Critique Focus Help

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7,517
Name
John
Edit My Images
Yes
Advice please
on my walkabout today
.
''SLOW is for other people''
tn_DSC_0345.JPG

a BIG crop but not too happy with the focus overall
Nikon D90 with standard 18-55 AF-S DX and Marumi DHG PL-C
f5.6 1/125sec (too slow.?)
Exp bias +1step..Shutter Priority mode

I will try my 18-703.5/4.5 AF-S DX (supposed to be better glass) but the 18-55 gets good reviews...?
 
I’ve had several copies of the kit 18-55 and they’ve all been acceptably sharp.

Whether 1/125 was fast enough depends on how fast the car was going as it’s travelling towards you rather that at right angles.

Where in the image were you focussed?
 
.............Where in the image were you focussed?....

I focused on the tarmac in the corner and waited for him to come around. Is there a prog which will flag the focus point..?

yes, he was enjoying the curve at speed.....:)
 
HI John,
If you go to the Nikon UK web site you can download their software (ViewNX-i & Capture NX-D) for free. Here's a link to the page: https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/products/261/VCNXSP.html When you view images in ViewNX-i you have the option to show the focus point.

If you're not aware already, adding 1 stop of exposure compensation halves the shutter speed so you were really taking this picture at 1/60s. Assuming you pressed the shutter at the moment the front of the car reached the point you are focused on and that the car is traveling at 30mph it will have moved 0.22m during the time that the shutter is open. That might be far enough to make the image a bit blurred.
 
HI John,
If you go to the Nikon UK web site you can download their software (ViewNX-i & Capture NX-D) for free. Here's a link to the page: https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/products/261/VCNXSP.html When you view images in ViewNX-i you have the option to show the focus point.

If you're not aware already, adding 1 stop of exposure compensation halves the shutter speed so you were really taking this picture at 1/60s. Assuming you pressed the shutter at the moment the front of the car reached the point you are focused on and that the car is traveling at 30mph it will have moved 0.22m during the time that the shutter is open. That might be far enough to make the image a bit blurred.


hi
thanks for the download info - will do tomorrow as I'm well into a red wine ATM.......:beer:

exposure compensation
is a bit of a mystery to me .....I've read that the histogram should be exposed to the right so blown highlights can be recovered...true.?
I dont shoot RAW

the ubiquitous KenR says the D90 should have an EV of -0.7

Yesterday some pics at a Commonwealth Graveyard in a nearby village - they are in focus (i think)
hand-held
tn_DSC_0456.JPG
.
massive crop
tn_DSC_0456 crop.jpg

thanks for any advice..............(y)
 
HI John,
If you go to the Nikon UK web site you can download their software (ViewNX-i & Capture NX-D) ...............

well the original Lotus image was written over

a Mini at the same corner - showing the focus point area using Nikon ViewNX-iAnnotation 2020-05-30 143954.jpg
 
hi
thanks for the download info - will do tomorrow as I'm well into a red wine ATM.......:beer:

exposure compensation
is a bit of a mystery to me .....I've read that the histogram should be exposed to the right so blown highlights can be recovered...true.?
I dont shoot RAW

the ubiquitous KenR says the D90 should have an EV of -0.7

Yesterday some pics at a Commonwealth Graveyard in a nearby village - they are in focus (i think)
hand-held
View attachment 280932
.
massive crop
View attachment 280933

thanks for any advice..............(y)

Hi John,

First off, don't believe everything you read on KenR's web site. A lot of what he suggests is pure tosh. I've owned three D90's in the past (even used them professionally) and never found it necessary to put a negative exposure compensation as a starting point. Yes, I have used exposure compensation when the circumstances required it but not as a "permanent" fixture. This applies to all of the Nikon bodies I've owned.

Exposing to the right (ETTR) was a bit of a mantra a few years ago but we don't see it mentioned so much these days and I suspect that's because cameras have got better at setting the correct exposure for themzselves. If done correctly it does help to make sure that you use all of the dynamic range of the sensor but over-ETTR to the point that you blow out highlights results in data in the brightest areas of your photo being lost, especially as you are shooting in jpg. If you blow out highlights when shooting jpg there's no way to recover them in post processing because the detail of those highlights has been thrown away in the camera. If you must ETTR then shooting RAW will give you a better chance of recovering the blown areas as that information is still in the image data. Personally, I don't specifically try to ETTR because I find the camera gets it right in more than 95% of cases but when it does get the exposure wrong then I use exposure compensation.

Looking at your cemetary images it's not easy to tell if they're in focus, or not, as they are quite small. I have to say I like the first image a lot as it tells a story which, as an ex-serviceman, I can appreciate. The second one is obviously a heavy crop and that might be making the image look a little out of focus or it might be the texture of the headstone. Either way it is easy to read the inscription so that suggests the focus is pretty good.

