Nikon doesn't know their own product very well then ;) I've tracked BIF in front of red mangroves without a single problem, very fast and very accurate. Sure, every once in a while you'll drop focus to the BG, but if that upsets someone, maybe they're expecting a little too much from their camera.Originally Posted by Jim Fenton
Blake
If you've done this is 51 point 3D AF then you absolutely have a camera that's entirely different than any of the bodies which I've shot....that's for sure.
Consensus among those whom I know personally agrees with 51 point 3D being pretty much useless against backgrounds....unless you want something other than your subject in focus.
Maybe it's them big slow moving birds you folks are privy to down there ;)
Last edited by Jim Fenton; 05-09-2008 at 12:20 PM.
I am really curious about how the Shadles get the 51 point 3D AF to work. When i read in a recent BAA bulletin that this was their recommended mode for BIF, i went out and tried it. all i got was the sensor bouncing around and trouble staying locked on the subject. since their results speak for themselves, i figure i am not using the mode properly.
phil seu
If Yopu Want To Try Something Interesting
Set up the tripod....find a scene with a big rock or something in it and not a breath of wind.
Activate the AF in 51 point 3D and watch the focus bounce all around the screen...with no subject moving anywhere.
It does work for me...albeit much more slowly relative to AF in a bright blue sky with no clouds and no chance of multiple targets. If my subject goes in front of any type of background, be they distant clouds or something ground based...forget it.
Now....51 point non 3D is a different story and while it's not great in background situations as compared to single, 9 or 21 point, it is much more reliable than the 3D version.
I'm not at all convinced that subject size / proximity to subject doesn't have something to do with what they reported.
That sounds terrible. I just took my D300 with the Tamron 70-300mm attached to it and pointed it out my office window and focused on a Ford Escape's headlight. I have AF-C activated and 51 point 3D. It just sits there. If I move my camera to the left, the AF sensor adjusts to stay on the headlight. I move my camera to the right, the AF sensor adjusts to stay on the headlight.
Like I Said A Month Ago
I want your D300 Blake :)
Honestly...a group of us were out shooting lamenting how useless the 51 pt 3D is for BIF (based on out observations up here in the Northeast) and I kiddingly pointed the 500 across the river at a rock...a rather stationary rock. We all took turns watching the hot reticule bounce around the viewfinder as the rock moved back and forth...so fact that we couldn't even see it moving!
Now...I will tell you, that this was in AF-C. If we switched to AF-S, then the rock and associated focus reticule stood absolutely still.
The good news is as that so far, the new bodies I have do not hunt or get stuck at infinity on nothing like the previous ones did. I'm a bit jaded by past experiences, so time will have to prove to me that they'll stay this way. I'm hoping that by having now acquired bodies some 100,000 unit serial#'s past the last ones I had in my possession, that perhaps I've gotten away from the ones which were giving me all the trouble.
Last edited by Jim Fenton; 05-09-2008 at 01:53 PM.
My D300 SN is in this range also: 3014XXX
One important thing is to continue to use good flight photography technique while you're out in the field. Just because you have a camera that can do some fancy tricks, don't get lazy ;) I say that because I found myself doing that a few weeks ago and had to snap out of it.
Also, you may need to make some adjustment to custom setting a4 (Focus tracking with lock-on). Changing this setting to "Long" may help. What this does is, in case the sensor drops off your subject, maintains the previous AF point for a longer period of time.
Since Nov 2007 I have been using 51 point 3D for 95% of all my photography without any problems. Most, not all, but most fellow Nikon D300 owners I know use 51 point 3D and are getting more than satisfactory results.
Robert
I do not think the "Long" setting is very good, especially if the subject is moving towards you. I tried it yesterday and most all my shots with that setting came out OOF. I set mine back on "short" and all was well. I was reading Thom Hogan's book on the subject and he does not recommend that setting for moving objects for then the camera would not keep up with the subject, especially if the subject is moving towards you.
Hi Nancy
My D300 a4 setting is set on 'long' and normally I can track a medium sized bird, duck or goose, until it is larger than full frame and the AF keeps up.
Its my experiance (I am a full time photographer-no day job) that a setting of short will allow the AF to drop the subject and pick up another object such as the background more often.
THogan is a good source of information, I enjoy his writing, but I wouldnt agree with this if the quote is correct.
