A new lens, and especially one as beefy and capable as this, brings a bunch of new challenges, although its performance is already stellar.
I’m very grateful to have watched Steve Perry’s superb lecture on his best advice for nature photographers, and in the short time I have followed some of his techniques it has absolutely transformed my results.
The biggest impact so far has been this combination:
- rear button focusing
- auto ISO
- manual mode (leaving me in control of aperture and shutter speed)
- matrix metering
- continuous autofocus (with a custom front button to change type and area)
I’ve used each of these individually in the past, but never in this way. My biggest mistake has been shooting wildlife or action in aperture priority instead of manual.
The combination of auto-ISO and manual has allowed me to easily adjust aperture and shutter speed in an instant as needed. As Steve points out, you need to watch the shutter speed carefully.
The maximum ISO is currently set to 10,000 which might be too high for the Z6, although folks have it as high as 12,800. It will be a process of experimentation to find the right level.
Under canopy photographing bird life the ISO has frequently maxed out, and even under-exposed the image.
I need to get a lot better at my lens handling basics, such as holding the lens steady and tracking animals in flight.