Getting tired of 11 points

[Dominantly]

I own a D90 and have loved it since day one, but I tell you what, I'm finding the 11 point AF module to be a PIA in certain scenarios.
I had a Christmas shoot with a baby today (4 month) and I had a heck of a time with the speed and locking of the focal points. Not only that, but the placement often made it harder for me to get the composition I wanted, making me change something to get a good focus.
Not to mention that with dim light, if you aren't using the cross type point, you can get a lock and find it's actually off a bit when you review the image. I was shooting a low f/stop and found that the camera was missing by an inch or so (hitting nose vs Eye).

Boy 51 points sure would be nice.

end rant.

 

[Derrel]

Trying to convince yourself to go up a notch...or two..or three?

 

[Sw1tchFX]

with the higher end nikons, it's only the center points that are X-type. Basically meaning you'd be in a similar situation anyway, just with more points to fish through.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

I got the Canon 7D and while less AF Points than the Nikon offers, I can't use all of them at the same time anyway. Single, zone or adjacent only.

Bur if you are having trouble with your camera...time for a new one. :mrgreen:

 

[cyberwasp]

I was having a similar problem with mine on 11 point, Switched it to single point focus and have gotten the focus point exactly where I want it every time

 

[Robin Usagani]

If it is just a portrait, ill be happy with only 1 .

 

[orb9220]

Yep for portrait I would use single point and shoot at least f4,f5.6 and aim for an eye.
As having more AF points isn't going to help for portraits. Also the lens you are using is critical as kit lenses will be slower than f2.8 zoom or faster prime.

11 or 51 AF points isn't for portrait work. And may actually be getting in the way and confusing you and the camera.
.

 

[Dominantly]

Yep for portrait I would use single point and shoot at least f4,f5.6 and aim for an eye.
As having more AF points isn't going to help for portraits. Also the lens you are using is critical as kit lenses will be slower than f2.8 zoom or faster prime.

11 or 51 AF points isn't for portrait work. And may actually be getting in the way and confusing you and the camera.
.

The lens I am/was using is the 85mm f/1.4... the lens is up to par, it was when you are shooting at f/1.4-1.6 and are trying to get a tight frame with a focal point over the eyes that can be a PIA. You can't really add a focal point, minus taking it to MF which I dont have the eyes for, or you can have more points and a greater range of options.

What do you do with 3 points?!?! Focus recompose? What about with a dof of less then an inch?

So I say, YES more points matter, and thus the reason the more you spend on a body, the more they give you.

 

[gsgary]

A good tradesman never blames his tools

 

[Dominantly]

I was having a similar problem with mine on 11 point, Switched it to single point focus and have gotten the focus point exactly where I want it every time

To clarify, I am shooting single point (not auto or 3D). I couldn't imagine letter the camera pick where it thinks it needs to focus.

 

[Dominantly]

A good tradesman never blames his tools

Not blaming, I did the shoot and it came out as expected.

I am just finding the "tools" are showing their shortcomings, which is really why we have levels/degrees of equipment tailored to their uses (pro vs joe schmo).

We CAN make it work, but what fun would that be when there is equipment that makes the process smoother.

 

[usayit]

Simplify and figure it out as "cyberwasp" hinted.

The error from recompose after focus isn't "that" much.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...505-upgrading-canon-lenses-3.html#post2066460

I found that leaning back after focus and recompose works for me. It took practice especially at 50mm f/1. I'm no expert portrait photographer but a 1 inch DOF seems counter productive for that type of photo. (eye in focus ear or the other eye out of focus?) I did really enjoy the 45 focus points on a 1d mark II, but I did find myself switching to the middle quite often....


Pre 3 year old...


L1000127 by usayit_2000, on Flickr

Post 3 year old..


L1000129 by usayit_2000, on Flickr

 

[Markw]

I got a D300s from a D90. I loove the 51 points. With a proper lens, focus is spot on every time..no matter what point is used.

Mark

 

[Dominantly]

I was being a bit tight when I said 1"... the acceptable DOF was a hair over 6 inches. (using the old DOF master site).

 

[Derrel]

Well...the D90 is a consumer body...the autofocus module in it is pretty weak compared against the professional NIkon bodies. Same with the Canon 5D...the AF module is, in a word, weak, compared with the pro-level Nikons. If you really want professional-level AF, you need a pro-level tool.

As Switch1FX mentioned, on the newer 51-point AF bodies, all the cross-type AF points are in the center of the frame. The old Nikon D2x and D2Xs bodies had 9 of 11 AF areas that were cross-type...that made portrait-mode AF even indoors in dim light very fast and precise, with the 1.5x sensor size giving the older D2x very good peripheral AF locations...the D2x was designed as a STUDIO camera...its AF in group dynamic or single-point is superb...due to the WIDE-area AF system and the placement of the points.

If you need a crop-body Nikon for studio/portraiture work, the D2x or D2Xs is a cheap alternative, and one that has a very strong AF module that just "works"...much,much,much better than say the 5D AF system...9 of 11 cross-type sensors works surprisingly well...Thom Hogan called it, "the focus anywhere system". Again, D2x or Xs bodies are low-priced these days....very affordable. It's not really how 'many' points a camera has, it is how well the entire AF system is designed, and how it actually functions. if you want a camera that can focus on OFF-center subjects, take a look at the D2x or D2Xs and how the AF system has been aranged,and its coverage of the frame, compared with the newer 51-point systems, which are much more centrally-weighted. Again, not a lot of people really understood it, but the D2x was really designed to be a STUDIO camera, best at ISO 100,and with a focusing system that's set up very well for portraiture, as well as shooting "talls" on moving subjects/action. It has a four-mode switch on the back,not three, not two..the system is a more-advanced, user-directed system that's designed for user configurability. The newer bodies are more for end-users,and are designed to have the camera track using RGB color and initial AF point selection and RGB and the Scene Recognition System sort of locking on via RGB color metering, and then tracking that RGB value as it moves across the frame.

The D2x's AF system will SNAP! an old, doggy manual focus lens like a 35-70 f/3.3~4.5 or the 18-55 3.5~5.6 kit POS or the 70-300 G to precise focus in bad light, with amazing regularity; the Canon 5D by comparison will go Ehh-ehh-ehh-ehh-ehh and hunt and hunt with the 24-105 f/4-L zoom, just due to the difference in the AF module's inherent ability. If you're sick of a D90, then you need to get a "better" camera.