Focus hunting/low light photography help!!!

I was shooting in really low light last night at a bar with my 24-70L with my 580EXII. Shot mainly at 1600 ISO, around f/5-6 and SS of 1/30-1/50. Exposure was stopped about 2 stops down and set my FEC at about 1-1 2/3. Used center point focusing since some people said that is more sensitive.


I’ve shot at bars before but never in a place that dark. Originally I had my lens on AF which I quickly switched over to MF since it kept hunting. So a few things I tried to do to salvage the situation:

1) After a few test shots I essentially ‘set’ my MF and FL and tried to shoot at the same distance every time from the subjects. Essentially all I could see through the viewfinder were nothing more than outlines of people.

2) I tried to have the subjects stand with a rim/back light source behind them so at least I was able to make out their outlines and know how to properly frame them.

A lot of my earlier AF photos came out OOF. Once I switched over to MF and a lot more came out sharper but it was hard consistently do that. So what could I have done to improve? Maybe a pre-flash? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

big_apple_ken wrote in post #5921334
I was shooting in really low light last night at a bar with my 24-70L with my 580EXII. Shot mainly at 1600 ISO, around f/5-6 and SS of 1/30-1/50. Exposure was stopped about 2 stops down and set my FEC at about 1-1 2/3. Used center point focusing since some people said that is more sensitive.


I’ve shot at bars before but never in a place that dark. Originally I had my lens on AF which I quickly switched over to MF since it kept hunting. So a few things I tried to do to salvage the situation:

1) After a few test shots I essentially ‘set’ my MF and FL and tried to shoot at the same distance every time from the subjects. Essentially all I could see through the viewfinder were nothing more than outlines of people.

2) I tried to have the subjects stand with a rim/back light source behind them so at least I was able to make out their outlines and know how to properly frame them.

A lot of my earlier AF photos came out OOF. Once I switched over to MF and a lot more came out sharper but it was hard consistently do that. So what could I have done to improve? Maybe a pre-flash? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The best thing to do is to use the AF assist beam on the 580. An ST-E2 would also do the trick.

bacchanal wrote in post #5921385
The best thing to do is to use the AF assist beam on the 580. An ST-E2 would also do the trick.

I keep hearing about this AF assist beam. Never used it so I'll definitely look it up in the manual when I get home. Before I do so what exactly is it?

If you use a Speedlite flash, it will emit a red patterned beam that provides a visual reference for your and allows it to lock focus (I believe it only works in one-shot mode). However, it should already be enabled by default, so if (assuming you were using flash for your shots) it's not working for you then perhaps it's been disabled in the custom functions.

simon_says wrote in post #5921648
If you use a Speedlite flash, it will emit a red patterned beam that provides a visual reference for your and allows it to lock focus (I believe it only works in one-shot mode). However, it should already be enabled by default, so if (assuming you were using flash for your shots) it's not working for you then perhaps it's been disabled in the custom functions.

Ahhh...got it. I'm going to go home and test it out. It must have accidentally set it to AI SERVO mode last night. Doh!

... that might explain the hunting as well

René Damkot wrote in post #5922716
... that might explain the hunting as well

You mean AI SERVO vs ONE SHOT? If you can you explain kindly why?

AI Servo assumes your subject may be moving so it will continually try to adjust. One shot locks on and leaves it in place.

TheHoff wrote in post #5922879
AI Servo assumes your subject may be moving so it will continually try to adjust. One shot locks on and leaves it in place.

Ahhh...that is very helpful. So basically AI SERVO for moving subjects. One SHOT for stationary ones. Next time I go out I'm going to make sure it is set at ONE SHOT so I have the AF assist beam and also it won't keep trying to adjust. Thanks!

Try what Ken suggested first. With a 35mm f/1.4, this is how we used to it, & I still do. See post #3
Tips for Xmas Ball Please

ive shot weddings in churches soo dark u couldnt focus at all. what i did was set camera on f5.6, look at distant scale on lens (yeah older camera that shot film!)to how far away the subject was and just blast away (using flash). worked for me and they were in focus lol..