Focusing - how do you do it ???

DG Phototraining

DG Phototraining

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Dave
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Following on from comments in the Back Focus Button thread - I wondered how you use the various focus options modern cameras offer ???

I've never trusted the Continuous focus option so I always use focus-lock with the shutter set to only take the shot when the camera believes its in focus

I'm also happy to use pretty much any of my 51 focus points

Many I know always use Continuous focus and will set any focus point too, and yet I know a few who only ever use the centre focus point and recompose as they don't trust the other focus points as much

But then most cameras use predictive focus, tracking, 3D something or other, with a focus-wrap thingy too (I can't even be arsed to read how some of these things work !!!)

I guess I use what I'm used to from many years of knowing what I'm doing works, but with all these options I do sometimes wonder if I'm missing a trick ???

So what do you do & why ???

Dave
 
Most of the time I use centre point focus and recompose. Generally I find this faster in most cases plus my kit only meters off centre point. If I get more time I will use the other focus points.

I'm probably one of the minority in that I don't use bbf.

I do use AI Servo in weddings for recessional, processional and confetti. Use it all the time in sports.
 
I use the centre point only and recompose. I kind of got into the habit of doing this and that's probably why I stick with it, I can rely on it so I'm reluctant to change in case I miss-focus on a key moment.

I switch to Al Servo for moments when there is movement likely (walking down the aisle, confetti etc).
 
KIPAX said:
there are no BBF threads in talk business ? and not being funny but I would struggle to understand what your question has to do with running a business...
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I felt it relevant in that I wanted replies from Professionals for whom it matters most to nail focus, so replies from those in business - and specifically Wedding / Portrait business - so you're excused ;)

Had I wanted Tom, Dick & his mates to reply with what they do on compacts taking pics of their cats I'd have posted it elsewhere lol

Dave
 
KIPAX said:
its still not about running a business and by your reasoning you should ask all your photo questions in here and not bother the grerat unwashed out there who only use pocket cameras and dont care about getting focus right..

If theers a single mod out there with half a brain then this will be removed pretty soon even though i havent pressed the report button :)
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I love how you can both be offended by nothing and I suspect start a 3-way argument in solitary confinement :D

Press away if it helps :D

I thought it relevant to business users like me to know what other business users do in control of their cameras during business assignments - I just didn't want to read through 20 non-business persons' replies to find the 1 who's views I was interested in

Dave
 
KIPAX said:
its still not about running a business and by your reasoning you should ask all your photo questions in here and not bother the grerat unwashed out there who only use pocket cameras and dont care about getting focus right..

If theers a single mod out there with half a brain then this will be removed pretty soon even though i havent pressed the report button :)
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If you're not interested in it, don't read it. And certainly don't waste your time commenting on it.
 
Personally I use one shot and occasionally servo, and use the shutter button to focus. Have tried back button but I guess I'm so used to doing it the way I do that I just couldn't get used to it.
 
Steve Smith said:
It should matter to anyone who uses a camera!


Steve.
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Not necessarily, hence I later qualified it as being to Weddings & Portraits - mostly as we often deal with very shallow DoF (as do sports & wildlife, but less-so landscapes and macro etc.) - but unlike sports & wildlife our subjects tend to move slowly

Well none of my Bride's has run off yet anyway lol

Dave
 
I keep finding myself going back to SF point on single shot,i have tried out the many different focusing options on my camera,and this one seem to suit me :)
 
The primary reason to use BBF is that it provides fast/easy access to all three focus modes... hold the button for continuous, release for single, don't press for manual. But depending on the lens/body combination it may provide no real benefit, just a different "flow"... hold the shutter for continuous, hit AF lock for single, use the lens' M/A position for manual override. Not all lenses have an M/A (override) position, so just using BBF with all combinations provides consistency.

The choice of single focus/focus recompose is really a matter of DOF, how quickly things are changing/moving, and how the metering interacts. With matrix metering, relatively stationary subject, and adequate DOF, focus/recompose can be quick/accurate/easy (with a different metering system it is more dependent on what is activating/locking the metering/exposure).

