The Secret Weapon for Wildlife and Bird Photography

Have you ever been patiently waiting for a static wildlife shot, only to miss a sudden, unexpected action sequence because your camera settings were all wrong? It's a common heartbreaker: you're set for a slow shutter speed and a static subject, and suddenly a bird flies in for a landing, giving you just a few seconds to react.

For many photographers, the reaction is to start shooting and hope for the best, but there's a better way: the Emergency Action Button (EAB).

YouTuber and photographer Steve Perry has a very good YouTube article that goes over this. His content can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQfQE5pK1yM

What is the Emergency Action Button?

The EAB is a powerful camera customization that allows you to instantly switch your camera from its current settings to a pre-set bank of action-ready settings, all with the press of a single button. This allows you to immediately increase your shutter speed, open your aperture, boost your frame rate, and select a proper autofocus area to track a moving subject.

This feature is supported by quite a few modern mirrorless cameras:

• Nikon (Z8, Z9): Called Recall Shooting Functions 

• Sony (A1, A9, A7/A7R series v3+): Called Recall Custom Hold 

• Canon (R1, R3, R5, R6 series): Called Register and Recall Shooting Function

Recommended Generic EAB Settings

The goal of the EAB is to be a generic, all-purpose savior for the widest range of unexpected action, not a replacement for deliberate, customized shooting. Here are the recommended settings to program into your action bank (based on the Nikon example). Your particular settings are of course up to you. These are just a potential starting point.

Unfortunately, this feature tends to be reserved for Cameras focused on capturing action. But if you have spent the money to have a camera that supports a recall shooting mode- then DEFINITELY take advantage of this feature.