I should have mentioned before that you can download the user guide for the D90 from the Nikon web site too. Also, if you have a smart device, there is a free Nikon app that lets you download manuals to your phone or tablet. Just search for Nikon manual viewer in your app store and then pick the manuals from the available list - the D90 is in there.
 
well the original Lotus image was written over

a Mini at the same corner - showing the focus point area using Nikon ViewNX-iView attachment 281019

Looking at the mini picture, the focus area appears to be well bwhind the front of the car, maybe even behind the car altogether. Are you using a focus area mode rather than a single focus point?

I think you would get better results using a single focus point - on the D90 I would suggest that should be the very central one - with AF-C and CH (continuous high speed) shutter set. Then, as the car comes into view around the bend focus on the front of the car keeping the focus button depressed and let the camera track the focus until it gets to the point where you want to shoot then fully depress the shutter and let the camera take several shots in a burst.

This technique does take some practice but you will get better results than the way you are doing things at the moment.

Have fun and keep trying :)
 
yes I treat KR with a pinch load of salt; every bit of kit review is ''the best yet'' :LOL:

thanks for all the detailed info and explanation .. D90 is back to EV 0

my olde hands do shake a bit - I plan to invest in a travel tripod for my walkabouts

I have the original D90 manual and the Digital Field Guide by J D Thomas - must RTFM..!

too much of a luddite to own any smart device; just a Tesco PAYG mobile

:ty:
 
Looking at the mini picture, the focus area appears to be well bwhind the front of the car, maybe even behind the car altogether. Are you using a focus area mode rather than a single focus point?

I think you would get better results using a single focus point - on the D90 I would suggest that should be the very central one - with AF-C and CH (continuous high speed) shutter set. ............

Yes Focus Area mode .........D90 now at single central

I'll read up on the other 2 setting.......thanks again
 
Looking at the mini picture, the focus area appears to be well bwhind the front of the car, maybe even behind the car altogether............. using a single focus point - on the D90 I would suggest that should be the very central one - ----

Done - centre single point. went for a walk so set AF-S.........still rubbish
I took lots of wild flowers not happy at all
I focused right on the bud but the focus point was well OFF......could i have a duff lens...(n)(n)
I plan to return next sunny day with a variety of lens; old manual Nikon glass and 2 VR lenses
.
Annotation 2020-06-02 165753.jpg

??? once the centre point is shown in Nikon ViewNX-i, how do you SAVE that image back the folder.? (I've resorted to a screen grab PITA)
and I cannot see a 'save-as'
 
View-NXi doesn't actually add the red box to your image, it's just showing you where the focus point was when you pressed the shutter release. One of the foibles with View-NXi is that it shows you which focus point was used (in this case the centre one) but if you focus and recompose it puts the red box where the focus point was rather than where you focussed as that was where the focus point was when you hit the shutter release. Did you focus and then recompose on the above image?

Also, according to the image info in the top right you were set to AF-C so if you did focus and recompose then the camera would have refocussed on the tree, in which case View-NXi is correct.
 
...........Also, according to the image info in the top right you were set to AF-C so if you did focus and recompose then the camera would have refocussed on the tree, in which case View-NXi is correct.

BINGO...!!

I was shooting some motorbikes on AF-C (as suggested) then saw the flowers

my BIG mistake not selecting AF-S cos I did focus on the flower (centre spot) and then recomposed - doh.....:eek:

must learn to slow down and THINK about each shot settings


many thanks - once again.............(y)
 
..........One of the foibles with View-NXi is that it shows you which focus point was used (in this case the centre one) but if you focus and recompose it puts the red box where the focus point was rather than where you focussed as that was where the focus point was when you hit the shutter release. -------.

Still struggling..........went out again. Camera set to AF-S. Centre Spot
same bunch of flowers - focus - 1/2 press shutter to lock focus - recompose - shoot

looking at my shots EVERY focus point is in the centre regardless of where i framed the image. Focus LOCK not working..?
.
tn_Annotation 2020-06-08 163321.jpg

any help please.!

I'll try with a Nikkor 28-70 AF manual focus
 
and looking at some taken last week -- SOMETHING is wrong..!!

AF-C but again in the centre of the frame
tn_Annotation 2020-06-08 164518.jpg
 
Still struggling..........went out again. Camera set to AF-S. Centre Spot
same bunch of flowers - focus - 1/2 press shutter to lock focus - recompose - shoot

looking at my shots EVERY focus point is in the centre regardless of where i framed the image. Focus LOCK not working..?
.
View attachment 282268

any help please.!

I'll try with a Nikkor 28-70 AF manual focus

Hi John,
Don't get too hung up on where View-NXi says the focus point is. If you used the centre focus point and then recomposed so that the centre point was between the flower and the tree then I would expect the red box to be where it is. What about the image you took before that? The head of the flower looks to be pretty central so is that one in focus?

I know I said early on in this thread to use the centre focus point but that was because it's the most accurate. For static subjects you will get perfectly good results using the other focus points and (providing you don't recompose) View-NXi will show it correctly.
 
I 'think' the penny has dropped

focus on jug Capture NX shows FP on jug
tn_DSC_0640.JPG

focus on jug - lock - recompose onto demijohn - FP in centre but jug still in focus
tn_DSC_0641.JPGtn_DSC_0641.JPG
 
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