Settings for amateur football

Midland Red

Midland Red

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Cliff
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Hi guys

I need my cluttered mind clearing regarding focus settings for local football photographs - my brain seems to have got scrambled and yesterday I came home with a set of out-of-focus images - not blurred through action, but subjects not in focus
I understand the concepts of fast shutter speed, depth of field, ISO settings - no problem - it's just focussing
So I need advice and I need to go back to basics

Equipment-wise I was shooting with my Nikon D5100 with an AF-S Nikkor 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6G YR lens, from a stool, with a monopod

Assuming I set up ok with speed, aperture and ISO, what focus setting/s do I use?
At my disposal are AF-A, AF-S, AF-C, M
Then there's [xxx] Auto Area, [o] Single Point, [x] Dynamic Area, [3D] 3D Tracking (11 points)

For my railway photography, I've always set the camera on the "Sports" setting, with the focus point set to the front of the loco/engine, and on big beasts like trains, this has always seemed to work fairly well
Now I'm looking at relatively smaller subjects, ie moving people (footballers), I've tried the "Sports" setting with the focus point in the upper centre, but without really any successful results

The more I've read the more confused I've become - I'm obviously moving from a "point-and-shoot" person to a "keen amateur photographer" - there's the difference!
This probably all sounds elementary, but having had reasonably good results with railway photos, and images of static objects, this is bugging me that I can't seem to work this out

Thanks in advance!
 
AF-C and single point should get you back on track. AF-C to continually focus as the subject moves towards you (provided you keep the shutter-release button partially depressed) and single point because it's simple. Once you're confident in getting results with that you can experiment with the dynamic/3d stuff.
 
Thank you! I will give that a try
Incidentally, how does that differ from using the "Sports" setting?
 
Not sure on that, I've never used Sports mode.
 
KIPAX said:
Thats a thread about metering? the question is focus.. he says he has the metering sorted but problems wiht focus... talk about sending him in wrong direction :)

OP.. I would stick to single point once you go back on it... Also if you can setup back button focus that will help wiht hoding focus..
Click to expand...
Thanks for pointing out that
I don't understand the last sentence so I'll have to read up about back button focus
Thank you!
 
But if the focus is off then surly the metering will be slightly off as well, Don't the two go hand in hand ? hence if he take from this post & the one I linked to then he should be Set for the premiler league :)
 
Digisatman said:
But if the focus is off then surly the metering will be slightly off as well, Don't the two go hand in hand ? hence if he take from this post & the one I linked to then he should be Set for the premiler league :)
Click to expand...

Focus and metering.. sorry but no.. two different things.. you can have a perfectly metered shot thats out of focus.. seriously.. metering doesnt effect focus one single bit ...


OP ..using back button focus helped me (and many others) to get more consistant shots in focus..its just a way of using the camera thats more stable.. plenty threads on here about it:)
 
+1 for Back button focusing

(Set option F2 to AF-ON, then you use your AE-L button to focus instead of the shutter release button.)
 
KIPAX said:
Thats a thread about metering? the question is focus.. he says he has the metering sorted but problems wiht focus... talk about sending him in wrong direction :)

OP.. I would stick to single point once you go back on it... Also if you can setup back button focus that will help wiht hoding focus..
Click to expand...


Oh come on Tony. How is encouraging someone to ditch the 'Sports' setting on the camera and meter properly bad advice?
He should be doing both that and learning about focus!
 
DemiLion said:
Oh come on Tony. How is encouraging someone to ditch the 'Sports' setting on the camera and meter properly bad advice?
Click to expand...

eh? who says its bad advice.. why are you making out I say its bad advice?

DemiLion said:
He should be doing both that and learning about focus!
Click to expand...

isnt he.. ?

a bit confused here... who told him not to ditch sports?. and why am, I being quoted about it? looks to me like he is trying to get off sports and i havent told him not to... sorry i really dont understand why your direcxting this at me?

I am trying to help by answering the questions asked and now by a simple twist of words i am being accused of saying coming off sports mode is bad advice... which i havent in a millions years done.. its a bit much trying to help and then gte stuff twisted like this...

seriously whats the point :(
 
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I'm not twisting your words. You had a go at someone who was directly answering a question posed in the third post in the thread!
 
DemiLion said:
I'm not twisting your words. You had a go at someone who was directly answering a question posed in the third post in the thread!
Click to expand...


I didnt have a go at anyone.. I was trying to help and educate by showing there isnt a relation between exposure and focus.. my post was meant to help and be informative.. not a childish schoolyard argment.. as for your role.. to try and tell me off for what you think is wrong? my my you do have a high opinion of yourself dont you.. here i am trying to help and all you can do is try and pick holes in it and tell me off for what you see as something that isnt..

as i say.. whats the point of trying to help people just for someone who thinks they are in charge to come and tell you off for the way you do it.
 
Erm. Yeah. Ok.

Except that there is a relationship between metering and exposure when you are in a 'creative mode' because your options become massively limited.
The relationship being that you opt for a creative exposure program and you can only focus in the way that the camera then limits you to.

Hence the need to learn PASM properly and get away from the fixed programs.
 
I think part of the problem is your Nikkor 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6G lens. If that's anything like the Canon 70-300 that I started out with, the lag between half-pressing the shutter to acquire focus and the lens actually achieving focus is enough to give you out of focus images if you try to shoot too quickly. Try anticipating the action and fire the shutter on multi-burst a split second before you have been up to now and that might help. Or delay pressing the shutter fully for a split second longer after the first press. A crystal ball helps too!

Personally, I'd avoid those 'scene' modes and try Tv or Av mode if you aren't quite confident with Manual. Scene modes by definition are an engineers choice of what the user might shoot. Portrait mode chooses a wider aperture, Sport mode Chooses a 'fast' shutter speed. But is the 'fast' fast enough?
 
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