Off center focusing..

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Britinusa

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Phil
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Ok i have seem some fantastic images..wide pans, cars in various places in the image..how do i keep the focus on the vehicle when not in the center..

im sure its a easy answer..

thanks guys / galls
 
Use an alternative focus point in your camera most have at least 9 of them
 
thanks for that..was trying that last weekend but i think i was in to close to notice the affect..will try both ways this weekend at the track
 
i find 9 easiest even though i have 45 ... with 9 i can easy flip to left/right up/down but wiht 45 i end up all over the place wiht little time to put it right... i guess it depends how much time you ahve to setup the shot..
 
Use single centre spot focusing, point the camera at the object you want to be in focus, half press the shutter button to focus, then recompose and complete the shutter button press.
 
roseway said:
Use single centre spot focusing, point the camera at the object you want to be in focus, half press the shutter button to focus, then recompose and complete the shutter button press.
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Not east when somethings flying past you at 80mph
 
roseway said:
Use single centre spot focusing, point the camera at the object you want to be in focus, half press the shutter button to focus, then recompose and complete the shutter button press.
Click to expand...
Not easy when somethings flying past you at 80mph
 
jon ryan said:
Crop in post.
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This is lazy but it's what I typically do. The centre point is generally the most accurate for focussing so I use that . The car will end up bang in the centre of the image but if I've left enough space around it, I'll crop it to how I wanted it to look in the first place.
 
gad-westy said:
This is lazy but it's what I typically do. The centre point is generally the most accurate for focussing so I use that . The car will end up bang in the centre of the image but if I've left enough space around it, I'll crop it to how I wanted it to look in the first place.
Click to expand...

Replace 'lazy' with 'sensible', 'practical', 'workable', and perhaps most important, 'easy'? ;)
 
Britinusa said:
Ok i have seem some fantastic images..wide pans, cars in various places in the image..how do i keep the focus on the vehicle when not in the center..

im sure its a easy answer..

thanks guys / galls
Click to expand...

I have just learned that back button focus will help with fast-moving subjects (check your manual, some DSLRs can assign autofocus on/off to the AE/L button - just press it to focus).

Focus in advance and wait for the car to come into frame, then shoot. ...although I haven't spent much time experimenting with it, it seems to work well.

I am open to correction on this, there may be a better method.
 
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It depends on the sport and your positioning and of course your camera/lens.

But for panning on corners I use a lower corner focus point, to get the front grill area. Back button focus, and track the car well before I'm shooting, and focus point expansion on the 7d, although that's not available on my older bodies.

The difficulty with rally cars/ drifting is that there's often more than one direction of movement, so you'll struggle to get a car completely sharp around a corner. But race cars should work fine.
 
Some great advice..will give this a go at the weekend..got a track side pass the joys of club racing in the USA
 
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