Lots of my photos OOF today. Why?

ladysue

ladysue

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Sue
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I took a load of photos at a school sports day and loads of them came out very OOF. I was using a 55/200 AF Nikon lens on my D60. I have never had problems with it before. I think I must have changed something when I was trying to get my new macro lens to work.The lens was set to AF.Some of the photos were fine though so I cant understand it.Any ideas please?.

Sue
 
shake?...not panning...slow focussing speed..??
 
Possibly if trying macro work you selected a deep DOF which in turn will lower your shutter speed. Low shutter speed and moving objects = blur/shake.
 
was it set on AF-C or AF-S ?

you may have had it on AF-S , in which case you might have focused on the subject ,but if the subject had moved the camera would not have tracked it , unlike AF-C mode .... just a thought
 
Wild idea - it's been super toasty today in Essex and the heat can do weird things to the expansion of materials within a camera body and lens, possibly throwing the AF accuracy off a little.

Another thing to consider is the quality of the air. If you were shooting at any sort of distance then heat might well well have made the air turbulent and caused weird effects. Shooting at ground level the effect would/could be quite obvious. It's a real problem when shooting wildlife and motorsport at a distance in hot conditions.

Take a look at where the DOF lies in your shots. Is it in front of or behind your subjects, consistently, or randomly, or is there nothing at all that is sharp even where the sharpest area appears to lie. If nothing is sharp then it could be shake or atmospheric problems. If things are sharp, but in the wrong place then your AF calibration is probably off.
 
mrgas said:
was it set on AF-C or AF-S ?

you may have had it on AF-S , in which case you might have focused on the subject ,but if the subject had moved the camera would not have tracked it , unlike AF-C mode .... just a thought
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You don't get AF-S and AF-C options with a D60, Ian, the AF is controlled from the lens, so it's either on, or off....
 
too much barcardi

seriously - reset your camera menu, and shoot a few more
 
Flash In The Pan said:
You don't get AF-S and AF-C options with a D60, Ian, the AF is controlled from the lens, so it's either on, or off....
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I do believe you're wrong about that. AF-S/AF-C/AF-A are menu items and the current setting is shown on the right hand side of the rear screen :)
 
I have checked the exif data on the bad ones. They mostly had a low f number f4 on some and a fast shutter speed 1/1000 or similar. I had it on exposure comp OEV, aperture priority. I guess they may have moved out of focus easily at 200mm. I cant understand why some baby photos that I took of a friends baby all came out badly as he was close and I took some on my new Tamron 90mm macro lens and some on the 55/200 lens. They were all aperture priority, fast shutter speed and low aperture number. The photos that came out well ( fortunately my grandkids races) all had higher number apertures.I guess I will have to watch the aperture numbers more.Here is one of the OOF ones I took.

 
Bristolian said:
I do believe you're wrong about that. AF-S/AF-C/AF-A are menu items and the current setting is shown on the right hand side of the rear screen :)
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You are right. I have found it on my camera. It was set to AFA most of the time, after I discovered it was on Manual when I had taken some photos. That probably didnt help if I was expecting the lens to AF.:bang:

Thanks for your suggestions
Sue
 
ladysue said:
I have checked the exif data on the bad ones. They mostly had a low f number f4 on some and a fast shutter speed 1/1000 or similar. I had it on exposure comp OEV, aperture priority. I guess they may have moved out of focus easily at 200mm. I cant understand why some baby photos that I took of a friends baby all came out badly as he was close and I took some on my new Tamron 90mm macro lens and some on the 55/200 lens. They were all aperture priority, fast shutter speed and low aperture number. The photos that came out well ( fortunately my grandkids races) all had higher number apertures.I guess I will have to watch the aperture numbers more.Here is one of the OOF ones I took.

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f/101 wouldn't make that in focus - you need to focus the camera - how could you take lots of pictures and not notice? :bang:
 
awp said:
f/101 wouldn't make that in focus - you need to focus the camera - how could you take lots of pictures and not notice? :bang:
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It was supposed to be on auto focus. That is what I had it set to. The little pictures on the screen looked OK to me . It was only when I downloaded them all that I saw how OOF they were.

