D70 or 350D??

[TT]

Originally Posted by MartijnGizmo I put my hood on the lens reversed, or just put it in my bag.

Like this it basically covers also the zooming ring :arrow: offpissing

I never use all focus points, I want the be in control of where the damn thing focusses! If you really want to be sure that everything is in focus you could use the "A-DEP" program. Basically it selects an aperture that keeps all focus points sharp. So you point at a car and make sure that all 7 points are on the car. Kinda hard to explain, and the manual isn't that clear on it either.

Well, just too diffcult in most cases.. I don't like the car to totally fill the frame, so at least one or two points are on the ground or background.
Anyway the points the camera is using always flash in the viewfinder, so if I am not happy I just press again untill the ones used seem pretty much what I'd like.
A couple of times I had troubles using single point due as said to reflections for instance (I think), so I use it VERY rarely

[dingo]

Thanks for the info guys, interesting reading......I realised the rear of the car was a bit out of focus, will try and practice again this arvo.

[dingo]

Just another quick question (probably for TT), do you put the IS in Mode 1 or Mode 2 for panning shots?

[nthfinity]

Originally Posted by dingo Just another quick question (probably for TT), do you put the IS in Mode 1 or Mode 2 for panning shots?

mode 2

[MartijnGizmo]

- mode (1) for static scenes where the IS corrects shake both vertically as well as horizontally
- mode (2) for action photography (object tracking) where only vertical shake is corrected

[dutchmasterflex]

Originally Posted by dingo Thanks for the info guys, interesting reading......I realised the rear of the car was a bit out of focus, will try and practice again this arvo.

I'm sure you're loving your new DSLR.. It's much different from having a digital point and shoot with all the settings right in your face. Once you physically get used to it you'll be getting photos published everywhere!


The reason the rear of the car is out of focus is because of your apeture setting (Depth of Field).. the higher the number the more sharp the photo will be.. the lower the number the more blurry everything will be that youre not focused on..

[TT]

Actually I always use Mode 1 for panning shots because I end up with way better % of good shots.. no idea why but for my kind of hands/arms, mode 1 does it for panning shots and never use the damn 2 anymore

Also, I'll repeat myself, but for cars traveling 80 kmh or more, the 70-300 IS F4.5/5.6 is a bit on the slow side and 80% of the time you'll have the focus on the rear of the car (for a 3/4 panning shot like the following one) instead of front... I think it's better to focus on a given point and block the focusing instead of using the continuos setting :bah:
that's why I wouln't mind pretty quickly an L tele...

[dingo]

Thanks guys, I have a long (7-8hrs) trackday tomorrow so I'll give both modes a workout and see what works for me.

[TT]

I hope it will be mode 1 because I am worried there is something wrong in me

Actually I don't even know why I tried mode 1 instead of improving my fucking steadiness, but since mode 1 worked so well, the hell my shaking body if the camera can fix it for me

[nthfinity]

I think it's better to focus on a given point and block the focusing instead of using the continuos setting

does the 350 d have costom settings as well? since i separated the use of focusing from metering, things seem to be much easier... I choose the focus spot, then the car goes by, and if i dont shake much (no IS) then it starts looking great...

that feature comes in real handy. I havent had an IS lens long enough to properly try out which mode works better

[MartijnGizmo]

Yes, the 350D also has Custom Functions, incl. the one to set focus on the AEL-button.

[TT]

Sadly though, when you shoot on an highway, you can't be sure you'll have a free line of sigt at the given point :bah: so I ended up using continuous focusing een for my second photo mission today

[MartijnGizmo]

I almost always use continuous focus with my 70-200.....

[TT]

Yeh, with L lenses there is no problem, I tested it with a friend's material, but for the poor hunter like us with simple ones, focusing speed is an issue

[MartijnGizmo]

But single shot is almost guaranteed to mis a fast moving subject, unless you prefocus.....