Comments on: How Do You Autofocus?

By: qaqwex

qaqwex — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:02:11 +0000

I have presentl;y a Nikon D300 and before that a D200. I tend to you the autofocus mode dependent on circumstances and subject and that comes out about 55% single, 30% continuous and 15% manual

By: Ballhead or Panhead?

Ballhead or Panhead? — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:06:36 +0000

[...] be sure to check the results from last week’s poll having to do with autofocus methods. Almost 50% of us use “Single Shot” autofocus, while 25% use “Auto”. And as [...]

By: Dillon Ross

Dillon Ross — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:39:21 +0000

Well it really depends on the situation. In general I leave my D-SLR in Auto and probably use it for a good 60% of my photos. The second must used mode for me is probably continuios followed by manual.

By: Gregg

Gregg — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:13:30 +0000

I use manual for landscapes, macro, and low light situations. Single for grab shots and when taking portraits without a tripod. Some of my lenses have a manual override when in Single mode and my D200 has “auto-assisted” manual focus so I can see if my eye and my camera agree on the focus point. I mostly use static focus points, but sometimes use dynamic focus groups when I use Continuous autofocus.

By: jerry

jerry — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:41:12 +0000

I use AF Continuous about 75% of the time, mainly due to the fact that the kids don’t like to hold still. If shooting inside, and something other than the kids, I’ll switch to Single. This is on my D70s.

By: Cyler

Cyler — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:34:00 +0000

I use Continuous Autofocus on my D70s, using the focus-lock button whenever I need to lock in the focus (unlike the D100, D200, D300 series, the D70 does not have a switch on the front to change between single and continuous). This system seems to work the best for me, as sometimes I find myself wanting continuous autofocus as soon as I pick up my camera.

By: Mustanir

Mustanir — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:48:26 +0000

Oh, and I love my manual lenses, which of course, have to be manual focussed :p

By: Mustanir

Mustanir — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:47:48 +0000

I usually leave my camera on Continuous, so I voted that, but I use others too. If the shot it set up (i.e. a portrait) I’ll use Single-servo. Also, if I have to focus in low-light, I will use Single-servo as AF-assist only works on that mode (on Nikon cameras anyway).

I also use the AF-ON button to autofocus instead of the half-press shutter thingy. Makes more sense to me that the camera focusses when and only when I want it to.

By: libeco

libeco — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:40:38 +0000

I chose other since I use several methods. When I used my Fuji Finepix S9500 I used S, but on my 400D I mainly use regular autofocus. When I have extension tubes in between my lens and camera I have to use manualfocus. When trying to take pictures of moving objects I use AI Servo (I guess it’s called C on your camera?) to continuousl re-focus…

By: Andreas Manessinger

Andreas Manessinger — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:27:20 +0000

Sony is definitely coming back, it only takes a while. Just last Saturday I met a young woman with a new Alpha 700. She saw me photographing with filters and asked me about it, I gave her some advice about basic camera settings.

Sony comes back. The 24mp A900 (if that’s the name) will change the perception of the brand, and I suppose they may be up at 7% by year’s end. Still, it is a competitive market, and Nikon could only get back into the pro segment because there was Canon only, Canon was fat and slow, and at the same time had severe problems with the 1DIII’s autofocus. Nice coincidence for Nikon, but that window is closed now. Still, Sony is determined and over time things will level out, but slowly.