Leopard about to descend

[Sabyasachi Patra]

This leopard was going going down the tree. Probably it was being more cautious as the adolescent cub was in the tree. This was in kabini last sunday.

Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon EF 400mm f2.8L IS USM, EF 2xII, ISO 400, f5.6, 1/640. The vehicle was packed with 9 people and was rocking like a boat. I increased the ISO as I wanted a higher shutter speed. Full frame.

Look forward to your comments.

[Udai Bisht]

Great shot! In such a scenario where the subject is moving, would you prefer Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority?

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Udai,
Most of the times I use aperture priority. I anticipate action and decide whether my shutter speed is adequate or not and accordingly increase the ISO and increase the lens opening.

In this case my shutter speed was 1/640. If I wanted to use a higher shutter speed say, 1/1000, then I had to increase the ISO. If I use shutter priority and set 1/1000, then my shutter speed will remain at 1/1000. If the light increases then my shutter speed remains at 1/1000, but the aperture increases. However, if you are using aperture priority, and have set the aperture at f5.6, then increase in light (either due to the sun breaking out from the clouds etc) would increase the shutter speed from 1/1000 to a higher value. So it is better to use aperture priority. However, you can choose either shutter priority or aperture priority, as long as you are aware and are making changes to your settings depending upon the situation.