Disturbing Discovery Regarding Sharp Focus.
Mar 1, 2019 16:30:08 #
Feiertag wrote:
The challenge is what makes photography so fascinating.
It is amazing what very small factors can interfere with a great photo! Keeps us trying to learn and take everything possible into account. And then comes along something we had not thought of before - like heat distortion.
I agree with the thought that to keep holding the BB can affect the focus. When taking photos of birds I will try to anticipate where they will fly or land, and focus on that area first. Then, when a bird arrives, I can shoot with some confidence in the focus. But I also will try to get my finger back on that BB and hold it while the lens is aimed at the bird! Hopefully the bird does not fly out of my focus point[s].
Mar 1, 2019 16:50:55 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
Even if it wasn't the issue in this case, from personal experience I know that exhaust can interfere with clarity - just like heavy haze or fog. So maybe focus too?
Shooting across a hot pavement from which heat is rising is similar.
Shooting across a hot pavement from which heat is rising is similar.
Excellent, I wasn't even considering that, but you're absolutely right! Good point to make!Mar 1, 2019 19:06:25 #
pdsilen
Loc: Roswell, New Mexico
I too have that problem sometimes, especially when the lens motors keep putting it in and out of focus. When that happens I don't even try to correct it. I just put the lens in manual focus and focus the shot in the old fashioned wat.
Mar 1, 2019 19:37:15 #
Feiertag wrote:
Today I went out to shoot Snowy Owls. While being... (show quote)
A branch is a small target. I agree with Linda - if you were continuously pressing the back button the camera was probably shifting focus between the branch and the background/foreground. The branch may have been stationary, but you may not have been.
Mar 1, 2019 21:26:41 #
Feiertag wrote:
Today I went out to shoot Snowy Owls. While being... (show quote)
Did you have af-c on. If so any slight movement of the camera will cause it to refocus with a single point. Do not hold the back button focus button down if you have afc on. Touch it once to focus and go. With AFC on that's good for bif or any moving Target.
Mar 1, 2019 21:39:43 #
Feiertag wrote:
Today I went out to shoot Snowy Owls. While being... (show quote)
I didn't read thru all three pages of replies so somebody has probably already mentioned it. But if your car is idling there is some vibration going on even if you can't feel it. Your IS or whatever they call it on your camera is probably working overtime to try to cancel out the motion. When I go bird shooting in my car I turn off the motor once I've found a good spot. I have a little sports car so I go around the other side of it from where the birds are so they don't see me and I brace my elbows on the roof of the car. So the car acts as both a shield to hide me and as a brace to keep the camera steady. Before I figured out that the minute motion of a smoothly idling car can affect my shots I was fighting the focus issue.
Mar 1, 2019 22:29:13 #
Shutterbug57 wrote:
Getting a clear shot from a warm car in the cooler weather can be problematic. Heat from the cabin creates heat waves as it escapes into the outside world.
This is a big factor. As a surveyor, in the days before GPS, we always went out at sunup to do the long distance shots. As soon as the air starts to warm heat waves begin to distort the image. The air doesn't even have to be very hot to cause heat waves. Sixty or seventy degrees F is enough.
Mar 2, 2019 07:15:41 #
[quote=SusanFromVermont]It is amazing what very small factors can interfere with a great photo! Keeps us trying to learn and take everything possible into account. And then comes along something we had not thought of before - like heat distortion.
I agree with the thought that to keep holding the BB can affect the focus. When taking photos of birds I will try to anticipate where they will fly or land, and focus on that area first. Then, when a bird arrives, I can shoot with some confidence in the focus. But I also will try to get my finger back on that BB and hold it while the lens is aimed at the bird! Hopefully the bird does not fly out of my focus point[s].[/quote]
Susan, I take more shots of birds-in-flight and track them to the landing. You are missing great opportunities if you primarily focus in on a single point (the landing object). BBF is always being used.
I agree with the thought that to keep holding the BB can affect the focus. When taking photos of birds I will try to anticipate where they will fly or land, and focus on that area first. Then, when a bird arrives, I can shoot with some confidence in the focus. But I also will try to get my finger back on that BB and hold it while the lens is aimed at the bird! Hopefully the bird does not fly out of my focus point[s].[/quote]
Susan, I take more shots of birds-in-flight and track them to the landing. You are missing great opportunities if you primarily focus in on a single point (the landing object). BBF is always being used.
Mar 2, 2019 07:20:32 #
10MPlayer wrote:
I didn't read thru all three pages of replies so s... (show quote)
Thank you for your comment. I would suggest you do back to Steve Perry's post and watch the video he supplied.. With you standing next to your sports car, you are prone to heat refraction, from your engine.
Mar 2, 2019 09:39:59 #
Feiertag wrote:
Susan, I take more shots of birds-in-flight and track them to the landing. You are missing great opportunities if you primarily focus in on a single point (the landing object). BBF is always being used.
Perhaps my description was not clear enough. The purpose of focusing on an anticipated location and then letting go of the BB is to have the camera ready without a lot of "hunting". Then when the bird is arriving at that area, whether flying or landing, I will press it again and attempt to keep the focus point[s] on the bird. I don't do a lot of BIF, but when I do that is my process. My reactions are not always swift enough for a lot of success, though!
Hopefully now that I have the 200-500mm lens, I will do more BIF as well as wildlife!
Mar 2, 2019 13:23:48 #
[quote=SusanFromVermont]Perhaps my description was not clear enough. The purpose of focusing on an anticipated location and then letting go of the BB is to have the camera ready without a lot of "hunting". Then when the bird is arriving at that area, whether flying or landing, I will press it again and attempt to keep the focus point[s] on the bird. I don't do a lot of BIF, but when I do that is my process. My reactions are not always swift enough for a lot of success, though!
Hopefully now that I have the 200-500mm lens, I will do more BIF as well as wildlife![/quote]
Your description was clear. Good luck with your increasing interest in BIF captures.
Hopefully now that I have the 200-500mm lens, I will do more BIF as well as wildlife![/quote]
Your description was clear. Good luck with your increasing interest in BIF captures.
Mar 2, 2019 15:19:54 #
Feiertag wrote:
Your description was clear. Good luck with your increasing interest in BIF captures.
Thank you!
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.