Focus help with "action" shots, please! (Examples within.)

[table1349]

Agree totally with everything.. except for the single center focusing point ( I agree with that too... for you and me and John, etc...) but the OP's D90 won't do that... I checked the manual!

Looks like it is possible but is a function selection.

yes.. but if you look at the D90 manual pages I posted above... nowhere does it say Single Point and AF-C in the same areas.... but it does mention AF-C specifically for Dynamic area and 3D Tracking. My girlfriend no longer has her D90, so I can't test it personally any more. It is a bit ambiguous!

Unless Nikon is really screwy, shouldn't matter. They are two different selections. One for focus point/points and the other is focus mode. I could be wrong, as I am a Canon shooter for digital and Nikon shooter for film.

 

[MonicaBH]

Where is the Exif on these? Post your shot data...

Sorry, Charlie! (typing this gives me great joy)

EXIF is posted now.

There are more images from this set on my Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9665890@N02/) should you care to look.

 

[coastalconn]

I would like to suggest one more thing that combines several ideas offered. I shoot BIF and have a D90 and now a D300. As someone suggested shoot in aperture priority mode, however turn on auto ISO. This allows you to control your aperture and shutter speed and the camera will pick the best iso based on your settings... Pg 166 if you have a manual. It is found in the shooting menu. You will be able to set your shutter at a minimum speed 1/250th or whatever you like. You will then be able to control your aperture for a little more DOF. You can set your maximum iso at 800 or 1600 and the camera will keep your shutter at the minimum unless you don't have enough light (you might want to check if high iso noise reduction is on if you don't like to process your shots). The other thing to remember in AF-C mode it is release priority only, on the D90, meaning it will take a picture whether or not the subject is in focus. The problem with AF-S is that if your subject moves it will still be focused on that point the subject has left. 3D tracking may work because your bigger dog might have enough contrast for the camera to follow. Also looking at your exif info, exposure mode is set to "auto" Keep practicing

 

[MonicaBH]

Bumping for Charlie.

 

[gsgary]

Welp, I tried again in Shutter priority, AF-C and dynamic focus area.

The results are approximately the same; they may be a touch better overall, but OF COURSE the images that I want to be sharp and in focus are blurred crap. ​

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

With some of these, my SO/helper was unavailable, so I had to be the ball thrower & photographer; however, when he came out to help me, the dogs were getting tired & hot - totally my fault. I will try again tomorrow, I suppose. I reckon it's yet another learning curve.

(At this point, I'm not *that* concerned about exposure, composition or DoF; I just want the subjects to be in focus!)​

See for yourselves:
He is airborne here and I missed it!
f/2.8, ISO 800, 75mm, 1/200s

f/2.8, ISO 640, 35mm, 1/800s

I like this one because you can see him going after the ball...
f/2.8, ISO 640, 38mm, 1/500s

​

As i said in my post shutter priority will give you under exposed shots like your second shot

 

[cgipson1]

Bumping for Charlie.

Sorry.. lost the thread! (or my mind.. sometime I think that is the issue!) lol!

#1.. PLEASE quit shooting at F2.8!!!!!!! LOL! Try F8 for a while.. that will give you a wider DOF to work on this with.

#2.. PRACTICE.. and lots of it... and as you get better at keeping the focus where you want, start slowing going to wider apertures until you find a balance of APERTURE (DOF) / and FOCUS ACCURACY that works for you....

what I mean is this: I can shoot some moving objects all the time at F2.8, and get them sharp..... other moving objects, I need more DOF most of the time. There has to be a balance between skill, equipment, and settings... and you need to find that balance.

More skill can help and that will come with practice.

Better equipment (better, faster focusing, etc) can help.. and that can happen also.

In the meantime, set your settings to maximize your chances of getting the shots you want. Smaller aperture (Better DOF).. keep that shutter speed fast enough to catch the motion and STOP it (1/250 to 1/500.. the faster the better!). ISO set it to 400 on a bright sunny day, if you need to.. so you can optimize the other settings... or 800, etc...

shooting a small, near, fast moving object at F2.8 takes practice... and you will get there. In the meantime, work toward that... slowly.. walk before you run!

does that make sense? I have a bad migraine... and feel like I am rambling... lol!!

(as I said earlier.. try Aperture Priority for this.. set it to F8. Meter the scene.. and then set your ISO so that you get an average shutter speed of around 1/500 for that scene and lighting. Then SHOOT! have fun!)

 

[MonicaBH]

Welp, I tried that set in Shutter Priority, and it chose f/2.8 for me. I have no doubt that was part of the problem.

I'll try in Aperture Priority this weekend. I was home sick today and I won't have any help for the rest of the week.

I feel for your migraine. I get them every so often and they're debilitating. Feel better!

Thanks to all who have responded with help/suggestions. I'll keep on keeping on and post the results here.

 

[Andretoo]

we have seen it.

 

[SoCalTiger]

Given your shot information, it also seems relatively dark at the time you are shooting. Try shooting a little bit earlier (assuming this is evening) to get more light. If you have more light to start with, you won't have to bump your ISO so much and will also have more to work with when you close your aperture down to F/8. With what I can tell from the lighting, if you shoot at F/8 at the same time you're going to have a pretty high ISO to get the correct exposure and shutter speed.

 

[3bayjunkie]

Im not understanding why you have such oddball f-stops unless you have the camera on auto exposure maybe. ive never used f/3.2 or f/7.1 ? Anyone else? Thats really weird. But i would suggest setting the camera to aperture priority and shoot wide open. F/2.8 for you. As for your focusing. You need to set it to continuous focusing and make sure your focusing point is where you want the sharpest part of the image ( the face ) for example. You can move the focusing point around with the dials on the top and back of the camera. This should help you get those sharp photos you want

 

[cgipson1]

Im not understanding why you have such oddball f-stops unless you have the camera on auto exposure maybe. ive never used f/3.2 or f/7.1 ? Anyone else? Thats really weird. But i would suggest setting the camera to aperture priority and shoot wide open. F/2.8 for you. As for your focusing. You need to set it to continuous focusing and make sure your focusing point is where you want the sharpest part of the image ( the face ) for example. You can move the focusing point around with the dials on the top and back of the camera. This should help you get those sharp photos you want

The oddball F-stops happen with shutter priority, which is what she was using.. mentioned in her very first post... and some others.

I agree that AP is a better choice... but still think that the additional DOF that F8 will give would be advantageous to the OP. Especially since 2.8 was not working for the other shots (4 of the 6 shots she posted were shot at F2.8)! Don't you agree?

 

[SoCalTiger]

Im not understanding why you have such oddball f-stops unless you have the camera on auto exposure maybe. ive never used f/3.2 or f/7.1 ? Anyone else? Thats really weird. But i would suggest setting the camera to aperture priority and shoot wide open. F/2.8 for you. As for your focusing. You need to set it to continuous focusing and make sure your focusing point is where you want the sharpest part of the image ( the face ) for example. You can move the focusing point around with the dials on the top and back of the camera. This should help you get those sharp photos you want

The oddball F-stops happen with shutter priority, which is what she was using.. mentioned in her very first post... and some others.

I agree that AP is a better choice... but still think that the additional DOF that F8 will give would be advantageous to the OP. Especially since 2.8 was not working for the other shots (4 of the 6 shots she posted were shot at F2.8)! Don't you agree?

Yeah... using F/2.8 is the wrong advice for the OP since a bunch of the missed shot examples are at F/2.8. Need to stop down to compensate for missing focus on these subjects until the OP gets better at shooting with wider apertures.