D-60 AF point selection?

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6 shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about this amazing camera.

Most use only the center point. The other points are more for following with servo focusing. Personally I use the center point for everything. I don't want the camera deciding what it wants to focus on. Good luck,

Rch

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

RichW said:

Most use only the center point. The other points are more for
following with servo focusing. Personally I use the center point
for everything. I don't want the camera deciding what it wants to
focus on. Good luck,

Click to expand...

Yes exactly. I don't see the logic of three active focus points. What was Canon idea here?

don

Hey Leo,

Welcome to the lightside of the force.

You should use the centre focus point on the camera, and 1/2 press the shutter to lock focus, then recompose you shot as needed. You are much better at choosing than the camera is.

I don't think it's a big issue on the D60, but you may also want to check for front or back focus issues, if you still have OOF issues after trying the above.

I'd also recommend turning off the "lit up" focus points because, if I am not mistaken, it messes with the exposure levels of the shot.

Hopefully Canon will address this in a firmware upgrade.

HTH,
--
Theo

Where are we going?!!?....and what am I doing in this handbasket??!!

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

The only time I use all three focus points is when shooting birds in flight.

Other than that, the outside 2 are a waste. Use the center one only.

Murph

Thanks Rich. I have not read about the servo focusing yet. That will come later. With a closeup shot I took of our dog the camera decided that the floor of the deck was more important and that is what it focused on > )

Leo R

RichW said:

Most use only the center point. The other points are more for
following with servo focusing. Personally I use the center point
for everything. I don't want the camera deciding what it wants to
focus on. Good luck,

Rch

Click to expand...

I have a D30 with a Tamron 28-300 Lens and I've had similar problems. I was concerned it was the lens for a while and finally realized that the lens does its job but the photographer may be the culprit. Camera movement with these cameras, depending obviously on lighting conditions, camera settings will give you fits, I bought a Mono-Pod which has helped out tremendously and of course a good flash or the internal flash makes a world of difference. I shoot predominately in "P" mode so I have more control of the camera and keep the "film speed" (experiment with 400, the higher the grainier, but the less shutter time for exposure) depending on how challenging the lighting is. I'd be interested to see if you start paying attention to light and movement if you might have better results.

The other point, when you move up to longer zoom lenses the movement becomes worse. Good Luck.

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

The problem with using only the centre focusing point is that it requires a completely different technique to be learned when using ETTL flash.

Three focus points are useful. The key is understanding how to use them. I agree, it's best NOT to let the camera decide for you. But one can learn to quickly select an active focus point, and the technique won't have to change just because you decide to use flash. In fact, the "focus and recompose" method is no doubt the culprit in many cases where users complain about ETTL inconsistencies.

Just a thought...

M

RichW said:

Rch

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Thanks Don. I suppose the if the subject was in one plane as in a group shot, auto AF point selection could hunt for a high contrast point for easier and faster focus. Does that make any sense?

Leo R

don miller said:

RichW said:

Most use only the center point. The other points are more for
following with servo focusing. Personally I use the center point
for everything. I don't want the camera deciding what it wants to
focus on. Good luck,

Click to expand...

Yes exactly. I don't see the logic of three active focus points.
What was Canon idea here?

don

Click to expand...

I use the center point, however; I shoot "everything" MF

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

Thanks Theo. After reading your reply I found on P 126, custom function #14 for turning off the red flashing AF point. I will try that because most of my shots had to been brightened in PS levels.

Leo R

Theodore said:

Welcome to the lightside of the force.

You should use the centre focus point on the camera, and 1/2 press
the shutter to lock focus, then recompose you shot as needed. You
are much better at choosing than the camera is.

I don't think it's a big issue on the D60, but you may also want to
check for front or back focus issues, if you still have OOF issues
after trying the above.

I'd also recommend turning off the "lit up" focus points because,
if I am not mistaken, it messes with the exposure levels of the
shot.

Hopefully Canon will address this in a firmware upgrade.

HTH,
--
Theo

Where are we going?!!?....and what am I doing in this handbasket??!!

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I use AF point selection and choose my point most of the time and it works the same as it does on my A2. GREAT!

In AE Servo Mode I set it to center point and that seems to lock focus faster in that mode.

I do not have focus problems with my D60 although it could lock faster on moving subjects.

Thanks Andy. So far I am not attempting low light shots and I try to keep the shutter speed high enough to avoid camera or subject movement problems. As you say, my OFF shots were caused by letting the camera select the wrong focus point, which is really my fault for not understanding what was going on. Depending on whether DOF or shutter speed is more important for a shot, I use aperature or shutter priority rather than letting the camera decide these critical settings.

Leo R

Andy Drake said:

The other point, when you move up to longer zoom lenses the
movement becomes worse. Good Luck.

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Thanks Pfiltz. I find my eyesight is not reliable enough for manual focus when there is not much time for focusing because I wear glasses.

Leo R

pfiltz said:

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Leo,

(1) Your OOF problem may stem from lack of sufficient light for the focus lock to get an accurate lock ( are you mostly having the problem with indoors shots).

(2) Or it might also be from the lack contrast in the focus area, for instance if your focus point is a childs bare stomach the camera will likely have a hard time focusing, whereas focus lock on the eyes, nose, and mouth and repositioning may give you a more accurate focus.

