Giraffe, zebra, eland, blesbok, warthog. Early morning and late afternoon; the animals are used to vehicles.
100-400 · 200–400mmNo filterHood on
- Mode
- Av
- Aperture
- f/8 (it's what you have at 400 anyway)
- Shutter
- watch it: keep above 1/500
- ISO
- Auto (max 6400)
- Drive
- Low-speed continuous
- Focus
- Servo · Whole area · Subject: Animals · Eye on
Do this
- Engine off — the vibration ruins sharpness. Elbows on the door, or rest the lens on a folded jacket on the window sill.
- Shoot from the animal's eye level. Sit low in the seat; don't stand up through the roof.
- Half-press and watch for the box. The camera knows dogs, cats and birds — it usually finds a giraffe's or zebra's face anyway. If it doesn't, tap the animal on the screen.
- Wait for the animal to look at you or do something. The first frame is never the one.
- If the shutter speed on screen drops below 1/500, switch to Tv 1/500 and let ISO climb.
If it goes wrong
- Grass or fence in front is sharp, animal soft
- Q menu → AF area → Spot AF, tap the animal's eye. The camera focused on the nearest thing.
- Shimmery, soft in the middle of the day
- Heat haze. No fix but getting closer or waiting for the air to cool. Shoot early.
- Grainy in the shade
- ISO 3200–6400 is fine. A sharp grainy animal beats a clean blurred one every time.