a clear filter, probably not in a noticeable way. It might negatively affect image quality though in certain conditions.
I just Rented One And Is A Monster Of A Lent , On A Sony A7rii
Awesome! Enjoy!
Would have liked to see some of your images.
Plenty of my images elsewhere so I didn't want to bog down the video too much, but I appreciate the feedback :)
Thanks for the video. Where you got that hat? ☝️
I got the hat at my very first Sony press event where they announced the a7R II 🙂 I think that was around 2015? A lot has changed since then! Thanks for watching.
I love this lens with the A9, but the A7R IV tracking with this is whacko lol. I have great luck with flexible spot or even zone/wide, but the tracking is very unreliable, almost to the point where I think it's a software issue since the lens works beautifully with the A9. Bokeh is pretty good too :o)
Same issue with A7RIV here and I am contemplating swap to the A9ii. Anyone have any feedback on such a move? Thanks
@@njrtech Best solution is one of each... a9 for BIF and a7R4 for perched birds. I only have the a7R4 and with the 200-600 acquisition and tracking are excellent (but from everything I've read, the a9 is even better for BIF)
the 1.20 firmware update made things much better with this lens and the a7 r IV
Hi Ryan, May I ask you if it is possible to send you a few samples images to check if the noise is acceptable for the ammount of ISO used, on my sony a7iii? Thanks
What you mean "it does not have a full time manual focus override"? I can turn the focus ring to manually refocus tho
Meaning that if the lens and camera is set to AF, the focus ring is disabled.
@@RyanMenseWildlife Oh, no wonder, I usually put camera on DMF
Yeah that would do it 🙂 Unfortunately DMF is AF-S so for what I do it’s a nonstarter.
@@RyanMenseWildlife Thanks for the tip!
Where did you get that hat?
On a Sony press trip in 2015
Always makes me wonder why a lens that is great for wildlife comes in a bright white colour with no option for black
Didn’t like this lens paired with A1 and 7r4, sold it to a friend with a 7r3 and he gets great sports indoor and outdoor. I don’t think it handles well with higher mega pixel cameras.
I liked it with the Alpha 1, this is the only lens I used for my review of that camera. It was even phenomenal with both teleconverters which is a big deal. I agree though that at times when I owned the a7R IV it could be inconsistent.
The 200-600 is now on sale everywhere. 100 off. As of the time of this writing.
Now even extra 200€ on Amazon. Perhaps new 100-400 is coming? ;-)
IT does have "a full time manual focus override, It's callled DMF, i.e. DIRECT' MANUAL' FOCUS!". Don't slag things you don't understand off, just becuase you don't know what your talking about! I've only owned the lense for 5 days and already know that.
DMF is AF-S only, so not very useful to me. Sounds like you’re having a rough day, hope it improves!