What’s Your Preference?

mwdenio · #1 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 02:22 AM

I got so tired of everybody being slightly out of focus. Playing with the focal length has let me get the batters in focus and the backgrounds in focus but the pitchers remain a challenge. Are they in my lens' unsweet spot? How can I take pitcher pictures and get the pitchers as crisp as the background?

Click on the picture to go to other sizes.

Camera: Sony DSC-H50
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 62 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

inlina · #2 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 10:42 AM

The signage at the back of the field seems to be what is in focus. It looks like the pitcher is stepping out of the focal plane when he pitches. What mode are you using? Do you have continuous auto focus on?

CG

mwdenio · #3 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by inlina

The signage at the back of the field seems to be what is in focus. It looks like the pitcher is stepping out of the focal plane when he pitches. What mode are you using? Do you have continuous auto focus on?

CG

First off, thanks for the response.

I was in full manual mode (sort of a misnomer for this camera as it's a glorified point & shoot) where I set the shutter speed and aperture. I had set the focus to just before infinity because doing it to full infinity made everything unclear. I thought the aperture on this one was F8 (as small/slow as this camera will go) but looking at the EXIF data shows 5.6.

Looking at some later examples (one shown below) says that the focal length is longer but the aperture is down to 4.5. So, I think the aperture might be my issue. The guy at the camera store had suggested leaving the aperture at 8 to get the most depth of field possible but this camera has such a small range (2.7-8) that it may not be possible. I like the look of the background more as well so maybe F4.5 is my lens' sweet spot! (As it's a P&S camera I can't switch lenses. It being a 15x superzoom also means compromises were made so maybe I'm finding out what those compromises were.)

So, when I go back in a couple weeks I'll leave the aperture at 4.5 and focus on the pitchers and see what happens. Thanks so much!

Chip · #4 (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 11:33 PM

It really does seem that what's in focus is behind your subject, meaning that the focus point is too far away. Using a smaller aperture would help, but it shouldn't be too hard to get the camera to focus where you want it to focus.

What does your manual say about focus options? Can you select a focus point with your camera? If so, it should be relatively straightforward to make the camera focus on the pitcher, rather than trying to guess ahead of time.

I don't think you're dealing with a "sweet spot" issue. It seems that this is really just a focus issue. Once you figure out how to make the camera focus on your subject, you'll be fine.

mwdenio · #5 (**permalink**) 07-06-2009, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chip

It really does seem that what's in focus is behind your subject, meaning that the focus point is too far away. Using a smaller aperture would help, but it shouldn't be too hard to get the camera to focus where you want it to focus.

What does your manual say about focus options? Can you select a focus point with your camera? If so, it should be relatively straightforward to make the camera focus on the pitcher, rather than trying to guess ahead of time.

I don't think you're dealing with a "sweet spot" issue. It seems that this is really just a focus issue. Once you figure out how to make the camera focus on your subject, you'll be fine.

I tend to forget about the manual because I don't think it came with a printed copy, just a PDF file on the software CD. I need to bite the bullet and print out a copy so I can mark it up with notes.

I thank you for the advice because I agree. As I play with the focus length I should get better results. I wish I had a number rather than just a slider bar but that's still better than nothing at all!

My only concern is if it will keep the background in focus as well or am I sacrificing the background to see the picture? I understand the best picture would be a sharp pitcher with a fuzzy background to keep the viewer's eye on the ball (bad pun intended, sorry!). I have seen too many pictures where the batter, pitcher and background are all sharp to allow me to give up on that dream.

Jim Bryant · #6 (**permalink**) 07-06-2009, 02:01 AM

For some reason that camera seems to focus on the background, not the subject in foreground. have you set it to advanced sports mode? When shooting sports you don't want the background in focus........you need just the foreground in focus to keep one's eye from traveling throughout the picture. Go onto my website and check out the sports portfolio, you'll see what I mean.

mwdenio · #7 (**permalink**) 07-06-2009, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

For some reason that camera seems to focus on the background, not the subject in foreground. have you set it to advanced sports mode? When shooting sports you don't want the background in focus........you need just the foreground in focus to keep one's eye from traveling throughout the picture. Go onto my website and check out the sports portfolio, you'll see what I mean.

I was trying to avoid the advanced mode because in any "automatic" mode I've taken pictures in, even the foreground is out of focus at least slightly. I will play with it though and see if I can change the focal length. I will definitely check out your site. Thanks for the info and referral!

inlina · #8 (**permalink**) 07-06-2009, 03:31 AM

OK, my simple tip...try and hit the shot you want is to use an auto focus mode and pre-focus the camera with it as well as using an open aperture.

For what you are trying to shoot, I would set the AF to single and centre point. Pre-aim on the pitcher or the mound just in front of him.

As Jim said, stop your aperture right down...keep it wide open. Your shutter will be faster giving you a good chance of stopping the ball in the air just as it has left the pitcher's hand and the background will be blurry which makes the subject really pop in the image.

CG