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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Anyone using Manual Focus for sports work?
John Germ, Photographer
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Wadsworth | Oh | USA | Posted: 3:08 PM on 07.27.10 |
| ->> I'm curious if anyone here with modern DSLR/AF Lenses are still using manual focus for their sports work. I know there are some people that have some old manual focus lenses they may still use on occasion. But my question is geared towards people that have the option - a modern DSLR with AF capability and they choose to manually focus instead of AF. If you do, what are the situations when you do this? Again, I'm looking for sports only - not other types of journalistic work. Just curious. |
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G.J. McCarthy, Photographer
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Dallas | TX | US | Posted: 3:27 PM on 07.27.10 |
| ->> Only when I want to feel woefully inadequate and get yelled at later by the picture desk. I'm also a big fan of turning off the "No CF Card" warning so I can easily shoot two or three big plays in a state of forgetful bliss. |
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Thomas E. Witte, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Cincinnati | OH | USA | Posted: 3:38 PM on 07.27.10 |
->> Yes and no as it depends on your definition.
With baseball, I try (really hard) to position myself equidistant from third and second (if the park permits). I'll manually focus then set the focus preset. In my book thats still manually focusing as it's the same as setting the focus limiters on the OLD school manual lenses. Speaking of which am I the only person that misses those?
Most of the time though - say with NFL - I give the AF a chance, but if I don't like what it's doing I'll take over. This is mostly an issue when I'm trying to get just the quarterback's face framed between two linemen, or shooting straight down the line of scrimmage and getting that ONE guy leaning forward just far enough to see him staring at the ball. Since framing usually has that face well outside of the AF sensors, I'll MF it.
Hehehe, I said MF. |
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Eric Francis, Photographer
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Omaha | NE | United States | Posted: 3:54 PM on 07.27.10 |
| ->> I manual focus my remotes... does that count? |
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Tim Snow, Photographer
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Montreal | Qc | Canada | Posted: 4:00 PM on 07.27.10 |
->> I second what Thomas said, when shooting certain sports (usually marathons and trithalons) where I have thousands of athletes running at me, I will focus on one spot on the ground and when the runners hit it, I fire away. I find I get many more keepers that way versus letting the camera continuously track.
Also, I never use AF on remotes. |
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Scott McCall, Photographer
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Orlando | FL | USA | Posted: 4:51 PM on 07.27.10 |
| ->> I use manual focus when shooting certain situations in lacrosse such as goalie shots, and face offs. Sort of along the same lines Thomas does when framing a QB's face. |
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Wally Nell, Photographer
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CAIRO | EG | EGYPT | Posted: 4:53 PM on 07.27.10 |
| ->> It depends on the situation. Modern AF lenses are not made to manually focus, it just does not snap into focus like the manual focus lenses. But if I am trying to shoot something that is not near the middle of the frame, at times the only way to do this is use manual focus. Having said that, my eyes do not miss manual focus, I am very grateful for good AF lenses! It has saved my butt a few times! |
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Mark J. Terrill, Photographer
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Simi Valley | CA | USA | Posted: 4:55 PM on 07.27.10 |
->> "Also, I never use AF on remotes."
Why not. It works great in certain situations.
I shot manual for the first twelve years of my career and as good as I might have been at it, autofocus is that much better. The last time I tried to manually focus for sports was for the half pipe at the Winter Olympics with a tilt shift. Talk about a challenge. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 6:49 PM on 07.27.10 |
| ->> I'm too old to manual focus...... |
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Sam Morris, Photographer
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Henderson (Las Vegas) | NV | USA | Posted: 8:07 PM on 07.27.10 |
->> You pretty much have manual focus for shooting MMA through that stupid cage. I can sometimes get away with hitting my focus button while using a lens at 200mm when the fighters aren't doing much, just for a little piece of mind. It sucks because it's true, modern cameras aren't really meant to manual focus and the focusing screens blow.
