Help with focus on D7000

[rachelrach11]

I am having a hard time understanding the focus/focus points on this camera. I've read (and read) the manual about a million times and I just seem to get more confused.

#1 seemed to focus "ok" on my son but not so much on Piper

#2 seemed to do a little bit better job focusing on both ( although im not sure what i did differently) but I'm sure that it could be better.

I have the camera set to AF-A ( due to my kids inability to sit still). Would I get better results with AF-S?

 

[Derrel]

In shot #1, the plane of sharpest focus *is on* your son, and darling daughter is closer to the camera, and is juuuust inside of the plane of best focus; this is not a "camera" issue, but rather an "optical laws" kinda' thing...in shot #2, both subjects are at very close to the same distance from the lens, and so both children are pretty much located within the plane of best focus...

This same exact issue would come up with any d-slr...when shot with the same lens focal length and f/stop as was used in these two scenarios.

 

[Rick Mark]

Hi Rachel,

First of all, those are two excellent and VERY cute photos. I love them.

To elaborate on the other response, I think your issue is not the camera or your focusing method. I think the problem is "depth of field." Depth of field is affected by your aperture setting.

In low light, we use a wide open aperture (such as f/4 or f/5.6) to let in more light, but wide apertures yield a shallow depth of field (so your focus must be more precise), which means that an object that's, say, 5 feet away might be in focus, but a nearby object that is 4.5 or 5.5 feet away is out of focus.

In better light, we narrow the aperture setting (to, say, f/11 or f/16), which increases the depth of field. At a narrower (or smaller) aperture, the depth of field increases (this is why people squint their eyes to try to see better). With more depth of field, you might be able to focus on something that's 5 feet away and all the objects from 4.5 to 5.5 feet might be in focus as well. (I'm totally making up these distance numbers, so I hope no one takes me to task.)

To experiment, simply take a few pictures of the same object at different aperture settings. You'll see the background come into better focus as you go to smaller apertures (the larger numbers equal smaller apertures: f/4 is wide open; f/22 is very narrow).

I generally keep my camera set on "aperture priority" because I want to control the depth of field and I care less about the shutter speed. If you have your camera set on "automatic," then you're letting the camera choose your aperture. That's ok if you're shooting with a point-and-shoot, but you've got a very nice camera, so you should be the one making the decision.

Hope that helps?

I am having a hard time understanding the focus/focus points on this camera. I've read (and read) the manual about a million times and I just seem to get more confused.

#1 seemed to focus "ok" on my son but not so much on Piper

#2 seemed to do a little bit better job focusing on both ( although im not sure what i did differently) but I'm sure that it could be better.

I have the camera set to AF-A ( due to my kids inability to sit still). Would I get better results with AF-S?

 

[KAikens318]

I have issues with it focusing when I have the 39 point focus on and I am trying to shoot a portrait because it never seems to focus on the eyes, but everywhere else.

 

[KmH]

Digitutor D7000 | Nikon

The camera can only use 1 focus point at a time. When all 39 focus points are active the camera decides which one to use, but has no idea where you want the focus to be applied.
Understanding Camera Autofocus
Understanding Depth of Field in Photography

Take control of the camera. Put it in single focus, single focus point mode, and be mindful of your DoF.

Of the 39 focus points the D7000 has, 9 of them are the more accurate and sensitive cross-type focus points. For critical focus always use one of the cross-type focus points.

 

[rachelrach11]

In shot #1, the plane of sharpest focus *is on* your son, and darling daughter is closer to the camera, and is juuuust inside of the plane of best focus; this is not a "camera" issue, but rather an "optical laws" kinda' thing...in shot #2, both subjects are at very close to the same distance from the lens, and so both children are pretty much located within the plane of best focus...

This same exact issue would come up with any d-slr...when shot with the same lens focal length and f/stop as was used in these two scenarios.

Thanks so much! I hasn't thought about it that way!

 

[rachelrach11]

Hi Rachel,

First of all, those are two excellent and VERY cute photos. I love them.

