Right i’m a bit miffed as to what focusing mode to use with my D80,there’s three modes: AF-C,which is a continous focus mode,supposed to be used for moving objects,(like airplanes maybe:mad: ),but for some reason this mode only give photo’s in focus when they’re in the air:confused: ,the other modes are AF-S,which focus once on the object,which gave me horrible results from AMS,where aircraft were either not moving or taxiing past very slowly,the other mode AF-A,just chooses the best between the two & that is just awful!,is there anyone with experience of Nikon DSLR’s that can help me out?
By: gary o - 24th March 2007 at 11:26
thanks alot for that piece of info,i was wondering about the AF-area,and you’ve sorted that out for me:) ,thanks again!
By: Jur - 24th March 2007 at 09:24
Gary,
I’ve been using Nikon camera’s since 1977 and for a digital camera I use the D2x. My suggestions for your D80:
– don’t use one of the vari-program mode’s, but select either the S (shutter priority) or the M mode for aviation photography;
– check the histogram for correct exposure, otherwise dial in a correction EV factor (e.g. EV +0.7);
– don’t use Auto-area AF, but select either single-area or dynamic-area focus and make sure that you initially have selected the central focus field;
– select either the AF-S or the AF-C focus mode (it shouldn’t normally make a huge difference for these kind of subjects);
– make sure that the lens mode has been set to A or A/M at the lens barrel with AF-S lenses, otherwise autofocus will not function!
– shoot in RAW mode (NEF) to be able to make corrections to exposure, contrast and white-balance in postprocessing).
Good luck!
By: tilleydog - 22nd March 2007 at 20:10
No problem, as I said with af-s it remains focused on the subject when the shutter release is pressed half way, it should work ok on static subjects, but if an aircraft is taxying you will need to pan the camera to follow it.
If an aircraft is airborne just do the same thing.
The shutter will not release if the subject is not in focus, so theoretically all your shots should be sharp.
AF-C will continue to readjust the focus but the shutter release will work even if the subject is not in focus.
AF-A is just a quick auto selector between the two modes.
As I said before, leave it on AF-S, make sure that the aircraft is in the focus area, half press the shutter release until you see the pic you want then click!
By: gary o - 22nd March 2007 at 19:58
the info i got about the AF modes came from the D80 manual,they don’t really go into great detail..i suppose i’ll just have to keep experimenting,AF-S seems to work but only when the aircaft is in the sky(ie no ground in the shot):rolleyes: ..thanks for the reply;)
By: tilleydog - 22nd March 2007 at 19:54
Hi Gary,
I’ve always used Nikon dslr’s, currently using a D1x and D100.
Have you read your manual? when focus mode selector is set to AF-S or AF-C (sorry this is how mine work) the camera focuses automatically when the shutter release button is pressed halfway, if subject is stationery single servo (AF-S) allows you to lock focus on the subject by keeping the shutter release pressed halfway, as long as you are keeping the shutter release halfway down the camera will remain focused at the distance of the subject, this allows you to reframe the picture so that the subject is no longer in the selected focus area. The shutter can only be released when the subject is in focus.
Continuous servo AF, AF-C, can be used with moving subjects to allow the camera to continually re assess the distance to the subject in the focus area and adjust as necessary. This hasa predictive focus tracking which is automatically activated according to subject status. The shutter can be released even when the camera is not in focus (release priority.
Hope you understood that, it may be slightly different with a D80.
What I do is leave it on AF-S and use shutter speeds and panning to get decent pics. Doesn’t always work. but that’s the beauty of digital!
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March 22, 2007 at 3:56 pm