Hey all.

Autofous question:

Do you have a higher keeper rate with..

1- Center focus point, pointed at players body.

2- Outer fous point, pointed at players face.

3- Another method, please elaborate.........

I just upgraded from a 20d to a 1d Mark III, just in time for the 2nd recall.

I shoot outdoor field sports with a white zoom or prime...

Thanks in advance

I think this has been covered extensively on this forum, but for action I always use center point and focus on the body.

Sometimes when I'm shooting a stock-type image during a timeout or stop in the action I will dial the focus point up to the face. But I honestly don't know how someone would focus specifically on faces when shooting action; that would seem like a losing battle to me.

Thank you Scott

Center focusing point 99.9% of the time, and it's focused on whatever I want to be focal point of the shot.

If I am shooting primarily horizontal or primarily vertical, then I will move my focus point up from center. But I usually keep the focus point choice from being all the way at the extreme edge because (for Nikon) the interior focus points are more sensitive cross type sensors.

If I'm alternating between horizontal and vertical shots, then center point works best and focus lower on the body. Sometimes the face will not fall within the critically sharp DOF window if opened up all the way. Also, with uniforms that have no contrast, sometimes focus will hunt.

Hey Rocketball Scott, long time no see.

I always use center point. I have my Focus set for front button af-on, and back button AF-stop on my 1D III.

Rocketball wrote:
Center focusing point 99.9% of the time, and it's focused on whatever I want to be focal point of the shot.

+1

Im not a sports shooter- but was interested in this for fast moving subjects. I
Its seems the consensus is to use the center point. Does this mean center point and then recompose?
Thanks!

I also found that in addition to the center focal point only, moving the focus button, and using a track, track, track, burst, burst, track, track method greatly helped me. At anything moving, I lock on the subject, track by continually refocusing (In AI Servo), and then short burst(s) with 1 or 2 frames ahead of where i want to capture. I think it really depends on the shooters technic and glass used (for speed of focus), but with the Mark IIn it seems like if you dont nail it by frame 2, its hit and miss. Very important to be on your subject with selected focal point and ready to lay the hammer....

I'm not sure where I've read it, but I've seen it several places, the center point is twice as sensitive as the outlying points. So, you'd inherently have a higher focus capture percentage using the more sensitive area.

The Center AF is the usual but I do change it up. I like to get to fill the frame and I usually go one or two clicks up and and usually 1 click left or right depending on which side the player is going to be running (coming at me and to the right in Soccer for example is 2 clicks up, 1 click left when shooting in portrait.

Obviously this is for the 45 point AF selection. Also, I use the back button for AF.

thanks!

photosenior wrote:
Im not a sports shooter- but was interested in this for fast moving subjects. I
Its seems the consensus is to use the center point. Does this mean center point and then recompose?
Thanks!

Sports shooters with Canon gear are almost always in the AI Servo mode so "center point and then recompose" wouldn't apply. You just try to give the camera a split second to achieve focus before starting a burst or shooting a single frame, and try to keep the center point on a contrasty part of the subject. If you do your part well the camera will have a much better chance of doing it's part well.

WMPAT-

Can you explain why center point and then recompose wouln't apply.

Thanks for your input!

photosenior wrote:
WMPAT-

Can you explain why center point and then recompose wouln't apply.

Thanks for your input!

Becuase in AI-Servo mode, as soon as the center AF point is off the subject, it acquires a new subject to track. That's why some shooters, including myself, separate shutter release and AF tracking by using the back-focus button on the Canon, or AF-ON button on the Nikon.

number 1. but mostly only because i'm too spastic to keep a player's face on the actual focus point i want it to be on.

If you have a working 1d3 you can put the autofocus anywhere you want and if your skills as a camera handler are up to the task the camera will not disappoint you. Most of the time not having focus is due to user error like slow shutter speed, shake, or else missing the subject ever so slightly with the focus point. Practice makes perfect.
Doug

Sports shooters with Canon gear are almost always in the AI Servo mode so "center point and then recompose" wouldn't apply. You just try to give the camera a split second to achieve focus before starting a burst or shooting a single frame, and try to keep the center point on a contrasty part of the subject. If you do your part well the camera will have a much better chance of doing it's part well.

So if you are not focusing and recomposing, this will limit you composition to the subject in the center... or am i missing something- i must be- right

Thanks for the help

centre point, body... it's hard enough to do that, let alone focusing on the face! and then, if you miss the face, it will focus on the background...

another trick... don't zoom in too close... better results if you are back a bit, and then you have croppability later, if needed...

photosenior wrote:
Sports shooters with Canon gear are almost always in the AI Servo mode so "center point and then recompose" wouldn't apply. You just try to give the camera a split second to achieve focus before starting a burst or shooting a single frame, and try to keep the center point on a contrasty part of the subject. If you do your part well the camera will have a much better chance of doing it's part well.

So if you are not focusing and recomposing, this will limit you composition to the subject in the center... or am i missing something- i must be- right

Thanks for the help

Yes, you are correct. But for sports action shots, the subject is normally at the center of your frame.

In an effort to be unconventional and find something different than what every other photog at the game is capturing, you can switch to another focus point. That is going to be much easier if the subject is static or moving across your frame instead of toward/away from the camera, or, in others words, situations where the need for AI Servo isn't as strong. But often that extra bit of effort combined with some outside-the-box thinking yields very original and unique images. Most sports shooters are trying to please an editor or sell to parents so we usually come up with the same type of images that we know will fill that need. Late in the game, after you have your safety shots, you can let the artist in you come to the surface for a breathe of fresh air.