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  #1  
11-27-2010, 09:21 PM
Sossity Sossity is offline
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I have noticed there are manual and automatic focus switches on both the lens and the camera body of the nikon d7000 kit.

when I tried to have both in automatic, the lens made noises while it seemed to try & focus, I would then adjust the outside focus ring, & then it would re focus again, & the view I had; either in the viewfinder of the live view would be blurry.

So I tried switching both lens & camera to manual, & it seems simpler, I zoom in or out with the lens, & adjust the outside focus ring until everything looks clear.

I have noticed in a few of my 1st photos with this camera that it seems a little hit & miss, & when everything looks sharp & focused, only one part is sharp with all other areas clear, but upon magnification on the screen in review mode, all other parts are just a little soft. I took some photos of my cat on a deck rail, & he shifted positions quite a bit. I was using automatic mode with & without the flash, with camera & lens in manual focus mode.

I have also found when focusing manually & attempting to get the sharpest image possible, I use the live view, & press the + magnify button to blow up what I am about to shoot, & do more fine tune focusing with the outside focus ring on the lens. I am a bit new, so I don't know if this is the "right" or proper way to do this, I don't want to develop any bad habits or bad techniques.

I would like to develop a way to get clear shots reliably, quickly, & consistently as some moments pass quickly & I may not get a second chance.
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  #2  
11-28-2010, 01:22 PM
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This is another rather complicated topic. You have several issues going on here:
  • Depth of field vs focus
  • Focal plane
  • D7000 and/or Nikon specific camera settings for controlling focus
  • auto vs manual focus
  • Lens focal drift (probably N/A here, but worth discussion anyway)
  • Focus tracking (advanced AF modes)
  • Focal points
So let's start with this...

Put the camera in "A" mode (aperture priority) and set it to f/8. Use a ISO that puts your shutter to at least "125. If photographing moving animals/kids, then set it to whatever ISO gives you "350" or faster. But try to keep ISO at 6400 or less. The lower, the better, for ISO.

Compare different lengths of your lens, at 18mm and 105mm for sure, then a few in the middle -- maybe 50 and 80mm.

Report back.

This is something we have to teach by doing, not by reading. Let's see if those settings make a difference. If so, then we can discuss why.

Be mindful of which AF focus point or points (seen in viewfinder) is operating. Read the manual on how to change these. I prefer to use a single focus point at all times, though I do find occasion to use the multi-point system.

AF vs MF on camera and lens...

Leave AF on for the body. This lets the camera use AF mode.
This Nikkor AF-S lens has a built-in AF motor (the "-S" part of the lens model). This also must be on to function as AF lens.
If the lens is put to MF, then the lens shoots with manual focus only. The camera's setting won't matter.
If the body is set to use MF, then it will not use auto focus, regardless of lens setting.
However, if body is set to MF, and lens is in AF, the lens may be "locked" or simply hard to turn AF dial.
So always match as AF/AF or MF/MF.
Certain lenses, like my Nikkor 80-200 AF-S, are "free spinning" MF and can always be turned, regardless of various settings.

Bad technique warnings...

I would leave VR off for now, while you're learning.
It can be a crutch or a hindrance, if not used probably as it was intended. Most often, it leads to bad/lazy photo technique.

I would also learn to use the viewfinder for the most accurate photography. The LCD is not as true as the prism and your eye.
Relying on LCD would also lead to bad/lazy technique long-term.

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  #3  
11-28-2010, 08:00 PM
Sossity Sossity is offline
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I went out in my backyard & took some sunset photos, & of my cat after sunset, most came out good, I had to fiddle a little to get the single point focus, so it would focus on the setting sun, in the other focus, it kept focusing on some tree branches & getting those clear while not the sunset.

I notice there are several settings in the menu for focus;

number of focus points, I can choose 11 or 39, which should I choose?

AF-C priority selection, with a mutli grid icon & shutter button icon with release

AF-S priority selection with the same choices grid or release

focus tracking with lock on with various levels if one chooses on, & off

AF focus wrap around

AF point illumination on or off

easy exposure compensation on or off

center weighted area with different mm to chose from

shutter release button AE-L.


what f stop would be best in aperture priority if I am shooting in low light indoors, outdoors, at night, or if I can't use a flash? I am noticing I shoot mostly are in low light conditions, but not exclusively, I do shoot in the daytime as well. With Christmas coming up, I might be shooting Christmas lights at night.

I noticed as I zoomed the lens (making it stick out more from the camera body) in the shutter speed increased & when I zoomed out (bringing the lens back to camera body) the shutter speed went down.

do you use single focal point for moving objects? in my manual, these points are referred to as AF-area mode.

edit; I read the manual for some of the settings I asked about but am still a little unsure about center weight area & which value to choose, & focus wrap around.

