Storyteller: Nikon D5: Sports Camera Settings

Wednesday, May 04, 2016

Nikon D5: Sports Camera Settings

These are the settings that I use on my Nikon D5 for shooting most all sport action. Nikon has made it really nice to allow photographers to save these settings so they do not have to remember each and every little setting they like to use for a style of shooting.

If you go to Menu and under the camera icon pick the first item "Shooting menu bank." I have chosen B, which is my sports menu.

If you toggle into the "Shooting menu bank" you can rename those settings. Once you choose one of these settings everything you do to change the menu will be saved in that menu bank. I recommend to go ahead and try all my settings and then tweak them to your preferences.

When shooting sports it is very common for the lighting conditions to change instantly. While the football player runs toward you they may go from shade into direct sunlight. For this reason I let the camera do some of the thinking for me.

Go to the camera icon again and look for "ISO sensitivity settings." Select this and you will then see this menu:

I turn on the "Auto ISO sensitivity control." Then I set the minimum shutter speed to 1/4000. You could pick something else. I used to shoot at 1/2000. The ISO setting is what you see in the smaller window below the menu. I set this to ISO 100 and then set the "Maximum sensitivity" to ISO 102400.

While I am in Aperture Mode shooting the camera will always pick 1/4000 shutter-speed. If in sunlight I am at ƒ/4 the shutter-speed may go as high at 1/8000 at ISO 100, but as the scene changes and the athlete is now in the shade the camera will automatically drop to 1/4000 @ ƒ/4 and then change also the ISO up until I can still shoot at 1/4000.

The only time the shutter speed will dip below the 1/4000 is if the ISO peaks out at 102400. If my aperture is wide open then the camera is doing everything that I would have done manually, but faster than I could ever adjust the camera. That is how you get more shots than the guy next to you.

Next select the Pencil on the menu and then go into the Custom settings bank.

Again just like the Photo Shooting Menu create a Sports Menu as I have done here.

Next choose the Autofocus in the menu.

Then choose the Focus tracking with lock-on.

I change the "Focus tracking with lock-on" from Normal to 4. What happens when I do this is the delay for the lens to refocus if something comes in between the camera and subject (like a referee). While I am following someone the camera will not refocus right away. This is something you need to try and pick what you like. You may want the lens to be more responsive and therefore go to setting 1 which will let the lens refocus instantly.

Focus Settings

Note the lenses you choose affect the availability of focus points.

You want to pick Autofocus Continuous mode for sports.

In the menu Pencil selections pick AF Activation under the Autofocus settings.

Then choose the AF-ON only. This will mean when you push the shutter release it will not focus, but just fire the shutter to take a photo.

By changing these settings you will notice the camera will stay in focus and shoot faster frame rate. Great for following a baseball player sliding into a plate and another player trying to tag them or maybe a football player running towards you to score. You will find more photos tack sharp in a series.

I generally put my focus point dead center and lock it so I don't bump it. I am trying to get photos of moving subjects and off center is too difficult for me. I may crop later for a better composition, but I want the subject in focus first.