Robert
Hi Robert. Well, I tell you, I will be out with James on his boat Tuesday and I will try the different settings and see. Maybe it was the bad contrast on the particular subject I was trying to get or I was not very quick on the draw, so to speak. I will let you know and I hope I get some great opportunities!! Really looking forward to meeting James and getting lots of great images!:D
Hi Nancy,
You will enjoy your trip with James, its always a blast. Let us know what you find out if you try different settings.
Robert
Jim
Just got back from returning my D300 to the Ritz where I bought it. Manager did not give me any problems with the exchange, and he knew about the problem. Will keep you informed of what my luck is with new unit.
Bob
I have noticed exactly the same thing with mine. On a tripod and with no changes in anything except touching and releasing the AF button it changes focus point each and every time. It seem to be quite good at actually avoiding the subject.
For the AF system to avoid the subject you did not lock on the subject with the active AF point so you are not using AF properly. With Dynamic AF you aquire AF with the point you have set, the center is default, and if you move the camera so that the subject moves the AF will track the subject.
This link will jump to a good series of D300 tutorials: http://www.nikondigitutor.com/eng/d300/index.shtml
FYI a negative first post like this one looks a little fishy, you may not have an agenda, but if you posted this message on a site like dpreview you would be considered a troll and get flamed for 3 hours.
Robert
Well, Robert I missed you the other day with James:). I thought you were coming out. But, anyway in the afternoon I tried this 51 point 3D and I was amazed at how it works. Obviously it does not work for all things but I kept it on for most of the time to see how it works, with James working with me. The results can be seen in the birds wild and free section, one spoonie I posted yesterday and one I will post later today, a spoonie. I had a GREAT time with James!!!
Last edited by Nancy A Elwood; 05-16-2008 at 09:08 AM.
Actually you do have a day job, it is full-time photographer.
Last edited by Robert Amoruso; 05-16-2008 at 09:48 AM.
Oh good to hear :)
Glad you enjoyed the trip and got a chance to practice with 3D AF. Wish I could have joined the trip also!
Thanks for the update.
Robert
Jul 6: I found out that my slowly Fujifilm S5 that I got more than a year ago actually out-focused the D300 I just bought in late June. :)
I was sitting in a chair, D300 with Tamron 17-50 f2.8 in my hands, trying to focus the top part of the back cover of Ansel Adams' book "The Negative". The book was lying in a bed, not flat but leaning against a pillow and so the book was about 30 degrees off the bed. Focal length used was 50mm and the book was about 4 ft from the camera. With the D300 and using the center sensor point, the lens simply hunted again and again and couldn't lock on to the few lines of words that were on the back cover. I tried both the S and C, single point and dynamic area modes. There simply was no "beep". Since I selected "focus" instead of "release", the photo could be taken.
Then I took out the S5, put the lens one and did the same thing. "Beep", the S5 was able to focus on those lines of words and I was able to take a picture of the book.
The S5 has a D200 body and uses the same AF system of a D200. The D300 supposedly has a better AF system and it could not focus on what a S5 could??
Later on, I put the 105 f2.8 VR macro on the D300. Now it could focus. But so could the S5.
A few hours ago, I was out trying to do some shooting. This time I had the 200-400 on the D300. A few shots later. The camera refused to focus. I tried turning the camera back on and off, adjusted the buttons on the lens and cameras, etc. Nothing could turn the focus back on again. It seems to me that after the focus hunted for a while, it got stuck and couldn't get back to normal. Then I changed lens to see if it was the problem of the lens or the camera. At first the focus seemed to work, then it got stuck focusing nowhere again. After I went back home, I put the 200-400 on the S5. And everything worked fine. Put the lens back on the D300. At first it seemed OK. After some hunting, the focus stuck again.
One of the "tests" I also tried after I got back home was to try focus the 200-400 on a mountain through the horizontal blinds in front of a window. Again, the D300 hunted but the S5 was able to get a lock-on.
Bad copy of a D300 I got?
Well, at least it is not the 200-400 that has the problem :)
Oh, S5 is made in Japan, FWIW :D
Last edited by Desmond Chan; 07-07-2008 at 03:28 AM.
I had the same problem Desmond and sent the camera to Nikon service. They did a clean, adjust, and all is working fine now.
So I took the camera back to the store. They gave me a replacement ( within their policy anyway). Crossing my fingers :)
Last edited by Desmond Chan; 07-08-2008 at 08:03 PM.
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