DSLR with reliable AF assist

aadplus

hello all, Ive been doing event photography, mostly club work, where it I cannot rely on ambient lighting.

At first I was using the red laser AF assist on my external, hot shoe mounted pentax flash, as my ist Ds doesnt have any af assist.

Since then I have taken the external flash off camera, into my left hand, and am tiggering it optically with the built in flash of the Ds. I shoot full manual with high aperature (F8, setting the focus ring to about 1 meter, as 99% of my subjects are at that range. My photos come out well, and the faster shooting from all manual settings are great perks.

But now Im ready to invest in another dslr, and would like the option to shoot AF; and now need to know which dslr has the best on-camera AF assist illuminator or lamp.

I know the nikon D70 has a lamp, but understand it doesnt work for continuos shooting, an implemention by nikon to maximize the lamp bulb life. (I shoot 100+ pics per hour!)

I saw another event photographer using a fujifilm camera with a very strong, green colored AF assist lamp; I checked fujifilms site, and it seems like it was a non-dslr...

My pentax ist Ds rapidly fires the pop up flash for AF assist, and is basically unusable.

Does anyone have good experiences with any DSLR regarding AF assist and low light shooting? of course using an external flash with the red laser AF, like the D70/SB600 combo would solve the problem, but I really really like holding the external flash with my left hand, with a very light camera on my right, utilizing the pop up as fill.

Ive considered getting a small fill flash for the camera with AF assist, but there arent that many models, and those that do dont take advantage of the new ttl flash technologies (cullmann AF 20 is a great example - super light flash with AF assist, but doesnt work with nikon D70 ittl, and lacks manual vari power.) One idea is using the

Im pretty set on upgrading to the D70, foregoing the on camera fill flash, and using an SC29 cable with af assist to trigger an sb600 in my left hand. But it sucks not having a fill flash!

The best combo would be a DSLR with reliable AF assist, and using the onboard pop up with a hand held external flash - synced wirelessly, wired, optically, it really doesnt matter.

Ive done extensive research into this, and find it very hard to get information on on the reliability of AF assist in camera reviews. And I cant see a BH or adorama sales guy to be of any help either, sadly...

Please share your experience, or post a link to a thread thatll be of help. Ive searched and couldnt find.

thanks,

anrei d.

kygarden

The SB600 and SB800 provides it's own autofocus assist if mounted on the camera...and you can use it as much as you want...and it's not the annoying white light. It's infrared I think.

Blurmore

I shoot Weddings and Bar Mitzvahs and use a 20D/30D. The Bar Mitzvahs especially are very low light events, usually employing intelligent club lighting, cans with gels, and NON intelligent moving projectors. In short lots of goodies to confuse a camera's AF system. The LED projection in the 580ex speedlite does a good job focussing in this environment of changing, high-contrast, and often backlit situations. I shoot mostly in one shot AF, utilizing radio controlled off camera flash at fairly small apertures which allows deep DOF, so I'm not very knowledgeable about how well the LED works with tracking focus modes. One thing I have considered in the past is using a ST-E2 transmitter (which includes its own AF assist beam) to fire a 580 ex off camera in my hand allowing wireless ETTL metering. I've played with wireless ETTL before (when we forgot a piece of equipment at a church) and eventhough it is spec'ed at working for line of sight only. I found that by swivelling the head so the body of the flash faced the master I could fire it with it held to the side and slightly in front of me. I would borrow or rent an ST-e2 before I bought one if I was going to use this arrangement for every job. I know Nikon also has a wireless IR TTL flash as well.

ScottMcLeod

Blurmore wrote:

I shoot Weddings and Bar Mitzvahs and use a 20D/30D. The Bar Mitzvahs especially are very low light events, usually employing intelligent club lighting, cans with gels, and NON intelligent moving projectors. In short lots of goodies to confuse a camera's AF system. The LED projection in the 580ex speedlite does a good job focussing in this environment of changing, high-contrast, and often backlit situations. I shoot mostly in one shot AF, utilizing radio controlled off camera flash at fairly small apertures which allows deep DOF, so I'm not very knowledgeable about how well the LED works with tracking focus modes. One thing I have considered in the past is using a ST-E2 transmitter (which includes its own AF assist beam) to fire a 580 ex off camera in my hand allowing wireless ETTL metering. I've played with wireless ETTL before (when we forgot a piece of equipment at a church) and eventhough it is spec'ed at working for line of sight only. I found that by swivelling the head so the body of the flash faced the master I could fire it with it held to the side and slightly in front of me. I would borrow or rent an ST-e2 before I bought one if I was going to use this arrangement for every job. I know Nikon also has a wireless IR TTL flash as well.

I second this.

My Sigma sits on camera in a lot of situations, and I go into the custom functions and actually disable the flash. "Emit IR / Do Not Fire Flash" or something similar.

I also used ETTL-2 for a fashion shoot one day with a 420ex, and two Sigma 500 DG Super's, and it worked fairly well!

Mr. 2H2O

D70s and servo modes
Anrei,
I asked a buddy of mine who shoots with a D70s about the AF lamp and continuous shooting. Here's what he said:

There are so many modes, so the answer is Yes and No.
If you use Continuous Servo mode, then it stays on and the lens continues to focus as long as you have your finger half way down on the shutter button.
If you use Single Servo mode, then it shuts off after the lens completes its focus. Upon next shot it will illuminate again and refocus.
There is also bracketing, then will change how this works.
Not a simple answer.

Maybe there is hope with the D70s. Can anyone else help Anrei with understanding the continuous servo mode better?
Mike

jimf

Blurmore wrote:

One thing I have considered in the past is using a ST-E2 transmitter (which includes its own AF assist beam) to fire a 580 ex off camera in my hand allowing wireless ETTL metering.

I have one of these, originally bought so I could use a pair of flashes as ersatz studio lights. The ST-E2 works poorly off-axis; even with the sensor facing the ST-E2 it doesn't work very reliably. It works just fine for a full sidelight or backlight, or if the room is small enough for reflecting IR.

If I were going to use ETTL off-camera like that I'd go for a wired solution.

On the other hand I never even considered using the ST-E2 purely for focus assist, what a great idea. Maybe I'll get some use out of that thing after all.

mr peas

Are you looking into purchasing a new camera or looking for add-ons to your current ones?

I'm just about to start doing club photography as well. What I'll be using is a Sony F828 with a handheld Canon flash via pc-sync cables. The Sony F828 is extremely light and incorporates a built in laser-pattern assisted autofocus which works even under total darkness. It also has nightvision framing mode in which you can use the nightvision mode of the camera to frame, but as soon as you release the trigger, it will capture in full color. If you're shooting for a company that needs photos of the club-goers, this camera will suit you well. I've seen them for around $500 on Ebay, but more around 600-700 if you really want one in pristine condition.

Or.. if all else fails, use manual focus on your current lesn to focus at certain points and mark it, the distance of your subject and setting on your lens.. or just set it to infinity. But yeah its a little tough, strobes and other clubs lighting doesnt help with autofocusing either. gl and enlighten us on what you plan to do.