Hi Guys,

I just lifted this up from another thread. I just feel that this is one topic that may concern a lot of us. This guy (http://visual-vacations.com/Photography/focus-recompose_sucks.htm) gives an explanation of why this kind of technique, well, sucks.

I still use this technique, though. Since I am using only a D70 (still saving up for the D200, which have 11 focus points, or maybe, just maybe, waiting for the Fuji S5 Pro), we only have 5 focus points. Top, bottom, left, right, and center. I toggle to the nearest focus point, but still, I have to recompose. Yun nga lang maiksi na yung imo-move ng camera instead of doing the focusing from the center focus point.

I don't think focus and recompose can be fully avoided.

What do you guys think?

Cheers!

Marco

I don't think it can be avoided too. In my experience, there are some situations where moving the camera itself is faster than selecting an autofocus point.

Thanks for the interesting link though. :)

I always use this technique and never failed me.... at least up to now... :)

for the longest time, i thought the 50mm mark I 1.8 lens that bernard billedo has graciously lent me had focusing problems. i had been using it for candid portraits and would always encounter lots of OOF shots....

...i would use my cam's center focus spot and focus on the eyes then recompose....at full open aperture....and i would get lots of OOF pics....kala ko may amag na yung lens....

hehe...it was only recently that i figured out my foibles. how could i forget my basic photography?! hehehe. i guess this concern is accentuated the larger the aperture you use.

i now use my cam's joystick and other focus points!

yep, i had several incidents where i had oof shots due to this.....i quickly changed my ways hehehe..

but yes you cannot avoid it completely but recomposing a lil is way better than doing a lot from the center af

how about zoom to your most important detail, then focus then recompose? or mas complicated to? :D

how about zoom to your most important detail, then focus then recompose? or mas complicated to? :D

:)
this somehow works like "Improvised Spot Metering" (http://alphacameraclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=5.0)


Thanks for the link Marco.
It doesn't suck that much, I use it most of the time, especially during quick moments. But for a studio setup - thanks for the INFO!!! :D

That link is the reason why I mostly use continuous focus mode in combination with the selected focus point. This increased my keeper ratio considerably.

Nice link Marco. Very informative and looks like it will make me use my off center focus points, even if they are not as sensitive than the center points just to see if it improves the keeper ratio.

never tried focus/recompose...and never will =) just relying on those other focus points

never was a big fan of focus/recompose. hand-held sharpness partially depends on how fast you can smoothly feather that shutter button when you hear that AF beep (my theory, at least). so i already try and visualize what i'd want to get from a certain shoot and preselect the appropriate AF point.

Finally an answer to my biggest question! I posed this question to a group of photogs earlier in Alabang, and quite right, they guessed it has something to do with my f2.8 depth of field. :D

I guess this explains the reason why I don't get sharp images using focus and recompose. This is informative... :)

Thanks for the link, I was blaming my old camera endlessly for this... It wasn't until a few months ago that I learned how to use the focus square selector in my P&S (lost my manual a few months after the purchase hehe).