D750: not happy with lowlight focus..

olyflyer · Oct 22, 2014

Laslo Varadi said:
I would use focus priority on these, and wait for the beep!!

Szia Laci,

With focus priority you don't need to wait for beep. In fact, I have the sounds always off in every camera where it can be turned off. If you have focus priority set then the shutter is not triggered unless the focus is confirmed by the camera, and the truth is that since the beep comes in between the focus confirmation and the shutter release, some people or some subjects may move during that short delay, so having the beep active is not that good of an idea for those.

Laslo Varadi said:
FPS should be plenty fast. I shot tens of thousands of equestrian photos in focus priority.

Exactly. I don't know the D750, but it supposed to be better than the D800 and the D800 can keep up with fast moving planes as well, so of course the D750 must be able to keep up with the speed of a small, almost stationary child.

Laslo Varadi said:
The horses were much faster than the little girl. Also try stopping down the Nikon F1.8 lens to F2.5 or 3.2. Give it a try and let us know how you make out.

Stopping down may help, but it isn't really a solution since it hides focus issues with DOF. It is better to find out if something is wrong with the gear than hide focus errors.

olyflyer · Oct 22, 2014

Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:
I have got two recommendations that will raise your keeper rate, I have just tried them and Igot very very good results.My keeper rate went from 25% to 95%

So, was it a gear problem or a user error? Going from 25% to 95% is a user error. Lack of experience and wrong configuration.

Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:
First do a custom white balance even if you shoot RAW and second Focus tracking with lock on to number 5.

White balance won't help your focus, but will help you in judging focus on the camera LCD. Focus tracking with focus priority will definitely help (if you use it) but in my opinion Focus tracking with lock (a3) is better to have at 1 then at 5 because 5 means the camera will react slowly, and will not adjust for small changes, so you or your target may move quite a bit before the camera reacts, and in the end, you will still get OOF images. I track flying planes with a3 set to 1 and it works well, though that is the D800, not the D750. The D750 supposed to be even better at that.

Albert Silver · Oct 22, 2014

Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:
I have got two recommendations that will raise your keeper rate, I have just tried them and Igot very very good results.My keeper rate went from 25% to 95%

First do a custom white balance even if you shoot RAW and second Focus tracking with lock on to number 5.

Just try them and let me know!!--

500px.com/dimitrismitrovgenis

Nikon D750 Tutorial Training - Focusing Systems - How to (video)

Dyun27 · Oct 22, 2014

olyflyer said:
Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:

I have got two recommendations that will raise your keeper rate, I have just tried them and Igot very very good results.My keeper rate went from 25% to 95%

Click to expand...

So, was it a gear problem or a user error? Going from 25% to 95% is a user error. Lack of experience and wrong configuration.

olyflyer said:

First do a custom white balance even if you shoot RAW and second Focus tracking with lock on to number 5.

Click to expand...

White balance won't help your focus, but will help you in judging focus on the camera LCD. Focus tracking with focus priority will definitely help (if you use it) but in my opinion Focus tracking with lock (a3) is better to have at 1 then at 5 because 5 means the camera will react slowly, and will not adjust for small changes, so you or your target may move quite a bit before the camera reacts, and in the end, you will still get OOF images. I track flying planes with a3 set to 1 and it works well, though that is the D800, not the D750. The D750 supposed to be even better at that.

I like to turn off AF tracking all-together and let the camera respond immediately, as soon as my focus point touches whatever I want it to touch in AF-C mode single point or 9 point (if I'm shooting bigger subjects that fill up the frame).

StillLearning · Oct 22, 2014

Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:
I have got two recommendations that will raise your keeper rate, I have just tried them and Igot very very good results.My keeper rate went from 25% to 95%

First do a custom white balance even if you shoot RAW and second Focus tracking with lock on to number 5.

Just try them and let me know!!--

500px.com/dimitrismitrovgenis

I'm glad you got it worked out. I usually have my a3 turned off. Based on a recommendation for D800 I read a couple of years ago.

