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nicksan wrote in post #10737837
Why S mode and not C for moving targets?

well uhhhmm I don't know... should I be using C mode even on slow moving subjects?

I should just stick to using landscape I guess

monk3y wrote in post #10737859
well uhhhmm I don't know... should I be using C mode even on slow moving subjects?

I should just stick to using landscape I guess

on the back of your camera, make sure your AF switch (below the circular dial) is pointed toward the middle box, on the top, put it in CL (unless you are doing high speed shooting), and on the front, put it in C. Try those settings with anything moving and see how you do.

monk3y wrote in post #10737859
well uhhhmm I don't know... should I be using C mode even on slow moving subjects?

I should just stick to using landscape I guess

I would use C mode for any subject that is moving, slow or fast.

Do you use the AF-On button for AF? I would recommend that as well. Gives you better control over things.

I also never use 3D Matrix AF. I user single point or expanded but never let camera make any decisions like focusing.

Permagrin wrote in post #10737893
on the back of your camera, make sure your AF switch (below the circular dial) is pointed toward the middle box, on the top, put it in CL (unless you are doing high speed shooting), and on the front, put it in C. Try those settings with anything moving and see how you do.

yes on both the middle box and the CL, I use C sometimes..but most of the time I use S...

I can't seem to find this info on the exif, whether I used S or C.. I really can't remember but I do remember hearing beeps that day so I guess I was using S since C doesn't beep right?

monk3y wrote in post #10737918
yes on both the middle box and the CL, I use C sometimes..but most of the time I use S...

I can't seem to find this info on the exif, whether I used S or C.. I really can't remember but I do remember hearing beeps that day so I guess I was using S since C doesn't beep right?

Not sure about the beeps.
That's one of the things I turn off...the beeps.
Try C for moving targets and try all the things I suggested. Hey, it works for baseball, it should work for kids right?

But also consider the lens. AF-D lenses aren't exactly lighting fast and accurate...

monk3y wrote in post #10737918
yes on both the middle box and the CL, I use C sometimes..but most of the time I use S...

I can't seem to find this info on the exif, whether I used S or C.. I really can't remember but I do remember hearing beeps that day so I guess I was using S since C doesn't beep right?

C doesn't beep

nicksan wrote in post #10737916
I would use C mode for any subject that is moving, slow or fast.

Do you use the AF-On button for AF? I would recommend that as well. Gives you better control over things.

I also never use 3D Matrix AF. I user single point or expanded but never let camera make any decisions like focusing.

yes, I actually set up 3 shooting banks

1- for moving/fast action shots, with back button AF, C-mode, 21point AF
2- still shots , with back button OR shutter button AF, S-mode, 11point AF
3- long exposure, shutter delay, shutter button AF and S-mode, 9point AF

but I usually use #2 and sometimes still do the focus recompose style..

Permagrin wrote in post #10737951
C doesn't beep

yeah.. I should just stop using S then, and just use C most of the time... except when I do landscapes.

good thing though, I overshot a lot... and there were a lot of keepers also

another thing that will get you oof shots is the focus/recompose. It doesn't matter as much for landscape shots but for portraits it's a killer.

When I shot canon, I noticed there was much more of a latitude to be able to do this but when I switched over to nikon, the first thing I noticed was that it was not forgiving at all this way. So now I'm very fast at switching focus points. Because the outer points are so accurate (or much more accurate) than my previous cameras, I find it's the best way for me to achieve the focus I want.

Permagrin wrote in post #10737983
another thing that will get you oof shots is the focus/recompose. It doesn't matter as much for landscape shots but for portraits it's a killer.

When I shot canon, I noticed there was much more of a latitude to be able to do this but when I switched over to nikon, the first thing I noticed was that it was not forgiving at all this way. So now I'm very fast at switching focus points. Because the outer points are so accurate (or much more accurate) than my previous cameras, I find it's the best way for me to achieve the focus I want.

aha!!! wow!! I realized I did a lot of mistake, using S mode, then focus and recomposing and I now realized that the D700 has thinner DOF than the 500D also so its more difficult.

yeah I just switched my focus points to 11 points so that I could go from center to the edge in no time, I used to get away with focus recompose on the 500D also, but i can't seem to do that here, I rarely put my AF point on the edge before..now I guess I'll have to start practicing it.

one more thing, what setting do you usually set your Focus Tracking with lock on? 1-short? 3-normal?5long?

We never use S. We mostly use C, with middle setting on the back switch, and 3D tracking - which gives us a selectable single focus point (default set to centre, because we have a focus/recompose habit that we struggle to quit), and then tracks whilever we keep focus activated with the shutter button (or back AF button).

Rob

RobKirkwood wrote in post #10738060
We never use S. We mostly use C, with middle setting on the back switch, and 3D tracking - which gives us a selectable single focus point (default set to centre, because we have a focus/recompose habit that we struggle to quit), and then tracks whilever we keep focus activated with the shutter button (or back AF button).

Rob

3D tracking? it goes crazy though... I think I will start using C more often now... but I would just use 21-point AF I guess, I am not really sure if I understand how 3D tracking is working

monk3y wrote in post #10738045
one more thing, what setting do you usually set your Focus Tracking with lock on? 1-short? 3-normal?5long?

Depends on the situation. I usually have it on normal.

For instance, if you are shooting soccer and want to track a specific player despite other players crossing in between the player and the camera, you would want to set this to long so the camera won't switch to the new target right away.

monk3y wrote in post #10738066
3D tracking? it goes crazy though... I think I will start using C more often now... but I would just use 21-point AF I guess, I am not really sure if I understand how 3D tracking is working

Yeah, I never use 3D tracking. Just don't trust it enough. I usually use 21-point AF as well.