To elaborate on the other response, I think your issue is not the camera or your focusing method. I think the problem is "depth of field." Depth of field is affected by your aperture setting.

In low light, we use a wide open aperture (such as f/4 or f/5.6) to let in more light, but wide apertures yield a shallow depth of field (so your focus must be more precise), which means that an object that's, say, 5 feet away might be in focus, but a nearby object that is 4.5 or 5.5 feet away is out of focus.

In better light, we narrow the aperture setting (to, say, f/11 or f/16), which increases the depth of field. At a narrower (or smaller) aperture, the depth of field increases (this is why people squint their eyes to try to see better). With more depth of field, you might be able to focus on something that's 5 feet away and all the objects from 4.5 to 5.5 feet might be in focus as well. (I'm totally making up these distance numbers, so I hope no one takes me to task.)

To experiment, simply take a few pictures of the same object at different aperture settings. You'll see the background come into better focus as you go to smaller apertures (the larger numbers equal smaller apertures: f/4 is wide open; f/22 is very narrow).

I generally keep my camera set on "aperture priority" because I want to control the depth of field and I care less about the shutter speed. If you have your camera set on "automatic," then you're letting the camera choose your aperture. That's ok if you're shooting with a point-and-shoot, but you've got a very nice camera, so you should be the one making the decision.

Hope that helps?

Thanks so much! You honestly explained this to me much more than the manual itself! I will definitely experiment with my DOF ... Thanks again !

 

[rachelrach11]

Digitutor D7000 | Nikon

The camera can only use 1 focus point at a time. When all 39 focus points are active the camera decides which one to use, but has no idea where you want the focus to be applied.
Understanding Camera Autofocus
Understanding Depth of Field in Photography

Take control of the camera. Put it in single focus, single focus point mode, and be mindful of your DoF.

Of the 39 focus points the D7000 has, 9 of them are the more accurate and sensitive cross-type focus points. For critical focus always use one of the cross-type focus points.

Thanks for the link! I appreciate your advice !

 

[charlie76]

I feel your pain. I abandoned the fancy automatic focusing dingy with the 39 doo-dads that pop up every time. In times when you need to focus quickly to catch a moment in time, the camera will often not choose the right subject to focus on...and the moment is lost. I strictly use automatic, single-serv, center focusing option just to be safe. Cute kiddos!!

 

[rachelrach11]

My brain just doesn't seem to want to understand the focus modes on this camera. I keep reading ( and reading) the manual and it hasn't clicked yet. I might as well be reading Chinese.

Here is what (i think) I've gathered so far.....
I have my focus mode selector set on AF.
I've been using AF-A when photographing my kids due to it being impossible for them to remain still for more than a split second.

I've read that in AF-S mode, the camera absolutely refuses to take a picture if it cannot achieve focus but to what extent does it do this?. Would I benefit more by using this setting?

I absolutely LOVE this camera and have become pretty comfortable with the majority of it but the focus portion is making me crazy!!

 

[rachelrach11]

I'm getting confused with focus lock. Focus isn't locking when shutter release button is pushed halfway down. I've tried switching to AF-S without any luck.

I've read that I can use the AE-L/AF-L button to lock focus but isn't there a way to do this without having to press this additional button ?

 

[KmH]

AF-S locks once focus has been achieved and the shutter button has not been let off of. AF-C continuously focuses, or re-focuses if the focus system decides the subject is moving.

You have to make 2 selections to set up focus. The focus mode, and the focus area mode.

AF-S, and using single focus point mode, you select the focus point, and is for doing portrait type shots.

AF-C is used for moving subjects and you would need to choose from the 3 area modes single-point, dynamic area, or 3D tracking.

AF-A chooses either AF-S or AF-C and an area mode based on what it thinks the subject is doing. Being that it is a camera controlled option, it will often make the wrong choice, because the camera has no real intelligence.

 

[StandingBear1983]

This is a good video that you can understand better, exactly for your problem.
Focusing modes for Nikon Canon DSLR for Running Kids or Sports Photography Tutorial - YouTube