Focusing D5100

Chop_Suey_Stuey

Chop_Suey_Stuey

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Name
Stuey
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Hi all

I purchased a D5100 the other day and I must admit that I'm a bit baffled by the different focus settings (my last DSLR was very basic).

In this pic with my daughter it seems that her grandads hair in the bottom left is sharper than her face, even though I metered off of her face, this was on the Auto focus mode.

lightbox

In this lens cap picture it was on centre focus mode, obviously much sharper but I had the time to make sure there was no shake ect.

lightbox

just wondering why the first picture is so soft (yes, typical noob question) would it be the focus setting, or even because of using a very cheap UV filter? would a smaller aperture have sorted it? I know the D5100 can belt out some amazing shots, it's just knowing what setting to use for when.

Cheers

Stu
 
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It may just be me, but those images aren't showing.

I am going to guess that by auto focus mode you mean that the camera was in a mode that let it choose its own focus points. If that is the case is probably picked the wrong ones. I seem to remember viewnx lets you view where the focus points on raw images.
 
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Yeah I have no idea why they're not showing, possibly something to do with the stupid update to Flickr? who knows, if you right click the picture icon and open in new tab then you'll be able to see them. That's right, you pretty much have a choice between auto area focus or single point focus.
 
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If you install the software that comes with the 5100 (Viuew NX2) when you switch to edit mode there is an option at the top to highlight the focus point.

That should at least confirm that's the issue. I personally always use single point AF to avoid things like that
 
The first one looks like its more focused on the blokes head. The Nikon cap EXIF shows 1/10 sec at 55mm, that might be a bit slow hand held.
 
Skiver said:
If you install the software that comes with the 5100 (Viuew NX2) when you switch to edit mode there is an option at the top to highlight the focus point.

That should at least confirm that's the issue. I personally always use single point AF to avoid things like that
Click to expand...

thats interesting does this work on the d7100 as well,and doe sit come with that
 
iwols said:
thats interesting does this work on the d7100 as well,and doe sit come with that
Click to expand...

View NX2 will work with the D7100.
It should come with the camera but it is available as a free download which is probable preferable as that way you will get the latest version. It is great for NEF processing as it can read all of the camera settings and applies them to the picture non-destructively so you can change them if you want.

It uses the same algorithms as Capture NX2 but does not have all the extra adjustments so it is more efficient and therefore faster.

It has
Exp comp
WB
Picture Control
Sharpness
Contrast
Brightness
Highlight Protection
Shadow Protection
D Lighting
Colour booster
Crop
Straighten
Auto Red Eye
Axial CA
Auto Lateral CA

You can also edit metadata, batch process etc.

You can download the latest version here :)

Capture NX2 has all the above plus Control Points, Selection Tools, Heal tool etc etc (but it costs!)
 
thanks does it tell you where you focused as well then
Suvv said:
View NX2 will work with the D7100.
It should come with the camera but it is available as a free download which is probable preferable as that way you will get the latest version. It is great for NEF processing as it can read all of the camera settings and applies them to the picture non-destructively so you can change them if you want.

It uses the same algorithms as Capture NX2 but does not have all the extra adjustments so it is more efficient and therefore faster.

It has
Exp comp
WB
Picture Control
Sharpness
Contrast
Brightness
Highlight Protection
Shadow Protection
D Lighting
Colour booster
Crop
Straighten
Auto Red Eye
Axial CA
Auto Lateral CA

You can also edit metadata, batch process etc.

You can download the latest version here :)

Capture NX2 has all the above plus Control Points, Selection Tools, Heal tool etc etc (but it costs!)
Click to expand...
 
iwols said:
thanks does it tell you where you focused as well then
Click to expand...

Yes. There is a button in the top line menu marked "Focus Point". If it is selected red focus brackets are displayed on the photo [] :)
 
Just looked on View NX and there's 3 focal points spot on where her face is, I think [user]terryt[/user] may have cracked it, I didn't realise the shutter was so slow, whoops! :bang:

Thanks for the replies
 
I would start getting used to single point AF and recomposing. I know my old d3100 was forever getting it's guess wrong. It's annoying having a great shot ruined because the eyes just aren't bang in focus.
 
Yeah it seems that single focus is more reliable, it's a shame, I really like the picture other than that.
 
I think you want AF-S mode (single point autofocus). the AF-A mode switches automatically from single point to continuous (AF-C ie tracking moving objects). I don't trust the auto shift.

set to AF-S and choose a focus point (you use the arrow keys to choose the points). If you're like me, you might knock one of the arrow keys when not realising and start getting the focus in odd places (could explain your first shot).

As Ebilpirate said above, the best may (IMO) is to use AF-S, set the focus point in the centre and get use to half press-recompose-press.

I never use AF-A because it's too automatic, but if I'm shooting moving objects I lock it into AF-C.
 
FellPlodder said:
I think you want AF-S mode (single point autofocus). the AF-A mode switches automatically from single point to continuous (AF-C ie tracking moving objects). I don't trust the auto shift.

set to AF-S and choose a focus point (you use the arrow keys to choose the points). If you're like me, you might knock one of the arrow keys when not realising and start getting the focus in odd places (could explain your first shot).

As Ebilpirate said above, the best may (IMO) is to use AF-S, set the focus point in the centre and get use to half press-recompose-press.

I never use AF-A because it's too automatic, but if I'm shooting moving objects I lock it into AF-C.
Click to expand...

This isn't quite true. There are two distinct things here, AF Mode and AF Area Mode:

The switch of AF Mode between AF-S and AF-C is nothing to do with focus points. In AF-S mode, the camera will focus when you half press the shutter and will not refocus until you release and re-press, even if the thing you have focused on moves out of the way. In AF-C mode, when you half press the shutter the camera will look at what you have focused on and keep refocusing on it as long as you have the shutter pressed. So if you set the release mode to continuous and had AF-C engaged, then focused on a person who was walking towards you and held down the shutter it would refocus for each shot. In AF-S mode it wouldn't and only the first shot would be in focus. AF-A attempts to guess what you want.

The other setting is the focus points or AF Area Mode, here you have four options (I think). Single point, dynamic area, 3D tracking and Auto-Area. The first and last ones are self explanatory. The second and third are for tracking moving objects.

I have probably explained this quite badly so look here for a better description of the AF Area modes:

http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d5100/features04.htm
 
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