Focus help please: I have been taking a lot of action shots of dogs in hunting situations. This is a not so great example from this past weekend. I am shooting a Canon 7d with an older...

slclog Loc: Illinois

I have been taking a lot of action shots of dogs in hunting situations. This is a not so great example from this past weekend. I am shooting a Canon 7d with an older 80-200 L lens. This shot was taken at ISO 160, f5, 1/1250 at 200 mm. I am using a spot focus and have just learned to use Back Button focusing.

My problem is I frequently get THAT CLOSE to a great focus, only to find later that I'm not quite there. It's pretty clear from this shot that my spot focus ended up in the reeds instead of on the dog's head. I'd like to hear any idea folks have on focusing better. Are there better methods than spot focusing for this type of picture? I really need some advice.

Thanks

Reeds in focus, not dog

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Nice action shot. I think you are right about the spot focus being somewhat troublesome with action going on. My Nikon allows back button focus, which I love, but has a mode that will hold the focus on the subject once it is locked on. I use it for motorcycle racing. Once I have the bike I want locked in, the camera will stay with that subject. Check your manual under "auto-focus". I'm talking from a Nikon perspective here, I'm not that familiar with the details of the Canon. Would assume however, that they have a similar feature.

fantom Loc: Colorado

slclog wrote:

I have been taking a lot of action shots of dogs i... (show quote)

You are shooting at a speed of 1250 and ISO of 160. I'd try shooting at a faster shutter speed and raise the ISO a bit if you need to in order to get the correct exposure. It does look like the shot was focused on the reeds in back of the dog's head but the head was moving and may have been in focus if it had been completely frozen by a faster shutter speed.
Also, i had a 7d once and I seem to recall that it had the focus lock feature that the other poster mentioned.
You might give that a try also.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

Your biggest problem is not focus, it is depth of field. F5 will leave you precious little DOF to have your entire subject in proper focus. Try getting to F10 at the same shutter speed and it will help your issue tremendously.

BigBear Loc: Northern CT

MT Shooter wrote:

Your biggest problem is not focus, it is depth of field. F5 will leave you precious little DOF to have your entire subject in proper focus. Try getting to F10 at the same shutter speed and it will help your issue tremendously.

I agree. Then practice ... practice ... practice ... and practice some more.

slclog Loc: Illinois

MT Shooter wrote:

Your biggest problem is not focus, it is depth of field. F5 will leave you precious little DOF to have your entire subject in proper focus. Try getting to F10 at the same shutter speed and it will help your issue tremendously.

Gotcha. I think I was still thinking in old terms and trying to get the ISO too low. I'll bump that up along with the aperture and see what happens. Thanks for the advice

slclog Loc: Illinois

ebrunner wrote:

Nice action shot. I think you are right about the ... (show quote)

Yep. I have that feature AI Servo and it would have kept tracking in the older days of using the shutter to focus. One more thing I have to learn in my transition to BBF

thanks

slclog Loc: Illinois

fantom wrote:

You are shooting at a speed of 1250 and ISO of 160... (show quote)

Looks like ISO adjustment and the related opportunities is going to be the ticket. I think the water drops are frozen enough but I won't know until I try the aperture adjustment first.

Thanks

slclog Loc: Illinois

BigBear wrote:

I agree. Then practice ... practice ... practice ... and practice some more.

I think I can match many on the board in terms of shots taken, but with advice and adjustment those shots will indeed become practice. I've experimented a lot of ways but I think I was overly enamored with narrow DOF.

This advice will help get me refocused (no pun intended, but it fits)

thanks

IL86 Loc: Chicago, IL

slclog wrote:

I have been taking a lot of action shots of dogs i... (show quote)

One of the applications which came with your 7D will show you exactly where the focus was (sorry don't have my PC now and don't remember the name of the app). Is it a training school for hunting dogs? Where is it if you don't mind? Thank you.

slclog Loc: Illinois

IL86 wrote:

One of the applications which came with your 7D will show you exactly where the focus was (sorry don't have my PC now and don't remember the name of the app). Is it a training school for hunting dogs? Where is it if you don't mind? Thank you.

I'll have to check the software to see what is there.

Yes - Sort of. There are a number of Hunting Retriever Clubs not too far north of me. They are clubs for owners to learn to train their own dogs. There are a number of members who also train dogs professionally or semi-pro. Dogs are trained for waterfowl this time of year and for upland in the early winter. We have some amazing dogs in our group. More info at http://www.huntingretrieverclub.org/ or at http://classic.akc.org/events/hunting_tests/retrievers/index.cfm

slclog Loc: Illinois

IL86 wrote:

One of the applications which came with your 7D will show you exactly where the focus was (sorry don't have my PC now and don't remember the name of the app). Is it a training school for hunting dogs? Where is it if you don't mind? Thank you.

This picture was taken at the Richmond Hunt club in Richmond, IL Many others are taken at Bong REcreation Area in Kansasville, WI.
Local clubs are WISILL HRC and Fox River Valley HRC
WISILLHRC.com and http://www.frvhrc.com/. Both welcome new members at all levels of experience

IL86 Loc: Chicago, IL

slclog wrote:

This picture was taken at the Richmond Hunt club in Richmond, IL Many others are taken at Bong REcreation Area in Kansasville, WI.
Local clubs are WISILL HRC and Fox River Valley HRC
WISILLHRC.com and http://www.frvhrc.com/. Both welcome new members at all levels of experience

Thank you so much for the info and links provided. I will check if I could come to take some pictures. Looks like my King Charles spaniel is too small for this (plus he is afraid of water). :lol: Good luck with your shots!

huskyrider705 Loc: Phenix City, Alabama

Use AI Servo and hold the back button down and it will track the dog as he moves toward you. Also use a higher ISO and smaller aperture for a wider depth of field will help.

slclog Loc: Illinois

MT Shooter wrote:

Your biggest problem is not focus, it is depth of field. F5 will leave you precious little DOF to have your entire subject in proper focus. Try getting to F10 at the same shutter speed and it will help your issue tremendously.

I want to say thank you. This weekend I bumped the ISO to 640 and the aperture to f9 with 1250 for the shutter. I used the BBF and AI Servo. I'm pretty pleased with the sharpness of this shot taken all the way out on my 80-200 lens. Thanks for the advice

ISO 640 f9 1/1250 200mm