What settings for continuous shooting? Do I use is? Continuis focus? Focus points? There seems to be many settings for this. Shooting may be handheld or monopod. Subjects can be static...

kenArchi Loc: Seal Beach, CA

Do I use is? Continuis focus? Focus points? There seems to be many settings for this.
Shooting may be handheld or monopod.
Subjects can be static or moving.
I believe I understand that continous shooting may bring you sharper photos than single shot?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Continuous shooting on my camera just means it keeps taking pictures as long as I hold the shutter button down. Won't make the focus any sharper.

Vietnam Vet

Set it so your camera continues to adjust the focus when your subject is moving toward or away from you.
I use only one focus point and as long as the focus point is on my subject it will be in focus. However, when following a subject the focus point may lose the subject for a shot or two and those will be out of focus.

John Sh Loc: Toronto, Australia

If it's a Nikon you can select the shooting mode to only take a shot when it is in focus. This might slow down the frame rate but will ensure focus on every shot.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

kenArchi wrote:

Do I use is? Continuis focus? Focus points? There seems to be many settings for this.
Shooting may be handheld or monopod.
Subjects can be static or moving.
I believe I understand that continous shooting may bring you sharper photos than single shot?

I shoot Nikon. My settings for moving objects are as follows.
Continuous Auto Focus
Group Auto Focus
Aperture Priority ( I use exposure compensation for small adjustments in exposure)
Shutter speed at least 1/1500 sec.
If hand held I use VR, on tripod with fast shutter speed I do not use VR.

For static objects I use all of the above except
Single point Focus, I use the back button focus for this setting.
If I am on a tripod I turn off the VR

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

kenArchi wrote:

Do I use is? Continuous focus? Focus points? There seems to be many settings for this.
Shooting may be handheld or monopod. Subjects can be static or moving. I believe I understand that continuous shooting may bring you sharper photos than single shot?

There’s no point in continuous shooting for still subjects. For moving subjects, it can replace skill by increasing your chance of getting a lucky shot. Multiple focus points are fine if you don’t know how to track a moving subject.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

The title is misleading. It appears that the OP is asking about continuous focus, not continuous shooting. Two entirely different things.

67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

Get Steve Perry's download on the Nikon Focus system. It answered
all my questions and brought me to the next level for shooting birds in flight.
My keeper rate is much better and I can shoot with confidence and less
frustration!

ltatko

Thought RWR nailed it!!

Len

photoman43

Another vote for Steve Perry's site for videos on this topic and his ebooks on AF and Nature photography.

On my Nikon bodies my normal settings are:
AF-C
AF area modes: S or one of the Dynamic modes, usually d9 or d25 or Group, if I want the nearest subject in focus, like a bird flying towards me.
VR set to off if my shutter speed is higher than 1/500 or if I am on a tripod.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

kenArchi wrote:

Do I use is? Continuous focus? Focus points? There seems to be many settings for this.
Shooting may be handheld or monopod.
Subjects can be static or moving.
I believe I understand that continuous shooting may bring you sharper photos than single shot?

First, for continuous shooting I set up my exposure for the subject and the lighting, then W/B, then I make sure that the focus setting is set to servo or sometimes called continuous focus. Then I setup my camera for BBF or Back Button Focus. I use 2 different buttons that I set one for a single focus point, and the other for 9 points in a center cluster for fast moving subjects such as BIF (birds in flight). In any case, 99% of the time I use a single focus point. This is my way, but others do it their own way.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

kenArchi wrote:

Do I use is? Continuis focus? Focus points? There seems to be many settings for this.
Shooting may be handheld or monopod.
Subjects can be static or moving.
I believe I understand that continous shooting may bring you sharper photos than single shot?

????
It all depends on what you are shooting, what your desired end result is, what conditions you are under, ......

If your question could be answered with a single explanation, there would be no need to be able to choose using continuous or single shot let alone different choices under continuous.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

If I understand AF-C correctly, it works just fine for stationary subject, but will work to keep focus on moving subjects. I believe Steve Perry explains that in his book on the Nikon focus system. His reasoning is, leaving it in AF-C allows you move from stationary to moving subjects without having to change the focus mode. It’s just more convenient that way.

photoman43

Wing pilot is correct.

I rarely ever use AF-s anymore. I set AF-c, and if the subject is stationary, Or a landscape, I select S in AF auto area, focus using back button focus, recompose if necessary, and then trigger the shutter.

This works for me as most of my photography is action stuff.

kenArchi Loc: Seal Beach, CA

Ok, wow. Lots of stuff here. All your ideas are very helpful.
I have two cameras, Nikon d5500 with lens 10- 20 and Olymus 10 ll with lens 100-300.