think we might have a new name for that smilie already?
It's still a good thread. There are obviously valid reasons why focus/recompose can hurt your shot, and I'm glad Fish brought it up. Focal plane/depth of field is an excellent point. Also, exposure control when you're not in Manual.
But IMHO there are situations where it's the best alternative. My experience is that it's the best choice when I'm in super low light, low contrast environments where I change positions a lot.
Thanks to this thread, I felt compelled to read Canon's literature on how AI servo works, and I discovered what I think the problem is: shiny bits of equipment, like mics and cymbals, appeal to the autofocus more than dark, low contrast performers.
So, as long as I'm far enough away that the depth-of-field isn't an issue, center focus/recompose seems like the only reasonable way for me to grab focus.
Fishie apparently disagrees, but perhaps he hasn't shot bands in a low-light clubs with his 10D or 20D? I'm always shocked at how little light they throw on the performers. I've now shot in 6 different clubs/bars, and only one has had decent light. Surprise, surprise, that's the one that produced the most usable images.
I still do other things wrong, and I'm still learning. I've figured out the center focus/recompose solution to autofocus and manual focus problems, and of course, fast glass helps. But I don't trust high ISO enough. I believe this is the first time I've shot in a club with the mkII. The 1D made really noisy images above 1000 ISO, so that's where I kept the mkII. Big mistake, and one I won't make the next time out. You live, you learn!
That was the response I was trolling for! Thanks waxy.
"Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk." - Edward Weston "The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."-Hunter S.Thompson
Fascinating thread from a birder
You all talk bars, I talk birds.... I have been following this thread closely. I have a Rebel, and I tried the center focus recompose for a few weeks, I really thought it was working, until I started losing just about all my shots. So I asked Harry, he said he used the matrix, I went back to that. Except when it gets too dark and the lens won't go off, or whatever, sometimes I make the decision to go manual. I have trouble getting a lock, I think that is the problem. And that is IF I can focus. I really relate to the loss of the split image. Supposedly that round dot will tell me when I am on. I waited a long time one evening this week before I gave up on the round thing thinking I was on.
This was in the afternoon. I think I was using the matrix. But towards dusk, and even worse, if the bird is in the marsh, that focus has to be on, and the subject is not large, maybe 1/16 th. Maybe. g (I have had better luck in bars)
for me there is only one way to go for concerts... And that's manual focus (I've only used a D30 for concerts) I get the best results with MF AF is either too slow, or it hunts (with the D30, I'm anxious for my first 20D concert )
for me there is only one way to go for concerts... And that's manual focus (I've only used a D30 for concerts) I get the best results with MF AF is either too slow, or it hunts (with the D30, I'm anxious for my first 20D concert )
Thanks Michiel. I whined earlier in this thread about how difficult I find it to manually focus in general, let alone in really low light. I've tried it at the shows, and realized I had absolutely no idea if I was sharp or not.
There's that tiny area where you know you're not grossly out of focus, but not sure if you're absolutely sharp or not. Be it because of my eyesight or my viewfinder, I find it impossible to guarantee that I'm absolutely in focus. That's what drove me to find an autofocus solution.
(If it is too dark for the AF, it is too dark for me, I have exactly the same problem you do.......only mine is with birds. I go back, I go forth, it gets to the point that I agree with the AF, there is no focus.)
Comments
That was the response I was trolling for! Thanks waxy.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."-Hunter S.Thompson
You all talk bars, I talk birds.... I have been following this thread closely. I have a Rebel, and I tried the center focus recompose for a few weeks, I really thought it was working, until I started losing just about all my shots. So I asked Harry, he said he used the matrix, I went back to that. Except when it gets too dark and the lens won't go off, or whatever, sometimes I make the decision to go manual. I have trouble getting a lock, I think that is the problem. And that is IF I can focus. I really relate to the loss of the split image. Supposedly that round dot will tell me when I am on. I waited a long time one evening this week before I gave up on the round thing thinking I was on.
This was in the afternoon. I think I was using the matrix. But towards dusk, and even worse, if the bird is in the marsh, that focus has to be on, and the subject is not large, maybe 1/16 th. Maybe. g (I have had better luck in bars)
for me there is only one way to go for concerts... And that's manual focus (I've only used a D30 for concerts) I get the best results with MF
Michiel de Brieder
http://www.digital-eye.nl
There's that tiny area where you know you're not grossly out of focus, but not sure if you're absolutely sharp or not. Be it because of my eyesight or my viewfinder, I find it impossible to guarantee that I'm absolutely in focus. That's what drove me to find an autofocus solution.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
g
(If it is too dark for the AF, it is too dark for me, I have exactly the same problem you do.......only mine is with birds. I go back, I go forth, it gets to the point that I agree with the AF, there is no focus.)