Dimitris Mitrovgenis · Oct 22, 2014

StillLearning said:
Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:

I have got two recommendations that will raise your keeper rate, I have just tried them and Igot very very good results.My keeper rate went from 25% to 95%

First do a custom white balance even if you shoot RAW and second Focus tracking with lock on to number 5.

Just try them and let me know!!--

500px.com/dimitrismitrovgenis

Click to expand...

I'm glad you got it worked out. I usually have my a3 turned off. Based on a recommendation for D800 I read a couple of years ago.

I have read this recommended settings for the d750 but in reality they did not bring the results I was after. In my case , toddlers at close distances tracking with AF lock to 5 brought the results I was used to with my Canon. Maybe you do not need the fastest af system reaction for children. You can try it yourself it's free! Let me know if you have more keepers. Now I can track @ 1.8, 2.0 aperture with really shallow DOF. I have samples to backup my findings.

Tharaphita · Oct 22, 2014

Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:
Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:

r the d750 but in reality they did not bring the results I was after. In my case , toddlers at close distances tracking with AF lock to 5 brought the results I was used to with my Canon. Maybe you do not need the fastest af system reaction for children. You can try it yourself it's free! Let me know if you have more keepers. Now I can track @ 1.8, 2.0 aperture with really shallow DOF. I have samples to backup my findings.

Click to expand...

StillLearning · Oct 22, 2014

Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:
StillLearning said:

Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:

I have got two recommendations that will raise your keeper rate, I have just tried them and Igot very very good results.My keeper rate went from 25% to 95%

First do a custom white balance even if you shoot RAW and second Focus tracking with lock on to number 5.

Just try them and let me know!!--

500px.com/dimitrismitrovgenis

Click to expand...

I'm glad you got it worked out. I usually have my a3 turned off. Based on a recommendation for D800 I read a couple of years ago.

Click to expand...

I have read this recommended settings for the d750 but in reality they did not bring the results I was after. In my case , toddlers at close distances tracking with AF lock to 5 brought the results I was used to with my Canon. Maybe you do not need the fastest af system reaction for children. You can try it yourself it's free! Let me know if you have more keepers. Now I can track @ 1.8, 2.0 aperture with really shallow DOF. I have samples to backup my findings.

olyflyer · Oct 23, 2014

Dyun27 said:
olyflyer said:

Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:

I have got two recommendations that will raise your keeper rate, I have just tried them and Igot very very good results.My keeper rate went from 25% to 95%

Click to expand...

So, was it a gear problem or a user error? Going from 25% to 95% is a user error. Lack of experience and wrong configuration.

Dyun27 said:

First do a custom white balance even if you shoot RAW and second Focus tracking with lock on to number 5.

Click to expand...

White balance won't help your focus, but will help you in judging focus on the camera LCD. Focus tracking with focus priority will definitely help (if you use it) but in my opinion Focus tracking with lock (a3) is better to have at 1 then at 5 because 5 means the camera will react slowly, and will not adjust for small changes, so you or your target may move quite a bit before the camera reacts, and in the end, you will still get OOF images. I track flying planes with a3 set to 1 and it works well, though that is the D800, not the D750. The D750 supposed to be even better at that.

Click to expand...

I like to turn off AF tracking all-together and let the camera respond immediately, as soon as my focus point touches whatever I want it to touch in AF-C mode single point or 9 point (if I'm shooting bigger subjects that fill up the frame).

I only use AF-C on moving targets. I never understood why would people prefer to use that on slow, or static objects. The AF is very responsive so for slow moving things AF-S is in my opinion better. I also use the AF-ON button if I want pre focus or focus trap.

