Interesting AF tips from Jan Wegener (not brand specific)

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

arbitrage said:
His second to last tip is something I've been doing for a good while. That is something not often mentioned. It really helps.
Everything in the video is great advice.
Click to expand...

I agree, if you are talking about focus pumping. He points out that the AF often seems to want to jump off our target and search for something else if we hold the button down too long, so if I understand what he is saying he says to hold the button no more than around 5 seconds then release and repress to reacquire the target anew.
 
I was interested in what folks thought of the different techniques or if they used them.
 
Lee R said:
I used all these but didn't know about the tilting the camera trick, which makes sense.
Click to expand...

That tilting is something that was recommended back in the day not for autofocus but when moire was more of an issue, especially lower resolution cameras with no AA filter. Now that cameras either have AA filters or are high enough resolution it is not needed for moire, but is newly useful for autofocus. I can't say I think to try it, I'll have to try to remember it in the heat of the moment.
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
bleirer said:
I agree, if you are talking about focus pumping. He points out that the AF often seems to want to jump off our target and search for something else if we hold the button down too long, so if I understand what he is saying he says to hold the button no more than around 5 seconds then release and repress to reacquire the target anew.
Click to expand...
Interesting viewpoint. I am doing this focus pumping unknowingly anyway; after 70 or so uncompressed frames my current card on Z9 starts stuttering and I give the camera a momentary pause to catch up.

About jumping off the target, is it because of tired hand or something inherent in the camera? Will setting the block shot to something of a higher value negate the focus drift?
 
All good questions. We want the cameras to read our thoughts. How are they to know we don't want to jump focus onto that twig that looks like a bird eye?
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
I use almost all of these tips on a daily basis. The only one I haven't really put into practice is the tilting of the camera.
Pre-focus and manual focus help are critical to my success. Activating AF for shorter time periods with breaks is also something I employ a lot and helps.
I go even one step further, I will often manually focus a BIF as it approaches me all the way up until the bird is filling enough of my frame that I may be ready to start shooting. Then I engage AF and fire the shots for that last second or two as it passes me by.
 
Member's gallery
Hi everyone, just this morning I saw the video mentioned, I think there is something sensible, for example I had noticed that for a certain period of time, a few seconds my Z8 followed the subject well and then lost it, so the suggestion to make pauses in the AF is right, I will try it when I can use my hand (operated on carpal tunnel)
 
Member's gallery
arbitrage said:
Activating AF for shorter time periods with breaks is also something I employ a lot and helps.
Click to expand...
Yeah, second nature to me as soon as I'm not fully happy with where tracking is on the subject. Bit me hard when tried to stay focused on a bug using the A9III and completely messed up capturing the bug launching, since I had just dropped the pre-capture buffer to refocus...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top