(3) Or might might stem from too large of an aperture. Depending on the subject distance, if your shooting with a large aperture your DOF may be so shallow that your results looks OOF. Large apertures are great for shooting in low light, however the DOF is so narrow that oftentimes I find it difficult to get good candid results.

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

Thanks David. It seems that the preferred is to use the centre AF point. When would you use either the left or right points?

Leo R

David Hickey said:

I use AF point selection and choose my point most of the time and
it works the same as it does on my A2. GREAT!

In AE Servo Mode I set it to center point and that seems to lock
focus faster in that mode.

I do not have focus problems with my D60 although it could lock
faster on moving subjects.

Click to expand...

In examing my OFF shots and reading the advice from the forum members, I think the culprit was a combination of factors. In some, the subject was low contrast (eg; my almost black schnauzer dog) so the camera used one of the other AF points which caused the background to be in focus. Some others were as you said, too wide an aperature causing too shallow a DOF. So far I am not trying any low light shots until I can take consistently well exposed and properly exposed pictures in good ( bright ) light. After that I will look forward to learning how to take low level light shots and then flash.

Leo R

David Hood said:

(1) Your OOF problem may stem from lack of sufficient light for the
focus lock to get an accurate lock ( are you mostly having the
problem with indoors shots).
(2) Or it might also be from the lack contrast in the focus area,
for instance if your focus point is a childs bare stomach the
camera will likely have a hard time focusing, whereas focus lock on
the eyes, nose, and mouth and repositioning may give you a more
accurate focus.
(3) Or might might stem from too large of an aperture. Depending on
the subject distance, if your shooting with a large aperture your
DOF may be so shallow that your results looks OOF. Large apertures
are great for shooting in low light, however the DOF is so narrow
that oftentimes I find it difficult to get good candid results.

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I'd leave the lights on. Just switch to partial or center weighted metering. That keeps the exposure from locking in with the shutter button and eliminates the problem of underexposure. Good luck,

Rich

Leo Reinhard said:

Leo R

Theodore said:

Welcome to the lightside of the force.

You should use the centre focus point on the camera, and 1/2 press
the shutter to lock focus, then recompose you shot as needed. You
are much better at choosing than the camera is.

I don't think it's a big issue on the D60, but you may also want to
check for front or back focus issues, if you still have OOF issues
after trying the above.

I'd also recommend turning off the "lit up" focus points because,
if I am not mistaken, it messes with the exposure levels of the
shot.

Hopefully Canon will address this in a firmware upgrade.

HTH,
--
Theo

Where are we going?!!?....and what am I doing in this handbasket??!!

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Leo,

Just a tip about photographing people and animals...

In general, you can improve the quality of your shots (in regards to focus) by doing two things: First, make certain the EYES are in focus. That should usually be your first priority. In fact, the area of the eyes typically has enough contrat to dramatically improve AF efficiency, compared to other areas like the check, neck, or hair.

Second, select an aperture that is both appropriate and forgiving. Shooting wide open offers the least amount of lattitude for insuring good focus in important areas. It's nice to have a soft, blurred background, but if the subject and background and camera are separated by enough distance, perspective will do alot of that. An aperture of f8 or so not only helps insure that you're getting some of the best quality available from your lens, but also gives you a little lattitude with DOF. And naturally, this lattitude increases with the use of wider lenses.

In another post, you asked when it is appropriate to use the outer two focus points. Let me suggest this... try using them and determine when it ISN'T. They're invaluble for vertical "people" shots (the focus point is usually directly where the eyes are), and using them in horizontal shots will start forcing you away from the common habit of always placing the subject in the dead center of the frame. And, as I mentioned before, you won't have to learn an entirely new technique just because you want to use flash.

Good luck

M

Leo Reinhard said:

Leo R

David Hood said:

(1) Your OOF problem may stem from lack of sufficient light for the
focus lock to get an accurate lock ( are you mostly having the
problem with indoors shots).
(2) Or it might also be from the lack contrast in the focus area,
for instance if your focus point is a childs bare stomach the
camera will likely have a hard time focusing, whereas focus lock on
the eyes, nose, and mouth and repositioning may give you a more
accurate focus.
(3) Or might might stem from too large of an aperture. Depending on
the subject distance, if your shooting with a large aperture your
DOF may be so shallow that your results looks OOF. Large apertures
are great for shooting in low light, however the DOF is so narrow
that oftentimes I find it difficult to get good candid results.

Leo Reinhard said:

Have been having a few OOF shots with my new ( 3 days old ) D-60. I
only have the 50mm 1.4 lens for now. I find that about 2 out of 6
shots are not in sharp focus using the automatic AF point selection.

Which point selection do most of you D-60 owners use and does it
depend on distance to subject or some other factors?

BTW the shots that are in focus are incredibly sharp and detailed
although I am still shooting in jpg large untill I get to know the
camera.

Thanks, Leo R

PS: I hope you don't mind if I come back with more questions about
this amazing camera.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Leo Reinhard said:

Thanks David. It seems that the preferred is to use the centre AF
point. When would you use either the left or right points?

Leo R

Click to expand...

I use the left or right points whenever I want the focus on a subject not centered. I almost never compose for the center spot and in shooting portraits the subject's face is rarely where the center point is!

Some examples;