![]() Jay notes that, “by starting with AF set to AF-ON only while in AF-C (continuous) mode, you can essentially combine multiple focusing features without touching many buttons on the camera.” With a static subject you can focus on the subject once and recompose. Less fatigued, you can better deliver a subtle touch to the shutter button for a smooth release and a sharper capture.” By shifting the focus to the thumb (on the AF-ON button), the index finger gets a well-deserved break and stays more relaxed over a long day. Every photographer learns the delicate (and tedious) half-pressure of the index finger on the shutter button required to acquire and hold focus without tripping the shutter. “The technique can also help to diminish shooter fatigue. The back button technique only uses the VR for brief periods when the shutter is actually released, maximizing battery life.” While this might seem trivial, when observing wildlife over extended periods, waiting for a specific moment to trip the shutter, driving the VR continuously can drain battery. When using AF-ON or back button focus you can observe or follow a moving subject, constantly adjusting the focus, without engaging the VR mechanism until the moment the shutter release is depressed. Mark explains: “When the shutter release controls all functions, focusing simultaneously engages the Vibration Reduction (VR) system. ![]() Using AF-ON extends battery life in the camera. Pro shooter Mark Alberhasky does a great deal of wildlife photography, and he’s found AF-ON to be both a battery and “photographer” lifesaver. As far as I'm concerned, those two reasons alone are compelling enough.” “What happens if you’re all set and know the camera will focus fine, but then at the moment you go to take the picture, someone walks in front of you or in the foreground and causes the camera to refocus on them, and your subject (let's say the bride up in a chair during the Hora at a Jewish wedding reception) is suddenly out of focus and you blew the shot? Again, once I press the AF-ON button, I can shoot to my heart's content, and as long as the distance doesn't change, I will get a whole series of images and action shots and not miss a thing. The way I do it, I lock focus in advance and the camera will fire every time I press the shutter release. Try explaining to the bride and groom and their parents why you missed the kiss at the end of the ceremony, or of their grand entrance, that once in a lifetime shot, because the camera wouldn't lock focus and fire when you needed it to. “The shutter won't fire if the camera doesn't lock focus, there's a huge risk that an important shot will be missed. Wedding and portrait photographer Gary Small says he sets up his cameras to “disconnect” the focusing from the shutter release button because he can’t miss the first time around when it comes to photographing weddings and other events. If you’re fussing with camera settings in front of a subject, you’re less engaged and more likely to miss an opportunity,” he says. ![]() ![]() However the camera now feels more personalized, and the AF settings are more intuitive which is important not just for sports. Overall it’s a set up for fast performance. “I keep the camera’s AF set to AF-ON only, and start that way for most assignments. We spoke with three professional photographers-who specialize in different types of photography: sports, wedding and wildlife-to find out why they use the AF-ON button for focusing.Ĭommercial sports and action photographer Jay Watson explains that once he got used to using AF-ON only for focusing he found it to be advantageous for shooting both moving and static subjects. The default setting on Nikon DSLR cameras sets Shutter/AF-ON in which both the shutter-release button and the AF-ON button can be used to initiate autofocus or you can choose to set the AF-ON button only for focus, which means only the shutter-release button will only activate the shutter (snap the picture) when pressed. This technique is also called back button focus. To set the camera to use the AF-ON button for focusing, you will need to set a custom function, which can be found in custom settings, under Autofocus. For the purpose of focusing a DSLR camera, pressing the AF-ON button has the same effect as pressing the shutter-release button halfway. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |