Which AF point

Bobby uk

Bobby uk

Suspended / Banned
Messages
771
Name
Rob
Edit My Images
Yes
I really don't want this to sound like a novice question as I feel as though im past being a novice, But! im never to sure on which AF point to select when photographing landscapes? I tend to stick with the centre af point most of the time but what is best when Im looking to have focus on all the scene that I want to capture? do I use ALL the AF points and let the camera decide or do I stick with the centre! (when im shooting above f10)
 
On the tripod I'll generally use which ever one gets me to about hyperfocal the one down from center might be a good place to start.
 
Ok that's great thanks.
 
If your lens has a focus scale use that in MF and set it to the hyperfocal distance.

This also has the effect that when the light gets low your shots wont be delayed while the AF hunts same is true for low contrast areas.
 
I find that there's often a point of particular interest in a scene, be it a field of rape/bales or whatever so I usually focus on that and let f/8-11's DoF take care of the rest of the scene. If there's no real point of interest, I try to judge where approx. 1/3 of the way into the scene is and focus on that plane. In both instances I try to remember to switch to MF once I've focussed so all I need to do is press the button. Of course, if I'm not using a tripod, I just focus/recompose and keep the button 1/2 pressed while in AFS mode.
 
If you are shooting landscapes on a tripod then I'd recommend switching to manual focus and using live view. As far as where to focus I look at the scene, decide where the nearest and furthest points that I want to be in focus are and focus a third of the way between them.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys. I always seem to forget live view when im out and about?
 
use the middle focus point and focus on something that gets you hyperfocal then recompose the shot and you need to have AF-On function and able to press the shutter button without the camera refocus...in nikon its call shutter-release which means the camera will raise the mirror open the shutter regardless if there is focus...

alternatively you can use AF-lock function if there is no AF-on function which locks your initial focus setting.

all of the modern lenses do not have hyperfocal settings therefore its not easy to manual focus. but you can still guess using the distance meter and a couple quick clicks on your phone app (there is an app that calculate hyperfocal distance based on aperture and lens focal length)
 
Last edited:
Id use single point. And like steve said the one around the hyperfocal distance generally. Although if im settin up my gear in the dark the center point is often more sensitive so ill focus and recompose. Or use a touch to light the area but the mrs has often used the batteries for the sky remote
 
Using the centre focus point for a landscape image is likely to give you shots with a lot of the foregeround OOF.
You need to do a bit of research on your camera and lens and determine the correct Hyperfocal distance point for that combo at the aperture you intend to use and then focus on somewhere around that distance for maximum front to back focus.

The general rule of focusing 1/3 into the shot is fine and will work very well in most cases as long as your on reasonably level ground.

As an example, here is an image I shot just after dawn on Monday morning...

View attachment 23001

If I had used the centre point for focus on this image, the lower ground would have all been nicely focused, but the little bothy would have been OOF, ruining the image.

Remember your lens is looking at DISTANCE so if your 1750ft off the ground as I am here, focusing one third into the image would have been a good 2000ft + away from my lens, so give a little thought to the distance and dont just use that rule all the time as it will often cause you problems.

Also try and give some thought as to what you want in focus, what is your focus point? If you want something in the foreground sharp then its perfectly acceptable to focus on that and bump up the aperture to get maximum depth of field as long as your shutter speed isnt going to cause problems.

Another example:

View attachment 23002

You may have wanted the rocks in the foreground of this image much sharper than I chose, and if so, focusing one third into the image here probably wouldnt have achieved it. You would probably have had to focus on the second rock up from the bottom.

The best thing you can do is set your camera up on a tripod with the camera set up in your chosen settings. (ISO100-F11-20mm perhaps?) and then adjust the Focus point around using live view and then sit and examine the results on your PC at home and see what works for you and what the different effects are. Thats how I learnt and while im a full year into my journey with cameras now, I know I have loads still to learn, but am happy to look at it all academinally and get out there and practice. There is no substitute for taking a little advise and then just playing around with it until the knowedge becomes instinctive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top