Last edited by Sossity; 11-28-2010 at 08:55 PM.
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  #4  
11-29-2010, 09:11 AM
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Quote:
I had to fiddle a little to get the single point focus, so it would focus on the setting sun, in the other focus, it kept focusing on some tree branches & getting those clear while not the sunset
The camera thought it knew best, and became a nuisance. This is why I hate to use point-and-shoot cameras, and why I never let a DSLR have auto modes enabled that make it P&S-like. It's annoying and it hinders my shooting.

The multi-point focus selectors are not that good, in my opinion. I'd much rather use the single point, and move it around as needed with the flat dial on the back of the body. If I need to focus on something that is not on a point, I move the camera to focus on it, hold the AF-lock button, and then move the camera back to my composed position. The AF-lock (and/or AE-lock) button is alterable in the Nikon menus on most modern DSLRs. By default, it tends to be an AE-lock only (auto exposure lock), or an AF+AE-lock that locks both. I never want lock my exposure -- I'll use fully manual mode if I need a specific exposure. I just want to lock AF, so I make changes to menus. It varies on every body, so just read the manual for custom settings.

Quote:
number of focus points, I can choose 11 or 39, which should I choose?
I prefer less, I use 11. Of those, I tend to maybe use 7 of them at most. If you have all 39 points active, you cannot quickly move across the screen with your focusing options, and may miss a shot while you're busy twiddling buttons.

My old Nikon F5 has only 5 points, and I shot award-winning images with that legendary film body. Images were in focus.

Having all of these "focus points" is a really a gimmick more than anything else -- a gimmick started by Canon, and Nikon has followed. Stupid numbers games -- "measurbating" as Ken Rockwell calls it.

Quote:
AF-C priority selection, with a mutli grid icon & shutter button icon with release
AF-C = AF continuous. The camera can either lock on the first thing it focuses on (AF-S aka AF-single), or it can continually re-focus every time it thinks something has moved/changed (AF-C). If you use AF-S, you must lift your finger off the shutter, and press it again, to get focused on something else.

Quote:
AF point illumination on or off
This is simply whether the viewfinder pinpoints glow when selected and active. I leave these on, as it's helpful to know which AF point is in use.

Quote:
focus tracking with lock on with various levels if one chooses on, & off
AF focus wrap around
easy exposure compensation on or off
shutter release button AE-L
center weighted area with different mm to chose from
I don't really know. I'd mostly be guessing here. I would suggest reading the manual that came with the camera, for these specific items.

I wouldn't doubt if these are options/settings I don't use on my own Nikon DSLR bodies. Most of it sounds like "do it for you" options, which I can't stand. I want to control the camera, I don't want it to control itself.

Quote:
I noticed as I zoomed the lens (making it stick out more from the camera body) in the shutter speed increased & when I zoomed out (bringing the lens back to camera body) the shutter speed went down.
Your current 18-105mm Nikkor lens has a variable-f/stop aperture. The longer the lens gets, less light reaches the film/sensor.

Only high-end lenses tend to retain constant aperture across the entire zoom range. It should also be pointed out that this is why professional lenses are largely kept to "small" zoom ranges -- 12-24, 17-35, 24-70/28-70/28-80, 80-200/70-210, etc. The "hyper length" lenses cannot possibly retain constant aperture across such a range, such as 18-200mm, 18-105mm or 28-300mm. There are also more aberrations, diffractions and distortions in longer zoom lenses.

The widest the lens gets is f/3.5 at 18mm, but slowly creeps towards f/5.6 as it approaches 105mm. If aperture is fixed at the minimum in "A" mode, and the minimum rises, then shutter will be offset as the mm length changes.

In addition to that, there is simply less light at longer ranges. My Tokina 12-24 @ 12mm f/4 easily gets more light than a Nikkor 80-200 @ 200mm f/2.8 in the same indoor gym. The shutter speed is lower on the Nikkor, even if both lenses are at max aperture (f/4 and f/2.8, respectively).

Quote:
do you use single focal point for moving objects?
Yes. I pre-focus on where something is, or where it will be, and then hold AF-lock. AF is not fast enough for the sports, kids and animals I often photograph. I'd never get shots if I had to rely completely on AF. Canon EOS AF is slower than Nikon AF-S, and I get really aggravated when shooting sports with a 5D. I can't even rely on the Canon to assist me, like I can the Nikon D200, D3, or D3s.

Quote:
I read the manual for some of the settings I asked about but am still a little unsure about center weight area & which value to choose
Center weighting is a metering type, but I don't know exactly what the setting refers to.

As far as metering goes, there is a matrix/3D "full" scene meter (90-100% of image), which is what I usually choose, as well as center-weighted (25-50% of image) and spot metering (<5% of image). On my D3s, I customize the % covered by center weighting, which is an advanced setting that is editable.

