Focusing at Night

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by Sterling

Does anyone have any tips about improving my focusing efficiency and accuracy?

So, let's see Ken, you mention White balance, aperture, ISO, light meters, bracketing, noise reduction, tripods, shutter release, DoF, sharpness, lenses, mirror lock-up, and finally self timer... but not a single word on the question the Poster actually asked about, ie how to improve his ability to FOCUS???

Whassup with that?

Sorry, OP, I can't really help, I tend not to shoot at night, and when I do, I find the part of the scene that has the most contrast which helps the camera focus and lock focus on that and of course use as small an aperture as possible to get greatest DoF possible.

[sybren]

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

So, let's see Ken, you mention White balance, aperture, ISO, light meters, bracketing, noise reduction, tripods, shutter release, DoF, sharpness, lenses, mirror lock-up, and finally self timer... but not a single word on the question the Poster actually asked about, ie how to improve his ability to FOCUS???

Yes, Ken always jumps at the opportunity to copy-and-paste from his own work, and overwhelm novice users with information. Even when (to me at least) it's clear that someone should experiment and learn for themselves (I'm talking in general, not specifically about OP) Ken gives the "correct" answer straight away. Copyright included, of course.

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by sybren

Yes, Ken always jumps at the opportunity to copy-and-paste from his own work, and overwhelm novice users with information. Even when (to me at least) it's clear that someone should experiment and learn for themselves (I'm talking in general, not specifically about OP) Ken gives the "correct" answer straight away. Copyright included, of course.

Ah.. well at least it's "correct"

Should I put copyright notices at the bottom of my comments even if they don't come from a pdf?

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

So, let's see Ken, you mention White balance, aperture, ISO, light meters, bracketing, noise reduction, tripods, shutter release, DoF, sharpness, lenses, mirror lock-up, and finally self timer... but not a single word on the question the Poster actually asked about, ie how to improve his ability to FOCUS???

Whassup with that?

Sorry, OP, I can't really help, I tend not to shoot at night, and when I do, I find the part of the scene that has the most contrast which helps the camera focus and lock focus on that and of course use as small an aperture as possible to get greatest DoF possible.

You obviously missed:

"Use auto focus, and bracket exposures, +/- 1 stop increments. Vary shutter speed and take many photos, of the same scene, at different times of twilight-you only have about twenty minutes before the sky goes from blue to black."

And:

"Set aperture for the sharpest image usually f8-11 on most lenses"

I can only write about what works for me-if it works for me,and Jeff, why can't it work for everyone-simple enough to understand

-By the way did you read my answer concerning our PDF on stock photography- we work on trust-we look on microstock forums for newbies,and Pro's who are struggling with the pure techniques of commercial stock photography,then we e-mail them a copy,If they decide that the information is of value to them,we ask for a $10.00,USD) donation,via paypal- we cannot be fairer than that. Regards, Ken

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by sybren

Yes, Ken always jumps at the opportunity to copy-and-paste from his own work, and overwhelm novice users with information. Even when (to me at least) it's clear that someone should experiment and learn for themselves (I'm talking in general, not specifically about OP) Ken gives the "correct" answer straight away. Copyright included, of course.

Quite right too!, I have had several articles stolen on microstock sites and have had to report
them to admin to make sure repeat offences don't happen. You need to safeguard your intellectual property.

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

Ah.. well at least it's "correct"

Should I put copyright notices at the bottom of my comments even if they don't come from a pdf?

Yes, If it's your intellectual property,and you have necessary qualifications-why not?- I don't see the need for smartass comments at all. I try to genuinely help anyone who wants to learn-I ask nothing in return,so what's the big deal?

[BryanC]

Originally Posted by kencaleno

You obviously missed:

...that the question was about focusing, at night, in the dark...not at twilight...

Originally Posted by kencaleno

"Use auto focus, and bracket exposures, +/- 1 stop increments. Vary shutter speed and take many photos, of the same scene, at different times of twilight-you only have about twenty minutes before the sky goes from blue to black."

...a situation in which auto-focus rarely, if ever, works without some kind of light source or lighted object for the auto-focus to work. Otherwise, it's just too dark for the auto-focus to "see" something to focus on. Bracketing exposures, different shutter speeds and amount of photos taken are irrelevant to focusing.

Originally Posted by kencaleno

-simple enough to understand."

Sterling-- I think others have given you great information to work with. Experiment and see what works best for you. I'd like to see the results...I love the long exposure night shots.