Aperture HELP!

[Mark5000]

Im a newbie to photograpghy and I've been playing around with the aperture and shutterspeed seeing what effect I get. I have had my camera mode switch on AV and been taking pics of beer bottles to see what sort of depth of field i will get. I've been taking the photo's with the camera on Auto-Focus... Ive been told from a friend that I have been doing it wrong and should have the camera on manual focus?! Is Auto focus a no-no when your trying to be creative??

 

[Jarmo]

Autofocus is fine. You should use manual focus points for better control though.

 

[Railphotog]

Autofocus can work fine if it centers on where you want your focus. Getting a great depth of field of say some lined up bottles is best achieved if you focus part way into the line, not at the first or end of the line. There is a range of focus on either side of the focus point, so use it to your advantage. Either focus where you want using the center focus point (assuming your camera has multiple focus points) and recompose, or use a focus point on one side.

 

[willis_927]

Once you have focused, as long as you hold the shutter down half way you can recompose and you should still be focused at the same point... assuming you dont back up or more forward a bunch. Also, make sure you are set to "one shot" and not to AI servo, because if you are on AI servo the camera will re-focus as you move it around when you hold the shutter half way down. AI servo is used for moving subjects.

 

[ann]

Sometimes for this test I suggest manual focus, as then you are sure you are focusing on the same spot, which will be important.
Both will work, so it isn't a matter of right or wrong, but a matter of control .

 

[DiskoJoe]

Well if you use aperture mode in AF is sort of like manual mode light. You pick the aperture and then the camera will adjust to the shutter speed that the camera think you need based upon the camera light metering. You can start to use manual too. You should know how to use both.

 

[bazooka]

From the surveys I've seen, most people use AF most of the time. I use backbutton focus so my technique maybe different than someone who doesn't, but the only time I'd recommend using manual focus is when shooting macro. It's very difficult to tell if something is in sharp focus by looking through the viewfinder. If you focus with the shutter button, then manual focus may be handy in more situations.

 

[KmH]

Im a newbie to photograpghy and I've been playing around with the aperture and shutterspeed seeing what effect I get. I have had my camera mode switch on AV and been taking pics of beer bottles to see what sort of depth of field i will get. I've been taking the photo's with the camera on Auto-Focus... Ive been told from a friend that I have been doing it wrong and should have the camera on manual focus?! Is Auto focus a no-no when your trying to be creative??

How is the beer bottle lit?

Auto focus works by detecting the contrast that is present at edges. If the contrast is low where you are trying to focus, auto focus can have problems, and manual focusing may be needed.
Plus, there are usually 2 kinds of auto focus points in the camea viewfinder, regular focus points, and/or the more accurate cross-type focus points.

Your 1000D (known as the XS in the US) has the older TTL secondary image-registration, phase detection auto focus module that has no cross-type focus points, just 7 regular focus points.

The new T3 (1100D) has the newer TTL-CT-SIR AF-dedicated CMOS sensor auto focus module that has the 9-point, all cross-type AF (f/5.6 at center: Dual Cross Sensor)