Bit of a fail today

[Andrew]

So had a kids party today and took pictures, however I’ve got too reliant on Eye-AF, when I needed focused kids in groups it did what it was designed to do, focus on that one face.

Got some nice pictures but not sure what setting to use for focus when multiple people are in the frame at slight different distances, two deep standing behind and in front.

Bit annoyed and blind sighted by the fact I didn’t change my focus settings on group shots.

What is recommended settings for this? I was in auto mode with Eye-AF enabled, AF-C and Flexible Spot (I think this was ignored in AF-C mode).

 

[Boojum]

Years ago when I lived in California I had a professional photographer friend. He jokingly said his Leica "had never been sullied by color film." He was good and gave me one of his photographs which I still have. But, the point of this is he said he used to think every picture on a roll of 36 had to be good. He said that he came to where he was just happy to get one good one on a roll. Allow yourself more reasonable judgement of what you can expect to achieve. You'll sleep better. Not many of us can be Vivian Maier. Maybe not any at all.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I don't ever rely on Eye AF, single centre every time for me, no Eye AF. While I'm sure it's great, when you wan't to aim specifically at something a single focus point and correct DOF will win every time.

 

[Jeff A]

So had a kids party today and took pictures, however I’ve got too reliant on Eye-AF, when I needed focused kids in groups it did what it was designed to do, focus on that one face.

Got some nice pictures but not sure what setting to use for focus when multiple people are in the frame at slight different distances, two deep standing behind and in front.

Bit annoyed and blind sighted by the fact I didn’t change my focus settings on group shots.

What is recommended settings for this? I was in auto mode with Eye-AF enabled, AF-C and Flexible Spot (I think this was ignored in AF-C mode).

Well I'm a relatively new shooter and although I'm blown away by the capabilities of the Sony AF System, I can see myself in this same position. I'm working hard to learn the system and I'm primarily using publications written by Mark Galer. Mark is a Master with the Sony System and has spent a lot of time on writing about the Sony AF System. I have become a Patron of Mr. Galer's YouTube Channel. It costs $10 US per month but he states, sign up for one month, download everything and then withdraw from being a Patron. Personally, he has so much content I'm going to stick around for a lot more than one month. Also, if you are Patron, he will personally answer your usage questions and I have already found that useful. One very interesting comment I remember he made was if he is asked a Focus Area question, he knows the person that asks the question has not read or studied the Sony Focus Area system. When I read that, I felt he was talking directly to me. He is very good and very thorough.

 

[jonhawk]

Also, if you are Patron, he will personally answer your usage questions and I have already found that useful. One very interesting comment I remember he made was if he is asked a Focus Area question, he knows the person that asks the question has not read or studied the Sony Focus Area system. When I read that, I felt he was talking directly to me. He is very good and very thorough.

I too have recently signed up to him but had not picked up on being able to contact him directly. Thanks for the pointer.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I shot a kid's birthday a month or two ago, and it was "Baby Shark" themed so there was a banner of the characters behind the table with the cake. Wouldn't you know it but my camera's Eye AF decided to focus on the damned cartoon shark's eye instead of the birthday girl when they sang Happy Birthday
I was so annoyed I switched over to manual focusing. That was my learning moment to not always trust Eye-AF and have a backup plan (or have the different focusing modes on the FN quick menu).

 

[Madness]

Don't shoot wide open. Step down to f5.6 or more. Depends on the group you shoot. If your SS is not fast enough, bump up the ISO. Don't be afraid of ISO.

 

[Reciprocum]

People at different distances are only going to be in focus if the DOF allows. It wouldn't much matter how many focus points you have or how the camera is identifying the subject if the DOF is too shallow. You could shoot in aperture preferred to make sure your DOF stayed deep enough. That would work fine as long as there wasn't a lot of action in the case of slower shutter speeds.

I recently dealt with the same thing at my grandson's soccer game. The camera did a fantastic job of finding a kid and focusing on him, but it wasn't necessarily my grandson. In order to overcome that I set the camera to center area focusing but kept the facial recognition on. I could then put the center area on or near my grandson. This setup I had gave me enough DOF so that at least everyone in the group immediately around him was in focus.

And if you registered your grandson's face on the face priority sub-menus the camera would always grab him first

 

[Reciprocum]

a single focus point and correct DOF will win every time.

Except when it's a jumping/running 5y old ;-)

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Except when it's a jumping/running 5y old ;-)

I disagree, I actually find it much more accurate to track manually than rely on the camera.

 

[Jeff A]

Find a local camera club. Online is ok but it only goes so far. Different brands have different autofocus capabilities, but this is more about shooting basics than the ability of the camera.

I'm not sure what you mean by new shooter. Is that new Sony shooter, or new to photography? If the latter and you have a local high school or community college that offers adult or continuing education classes, it's well worth the time.

To answer the question of whether I'm new or new to Sony, the answer is both. I'm getting a great education from the web, mostly here and Mark Galer's site. I do realize that what I need to do most is to go out and shoot more pictures. Since I'm retired, one would think that would be easy but not so much, the biggest detriment is health issues. I'll keep at it. Thanks for the idea of adult classes.

 

[Reciprocum]

I disagree, I actually find it much more accurate to track manually than rely on the camera.

Well, because I have inherited zero Clark Kent DNA strands I still prefer to rely on what the machine can offer me than to track manualy
As inaccurate as it might (?) be (Edit: it was 50% hit with an 7M3+Zeiss distagon, up to 90+% hit with an A1 + 35 GM as per my experience) it still is certainly far more accurate than my own human tracking.

• ILCE-7M3
• Zeiss Distagon T FE 35 mm F1.4 ZA (SEL35F14Z)
• 35.0 mm
• ƒ/2.5
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 250

 

[Boojum]

That little girl is precious. But you knew that. ;o)