It think it was probably because I had changed it from manual focus on the Tamron macro lens the day before to expecting the Nikon 55/200 to auto focus as it was set for.I need to make sure I sort out the settings every time I go from using the Tamron macro camera to my 55/200.I think I have to have the camera menu set to Manual Focus if I am using the Tamron lens on Manual focus. But do I have to change it to AFA on the menu if I use the AF function on the Tamron lens or the 55/200?.

Thanks for the comments. Any further advice gratefully received. I am quite good at spotting good shots and composing but not so good at all the technical stuff.

Thanks
Sue
 
ladysue said:
I have checked the exif data on the bad ones. They mostly had a low f number f4 on some and a fast shutter speed 1/1000 or similar. I had it on exposure comp OEV, aperture priority. I guess they may have moved out of focus easily at 200mm. I cant understand why some baby photos that I took of a friends baby all came out badly as he was close and I took some on my new Tamron 90mm macro lens and some on the 55/200 lens. They were all aperture priority, fast shutter speed and low aperture number. The photos that came out well ( fortunately my grandkids races) all had higher number apertures.I guess I will have to watch the aperture numbers more.Here is one of the OOF ones I took.

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that looks out of focus to me, plainly and simply. The weird thing is, I'm wondering where the plane of focus was. The background looks no more out out of focus than the fence that is right in front of you. :shrug:

Unless of course, the lens has been focussed at, say, it's closest focussing distance, and then fence is already at infinity, hence rendering the background no more fuzzy, but i find this unlikely. Is there a switch on the lens which will restrict its focussing distance?
 
If you leave the camera AF settings alone and instead disable AF on the body of the Tamron macro lens and leave AF enabled on all other lenses then you should avoid this problem. That way AF in camera is always running it's just the lens which selects whether or not to use AF.
 
trencheel303 said:
that looks out of focus to me, plainly and simply. The weird thing is, I'm wondering where the plane of focus was. The background looks no more out out of focus than the fence that is right in front of you. :shrug:

Unless of course, the lens has been focussed at, say, it's closest focussing distance, and then fence is already at infinity, hence rendering the background no more fuzzy, but i find this unlikely. Is there a switch on the lens which will restrict its focussing distance?
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I set Nikon Viewer on my computer to show the focus point on the batch of photos with the problem and it did not show any focus point on the OOF pictures, whereas it did on other photos in the batch.

TriggerHappy said:
If you leave the camera AF settings alone and instead disable AF on the body of the Tamron macro lens and leave AF enabled on all other lenses then you should avoid this problem. That way AF in camera is always running it's just the lens which selects whether or not to use AF.
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Thank you Jamie. That is exactly what I needed to know. I think that is what went wrong with a lot of my photos. I think I had manual focus set on the camera and AF on the lens. I will leave it set to AF on the camera today and try some shots using manual set on the lens and see what happens.

Thanks
Sue
 
You got a filter on??;)
 
ummm... now that we've established why they're OOF - how come you didn't notice they were OOF when looking through the viewfinder?
 
lawrie29 said:
You got a filter on??;)
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No but I probably should have done. It was very bright.

Arkady said:
ummm... now that we've established why they're OOF - how come you didn't notice they were OOF when looking through the viewfinder?
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I dont know Rob. I thought they were OK. I have always used AF before this week as my eyes arent brilliant due to diabetes problems. I shall continue to use AF for everything except macro shots and will just have to hope with them. I am still trying to get a good macro shot but only got the lens this week so need to practice with the focusing. Camera shake is a problem too because of my hands shaking and my new lens doesnt have VR. I'm just old and knackered I'm afraid.:).At least I can still enjoy my photography but with limitations.

