New D3 Autofocus Technical Guide

[mbarrett635]

Has anyone else seen this? It's available on the Nikon USA site under the question "How do I get the best autofocus results with my Nikon Pro DSLR at a sporting event?"

http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bin/nikonusa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=16247&p_created=1231257486&p_sid=ifFW3wnj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=7349&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PTM6MiZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9ODQsODQmcF9wcm9kcz0xOSw0NTImcF9jYXRzPTAmcF9wdj0yLjQ1MiZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1

Nothing really new, but it seems to be a good compendium of much that I've learned from you guys in this forum over the past year or two. Although the guide does appear to have one error -- it indicates that Auto ISO can only be used with A, S or P modes, and I'm sure I was using it with M at last night's HS bball games. :smile: While this is labeled a D3 guide, I think the advice in it applies equally to my D700 and D300, from a practical standpoint.

Question for you -- how many use Active D-Lighting? I've had mine set at "off", but am wondering, particularly in the poorly lit high school gyms I frequent, if I should be giving it a try?

 

[kiwi]

Interesting read and I agree with most of what is written. Not too sure about the fact the Focus lock on set to off negatively effects AF in general ? I have mine set on low anyhow.

Re ADL, no, NEVER use it a high ISO - the guide actually infers that. What it does at night is lift the shadows to try to balance the well lit areas lifting out the noise effectively.

 

[fks]

hi mike-

thanks for the link, something else to read. i got thom hogan's guide for the D3 when it first came out and have yet to read it :frown:

ricky

 

[mbarrett635]

Interesting read and I agree with most of what is written. Not too sure about the fact the Focus lock on set to off negatively effects AF in general ? I have mine set on low anyhow.

Yeah! That was the thing that piqued my interest the first time I read through it, and then when I went back later, I couldn't remember what it was (early onset oldtimers disease, I guess). I'm curious what settings others use for focus lock. I've been using "Off" ever since I found that using it with my 300 f/2.8 for soccer would result in missing shots when it would hesitate too long when I tried to refocus. I've never tried it at all with bball, figuring the faster pace would really overtax it -- but what is the experience of others here? It seems that in theory, it would be a great help, but then, everything works great "in theory."

 

[greyhound rick]

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to make sure i was understanding this properly.....

Are you speaking of the a4 setting "Focus Tracking with Lock-On"?

With regard to that setting is it correct in that when set to short, normal or long the camera will wait just a bit when the distance from the camera to the subject changes as to prevent the camera from focusing on an obstruction coming in between the camera and the subject? Whereas in "off" there is no hesitation as the camera will continue to focus w/o hesitation?

With regard to the a4 setting, I have always shot with it "off" because I didnt want to do anything that might slow the AF down.

Please let me know if this is the correct setting you are speaking of.

thanks!!

rick

 

[kenpr]

Mike:

Thanks for the info, something to compare with my settings.

 

[tjk60]

Absolutely correct Rick....

 

[greyhound rick]

Absolutely correct Rick....

Thanks Tim. Just wanted to make sure I was on the same page!:smile:

 

[kiwi]

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to make sure i was understanding this properly.....

Are you speaking of the a4 setting "Focus Tracking with Lock-On"?

With regard to that setting is it correct in that when set to short, normal or long the camera will wait just a bit when the distance from the camera to the subject changes as to prevent the camera from focusing on an obstruction coming in between the camera and the subject? Whereas in "off" there is no hesitation as the camera will continue to focus w/o hesitation?

With regard to the a4 setting, I have always shot with it "off" because I didnt want to do anything that might slow the AF down.

Please let me know if this is the correct setting you are speaking of.

thanks!!

rick

The point is that the guide says that having it off negatively effects AF spped

 

[greyhound rick]

The point is that the guide says that having it off negatively effects AF spped

Thats interesting. Thom Hogan's guide states:

"Consider OFF for fast moving subjects when you're sure there are no intervening subjects."

He also recommends "SHORT" as his standard setting.

FWIW, Ive used "OFF" for a while at the track and my D3/300 seem to focus just as fast, but Im no expert, thats for sure!:smile:

take care,

rick

 

[mbarrett635]

FWIW, Ive used "OFF" for a while at the track and my D3/300 seem to focus just as fast, but Im no expert, thats for sure!:smile:

That's why I asked, as my experience has been the same (using "off" with no apparent issue).

 

[zapufast]

Mine was set to short, but I will turn it off, unless it slows it down.

Does anyone know for sure?

 

[tunney]

I have mine set to "normal" and had no problems shooting a hockey game last night. I do have Active D Lighting turned off and also turned off VR for this shoot. Lighting was poor and shot at iso 3200 with my 70-300 mm. I had no problems with the camera focusing. I also have Thom Hogan's guide and have gone through it a few times. I might add that I don't have that much experience with the D700..yet.