D40 Autofocus for timed shots

[Litchfield Hills]

I was trying to take a self portrait. I would compose the shot, set the timer, press the shutter, and move into position. The problem is that the D40 would autofocus when I pressed the trigger, and thus be focused on the blank wall behind me. Does anyone know of anyway to get it to autofocus when the exposure is actually taken, as opposed to when the timer is started.

Was playing around with ghetto lighting:

[ELAY]

Just tried mine. Same thing. I had a quick look through the menus and saw nothing that seemed like it would help, though I wonder if a bit more time working through the AF-lock options might yield something.

There's a pretty inexpensive remote available ...


EL

[Nicole]

Pretty useful reading in this article : Photodoto - I'm ready for my closeup: 6 methods for perfectly focused self-portraits

[Aperthetic]

I'm not sure specifically for the D40, but I know, for all self-portraits, it works to place something right where your head will be. Then, when you press the shutter to start the timer, it focuses on that object, so when you put your head there, it will be in focus.

[Manila_Joe]

I say go for the remote. Its around 20 dollars I think. I can't remember the exact price I bought mine for but I'm sure it's not too bad. It is very helpful also. I did some group shots with the family and instead of having to get up ever time I wanted to take another shot I just kept snapping.

[kirbinster]

Yes the cheap IR remote will solve your problem on the D40. I think I got mine from JR.com for about $12. You just point it at the camera and away it goes.

The other option is to set the autofocus on continuous (I know the D80 has this, I apologize if the D40 does not - I forget). That will have the camera readjust the focus continously until it actually snaps the shot.

[xxpinballxx]

For just over 10 bucks cant go wrong with the Remote.
Unless you have someone stand in front for you to focus on its hard. I used manual focus and took a 100 shots with very minor adjustments.

[Litchfield Hills]

Originally Posted by xxpinballxx

I used manual focus and took a 100 shots with very minor adjustments.

I took about 20 - guess you have some more perserverance than I do.

Thx for the advice - I will try the continous focus mode and the IR remote.

[wulf]

The remote is a very handy asset for taking self portraits. Even then, manual focus often works better (because how do you know auto focus picked the right spot to get sharp, especially if your DoF is shallow?). Using the remote makes pre-focusing easier because you have more time to get yourself into exactly the position where you set up the focus.

Wulf

[powjana05]

It sounds like the remote would be the best bet (even though I don't have one yet), but what I do is use a "focus dummy" such as a lamp, coat/hat rack, anything that can easily be placed and removed. It's a little more "primitive" (lol) than the remote, but until I get one of those, I'll just have to keep doing it the old-fashioned way... Hope this is helpful!