Final Teaching

[Grumby]

Originally Posted by kencaleno

No, doesn't work like that-when you press the AE-L/AF-L button, the focus locks. when you press the shutter button down all the way,when turning away, when you turn back to face the focus point, the camera will automatically start shooting-If you press shutter button down all the way, without turning camera from focus point,the camera will shoot before you are ready. Ken

Ken - so what you are describing almost sounds like the camera recognises the scene, but because you have turned away it won't take the shot. When you turn back and the scene lines up again, the camera comes alive again, and starts taking shots. My guess is that I'm over simplifying the story, and that the camera is actually identifying the exact focus distance as opposed to the composition of the scene. That being the case, if as you turned away, the camera passed something else at the exact same distance, would it start taking pictures of that too? Ot perhaps it does recognise elements of the scene itself? Either way - it sounds like a useful trick to know. I'm not sure if the D40x has the same facility - I'll have to check out the manual.

[keyroll_spanky]

Would it be great if I use panning shots while they on the air (skateborders). Is it possible? Never seen that kind of pictures before.

[sk66]

[QUOTE=Grumby;519589] My guess is that I'm over simplifying the story, and that the camera is actually identifying the exact focus distance as opposed to the composition of the scene. That being the case, if as you turned away, the camera passed something else at the exact same distance, would it start taking pictures of that too? QUOTE]

The answers are yes and yes.
The camera is locked on a focus distance. When ANYTHING comes into sharp focus after the shutter release is fully depressed, the camera will start to take pictures automatically.
This is best for tracking/panning work IMO.
You can also do the same thing with manual focus, but that relies on your reflexes...best to start shooting just before the subject enters into the DOF.

[Chip]

Originally Posted by keyroll_spanky

Would it be great if I use panning shots while they on the air (skateborders). Is it possible? Never seen that kind of pictures before.

I haven't tried it, but I think it's possible. Let's say that 1/40th is a good shutter speed for your panning shot. You'll have to start tracking the subject while he/she is still on the ground, press the shutter at just the right time, and hope that the skateboarder goes in the same direction for at least 1/40th of a second. If those things fall into place, and if all the other things needed to get a good panning shot happen, then you should get a good shot.

[Mr Guy]

Incidentally, Pentax does trap focusing. It's called Catch-In-Focus, and works pretty much the same way. My personal suggestion, which I assume you can do on Nikon as well, is to seperate your autofocus from your shutter entirely, and use a dedicated autofocus button. Then you don't have to worry about turning away and turning back and whatever. You just focus where the object WILL be, lock the shutter button down, and wait. Soon as the camera gets focus confirmation, it'll fire.

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by Grumby

Ken - so what you are describing almost sounds like the camera recognises the scene, but because you have turned away it won't take the shot. When you turn back and the scene lines up again, the camera comes alive again, and starts taking shots. My guess is that I'm over simplifying the story, and that the camera is actually identifying the exact focus distance as opposed to the composition of the scene. That being the case, if as you turned away, the camera passed something else at the exact same distance, would it start taking pictures of that too? Ot perhaps it does recognise elements of the scene itself? Either way - it sounds like a useful trick to know. I'm not sure if the D40x has the same facility - I'll have to check out the manual.

Yes, your assumption is correct.Ken

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by keyroll_spanky

Would it be great if I use panning shots while they on the air (skateborders). Is it possible? Never seen that kind of pictures before.

yes, that's what I use for wildlife-just hold both buttons down at once:

Regards, Ken

[Rolling Stone]

Originally Posted by kencaleno

When you press the AE-L/AF-L button this focuses the camera-if you don't turn away while pressing the shutter button right down, the camera will start taking images before you are ready-by turning away,when you return to focusing point, the camera will automatically start shooting


regards, Ken

Got it. Thank you,sir.

[keyroll_spanky]

Just asking. What's the AE-L/AF-L?

[ericw]

Originally Posted by keyroll_spanky

Would it be great if I use panning shots while they on the air (skateborders). Is it possible? Never seen that kind of pictures before.

You never see them because skaters look at pictures to see what tricks other skaters are doing. Panning along with a skateboarding who's spinning through the air or whose board is spinning through the air is going to blur away all the details of what's happening - I wouldn't try it.

Don't take pictures of people flying through the sky with no frame of reference
Show where they came from
Show where they are going
Time your shot to hint at what trick they're doing
Get as close as you can
Get low a lot but don't forget to try other perspectives
Use a faster shutter than you think you need (stay above 1/1000)

Take a look at the Wheels & Wax pool on flickr for some inspiration. Or buy a magazine and check out the pictures. Extreme sports photography has a style about it to make it look good - you need to check out the market. I've seen some real crap photos (guy spinning through a blank sky, with nothing around him is crap) from successful professional photogs who got contracted to shoot competitions and clearly had no idea what the end-user would want in the photos.