Today, as usual, I took the dog out for a walk and, again as usual*, picked up the camera just in case ‘anything cropped up’.  Unfortunately, I didn’t thoroughly check all the settings.  For sure, I checked the exposure settings (aperture mode,  and ISO to keep the shutter speed up for the conditions).  I also set the metering mode to spot because I thought I might get some flying birds and that can be a useful technique to get the birds properly exposed against a bright sky.  (I’ve been experimenting with that setup vs fully manual of late - both work well.)

Unfortunately, I didn’t check the auto focus mode.  It was set to ‘single focus’ rather than ‘continuous focus’ mode; mainly because I’d been doing some testing over the weekend and forgot to switch it back.  Upshot was that i got some great light and cooperating herons at the local pond but my focussing was of quite badly.  Of the shots I took, well over 60% were off because the AF wasn’t updating the focus as I pressed the shutter.  Some would have been really good images.  Hence the ‘Doh’.  Tough lesson and one I’ll remember.  

Anyway some did come out properly in focus:

* My “as usual” camera for dog walking is a Nikon D500 plus a 300mm f/4 lens and 1.4 teleconverter (so 420mm in total).  Not what most people would consider for a ‘walkabout’ rig.  However the Nikon 300mm f/4E PF lens is much lighter and more compact than normal lenses of this size so it makes for a very practical setup.