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Better AF using "AF-On"???

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patrick benedict

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On a whim, I switched my D3 over to exclusively using AF-on for focusing for about the past 2 weeks. Maybe I'm nuts, but I swear that my keeper rate for my kids' sports is higher than ever. Why might this be? Below are a couple of examples, focused EXACTLY where I wanted them to be. Since making this switch, I feel more confident than ever in getting good AF, but I guess I'm too dumb to figure out why it would be any better than the standard shutter release button.
Pat B



 
patrick benedict said:
On a whim, I switched my D3 over to exclusively using AF-on for
focusing for about the past 2 weeks. Maybe I'm nuts, but I swear
that my keeper rate for my kids' sports is higher than ever. Why
might this be? Below are a couple of examples, focused EXACTLY where
I wanted them to be. Since making this switch, I feel more confident
than ever in getting good AF, but I guess I'm too dumb to figure out
why it would be any better than the standard shutter release button.
Pat B



Click to expand...
 
The AF-ON button doesn't change the way the camera auto-focuses. What it can do is decouple the AF function from the shutter release function. If you know what you are doing and practice a bit, this can be a very powerful technique. But AF works the same way with either button.

-Jason

--
Author, 'The Photographer's Guide to Capture NX 2.0'
http://www.luminescentphoto.com/ebooks.html

Lead instructor for Capture NX Training workshops

Visit my website at: http://www.luminescentphoto.com
My Blog: http://blog.nikonians.org/nikonian_jason_odell
 
I agree that it IS a very powerful technique. I've noticed that my keeper rate has gone WAY up since I've used it the past couple weeks. Even for relatively slow stuff, like people at work and at home I'm finding it to be useful.

Pat
 
I was going to test this technique... what I've understood is that the AF-ON will not trigger the VR, is that right? And if yes, how do you cope with this.
 
To activate VR, you half-press the shutter.

Some tips on the AF-ON technique:

1) Make sure you set release mode to "release priority"
2) You can leave your camera in AF-C mode full-time*

3) VR is triggered by half-pressing the shutter; activate it as you are anticipating the shot so that it has a chance to get stabilized

4) Practice! It takes about a day of shooting this way to get used to it. I recommend setting up a custom bank to use this method and another custom bank that uses the traditional method. If I give the camera to a friend, I just switch back to traditional AF activation with the shutter release.

-Jason

unless you need to use the AF-assist lamp on a speedlight-- then switch to AF-S mode.

--
Author, 'The Photographer's Guide to Capture NX 2.0'
http://www.luminescentphoto.com/ebooks.html

Lead instructor for Capture NX Training workshops

Visit my website at: http://www.luminescentphoto.com
My Blog: http://blog.nikonians.org/nikonian_jason_odell
 
My experience isd that it is NOT triggering the VR. It seems irrelevant though, because I do not want VR for fast moving stuff. For the slower stuff, you can use AF-on, then use the shutter button and wait for VR to kick in.

I'm a fan so far.

Only problem is when others grab the camera, they have no idea how to get it to focus.
 
when it settles, 1/2 sec or so, shoot because you are keeping your thumb on the afon button, you are already focused where you want to be.
Good shooting.
--
MATT in NE_FL
 
It is interesting the many people attribute the AF-On button to have magical auto-focus powers and that it somehow works better than the 1/2 press of the shutter. As it is, they are merely different ways to trigger focus. The AF-ON doesn't make better focus than a 1/2 press of the shutter does.

But....

The AF-ON button has some advantages that may be what people are seeing or benefiting from.

o Because AF-ON is a completely separate button and function, the user is FORCED to acquire focus, decide that they have the focus they want, then fire the shutter with a separate action. Such a discipline is NOT required when you can just mash the shutter down at any time.

o AF-ON gives you the flexibility of using either AF-S style focusing (where you pre-focus, then frame, then shoot) or AF-C style focusing where you track your subject and fire when the subject is doing something you want to capture. And, you can freely switch between the two without changing any camera settings. For AF-S style focusing, you simply press the AF-ON button until focus is acquired, release the button, reframe and then take your shot. For AF-C style focusing, you simply hold down the AF-ON button while tracking and shooting. In sports, this flexibility to easily switch back and forth is very handy. On a soccer corner kick, I can pre-focus on the ball and get a perfectly focused sequence of the kicker without worrying about tracking at all. The very next minute, I can start tracking focus again on the player with the ball without changing any camera settings.