Another time I find it useful is when there is a bunch of confetti during a celebration or a lot of water spray during an event. I may be easily confused, but not nearly as confused as the camera when there are a lot of things floating around for it to focus on. |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 8:19 PM on 07.27.10 |
| ->> Usually just in rain and snow or other special circumstances. |
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David A. Cantor, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Toledo | OH | USA | Posted: 8:45 PM on 07.27.10 |
| ->> I only use AF when I'm shooting on spec...... |
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David Seelig, Photographer
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Hailey | ID | USA | Posted: 8:53 PM on 07.27.10 |
| ->> I use mu Leica m9s for some low key concert work. Also use the m9s for all my personal work canon and nikon stuff look so generic to me. But no no manual focus dslr for sports work |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Denver | CO | USA | Posted: 11:39 PM on 07.27.10 |
| ->> Sure! MF is easy when you shoot at f/22 all the time...although sensor dust is a bit problematic. |
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Max Gersh, Photographer, Photo Editor
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New Castle | IN | USA | Posted: 12:02 AM on 07.28.10 |
| ->> If I am shooting at a harsh angle through netting or fencing, I'll MF. Same idea as rain/snow/confetti/etc. Any time the AF would be too erratic, I MF. |
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Sean Burges, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Canberra | ACT | Australia | Posted: 1:48 AM on 07.28.10 |
| ->> A bit with track and field, shooting discus and hammer through the net, sometimes for shot put depending on how the AF is behaving on a given day. |
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Dianna Russell, Photographer
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Springfield | MO | USA | Posted: 2:45 AM on 07.28.10 |
| ->> My 300 lost the ability to auto focus at the end of May. I tried to manually focus it for two innings of baseball and came away with serious admiration for the past baseball (or any other sport) shooters who manually focused and nailed their shots. Let's just say it was sent to Nikon as soon as I could get it sent. I will pick it up at the end of the month. OMG, I can't wait. |
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Martin McNeil, Photographer
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East Kilbride | Lanarkshire | United Kingdom | Posted: 2:48 AM on 07.28.10 |
->> I'll second what Sam Morris said about MMA / UFC; the cage mesh is a big, juicy target for an AF sensor and using autofocus on your camera will cause your lens to lock on to the fence more often than not.
Being able to accurately set manual focus is a must... though this is made a ton easier on full-frame bodies such as the D3, 5D and 1Ds series. |
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Dave Prelosky, Photographer
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Lower Burrell | Pa | US | Posted: 3:01 AM on 07.28.10 |
| ->> The AF lock button has become one of my best friends. If the sensor isn't where I need it to be, I position the "cursor" and lock it with my right thumb. There is, of course a bit of a learning curve, as it is a new skill to utilize. |
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Tim Huntington, Photographer
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Monterey | CA | USA | Posted: 3:07 AM on 07.28.10 |
->> Not sure if you'd classify this as MF. I pre-focus most of my motorcycle action shots. I'm shooting professionals who pretty much hit their mark every lap, so I pick where I want to shoot based on background and ability to capture a group of bikes during a race and pre-focus there.
Particularly for group shots I won't know where 2nd through Nth are going to appear, so already being focused allows me to move the primary target withing my frame to try and capture as many of the group as possible - this often will have the primary target being outside any of the pre-defined focus points.
I often use auto focus to focus the camera on my pre-focus point (and may adjust manually too) - and I have the focus set up on a back button just in case something unexpected happens (for instance, a crash) so that I'm not married to MF.
Over the last few years, as the DSLR auto focus has improved, I still think I'll be MF'ing for a long while to come. |
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Bryon Houlgrave, Photographer
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Mason City | Ia | USA | Posted: 4:07 AM on 07.28.10 |
| ->> All this talk about focusing ... but I've got ADD. |
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Wesley R. Bush, Photographer
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Nashville | TN | U.S. | Posted: 8:38 AM on 07.28.10 |
| ->> I'm lucky enough to hit my focus with the lens doing the work. I think shooting video is actually feeding bad habits into my portraits. (Can't stop myself from zooming all the way in for focus and then back out to compose.) |
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Rick Rickman, Photographer
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Laguna Niguel | CA | USA | Posted: 9:23 AM on 07.28.10 |
->> John
I guess I must be the dinosaur. I regularly use manual focus for my sports shooting. I find it particularly valuable for shooting volleyball with a 200 and 300 2.0 lensing choice. I use auto focus as well but I find that often when the auto focus sensor wants to go the wrong way I can correct and get to the point where the action is actually happening.
There are number of occasions when auto focus is just a waste of time and won't help much but other times when auto is wonderful. I've just found that by maintaining skill with manual focus has allowed me to get a few pictures that others might have had real trouble capturing.
I personally think that honing your manual focus skills is an important part of being able to skillfully capture difficult and challenging images. |
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Jeff Haynes, Photographer
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Chicago | IL | USA | Posted: 9:58 AM on 07.28.10 |
| ->> Everytime confetti comes falling down from the heavens at Conventions, Super Bowl celebrations, NBA finals, you will find the auto focus will pick a piece of the confetti. Plus a few other times. |
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Paul Calhoun, Photographer
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Hillsborough | NC | U.S. | Posted: 3:10 PM on 07.28.10 |
->> Manual focus works great for photographing water skiers and wake boarders from a tow boat. The rope stays the same length so you know how far away they are going to me almost all of the time, and you don't have to worry about auto focus being thrown off by spray in the foreground or objects in the background.
As Tim from Canada and Tim from California mentioned in this thread, MF works great for motorcycle races and other motor sports, and for masses of runners, cyclists and/or swimmers coming by in triathlons and such. It is often easier to pre-focus on a spot and wait for the action to get there, especially if you are panning with the moving object and creating background blur.
It amazes me that so many of the "old-timers" got better pix with manual focus and a couple of 36-exposure rolls of film than most of the digital newbies manage with auto-focus and 8-gig cards. The real secret may be knowing your sport and planning ahead. |
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