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Archive 2014 · New to me D4 AF question

  
 
Jason_Brook
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · New to me D4 AF question


EDIT - Problem solved; had it set to 11fps, not 10fps

I acquired a D4 this week. My wife is doing a Mudderella race (like tough mudder) this weekend so yesterday I slapped on the 70-200 VR1 and took the family in the backyard for a crash course in me getting comfortable with the new body...and blowing the dust off the 70-200 since I so rarely use it.

A few times my toddler came running straight at me, she's a little past 2 y/o so she's not too zippy. A lot of the shots were OOF. I was somewhat motoring on the shutter, but not laying on it. Results were generally; focus, focus, back, back, back, focus, back back, focus, focus, back, back. Basically a lot of back focusing. This had me perplexed so I gave myself a bigger target and used my wife, she slowly jogged straight towards me. Same results, lots of back focusing.

Settings:
AF-C
Release
Dynamic 9pt
Tracking Off

I also switched to 21pt, same results. I cleaned the contacts of the 70-200 to no avail.

What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions? It's basically acting like tracking lock is turned on. I highly doubt it's the camera and it's something I'm doing. It's bang on for slower and/or posed stuff. Bare in mind, I'm a shakey SOB, so that may be to blame. I discovered last night I can turn on the feature to see exactly where I was focused during playback, so this evening I'll have to try it out again.

Edited on Aug 16, 2014 at 08:03 PM · View previous versions



Aug 15, 2014 at 05:45 AM
trenchmonkey
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · New to me D4 AF question


I don't have a D4 but I'd be using just the single center point for AF
under those shooting conditions.



Aug 15, 2014 at 05:52 AM
Jason_Brook
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · New to me D4 AF question


trenchmonkey wrote:
I don't have a D4 but I'd be using just the single center point for AF
under those shooting conditions.


I'll have to give that a whirly go. My suspicion is that the AF is so fast it's going to her ear and/or hair swinging behind her as I wobble and sway about.



Aug 15, 2014 at 06:13 AM
Steve Perry
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · New to me D4 AF question


On subjects like that your hit rate should be much higher. Have you updated the firmware in the D4 to the latest version? I saw an improvement in AF when I did.

Also, 9pt or single should work (Single would have been my choice in that case). Also, instead of release, you might try Release + Focus. It slows down the FPS just a touch, but you might get more keepers.



Aug 15, 2014 at 08:34 AM
Jason_Brook
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · New to me D4 AF question


Yup, it's the latest firmware. Like I said, I'm sure it's user error.

I did just read something on DPR that 9/21/51 dynamic will "jump" to the highest contrast area within the selected points. That would make sense why it was back focusing pretty much to where their hair went down behind their shoulders. I always thought dynamic multi points were to assist the point you selected, not act as an "auto-area" function.

AF-C - Single is about the only option I didn't try

For static subjects, this thing is absolutely bang on even in the most challenging situations with my worst AF'ing lens (58/1.4)



Aug 15, 2014 at 08:39 AM
Jason_Brook
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · New to me D4 AF question


Any other thoughts/suggestions before tomorrow? Or is this just cut and dry that I should have used AF-C Single point


Aug 15, 2014 at 01:31 PM
trenchmonkey
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · New to me D4 AF question


Sliced 'n diced.


Aug 15, 2014 at 01:33 PM
nismoxr34
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · New to me D4 AF question


It is probably most definitely your AF-C Priority.

I would set it on Release+Focus to give yourself the most in focus shots.

Check this out: http://nps.nikonimaging.com/technical_solutions/d4_tips/autofocus/



Aug 15, 2014 at 01:52 PM
djb663
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · New to me D4 AF question


The only thing I didn't see discussed was what frame rate you have selected. If you are in continuous "high" and have chosen 11 fps, the camera will not refocus, it will use the focus from the first frame and carry it through. So, if you are pressing, releasing, pressing, that could explain your in, out out out, in out etc focus. To remedy this, when you are in continuous "high", choose 10 fps as the maximum frame rate.

If you're not in continuous "high", disregard what I've said, and sorry for your troubles and good luck.



Aug 15, 2014 at 02:20 PM
Jason_Brook
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · New to me D4 AF question


Almost 100% positive CH is at 10fps, but I will double check.


