About the Author

James Tyrrell

Alumni

James had hardly touched a camera when he came to Londolozi, but his writing skills that complemented his Honours degree in Zoology meant that he was quickly snapped up by the Londolozi blog team. An environment rich in photographers helped him develop the ...

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11 Comments

on What Are the Best Focus Settings for Wildlife Photography?

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This is such useful information. I always use single shot, maybe too scared to use the other option. You have explained it nicely James.

This blog was really useful. My Nikon D810 has a dedicated AF-on button that usually works beautifully, whilst my D750 has an AE/AF button that I’ve programmed to AF. Deciding to use AF/S or AF/C can be tricky with wildlife and I have been disappointed with shots ( sometimes I guessed the behavior incorrectly)but the good news is that each photographic moment is a learning experience. For all my “just out of focus moments “ on my last trip, it seems I just need to save for another trip to RSA!😘📷📷

Master Tracker

Sssh, we all have the duff out of focus shots, even with the rather impressive Canon 7 Mk 11

Excellent advice James. Right on target and it applies to our family photos as well. With small kids, just like lion and leopard cubs, Servo is the safest choice until they begin posing!

Wow! Another fantastic article on wildlife photography! By the way – my apologies for not commenting during the week – I was struggling with this whole password thing – I never needed a password before and couldn’t understand why you suddenly wanted one. Then today I hit the button for Google and lo! I was back in. I missed the Bird Identification Challenge but I knew it was a Monotonous Lark so that’s alright. Trouble is, I would have liked to show off my erudition! Couldn’t. Once again thanks for the wildlife photography article. I photograph birds so ANYTHING which increases my photographic knowledge is a Boon and a Blessing.

Never used the al button on a camera, I always go with the manual or auto focus switches on the side of the lens.

Hi Callum,
The focus settings discussed are both dependant on the lens being on autofocus mode..

Your explanation has encouraged me to try something other than One Shot. I’ll practice before returning in July!

Thanks James! Great help…Peter was giving me similar helpful advice out in the field today!

The best setting for wildlife photography is to be ‘setting’ right in front of a pride of lionesses all lying on top of each other…

Good info for us novices

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