I would suggest that if there is something you are possibly "missing" it would be AF-C d51 3D (I'm assuming you use Nikon). This mode adds in color information to the tracking. So if you put the point on someone's face it is much less likely to stray off even with a short delay time set. I haven't used this mode enough to say if it slows down AF noticeably w/ fast moving subjects/situations (i.e. *not* weddings).
 
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It does sound like an odd question but I firmly believe in asking questions of your peers in whatever industry you are in no matter how odd.
Maybe the way we trained and always did something has pros and cons to it that another way may improve. Maybe there was a development that you missed an announcement for that changes things.
Asking similar questions of your subordinates who have none of the relevant experience necessary to form a professional opinion usually yields nonsensical drivel or trivialities from prolific, self-aggrandised, dictatorial buffoons.

For me.
single point AF set to the finest resolution. I don't really shoot moving subjects so have only dabbled with AI servo.
Low light portraits, use whichever AF points are the most sensitive at f2.8 and likely to focus instead of hunt. Then focus recompose.
Fast paced weddings or similar - centre point focus recompose
moving subject in good light - centre point AF
good light portraits, where I have about 1/2 a second to adjust, then position the AF point where I want it.
Studio portraits - position AF where I want it
When using a macro lens for portraits - always move the AF point
 
Deadlock said:
Low light portraits, use whichever AF points are the most sensitive at f2.8 and likely to focus instead of hunt. Then focus recompose.
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Probably best just to say "use a central cross type focus point." No PDAF sensor gets more light beyond f/5.6, and very few have any added sensitivity for apertures wider than f/5.6. (the 1Dx is an exception, but it still only applies to central cross points)
 
Strictly amateur but I'm still allowed to add my tuppence worth!

Tried BBF but can't get on with it - too old to learn new tricks, probably! Almost always use the central focussing point, AF-S and recompose for static subjects but happy to shift away from the central point as well as to use AF-C when needed. Occasionally even use MF as well as switching to MF after achieving focus on a required point using AF. Basically, whatever mode/area I feel appropriate for the situation and subject.
 
Nod said:
...Occasionally even use MF as well as switching to MF after achieving focus on a required point using AF. Basically, whatever mode/area I feel appropriate for the situation and subject.
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And that is precisely the 'problem' that BBF overcomes. Once you've achieved focus you can shoot and relax as much as you want, only needing to refocus if you or the subject move. You're not 'switching to manual focus' doing this, you're 'switching off the annoying shutter button focus' :D. Which is exactly what we do when we switch to BBF ;)
 
^^^ BBF is an excellent feature IMO for that very reason - Used to use it all the time on the 5D2. Now I'm A7 so mainly manual focus lenses anyway so no longer have things set up that way.
 
Nod said:
Strictly amateur but I'm still allowed to add my tuppence worth!
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well no ones deleted so it would seem your allowed despite the OPs request :)

Nod said:
Tried BBF but can't get on with it - too old to learn new tricks, probably!
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First time I tried it was awful and i decided to stick with what i knew thinking the same.. too old to learn new tricks..... was about a yr later I tried again.. forgot i was trying it and ruined a setup shot :( Took a few goes out with it... I kept at it with so many sports shooters swearing by it ..no point having all that advice and whimping out.. so...Eventually got the hang of it and I can say without a shadow of a doubt my keeper rate for sports went up by a lot and I do mean a lot.. was much easier to hold focus on a moving subjects...
 
