The *Official Photography Thread*

Which autofocus setting are you in? AI Servo or AI Focus (Servo is continuous and will continue following a moving subject)

Also does it only happen when you are shooting in low light situations or does it not matter what the conditions are like?

 

i think i am on AI Focus...been a while since i was in the settings for that though..i think because i was unsure of what Servo was, i am thinking i chose the AI Focus

it's all conditions really..if i go manual, i can at least get things in focus better..camera and lens will limit the clarity still

 

this is one of the more clear shots i got



but having this shot come out clearer would have been nice


here's some more shots...these all have post processing on them

















one of my favorites, but had to mess with it a lot due to the lighting and other factors..

 

this set was fun to process..

 

so i can get close to clear, but i still feel i'm missing out on clarity on my photos...either through focus issues or camera/lens issues

 

you also got to remember that if you are shooting wide open, sometimes your images will not be tack sharp. Not all lenses are sharp wide open, sometimes you need to stop the lens down to get sharper images. I routinely took the 70-200 f2.8, I was borrowing down to f3.2/f3.5 to get sharper images.

 

Took this from a moving truck.... Haha

 

I have the same feeling sometimes, even tho it's perfectly in focus it doens't come out as sharp as i want it, i think it's more of a lens problem, im thinking of a FX lens so when i upgrade i don't have to change lens with my camera. right now im just shooting with a D3100 with kit lens, it's pretty impressive for a kit lens but can be better.

 

still soooooo much to learn

from techniques during the shoot to the post processing tricks... lessons are continually being learned

gotta love it

 

If you are shooting landscapes, generally f/stops of f/8-f/11 and longer shutter speeds are needed.

Also tripods are your best friend when shooting with smaller apertures.

The best way to learn is to just get out and shoot.

 

and remote shutter helps a lot too.

 

I'm almost ebarrassed to post this. If it were in focus it would be better. So my questions. How do you guys focus when you cant see anything to make sure its going to be in focus? I was trying to use the auto focus and it kept trying to focus on different things and wouldnt let me take the pic, so I switched to manual and when it beeped I clicked away. How do you guys shoot night shots like this to really get the stars and the milky way? My settings were f3.5 ISO-1600 and shutter speed was 30 seconds. I didnt want to go that high with the ISO to begin with, and definitely didnt want to go any higher than I did. And 30sec was as long as I could get my shutter to open. I wish I had a more wide angle lense to get more sky. I should have gone away from camp to get less ambient light from the camp trailer. Flame away. I want to go try more of these though.

 

yea f/8-10 is where i usually live on my camera

try to keep on iso 100 as much as i can as well

tri-pod has a home on my camera bag as well

always have filters with me too.. UV, CPL & ND

 

i'm no expert, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt

but i go manual focus, go to infinity and back off a touch..



but i still have small movements that i think are my issue..and that comes from not having my remote on me most likely

 

I've had good luck with switching to manual focus as stated above. I don't have a remote so i just use the timer. Nice little trick if you don't have a remote yet.

 

I just got my camera 4 month ago so im not really that knowledgeable in the dslr world but through trial and error i find that with a flash light i can get in focus with object thats somewhat close, but if it's super far away then i zoom in as far as i can, and try to use my brightest flashlight to get the object in focus. not being in focus sucks because it looks good on the camera display but once you blow it up you go "goddamnit!" lol happens to me way too often. Also AF sucks for landscape, i always use manual.

 

why didn't i think of that!

 

dont' worry, you aren't the only one. I had to read that tip online before i figured it out.

 

If your going to be doing a lot of shots like that, then I would recommend getting the Tokina 11-16 2.8 lens.. great lens and when you man. focus it, it stops at true infinity so you can focus in pitch black and know its going to be good. Otherwise, try to look on your lens and set it for infinity, or practice during the day taking a pic of something far far away and learning where to set your lens. If you can find a bright enough star sometimes AF will work and then just switch it to manual and don't touch it.

Here are a few of mine..

 

regarding focus issues:

1. the sharpest any lens is, is usually in the middle of its aperture range, which is normally f8-f13. more expensive lenses are get incredibly sharp at larger apertures (f2 to f4). macro lenses are generally sharp from the get go

2. make sure your diopter is set to your eyes. there should be an adjustment knob right next to it, to make it clear for you(diopter is the glass in the viewfinder).

3. ensure that you are not back or front focusing. this is an issue when you focus on a subject, and the lens/camera focuses in the front or rear of the subject. the issue is typically the lens, but if marginal, can be corrected if your camera has the option to fine tune your AF(AF fine tune in nikons). this allows you to bring the focus from the front or rear to its optimal focus point. takes a bit to adjust, but once adjusted, it could bring more life into your gear. this AF fine tune option is found in prosumer cameras and above, typically

4. make sure your shutter speed is fast enough to not induce camera shake. the formula is typically 1x the focal length(for FF cameras; 1.5x for crop sensor cameras). example: 50mm focal length = 1/50s on ff(1/80s on crop sensor). if going slower than suggested value, then camera shake will occur

5. single focus/continuous focus and focus points. I usually go with single time focus versus continuous focus because continuous focus can be a pita to work with. I also move the square to where I want to focus on.

6. if your camera has an auto ISO function, I highly recommend using it. makes shooting much better, and takes most of the brainwork out of shooting. far superior than using "P" mode. basically, you set up auto ISO to the lens attached(see no.4), which will then raise the ISO based on your exposure compensation setting. this is best used with aperture priority, or manual setting.

most of these are common sense type things to know, but for newer people shooting with a dslr, these are great tips. if anything above sounded foreign, consult your manual, or ask here