Thanks
Sue
 
awp said:
f/101 wouldn't make that in focus - you need to focus the camera - how could you take lots of pictures and not notice? :bang:
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not nice...you need to practice or check your dioptre compensation in your eyepiece or if you are one of these two arms at length photographers...check if your eyesight needs help at close distance
in any event any camera on auto with that focal length and i guess f8...would put everything in focus..

shame
 
ladysue said:
No but I probably should have done. It was very bright.
I dont know Rob. I thought they were OK. I have always used AF before this week as my eyes arent brilliant due to diabetes problems. I shall continue to use AF for everything except macro shots and will just have to hope with them. I am still trying to get a good macro shot but only got the lens this week so need to practice with the focusing. Camera shake is a problem too because of my hands shaking and my new lens doesnt have VR. I'm just old and knackered I'm afraid.:).At least I can still enjoy my photography but with limitations.

Thanks
Sue
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hey sue..sorry i mentioned your eyesight...i hadnt read this post..my apologies
 
ladysue said:
No but I probably should have done. It was very bright.

<snip>
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No, don't fit a filter.

They are only for physical protection and can sometimes make things worse. Looking at the example you posted, and with that lens, it looks like prime time for filter induced flare.

Your digital sensor has both UV and IR filters already on it. Salespeople love them because there is a lot of profit in accessories, and they basically spin you a lie.

Only use a filter when it will have a beneficial effect, eg a polariser for landscapes, or for protection when there is a real danger of airborn missiles :eek:
 
mrcrow said:
hey sue..sorry i mentioned your eyesight...i hadnt read this post..my apologies
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Thats Ok Geoffrey. I dont usually get them that wrong.

HoppyUK said:
No, don't fit a filter.

They are only for physical protection and can sometimes make things worse. Looking at the example you posted, and with that lens, it looks like prime time for filter induced flare.

Your digital sensor has both UV and IR filters already on it. Salespeople love them because there is a lot of profit in accessories, and they basically spin you a lie.

Only use a filter when it will have a beneficial effect, eg a polariser for landscapes, or for protection when there is a real danger of airborn missiles :eek:
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Thanks. I was wondering about whether it would have to use the only filter I have which is a circular polarising filter. I used it to good affect in the strong Australian sun and it was very bright when I took these poor photos.

The good news is that todays photos are fine so whatever it was ( wrong settings AF/Manual probably on camera menu)I seem to have sorted it with everyones help.

Thanks Guys
Sue
 
Does the D60 have the option to beep (in AF-S mode) when in focus. I use that alot to check (although I also thought that there was an option to stop the camera taking a picture if not focused??) Of course this could all change if set to AF-C or almost certainyl the case if left in manual mode.
 
Sorry to see you've basically lost the whole day of photo's if they're all like that, but please next time Sue zoom in using the + button on your rear screen and check for sharpness on your initial shots.
 
DrRusty said:
Does the D60 have the option to beep (in AF-S mode) when in focus. I use that alot to check (although I also thought that there was an option to stop the camera taking a picture if not focused??) Of course this could all change if set to AF-C or almost certainyl the case if left in manual mode.
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Thank you. These are useful suggestions. I will check what my camera will do. I have only used it in AFA and Manual setting. A beep would be very useful.

Graham00 said:
Sorry to see you've basically lost the whole day of photo's if they're all like that, but please next time Sue zoom in using the + button on your rear screen and check for sharpness on your initial shots.
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Didnt lose the whole day, just about half the day and I'm sure now its because I had the camera menu setting set to Manual from doing stuff with my macro lens the day before.I promise I will use the + button.

jamesaberdeen73 said:
Was the woman on the far right arrested for indecent exposure.....I had to look twice....lol
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I must admit, probably because I am a woman, that I didnt notice that but I now see what you mean. It shows you shouldnt be taken in by unfocused photos because the camera can lie.:lol:

Sue
 
ladysue said:
Thank you. These are useful suggestions. I will check what my camera will do. I have only used it in AFA and Manual setting. A beep would be very useful.


Sue
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It definately does as I remember disabling the beep on my D60 - it's somewhere in the sound menu I think.
 
Well Sue, glad you at least pinned down the reason for the focus problems. It's always better than not knowing why and you can learn from it.
As for the comments relating to the viewfinder and seeing the problem .... according to my optician my vision is perfect, according to my photography my optician may be wrong :naughty:
 
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