Aug 15, 2014 at 02:21 PM
coresare
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · New to me D4 AF question


Put a1 AF-C priority selection to focus only.


Aug 15, 2014 at 02:50 PM
CanadaMark
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · New to me D4 AF question


coresare wrote:
Put a1 AF-C priority selection to focus only.


That will decrease his overall keeper rate and frame rate.



Aug 15, 2014 at 02:51 PM
coresare
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · New to me D4 AF question


CanadaMark, I never tested it myself, but my mentality is I wouldn't want an out of focus shot anyways and would rather the camera took more time to only get in focus shots?


Aug 15, 2014 at 04:46 PM
Joseph.
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · New to me D4 AF question


coresare wrote:
CanadaMark, I never tested it myself, but my mentality is I wouldn't want an out of focus shot anyways and would rather the camera took more time to only get in focus shots?


That works on static subjects (landscapes, etc) but not for action shots. When the subject is in constant motion, the AF module will never be able to focus lock, that's why Release Priority and AF-C is chosen. If you use Focus Priority on a moving subject, by the time the camera confirms focus, the subject would've already moved to a different position and you end up with OOF shots. Release Priority tells the camera that it's OK to do a burst whether the subject is in focus or not. You may end up with a few OOF shots, but there will also be a great chance that you get several in-focus shots. A lot of this also boils down to technique and familiarity with the Nikon's AF system.

Jason - In addition to what has already been mentioned by folks above, I would also try AF Fine tuning. For zooms, I usually set to the longest focal settings (in this case 200mm) and tune it to a reasonable distance where you expect to shoot the most.





Aug 15, 2014 at 05:53 PM
coresare
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · New to me D4 AF question


Thanks for clarifying that. I'll give it a shot.


Aug 15, 2014 at 06:03 PM
Next39
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · New to me D4 AF question


I agree with AFC, single point, release priority, locking to none. CH on a D4 is 10 fps.

I think that different lenses will produce different results in this specific case. I shoot a lot of sports with my D4 using a 200 f/2, 300 2.8, 400 2.8, and each lens has a different personality when it comes to how it jumps to focus. And, of course, as your subject closes distance, your losing DOF. They all have sweet spots.



Aug 15, 2014 at 06:31 PM
Hardcore
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · New to me D4 AF question


Yes, also agree. If you can't maintain the 1af point on subject, go to 9. If you can't maintain 9, go to 21 and so on until 51. For people running I use single shot. I also use VR even though many turn it off with shutter speeds faster than 1/500th, but I love the stabilized view and it helps me track a subject better. I have not seen many times where having VR on gives me any softer results than VR off.


Aug 15, 2014 at 07:00 PM
Jason_Brook
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · New to me D4 AF question


As I suspected it's in my technique. I tested a little bit tonight, but didn't have chance to do it properly. My little girl was running up and down the hall, she had a high contrast t-shirt on. I focused center mass on the t-shirt and it hit almost everytime. Of course her face was out of focus because of the close proximity and razor thing DoF. When I tried focusing on her face only, it missed 50%. So come tomorrow I'll just aim for center mass and stop down to f4.

What's blowing my mind is how well this AF's with my 58/1.4



Aug 15, 2014 at 07:11 PM
djb663
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · New to me D4 AF question


Next39 wrote:
I agree with AFC, single point, release priority, locking to none. CH on a D4 is 10 fps.

I think that different lenses will produce different results in this specific case. I shoot a lot of sports with my D4 using a 200 f/2, 300 2.8, 400 2.8, and each lens has a different personality when it comes to how it jumps to focus. And, of course, as your subject closes distance, your losing DOF. They all have sweet spots.



CH on a D4 is 11 or 10, it is user selectable. If you select 11, focus and exposure lock on the first frame of release and remain for the entire time the shutter button is activated. If you select 10, focus and exposure will change with the subject.




Aug 16, 2014 at 07:13 AM
Next39
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · New to me D4 AF question


djb663 wrote:
CH on a D4 is 11 or 10, it is user selectable. If you select 11, focus and exposure lock on the first frame of release and remain for the entire time the shutter button is activated. If you select 10, focus and exposure will change with the subject.



Yes, I know this. But thanks for explaining what I already knew. Lol



Aug 16, 2014 at 08:56 AM
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