Beginner D7100 Auto Focus Question

Zarch

Zarch

Messages
999
Name
Mick
Edit My Images
Yes
Can anyone help out here with some advise please?

Set-Up: AF-C. back button focusing, single middle point, 9 dynamic points.

Focused, pressed and held back button on him when he was on top of slide and held down whilst he jumped and fired off a few shots.

I had him do this about 10 times and looking back at all the shots, the slide always stays as the focus point.

I don't understand why the forward movement isn't being tracked?

Thank you.


Focus Problems by Zarch1972, on Flickr
 
Im not sure about the nikon logistics with auto tracking but with me and my Canon 7d which has the 19 point predictive thing i still always just tried my best to predict where the subject (in this case the child's head) will be when and where I want to capture the moment then picked the single corresponding focus point to that position in the frame and moved the camera along with the subject. Ive never really trusted auto tracking to pick the best focal point, it just doesn't realise what a face is. I mean the photo you took looks adequate in that it looks like both the boy and slide look in focus but that could be down to a small aperture, when you get down to 2.8 and lower you really realise how vital focus point choice is.
 
They're right, he's in focus. It's just that the slide is grabbing attention because it's in solid primary colours, you're also shooting on the edge of a large shadow and the slide is brighter.

This is one of those object lessons in priorities, it's too easy for us to to get tied up in technique, but to get child to be the most important element, a white or red t shirt would do more than focus point selection or worrying about gear or exposure.

Move the slide to remove the distracting shadow, shoot from lower with a longer lens, either side on to show him airborne with a cleaner background or straight on from lower with a shallow DoF the slide wouldn't be the biggest thing in the frame.
 
Phil V said:
They're right, he's in focus. It's just that the slide is grabbing attention because it's in solid primary colours, you're also shooting on the edge of a large shadow and the slide is brighter.

This is one of those object lessons in priorities, it's too easy for us to to get tied up in technique, but to get child to be the most important element, a white or red t shirt would do more than focus point selection or worrying about gear or exposure.

Move the slide to remove the distracting shadow, shoot from lower with a longer lens, either side on to show him airborne with a cleaner background or straight on from lower with a shallow DoF the slide wouldn't be the biggest thing in the frame.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the choice of viewpoint as Phil V say does little for the shot and the boy just looks to be randomly flying in mid air. The choice of background should be a starting point not an after thought.

If the dark green hedge provided a universal background, without distracting shadows, then this shot could easily be reconfigured to show speed, energy and the fun which is obviously taking place.

As No1Chris says, trust yourself rather than the camera to get the shot. You are the photographer, or so it says in the corner of the picture, not Mr Nikon etc. he is just the tool .

Personally I would pan with a single focus point.

The 'decisive moment' is when you make it, not when a pre-programmed computer thinks it is appropriate.

Any way have another fun day with him, I am sure he loves the thrill of jumping off the slide.
 
Last edited:
I disagree about the usefulness of the technology.

When I'm shooting action, I 'spray and pray' not because I need the technology to 'do it for me' what I'm doing (as the OP did) is programming the technology to deliver the results I want. In the old days I'd trap focus, but my keeper rate was shocking, because that kind of technique takes hundreds of hours of practice to be brilliant. However 'using' the technology to track focus properly is a technique that's easily repeatable and has improved my keeper rate immensely.

The other thing is, when we're using techniques like that, they're so simple we can go back to concentrating on the important stuff. Which is to make sure the image is about the subject (photograph), rather than just containing the subject (snapshot), for this we use composition and lighting.
 
Sorry Phil, but encouraging newcomers to use pre-programmed technology is going to mean they never understand the fundamentals.

You use it for a reason and you do it because you understand the background. That is different.

Spray and pray leaves me with one result and ten disappointing shots. I might be so busy chimping afterwards that I miss more action. That is the downside to technology

Being more specific and understanding what I am after and I can get say three keepers and nothing wasted.

I am not a wannabe paparazzi nor want to sound like the background to Duran Duran's "Girls on Film".

What a computer engineer in Japan decides is right for me, may not be correct because he is not stood alongside me in every situation nor is he the photographer, he is a computer engineer/software programmer.

Shooting 'action' frequently has fortunately taught me what is and isn't possible. And in the days of film and early slow digi, that was the only way to learn. I think by not understanding the fundamentals leaves new digi only learners at a major disadvantage.

And if my view is so wrong, why do our Universities in week one, still throw an old manual film camera loaded with FP4 at the new students and tell them to go and experiment?
 
Last edited:
shreds said:
Sorry Phil, but encouraging newcomers to use pre-programmed technology is going to mean they never understand the fundamentals.

You use it for a reason and you do it because you understand the background. That is different.

Spray and pray leaves me with one result and ten disappointing shots. I might be so busy chimping afterwards that I miss more action. That is the downside to technology

Being more specific and understanding what I am after and I can get say three keepers and nothing wasted.

I am not a wannabe paparazzi nor want to sound like the background to Duran Duran's "Girls on Film".

What a computer engineer in Japan decides is right for me, may not be correct because he is not stood alongside me in every situation nor is he the photographer, he is a computer engineer/software programmer.

Shooting 'action' frequently has fortunately taught me what is and isn't possible. And in the days of film and early slow digi, that was the only way to learn. I think by not understanding the fundamentals leaves new digi only learners at a major disadvantage.

And if my view is so wrong, why do our Universities in week one, still throw an old manual film camera loaded with FP4 at the new students and tell them to go and experiment?
Click to expand...
I didn't encourage the use of pre programmed technology, I encouraged the use of programming the technology - which isn't really the same thing.
Phil V said:
I disagree about the usefulness of the technology.

When I'm shooting action, I 'spray and pray' not because I need the technology to 'do it for me' what I'm doing (as the OP did) is programming the technology to deliver the results I want. ...
Click to expand...
But back to my original point - it's not his camera craft that's at fault here, it's the 'photography', which is failing to make the subject the focal point, his camera craft has given a a sharp peak action image - he has nothing to learn there.

As for universities making students shoot manual cameras and film, if it's true (which I doubt) they're idiots, it's as relevant as teaching wet plate techniques in the 80's, technology moves on, and learning to use what's available is much more important than learning how it used to be. Do McLaren ensure their drivers can get the best out of a 1930's Bentley Mulsanne before letting them loose in a modern F1 car? No - because apart from the number of wheels, there's no real comparison.
 
Phil V said:
They're right, he's in focus. It's just that the slide is grabbing attention because it's in solid primary colours, you're also shooting on the edge of a large shadow and the slide is brighter.

This is one of those object lessons in priorities, it's too easy for us to to get tied up in technique, but to get child to be the most important element, a white or red t shirt would do more than focus point selection or worrying about gear or exposure.

Move the slide to remove the distracting shadow, shoot from lower with a longer lens, either side on to show him airborne with a cleaner background or straight on from lower with a shallow DoF the slide wouldn't be the biggest thing in the frame.
Click to expand...

Theres a bit more to this photo malarky than i first assumed
 
Possibly not relevant but on my D7100 if i set focus priority and BBF,the camera ignores the focus priority and switches to release priority
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top