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does a dog portrait count? Really just a question

travcattravcat Registered Users Posts: 24 Big grins
edited August 1, 2005 in Other Cool Shots
Hi Everyone,

I wasn't sure where to post my question. I have a Nixon D70 and I'm having problems with the focusing. I have it on AF-C in Dynamic Area. But, as you can see from this photo of my pup, his nose is out of focus. I am also wondering if I need a separate flash (besides the one attached to the camera). It seems like my pictures are dark even when I use the flash. Sorry if these are really dumb questions, the manual really confuses me!! I feel like I am taking worse pictures than I did when I had a cheaper camera!
Thanks!

Catherine

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    jthomasjthomas Registered Users Posts: 454 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2005
    In low light, the camera has to use a wide lens opening (aperture), which severely limits the depth of field (zone which is in focus). In your dog picture, the camera apparently focused on the dog's eyes, and with the shallow DOF, the nose is out of focus.

    When you look through the viewfinder on the D70 you will see five rectangles outlined in black. The one in which the lines become bolder when you depress the shutter half-way is the one the camera is using for focus. You can force it to use the center area, but I forget just how at the moment - it's in the manual! You can also depress the shutter half way and get focus on the point of interest, then shift the view slightly while holding the shutter halfway down to maintain the original focus point.
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    JamesJWegJamesJWeg Registered Users Posts: 795 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2005
    I am much happier with AF-S on the D70 than AF-C, and Dynamic is MUCH better than closest object.

    James.

    P.S. If you were on dynamic in the center the camera did exatly what it should have in that pic. With AF-S you can focus and then adjust framing, not so with AF-C.
    http://pics.jamesjweg.com
    http://www.jamesjweg.com
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    XO-StudiosXO-Studios Registered Users Posts: 457 Major grins
    edited August 1, 2005
    JamesJWeg wrote:
    I am much happier with AF-S on the D70 than AF-C, and Dynamic is MUCH better than closest object.

    James.

    P.S. If you were on dynamic in the center the camera did exatly what it should have in that pic. With AF-S you can focus and then adjust framing, not so with AF-C.
    I have had luck with both AF-C and AF-S, just depends on the circumstances. Example sports, AF-C will let you take a pic even when the camera doesn;t think it is sharp yet. While this is not always desireable, it often beats missing the passing moment.

    XO,
    You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
    Mark Twain


    Some times I get lucky and when that happens I show the results here: http://www.xo-studios.com
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