58bits

<p>Hi Eric - yup - I've had A4 - Off - for about six months now.. and it's my preferred setting for sure. I can usuall see if there's something walking into the shot either way - and so will quickly refocus after the fact.<br>

And I've not yet had the good fortune to be walking in the woods photographing a bear through the trees. :-)</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies Gary and Gerard.<br>

<br /> I think your a4:off suggesting is the missing piece in the puzzle - thanks for that. Pity I posted to the forums so late - just came back from the shoot.<br>

<br /> That said - tracking was pretty good - so I'm sure it will be even better next time if I turn off the focus lock as you've suggested.<br>

<br /> The one thing for sure that makes or breaks the shot (although this might be stating the obvious) - is whether you 'start' tracking focused or not. With the model walking straight at me - unless I'm on focus to start - there's no chance the other fames will 'catch-up' with the shot. Starting focused and auto-focus tracking was impressive.</p>

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<p>Have been reading about the auto-focus capabilities of the D700 - in particular the differences between the 15 cross type focus points and 'regular' focus points around the edges of the focus matrix.<br>

<br /> So far I'm getting pretty good results even when using one of the edge focus points, shooting portraits (vertical) at live events - people on stage, long shots using the 70-200mm/2.8 lens with subjects generally at a fixed distance (moving left to right as opposed to front to back).<br>

<br /> I was wondering if anyone could comment on their experience in shooting subjects (also vertical/portrait orientation) that are moving towards the camera - people at walking speed.<br>

<br /> Have tried this just once so far using the following approach...<br>

<br /> 9 point dynamic auto-focus using the top focus point (vertical) - keeping the focus point on the face, continuous servo focus, and slow rate (CL) continuous shooting - shooting about 10 frames as the subject approaches from head-on (using a 70-200mm/2.8 lens). It's a night-time event - concert lit - usually with a spotlight on the subject. With the ISO range of the D700 I could probably shoot a little faster if I wanted to - but I'm trying 1/320sec at f2.8. Results were so so - about 1 in 3 images were 'sharpish'. f2.8 is probably a bit ambitious - since that's a very shallow depth of field (also pulling zoom from 200mm initially to about 105mm at the end).<br>

<br /> The traditional approach (I think) would be to set focus at a fixed distance - and then shoot multiple frames in fast continuous mode as the subject walks through the point of focus.<br>

<br /> I'm wondering in this case what approaches others may have taken to try and 'track' or 'pull' focus tracking a subject as it approaches head-on. The subject is about 25 feet away - and I'm tracking for about 10 feet as they approach the camera (zooming out a little - as mentioned above).<br>

<br /> The D700 'seems' to be doing a pretty good job of re-focusing between frames - but I'm not 100% sure if this is the most effective way to attempt this kind of shot. Or whether shooting continuous is interfering with the auto-focus?<br>

<br /> Thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated.<br>

<br /> Tony</p>

Ignore me... after searching every option in the Shooting Menu and Custom Settings Menu - there it was right in front of me under the Playback Menu.... sigh. Image review is now set to off.

Would still be nice if pressing the AF-on or AE-L/AF-L buttons killed the image review as well.

Tony

Thanks Francisco - after searching every option in the Shooting Menu and Custom Settings Menu - there it was right in front of me under the Playback Menu.... sigh. Image review is now set to off.

Thanks also Hans... pressing the shutter button would work as well - but I wanted to avoid the extra button click since when I'm shoot this way I'm usually in a hurry!

Best,

Tony

I've recently started shooting using the AF-on button only to focus (disabling the focus on the shutter button).

However I've noticed one really irritating problem shooting this way.

After taking a picture - the image appears on the monitor for 4 seconds - if you're still looking through the

view finder - and want to use the AF-on button to re-focus before taking another shot - you can - and it will

focus - but you CAN'T move the focus points using the multi-wheel - because the monitor is still previewing the

image (you'll just move to another image in preview/play mode). A nuisance when you want to quickly recompose,

move your focus point, focus and shoot again (within a second or two).

Can the image preview be disabled altogether? A pity the AF-on button doesn't kill the monitor just like the

shutter button does. Maybe a firmware suggestion? Thoughts or suggestions appreciated....

Regards,

Tony

Very helpful thread... and like Robert suggested I've disabled focus on the shutter and only use the AF-on button to focus.

However I've noticed one really irritating problem shooting this way. After taking a picture - the image appears on the monitor for 4 seconds - if you're still looking through the view finder - and want to use the AF-on button to re-focus before taking another shot - you can - and it will focus - but you CAN'T move the focus points using the multi-wheel - because the monitor is still previewing the image (you'll just move to another image in preview/play mode). A nuisance when you want to quickly switch between horizontal and vertical composition - focus, move your focus point and shoot again (within a second or two). Can the image preview be disabled altogether? A pity the AF-on button doesn't kill the monitor just like the shutter button does. Maybe a firmware suggestion? Thoughts or suggestions appreciated....

Regards,

Tony