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Nikon D700 Autofocus settings

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it would often focus on background instead of main subject.

Also, if AF-C, you won't see any movement of the focus point unless you are in 51-3D... I'm wondering why that is?
 
3D tracking is optimized for color contrast. If you do not have a significant color contrast between subject and background it goes all over the frame. It is also sensitive to green color contrast. So if either your subject or background is green it is phenomenal. It is also optimized for skin tones so for stage shows etc it is brilliant.

For AF point illumination go AF custom settings a6 and turn illuminaton ON from default Auto setting
--
Prakash

http://www.prakashphotography.blogspot.com
 
Yes, that's true as far as a color contrast, but I found it very jumpy regardless of the background...

Also changing the a6 setting to ON had no effect on me seeing the focus point where the camera is focused... I can still see it only when I have 51 pt 3d tracking selected.

How do you find focus tracking in low light? I find that it's not working at all for me...
 
Yes apart from color contrast settings 3D tracking has limited use. For low light select AF-ON only, single point focus, focus tracking with lock on set to OFF. Use center point.

With these settings it should definetely focus adequately in low light. Do not use 3D tracking in low light.

--
Prakash

http://www.prakashphotography.blogspot.com
 
Thanks so much. Your AF tutorial was very helpful. Coming from a d200, I will be using my new d700 at a New Year's Party the day after it is expected to arrive. The party will involve dancing and black lights. Do you have any setting advice for photographing this sort of event?

Regards,
Richard
 
So from what you are saying there must be great color contrast between subject and background for 3d tracking to work well... it's not just 3d tracking will work best when this is true?

And for low light (but not awful light)... tracking a moving object is essentially impossible? Surely that's not expecting much from the D700 which is supposed to be the best thing for such stuff as indoor sports...

I've had the camera for a while... but continuous autofocus has been frustrating me...I am not sure if it's me or the camera. Still trying to figure out why current focus point in AF-C is only displayed when 51 pt 3d tracking is selected and not for 51 pt , 21 pt or 9 pt...
 
rquick said:
Thanks so much. Your AF tutorial was very helpful. Coming from a
d200, I will be using my new d700 at a New Year's Party the day
after it is expected to arrive. The party will involve dancing and
black lights. Do you have any setting advice for photographing this
sort of event?

Regards,
Richard
Click to expand...
Thanks,

For your new year party/dancing make sure you have either high ISO or flash so you can use high frame rate to stop motion. Use either 9 or 21 points AF with the other settings I mentioned. Enjoy you new camera.
--
Prakash

http://www.prakashphotography.blogspot.com
 
m_appeal said:
So from what you are saying there must be great color contrast
between subject and background for 3d tracking to work well... it's
not just 3d tracking will work best when this is true?

And for low light (but not awful light)... tracking a moving object
is essentially impossible? Surely that's not expecting much from the
D700 which is supposed to be the best thing for such stuff as indoor
sports...

I've had the camera for a while... but continuous autofocus has been
frustrating me...I am not sure if it's me or the camera. Still trying
to figure out why current focus point in AF-C is only displayed when
51 pt 3d tracking is selected and not for 51 pt , 21 pt or 9 pt...
Click to expand...
I am not sure why the active focus point is not illuminating when a6 setting is set to ON. Try setting auto you still be able to see the AF point when it is engaging focus. As I mentioned in low light use single point, use AF ON button for focusing. Keep pressing AF ON while firing the shutter. Use focus priority.

These should help,

Prakash

--
Prakash

http://www.prakashphotography.blogspot.com
 
Thanks, I'll try that.

--
Richard
 
But with single point, using AF-C is essentially useless, because dynamic area AF is required for tracking, no? Sorry, not to sound stupid... I guess I'm just not understanding you...

AF point illuminates just fine when a6 is set to on or Auto (in single-area AF current focus point is illuminated) , however I don't quite understand the use of that... okay so it's brighter? My issue isn't whether it illuminates or not... I can't see where the current focus point is (rather it remains in one place) at all in continuous focusing...unless I use 3d tracking.
 
m_appeal said:
But with single point, using AF-C is essentially useless, because
dynamic area AF is required for tracking, no? Sorry, not to sound
stupid... I guess I'm just not understanding you...

AF point illuminates just fine when a6 is set to on or Auto (in
single-area AF current focus point is illuminated) , however I don't
quite understand the use of that... okay so it's brighter? My issue
isn't whether it illuminates or not... I can't see where the current
focus point is (rather it remains in one place) at all in continuous
focusing...unless I use 3d tracking.
Click to expand...
I am sorry I did not understand your question. The AF point will not change in the viewfinder except in 3d tracking. If you select 9 or 21 or 51 points you can use only one point at a given time to focus. As you move the camera and follow your subject any one of the points that engages AF will illuminate briefly. In modes other than 3d tracking you will not see the AF points handover focus to another point, but trust your camera even if you do not see the additional points when using 9 or more points as long as you follow the subject the camera keeps focusing.

I hope I answered your question

--
Prakash

http://www.prakashphotography.blogspot.com
 
sven josh said:
I am sorry I did not understand your question. The AF point will not
change in the viewfinder except in 3d tracking. If you select 9 or 21
or 51 points you can use only one point at a given time to focus. As
you move the camera and follow your subject any one of the points
that engages AF will illuminate briefly. In modes other than 3d
tracking you will not see the AF points handover focus to another
point, but trust your camera even if you do not see the additional
points when using 9 or more points as long as you follow the subject
the camera keeps focusing.
Click to expand...
So if I'm understanding you correctly, the camera will still track the subject in 9, 21 or 51 pts using dynamic area-AF in AF-C even though the camera won't show focus point being shifted... I'm just confused as to why this is different from 51 3d... isn't it actually useful to see where the indicator is?
 
