Sharpness Issues

[table1349]

Why Focus-Recompose Sucks

The Problem With The Focus-Recompose Method

 

[Cpalmer03]

Why Focus-Recompose Sucks

The Problem With The Focus-Recompose Method

What method then do you recommend?

 

[Cpalmer03]

I see that in the articles, they both reccomend using the AF points that your camera has built in, with my body, that is only 9, so what happens when I want to shoot something in focus that does not lie on one of those focus points with the composition that I want?

 

[paigew]

Why Focus-Recompose Sucks

The Problem With The Focus-Recompose Method

I agree that recomposing is not ideal but in some situations it is necessary. Especially if your cameras focusing system isn't very accurate like the ff models.

 

[paigew]

I see that in the articles, they both reccomend using the AF points that your camera has built in, with my body, that is only 9, so what happens when I want to shoot something in focus that does not lie on one of those focus points with the composition that I want?

EXACTLY...or when 5 of those fp suck a**

 

[table1349]

Learning to use your camera without having to look at the controls helps.

Single focus point.
Compose the shot.
While viewing the subject through the viewfinder select the focus point that will focus on the area of the subject you want most in focus and use that point.
Take photo.

 

[amolitor]

The point of the 'focus-recompose sucks' articles is that you should strive to minimize the amount you have to swing your camera to recompose. There isn't a better way to do it than that.

 

[christop]

sorry I don't use any of the auto modes (or exposure comp) so I am no help there. I shoot in manual and meter to '0'

That's basically the same as using aperture/shutter priority without exposure compensation. I most often find that if I care about aperture (to control depth of field) I don't care about shutter speed very much, and if I care about shutter speed (to control motion blur) I don't care about aperture as much. I use one of those modes to change the setting that I care about and let the other setting fall into place automatically.

Oh, and regarding focus-then-recompose: you can recompose by moving the camera position along the plane of focus instead of turning the camera. If I want to take a waist-level (full body) shot of a person and want the face in focus, I can focus standing up and then move it downward to the taking position, leaving the eye in focus. Admittedly this technique is easier with a smaller position change. With a long lens and distant subjects, rotating the camera slightly after focusing is fine because the recomposing angle is relatively tiny so the change in focal plane is also tiny.

 

[paigew]

The point of the 'focus-recompose sucks' articles is that you should strive to minimize the amount you have to swing your camera to recompose. There isn't a better way to do it than that.

exactly

 

[amolitor]

Note that if you're not ROTATING your camera, it's not an issue. So in some cases you can focus, and then move yourself parallel to the plane of focus.

I find the photographs where the DoF is measured usefully in inches to be generally pretty obnoxious, though, so I don't worry about it much.

 

[Cpalmer03]

Still nobody has yet to answer the original concern. If your focus point say an eye for example does not fall directly on one of your cameras AF points.

 

[paigew]

Still nobody has yet to answer the original concern. If your focus point say an eye for example does not fall directly on one of your cameras AF points.

yes they have...focus and recompose. this could be even the smallest amount of 'recomposing'.


edit to add: or you could back up, frame wider and crop later

 

[joshua_]

Still nobody has yet to answer the original concern. If your focus point say an eye for example does not fall directly on one of your cameras AF points.

As a new guy, and partially due to what photos I'm taking, so far I've had the best results with single point and recompose. So far, I personally find proper metering easiest within that context as well. In my reality this is simpler for me so far.

I have done some action stuff where I go a different route, but I haven't had the need for much of that yet.

I do think it makes sense to understand how and when to use the different methods for auto-focus, etc... I want to be able to compose a shot in all settings, of course that will take some time, practice, and learning on my part.

 

[Cpalmer03]

Still nobody has yet to answer the original concern. If your focus point say an eye for example does not fall directly on one of your cameras AF points.

yes they have...focus and recompose. this could be even the smallest amount of 'recomposing'.

everybody said to NOT do that.

 

[paigew]

Still nobody has yet to answer the original concern. If your focus point say an eye for example does not fall directly on one of your cameras AF points.

yes they have...focus and recompose. this could be even the smallest amount of 'recomposing'.

everybody said to NOT do that.

no, they didn't. they said to do it correctly