Tharaphita · Oct 23, 2014

olyflyer said:
I only use AF-C on moving targets. I never understood why would people prefer to use that on slow, or static objects. The AF is very responsive so for slow moving things AF-S is in my opinion better. I also use the AF-ON button if I want pre focus or focus trap.

to use AF-C combined with back button focusing has advantages when your subjects are on one moment standing and on next moment moving around. Switching between AF modes takes too much time then. It is better to Use back button focus with AF-C since when subject is standing i can just lock on eye, release back button focus, i have focus locked even if i recompose and take shot after that. And when suddenly some is moving i hold back button and AF is tracking.

Dimitris Mitrovgenis · Oct 23, 2014

Tharaphita said:
Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:

Tharaphita said:

r the d750 but in reality they did not bring the results I was after. In my case , toddlers at close distances tracking with AF lock to 5 brought the results I was used to with my Canon. Maybe you do not need the fastest af system reaction for children. You can try it yourself it's free! Let me know if you have more keepers. Now I can track @ 1.8, 2.0 aperture with really shallow DOF. I have samples to backup my findings.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

olyflyer · Oct 23, 2014

Tharaphita said:
olyflyer said:

I only use AF-C on moving targets. I never understood why would people prefer to use that on slow, or static objects. The AF is very responsive so for slow moving things AF-S is in my opinion better. I also use the AF-ON button if I want pre focus or focus trap.

Click to expand...

to use AF-C combined with back button focusing has advantages when your subjects are on one moment standing and on next moment moving around. Switching between AF modes takes too much time then. It is better to Use back button focus with AF-C since when subject is standing i can just lock on eye, release back button focus, i have focus locked even if i recompose and take shot after that. And when suddenly some is moving i hold back button and AF is tracking.

I don't change between AF-S and AF-C often, but changing is in my opinion very fast, one button and one flip of the dial is all it takes. I don't use AF-C and AF-ON combo the way some people do because I find focusing with the release button more convenient and intuitive and also more accurate, easier to control. I do use AF-ON, but let the camera do the final adjustments with the release button.

abatt504 · Jan 28, 2015

Hi, I'm so glad I found this post. I'm having real issues with my d750. Particularly image quality.

First off, I'll start by saying my camera is only 3 months old and already in the shop. I finally got it back today and here is the list of things that had to be replaced:

-Front Body cap

-Electrical Contacts

-Rubber grip

-Aperature Operation

Even though all that was replaced I'm still noticing that at higher ISOs (1000 and up) image is very fuzzy. Can't get a true sharp focus on anything. I pulled out my older d700 body and took the same photos on the same settings and the noise looks better and the image is all around sharper. WTF? I bought this camera thinking it would be an improvement over my dinosaur 700 bodies. It is lighter and shaped well yes, but image quality sucks.

Not a happy customer. Any thoughts?

Tharaphita · Jan 29, 2015

abatt504 said:
Hi, I'm so glad I found this post. I'm having real issues with my d750. Particularly image quality.

First off, I'll start by saying my camera is only 3 months old and already in the shop. I finally got it back today and here is the list of things that had to be replaced:

-Front Body cap

-Electrical Contacts

-Rubber grip

-Aperature Operation

Even though all that was replaced I'm still noticing that at higher ISOs (1000 and up) image is very fuzzy. Can't get a true sharp focus on anything. I pulled out my older d700 body and took the same photos on the same settings and the noise looks better and the image is all around sharper. WTF? I bought this camera thinking it would be an improvement over my dinosaur 700 bodies. It is lighter and shaped well yes, but image quality sucks.

Not a happy customer. Any thoughts?

First in order to compare ISO perf you need to compare files on same size. Either downsample D750 file to 12MP and then look both 100% magnified or when both full size you need to look 24MP file at 50% and 12MP file at 100% to have equal comparison.

But yea, blurry pic will make the picture look a lot worse then sharp one at high iso. So you might still have some focusing issue?

Don't have any more ideas atm.

