Best settings for action shots?

[makeminedecaf]

I have had my xt1 for awhile now, but don't usually shoot things that move. Soon I will be volunteering at an animal shelter, shooting dogs and cats who won't be sitting still for their portraits. So will be switching out of manual mode, shooting auto focus and program mode. What other settings will help insure that I get good, sharp shots? Continuous/burst? Face detection? What else? I will be using my 18 - 55mm lens and will most likely be at the 50-55 focal length most of the time.

[Tikcus]

light, to allow a fast enough shutter speed, for the required depth of field, and a low enough ISO to prevent any unwanted noise 

[makeminedecaf]

I will not be shooting in manual, as there may be high action and variable lighting conditions. I plan to use TTL with an on-camera Nissin flash. This is mainly to get head shots and closeup full body shots of dogs and cats for an SPCA website. I wonder if face detection on will be too slow to get the expressions I want and sharpness. Also - should I shoot in continuous? Would it help to set up CL burst shots in hopes of getting one in 5? Does this work very well with face detection on?

[Tikcus]

You'll need to experiment with the settings

 

 

TBH I use Face detection for people, don't know how it works on pets

 

I do not have that lens, but for a portrait, if I was in a Studio with the XF35F1.4R I would use F8 or F11 so image was sharp corner to corner & ISO 200

If I was outside and wanted to blur out the background, I'd be shooting between F/1.4 & F/2.8, ISO and Shutter speed would depend on light

If I wanted to stop a bird in flight i'd be using a shutter speed of 1/1000 of faster (the Aperture and ISO would depend on light)

 

With continuous and burst shooting, I'd experiment

 

good luck

[CRAusmus]

I wouldn't shoot in program mode.  If your lighting conditions may change, then I'd set it to auto ISO and leave your shutter speed and aperture where you are most comfortable, just set to 4.0 or 5.6 and then you don't have to worry about it changing if you widen up.  You may have to change it a couple of times, but for the most part you'll never have to touch your shutter speed or aperture, especially if you giver yourself a wide enough ISO range, say 200-1600 or so.  Be sure to set your white balance for the lighting and not leave it on auto since you know the lighting source won't change.

 

I'd set the camera to focus tracking, with the largest box and set to CL or CH, which ever you are comfortable with, but I wouldn't rattle off like crazy.  I'd also set to evaluative metering.

 

Just my suggestion.  There may be better ones out there, but I certainly wouldn't give the camera too much control.  It's not as smart as you are and doesn't know what you want to do or what you're shooting.

 

Does TTL work with the Nissan?  I didn't think it did.  If it doesn't it just simple math to get your flash settings once dial in your settings the first time.

Edited February 21, 2016 by CRAusmus

[makeminedecaf]

Thanks for the suggestions, Tikus and CRAusmus. My lighting situation will be variable, as sometimes I will shoot indoors and other times in bright sun or shade - it varies depending on the location of the kennel within the facility. Unfortunately, they don't have an indoor location where I can take all shots.  When lighting is better, I will try to shoot without flash, but I won't be the only photographer and all of the other pet photos seem to be taken with at least a little pop of flash. I did some testing with my i40 Nissin (yes - I can use TTL on camera) and have found that the lag time between shutter and flash might be a problem for getting the shot with a hyperactive or fidgety dog. Setting CL will also present an issue sometimes, as the lag between shots just might miss the one I want. CH might be loud and distracting, but the shutter rate just might catch the shot. I will try setting Auto ISO and use noise reduction in PP if necessary.