Phil V said:
And that is precisely the 'problem' that BBF overcomes. Once you've achieved focus you can shoot and relax as much as you want, only needing to refocus if you or the subject move. You're not 'switching to manual focus' doing this, you're 'switching off the annoying shutter button focus' :D. Which is exactly what we do when we switch to BBF ;)
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TBF, there's a dozen ways to accomplish the same thing. There may be a manual position on the lens (too finicky for me), there may be a manual switch on the body (bad position on Nikons for me), and I can set the AF-L button to "press to lock/press to release." None of them are really "better." (actual manual focus is a no-go for me unless it's zoomed in live view w/ my reading glasses)
If I had to say that there is a definitive benefit to BBF it's that it's the same process regardless of which lens/body you are using (not a minor thing IMO). That and it minimizes the risk of interrupting AF when using AF-C.
KIPAX said:
First time I tried it was awful and i decided to stick with what i knew thinking the same.. too old to learn new tricks..... was about a yr later I tried again.. forgot i was trying it and ruined a setup shot :( Took a few goes out with it... I kept at it with so many sports shooters swearing by it ..no point having all that advice and whimping out.. so...Eventually got the hang of it and I can say without a shadow of a doubt my keeper rate for sports went up by a lot and I do mean a lot.. was much easier to hold focus on a moving subjects...
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New technology is always that way... it takes time to incorporate it and become comfortable with it. And in the process it usually screws you up a bit. But in the end it's usually a better result. I honestly believe I am faster and more accurate at getting consistent exposures that I want using A/Av w/ auto ISO (or without) than I am in full manual (other than constant light). But at first it could be confusing and I would get behind on what was going on.

I just wish they would standardize how VR/OS/IS works... I've got 3, maybe 4 different versions of it in my kit. That's too much, and I don't use it enough to have any hope of remembering.
 
The vast majority of the time, I'll just use the standard shutter release half-press, single AF point with camera on AF-S. I use the rear AF point control to select the most appropriate AF point. I don't shoot sports, wildlife, or anything else that requires another method. If shooting locations or landscapes/interiors etc, I'll use manual focus with a zoomed in live view.
 
LeeRatters said:
Now I'm A7 so mainly manual focus lenses anyway so no longer have things set up that way.
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Ditto. I tried it for ten years and decided I don't really get on with autofocus: I spent as much time messing with AF points as I would focusing it myself. Bought the A7 because I allowed me to use lenses that were designed with manual focus only in mind.

99% of the time AF is unnecessary for the kind of thing I do.
 
As one of "the great unwashed" or "prolific, self-aggrandised, dictatorial buffoons" (i.e. non-professional) who prefers shooting wildlife, I always use BBF and mostly AF-C with either 9-point or Group Area AF for moving subjects or centre point for static.
I've tried 3D on occasion but just watch the focus point moving all around the screen and seldom stopping on the subject I am trying to focus on ... has anyone found a use for 3D?
 
gramps said:
As one of "the great unwashed" or "prolific, self-aggrandised, dictatorial buffoons" (i.e. non-professional) who prefers shooting wildlife, I always use BBF and mostly AF-C with either 9-point or Group Area AF for moving subjects or centre point for static.
I've tried 3D on occasion but just watch the focus point moving all around the screen and seldom stopping on the subject I am trying to focus on ... has anyone found a use for 3D?
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I think I shoot pretty much what you do Roger and have tried 3d tracking, cannot get on with it at all.
 
DG Phototraining said:
And there's another aspect of modern cameras that I never use - Live View

Lots of ways to skin the old moggy aren't there :)

Dave
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If you're focusing manually though, on a static subject, it's by far the most accurate way. That's just a fact. I'd never use auto focus in live view, no.
 
Pookeyhead said:
If you're focusing manually though, on a static subject, it's by far the most accurate way. That's just a fact. I'd never use auto focus in live view, no.
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I agree. When using live view I always use manual focus. A definite for landscapes but then my go-to wide angle Zeiss lenses don't do AF :D
 
I was terrified of manual focus ('why bother', mainly), but my Sigma 50mm 1.4 AF broke just before the Festival of Speed, fortunately my a99 has focus peaking and it was a revelation, quite frankly. Loved the control it gave me and focus peaking makes it so so easy for static subjects.

AF is now switched off for everything static, something I would never have thought in a million years I would be doing.

If I didn't shoot weddings I would ditch my expensive AF lenses and go fully manual with Samyang in an instant, and invest the saved cash in a big telephoto for motorsport.
 
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