JosephDEV · Jun 6, 2015

I have a D750 and experience similar problems in low light. The lens include the supplied Nikon 24-120 f4 as well as a Sigma 50-500. It hunts and does not lock on in low light. My D700, with the same lenses, experience no problems at all in low light. I think the focusing on the D750 is not up to a high standard in low light especially. I would be interested in knowing if the D750 has a design limitation. Just a thought.
Joseph

Dyun27 · Jun 6, 2015

JosephDEV said:
I have a D750 and experience similar problems in low light. The lens include the supplied Nikon 24-120 f4 as well as a Sigma 50-500. It hunts and does not lock on in low light. My D700, with the same lenses, experience no problems at all in low light. I think the focusing on the D750 is not up to a high standard in low light especially. I would be interested in knowing if the D750 has a design limitation. Just a thought.
Joseph

I don't think your low light experience with the D750 is typical. Mine focuses in near darkness with high accuracy and doesn't hunt. The D750 is rated to -3EV, but this sensitivity is effective at wide apertures from f/1.2 to f/2.8 for example. If you're shooting at f/4 and higher, of course focus will suffer, because you're not letting much light in. What are you shooting with the Sigma 50-500mm in low light anyway? First of all it's a third-party lens, which can cause problems especially with newer model Nikons. For example my Sigma 150mm macro focuses fine with my D610, but won't focus in live view with the D750. Second, it's a slow lens. Third, did you AF-fine tune your lenses with the D750? I used to own that lens and it wasn't very good. I sold it in favor of a Nikon 300mm f/4 + 1.4TC and I get much better performance out of that combo.

historianx · Jun 6, 2015

i sense a bad case of user error. This camera's a/f system is state-of-the-art. Learn how to use it.

Rroldz · Jun 6, 2015

User error most likely. I've shot with d700 for 4 years prior to d750 upgrade and I've def. notice overall AF improvement from fast pace to lowlight.

DaveTheAffable · Jun 6, 2015

JosephDEV said:
I have a D750 and experience similar problems in low light. The lens include the supplied Nikon 24-120 f4 as well as a Sigma 50-500. It hunts and does not lock on in low light. My D700, with the same lenses, experience no problems at all in low light. I think the focusing on the D750 is not up to a high standard in low light especially. I would be interested in knowing if the D750 has a design limitation. Just a thought.
Joseph

Does your camera need flare mod done, and have you updated firmware?

I have a D700 for the last 5 years, and now have D750.

Hands down, absolutely, no doubt... the D750 is better in low light.

shooter45 · Jun 7, 2015

Dimitris Mitrovgenis said:
Tharaphita said:

Even in bright or low light camera still needs something with contrast to lock on. Also make sure you only use SINGLE middle point when in very low light situations. I have AF-Assist lamp turned off 24/7 and have not ran into trouble yet. With AF-C or AF-S what points you used?

Click to expand...

Hi there!

I see that you follow these kind of threads and I would like to see at least one low light sharp photo. If you have any please share them, I really want to see what you are getting from yours.I am in the same situation as the OP.In low light the AF is not so good in my D750.I mean one light overhead.I came to point that is impossible to track a toddler in a low light room with current technology.

--
500px.com/dimitrismitrovgenis

For the OP, I would like to see your pic and what kind of setup did you use. Here is a pic that I took at the beach after sunset. It was dark as you can see and still my D750 was able to lock on the AF and take the pick. This photograph is one of a 6 that I took and has not been processed it at all.

D750 f/7.1 1/30 ISO 400 @ 18 mm - Nikon 16-35 f/4 lens - handheld VR on

... Single AF point and it is at the white cross bar underneath the rails.

D750: not happy with lowlight focus..

Forum Pro

Forum Pro

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Forum Enthusiast

Senior Member

Senior Member

Forum Pro

Senior Member

Forum Enthusiast

Forum Pro

New member

Senior Member

New member

Senior Member

historianx

Guest

Active member

Leading Member

Forum Enthusiast

Similar threads

Keyboard shortcuts