TZ1 newbie focusing Q.

Hi all,

First off, let me thank all the dedicated members for having shared their knowledge on this forum. As a newbie here, and to photography itself, your samples and comments were very helpful in making the buying decision. My TZ1 arrived 3 days ago.

My primary photographic goal was (is) to aid in bird identification and for reliving moments spent with Mother Nature. The TZ1's zoom, OIS, and compact size seemed like just the thing and so far it's been ton's of fun. But...

the technical nuances of photography are like a foreign language to me. In other words I don't have a clue but am eager to learn enough to get by. Enough preamble...

Problem: on several occasions there are two subjects in the frame, one closer to the camera than the other. I can get one in focus but not the other.

Q: is there a way to have both subjects in focus?

Thanks,
Gary

It's a case of trying to force the TZ1 to use a smaller aperture to increase depth of field and then focus (spot focus ) on a point between the 2 subjects hoping that the aperture is small enough to keep both subjects sharp.

As there is no direct manual control it comes down to trial and error using the ISO settings.

By increasing the ISO settings you may encourage the TZ1 to reduce the aperture but consider the reduction in picture quality above ISO400.

I was trying to think which Scenery Mode would encourage max depth of field but I'm not sure. Some of the preset modes like Portrait encourage the converse and open up aperture!

At the telephoto end of the range it's normal for the depth of field to be shallow so you may be asking for the impossible with those shots.

Try spot focussing between the subjects to see if that works.

Thank you tinpusher.

The spot focusing sounds simple enough, even for me.

Just checked on two of the "problem photos" and one had been at ISO 100 and the other at 200 so I'll also experiment with increasing the ISO settings. I typically shoot from my kayak so from what I've been reading it may be a bit of a challenge to keep things steady at the higher ISO's. In any event it will be fun to try.

Sure do appreciate the help. Thanks again.

use the one w 3 squares.
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Best Wishes,
Phantasmal

http://phantasmal.zoto.com

In order to focus one out of two subjects on different focal planes, do the following:

• put the subject you want in focus at the center of the screen so that the AF will select this for his job.

• half press the shutter so that focus is set and keep it pressed until you shoot (otherwise it will re-focus)

• recompose the image to have both subjects in the picture in the position you want them to be

• full press the shutter

This procedure is described in the manual by the way, you can have a look there aswell.

If you want both of them on focus, a good suggestion was given already (try to focus somewhere in the middle) and try to enforce higher f values (diafragm more closed). You can do this by setting higher ISO and I think you can also try the 'scenery' preset mode, which should select higher f values for you. Unfortunately on the TZ1 you have anly limited control over this, as already said.

Also keep in mind that the higher the zoom you use, the narrower the depth of focus will be. You have a much higher chance to get two subjects on focus at the same time at 3x zoom than at 10x zoom.

Concerning your statement that at higher ISO is more difficult to get steady shots, this is the other way round: the higher the ISO, the shorter the exposure time will be, so less likely to shake. At higher ISOs the camera is more sensitive, and therefore requires less light (shorter exposure times, lower chance of camera shake).

Good luck!

Regards-Ackab

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http://cellbiol.com/cellbiol_photos/

If you are in one-spot mode (the one I prefer), you have to choose the subject you most want in focus. So, as said before, you point at the preferred subject, half-depress the shutter button and when the little green light stops blinking in the LCD, you've got focus lock; then hold your finger there, re-frame the image, and squeeze off the shot. If you try to focus half-way between objects, you'll wind up getting both of them blurred.
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Just cruisin' ...



EffZeeOneVeeTwo, EffZeeThirty, Tizzy (who captured the Eagle)

try out some of your great suggestions. Specifically, I am going to endeavour to:

• take advantage of the better, earlier, light;

• experiment with ISO 400 and 800 in normal mode;

• experiment with scenery mode;

• get my subjects (little creatures) to cooperate and let me get closer so that I can use less zoom;

• align the subjects left/right of frame rather than foreground/background as has been my natural inclination; and

• will also try some spot focusing in the middle to get familiar with how that turns out.

Thanks again to all of you. And away I go...sure hope I remember this stuff when I'm out on the water