I there and thx a lot for your very informative post. I also read your blog on 5D2 vs. D700 and I have one (crucial !) question. I have used both brands (and occasionally others) in the past so I have no brand loyalty, but I do have needs and preferences, and those are in conflict. Like you I do think Canon images have a little unexplained "magic" that is mostly a mix of smoothness, detail, and sharpness, with great colors, that seem both tridimensionnal and filmlike (to my eyes anyway, I know some people acknowledge this, while others call it bull). OTOH I have use for better AF and faster frame rate, and whlle I like Nikons' feature set I prefer Canon looks (though a minor factor here).

I currently have original 5D which I love for a lot of things, but have found quite limited for action shots (which are definitely part of my photography).

So basically my question is, how BAD is the loss of the "magic" factor, is the D700 severely less sharp than the 5D, and do you struggle with colors a lot ? I need to make an educated decision fast because of the potential price increase in the UK rumored early January.
Thanks a lot and happy holidays.
Claire
--

'I guess if everybody went crazy together nobody would notice, what do you think ?'
 
m_appeal said:
m_appeal said:
I am sorry I did not understand your question. The AF point will not
change in the viewfinder except in 3d tracking. If you select 9 or 21
or 51 points you can use only one point at a given time to focus. As
you move the camera and follow your subject any one of the points
that engages AF will illuminate briefly. In modes other than 3d
tracking you will not see the AF points handover focus to another
point, but trust your camera even if you do not see the additional
points when using 9 or more points as long as you follow the subject
the camera keeps focusing.
Click to expand...
So if I'm understanding you correctly, the camera will still track
the subject in 9, 21 or 51 pts using dynamic area-AF in AF-C even
though the camera won't show focus point being shifted... I'm just
confused as to why this is different from 51 3d... isn't it actually
useful to see where the indicator is?
Click to expand...
I do not know why it is implemented the way it is. But as long as your center point or point of focus is on or very close to the subject the rest of the points will track the subject. You just do not see all the points.
--
Prakash

http://www.prakashphotography.blogspot.com
 
Claire Dupuis said:
I there and thx a lot for your very informative post. I also read
your blog on 5D2 vs. D700 and I have one (crucial !) question. I have
used both brands (and occasionally others) in the past so I have no
brand loyalty, but I do have needs and preferences, and those are in
conflict. Like you I do think Canon images have a little unexplained
"magic" that is mostly a mix of smoothness, detail, and sharpness,
with great colors, that seem both tridimensionnal and filmlike (to my
eyes anyway, I know some people acknowledge this, while others call
it bull). OTOH I have use for better AF and faster frame rate, and
whlle I like Nikons' feature set I prefer Canon looks (though a minor
factor here).
I currently have original 5D which I love for a lot of things, but
have found quite limited for action shots (which are definitely part
of my photography).
So basically my question is, how BAD is the loss of the "magic"
factor, is the D700 severely less sharp than the 5D, and do you
struggle with colors a lot ? I need to make an educated decision fast
because of the potential price increase in the UK rumored early
January.
Thanks a lot and happy holidays.
Claire
--
'I guess if everybody went crazy together nobody would notice, what
do you think ?'
Click to expand...
This is a Nikon forum and this thread is about auto focus so i do not want to divert this into Nikon vs Canon debate. I will post my reply to you in the comments section of my blog http://prakashphotography.blogspot.com/2008/12/nikon-d700-vs-canon-5d-mark-ii-mk-2.html Please scroll down to comments for the reply or if you have any questions feel free to email me. You can find my email in my blog.

Wish you also Happy holidays and a very happy new year.

--
Prakash

http://www.prakashphotography.blogspot.com
 
For static images, I am a bit old fashioned, in that i tend to use auto-focus cameras the same way I used manual lenses - focus on the important part of the image, reframe if necessary (usually necessary), and shoot. To do this, I find it necessary to enable the AF-On button and disable the focus function of the one half depression of the shutter button. Once I lost a good shot because ann Olympus 8080 focused on the center of the frame and held the brides image slightly out of focus.

One caviate - if you shoot in this method, be sure to set the shutter release to button priority, not focus priority, otherwise, when you re-frame, the shutter may not release (because the center focus spot is out out of focus again. This particularly affects flash photos.
--
**** Frederick
 
Hi Sven,

Thank you for your blog - interesting reading!

I didn't understand your setting of a1 to Focus together with a5 to AF-ON? In all the threads recommending using AF-ON only for focus they also recommend a1 set to Release. Then you can reframe or even focus manually without changing any setting.

--
Sverre
 
SverreE said:
Hi Sven,

Thank you for your blog - interesting reading!

I didn't understand your setting of a1 to Focus together with a5 to
AF-ON? In all the threads recommending using AF-ON only for focus
they also recommend a1 set to Release. Then you can reframe or even
focus manually without changing any setting.

--
Sverre
Click to expand...
I had the same problem and decided it must be a typo. Thom's manual is very clear on this. With a5 set to AF-on only then a1 should be release, otherwise pressing the shutter button will not do anything as focus will not be achieved.
 
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