--
John
Popular: http://jfriend.smugmug.com/popular
Portfolio: http://jfriend.smugmug.com/portfolio
 
There is one flaw, when you need the focus assist light from the flash in low light, then the camera has to be in AF-S, and single point focus.
jfriend00 said:
It is interesting the many people attribute the AF-On button to have
magical auto-focus powers and that it somehow works better than the
1/2 press of the shutter. As it is, they are merely different ways
to trigger focus. The AF-ON doesn't make better focus than a 1/2
press of the shutter does.

But....

The AF-ON button has some advantages that may be what people are
seeing or benefiting from.

o Because AF-ON is a completely separate button and function, the
user is FORCED to acquire focus, decide that they have the focus they
want, then fire the shutter with a separate action. Such a
discipline is NOT required when you can just mash the shutter down at
any time.

o AF-ON gives you the flexibility of using either AF-S style
focusing (where you pre-focus, then frame, then shoot) or AF-C style
focusing where you track your subject and fire when the subject is
doing something you want to capture. And, you can freely switch
between the two without changing any camera settings. For AF-S style
focusing, you simply press the AF-ON button until focus is acquired,
release the button, reframe and then take your shot. For AF-C style
focusing, you simply hold down the AF-ON button while tracking and
shooting. In sports, this flexibility to easily switch back and
forth is very handy. On a soccer corner kick, I can pre-focus on the
ball and get a perfectly focused sequence of the kicker without
worrying about tracking at all. The very next minute, I can start
tracking focus again on the player with the ball without changing any
camera settings.

--
John
Popular: http://jfriend.smugmug.com/popular
Portfolio: http://jfriend.smugmug.com/portfolio
Click to expand...
 
If you try this method with "focus priority" and recompose, the camera will not fire.

In focus-priority mode, the shutter ONLY releases if the active AF sensor "sees" something that is in focus. When you move the active sensor off the subject and recompose, the camera thinks the image is out of focus and prevents the shutter from firing.

-Jason

--
Author, 'The Photographer's Guide to Capture NX 2.0'
http://www.luminescentphoto.com/ebooks.html

Lead instructor for Capture NX Training workshops

Visit my website at: http://www.luminescentphoto.com
My Blog: http://blog.nikonians.org/nikonian_jason_odell
 
It must just be my hands but I cannot seem to reach the AF-ON with my thumb and the shutter with my fore-finger at the same time. Nikon put the AF-ON too far to the left. In vertical orientation the AF-ON position is nearly perfect.

Granted, I am a long-time Canon shooter and find the position of their AF-ON button perfect as well.

I'm thinking that my thumb has de-evolved from shooting Canon all those years. :-)

The only thing harder to reach than the AF-ON is the AE-l/AF-L button. Could they have positioned it any farther to the left? :-(
 
John-G said:
It must just be my hands but I cannot seem to reach the AF-ON with my
thumb and the shutter with my fore-finger at the same time. Nikon put
the AF-ON too far to the left. In vertical orientation the AF-ON
position is nearly perfect.

Granted, I am a long-time Canon shooter and find the position of
their AF-ON button perfect as well.

I'm thinking that my thumb has de-evolved from shooting Canon all
those years. :-)

The only thing harder to reach than the AF-ON is the AE-l/AF-L
button. Could they have positioned it any farther to the left? :-(
Click to expand...
It works best with the vertical grip which has it's own AF-ON button very conveniently placed. That's how I use it most of the time.
--
John
Popular: http://jfriend.smugmug.com/popular
Portfolio: http://jfriend.smugmug.com/portfolio
 
jfriend00 said:
It works best with the vertical grip which has it's own AF-ON button
very conveniently placed. That's how I use it most of the time.
Click to expand...
Are you using the D3? It has a dedicated AF-ON button for both orientations. It's just that the landscape orientation button is positioned too far to the left.
 
John-G said:
jfriend00 said:
It works best with the vertical grip which has it's own AF-ON button
very conveniently placed. That's how I use it most of the time.
Click to expand...
Are you using the D3? It has a dedicated AF-ON button for both
orientations. It's just that the landscape orientation button is
positioned too far to the left.
Click to expand...
Nope, I'm using D300 with grip. Sorry, I forgot this thread was in the D3 forum.
--
John
Popular: http://jfriend.smugmug.com/popular
Portfolio: http://jfriend.smugmug.com/portfolio
 
I deal with that every June with ACS Relay for Life.
jfriend00 said:
brianric said:
There is one flaw, when you need the focus assist light from the
flash in low light, then the camera has to be in AF-S, and single
point focus.
Click to expand...
I hadn't thought of that one. I guess you could just flick the focus
mode switch to AF-S if you happened to be in that circumstance.

--
John
Popular: http://jfriend.smugmug.com/popular
Portfolio: http://jfriend.smugmug.com/portfolio
Click to expand...
 
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