Only when I want to specifically meter overly dark or light subjects will I change to a non-matrix meter.

Quote:
what f stop would be best in aperture priority if I am shooting in low light indoors, outdoors, at night, or if I can't use a flash?
The lowest you can go, without pushing ISO into too noisy a range, and without having shutter too slow. Slow shutter results in blurs. High ISO results in noise (ISO 12800+ for you). Low aperture reduces depth -- i.e., "makes the background blurry" compared to subject.

Quote:
With Christmas coming up, I might be shooting Christmas lights at night.
The camera will meter the darkness, and overexpose the image. Lights will become too bright, darks/shadows/blacks will go into grays. Spot meter off the lights, and bracket.

"Bracket" is the term for shooting a series of images at different settings. The camera has bracketing modes, but I never waste time using those. I flip the dials myself, and shoot what I want.

For example:
- 500 @ 5.6
- 500 @ 6.3 or 7.1
- 1000 @ 5.6
- 250 @ 5.6
That would cover a range of exposures.

Use your LCD to preview. While I could shoot LCD-less here, I'll cheat and look, see what's going on, and alter myself as needed. Hoping I didn't spend too much time twiddling in the camera, of course, and miss shots. That can happen when you play in the LCD.


A final thought about focusing...

I often find that focusing errors are caused by a person not letting the camera do its job. Focusing takes a portion of a second, and on a DSLR this is performed by gently holding down the shutter button before fully depressing it to take the image. Therein lies the problem -- few people understand what "gentle" means.

Now I know you're female, so forgive the potentially crass example, but I find this to work best...
While focusing, pretend that the shutter button is a nipple. (With the exception of children or somebody into S&M bondage, most people understand what I mean here.) That's how you handle the shutter button when focusing it. Only press the button firmly and entirely when you're ready to take the shot. And the higher end the camera, the less force you have to use to use. My Nikon D3s, for example, is touchy. Taking an image is probably what I'd call "nipple x2" for force required.

Too many people punch on a shutter button like it was a 1970s microwave. This doesn't give the camera time to focus, and long-term breaks the sensitivity of the button. Canon Rebel cameras commonly crap out here, based on what I've seen in the past decade or more. The cheap SLRs, mixed with newbie users, makes for a mess. The worst offenders punch the shutter so hard that the entire camera shakes, creating blurry photos. This is common on P&S cameras, due to their light-weight nature and often hard-to-depress shutter release button.

If I can locate comparable "Christmas lights" photos of my own, that were shot post-film, I'll read the EXIF data, post the images, and give my "how to shoot" advice for you.

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Last edited by kpmedia; 11-29-2010 at 09:18 AM.
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  #5  
11-29-2010, 04:43 PM
Sossity Sossity is offline
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For example:
- 500 @ 5.6
- 500 @ 6.3 or 7.1
- 1000 @ 5.6
- 250 @ 5.6
That would cover a range of exposures.

are the 500, 1000, & 120 ISO or shutter speeds? & do get these using aperture priority again?

if those numbers are ISO's what shutter speeds? if they are shutter speeds, what ISO's?

should I try these with or without a flash?
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  #6  
11-30-2010, 12:22 PM
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Those are examples of what bracketing variations would look like -- not suggestions on what you should use. The numbers are shutter @ aperture. Not ISO. You'd generally set these manually in fully manual "M" mode.

Flash changes the amount and quality of light, and can also create or alter shadows and darks. On-camera flashes tend to be terrible for most photography, excluding "pictures" (snapshots of friends/family). It takes a $200+ flash to give truly professional or exceptional quality flash lighting. Most of my incidental photography is flash-less, and I rely on ISO and fast glass (f/2.8 or lower apertures). Only in a studio setting will I use added light, such as flash and/or other lighting rigs. Sometimes I'll work on location with bounce flash or directional flash (via SC-17 cord; off-shoe flash work). That's more of an advanced technique at this point.

The key to good DSLR images is a good lens (glass quality + aperture abilities), good white balance (either AUTO or manual set), and proper exposure (ISO/aperture/shutter combo). That's really it, for the technical equipment side. The rest is art, sometimes a bit of luck.

You should really read this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.ht...reative=390957
National Geographic Photography Field Guide: Secrets to Making Great Pictures, Second Edition (Paperback)
It will give you a great primer on photography.

Another great way to learn is by screwing up. I do it all the time. Try to shoot something, and then see what happens. If it's good -- great! If it's not wanted you wanted, or simply awful, then see what could have been done to make it better. Posting your image here is one method, along with EXIF data (or at very least, the f-stop/shutter/ISO combo, and other pertinent details).

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