http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1039&message=26117899 Nikon D300/D200/D100 Subject D300 Single Area Vs. Dynamic Area Posted by Stu S [CLICK FOR PROFILE] Date/Time 3:49:40 PM, Friday, December 21, 2007 (GMT) I was shooting an event at work last evening and noticed that my D300 with 17-55 f/2.8 Nikon and SB800 was hesitating a bit to lock focus much of the time. It starts to autofocus immediately, but seems to fine tune itself a bit before it decides to lock. Focus Settings: AF-S, Single Area, Focus Lock: Normal After messing around with the settings a bit I found that if I change to Dynamic Area (Still AF-S and Focus Lock: Normal) focus lock was noticeably quicker without the hesitation or fine tuning I found with Single Area mode. It also did not matter whether I used 9, 21 or 51 focus points when in Dynamic Mode - hesitation was not there. When back home I selected a target that seemed to reliably produce the hesitation in Single Area mode. It was quite reproducable that Dynamic was quicker to lock than Single Area in this more controlled, though not scientific environment. It seems that Single Area mode thinks a bit longer and fine tunes a bit more before it locks focus, perhaps on the assumption that its being used for static subjects where the tradeoff of speed for accuracy was made. Has anyone else noticed a similar behavior? --- Nikon D300/D200/D100 Subject Re: D300 Single Area Vs. Dynamic Area Posted by Stu S [CLICK FOR PROFILE] Date/Time 4:07:49 PM, Friday, December 21, 2007 (GMT) Targets were nothing out of the ordinary - most people's faces in a reasonably well lighted office environment. At home, my more controlled environment was a portion of a flowery wallpaper pattern (my wife's taste, not mine) that filled the center focus point. --- Nikon D300/D200/D100 Subject Re: D300 Single Area Vs. Dynamic Area Posted by Mark D. [CLICK FOR PROFILE] Date/Time 4:34:30 PM, Friday, December 21, 2007 (GMT) Hmm, maybe that is why I haven't noticed these "AF issue" as of yet. Since day one my D300 has not left Dynamic Mode. of course I've been using 9,21,51/3D in that mode, but so far I have not found a reason to go back to Single AF Point. Curious, why even use single? I can't thinkof any reason for me to go back to that mode. What can single can do better then being in Dynamic. --- Nikon D300/D200/D100 Subject Re: D300 Single Area Vs. Dynamic Area Posted by Stu S [CLICK FOR PROFILE] Date/Time 4:46:34 PM, Friday, December 21, 2007 (GMT) Old habit (using single area) from D200 where I never had particularly good luck with Dynamic Area. I also concluded this morning that there is no really reason now not use Dynamic all the time, since if I switch to AF-S mode it essentially is single point focus (I think). However, I still like to understand how the AF system operates and whether what I was seeing is user error or simply the way the AF algorithms behave based on other folks' observations. Its also interesting to note that my D200 does not behave this way (that is, single point has no similar hesitation, which is why I found myself using it a lot and I carried over that habit to D300). I also have to say, that even with the hesitation, once focus locked on it was perfect. Out of several hundred pix, I think only one was not spot on and that was my fault. --- Nikon D300/D200/D100 Subject Re: D300 Single Area Vs. Dynamic Area Posted by Beau Long [CLICK FOR PROFILE] Date/Time 4:59:28 PM, Friday, December 21, 2007 (GMT) Stu, I found the same thing on my D200. I used single with AFC for sports a lot more than I did Dynamic and AFC... just seemed to work better. On the D300, it's Dynamic AFC all the way and it performs as advertised; very reliable and very fast. --- Nikon D300/D200/D100 Subject Re: D300 Single Area Vs. Dynamic Area Posted by Stu S [CLICK FOR PROFILE] Date/Time 5:08:53 PM, Friday, December 21, 2007 (GMT) Thanks Beau. This is reassuring. In fact, if I can pick your brain a little on this subject I'd appreciate it. I also shoot sports (in this case, dance competition events where the action can be as fast as basketball with the dancers flying all over the place) and did the exact same thing you found yourself doing - AF-C with Single Area since I got great results (and did not using Dynamic Area). My conclusion is now the same as yours to use AF-C with Dynamic Area. However, I'm not sure where to start with the number of Dynamic focus points to use or to try 3D. Some dance routines consist of solo's, duo's or small groups. Others can have a whole crowd on the stage. I know I will need to experiment some, but I don't want to blow an event by making a bad choice. I have an event to do tomorrow so this is of timely interest for me. What settings do you find work well for you in terms of # of focus points, 3D or not, Release, Focus or Release + Focus priority mode and Focus Lock (anything I missed that has to do with focus?)? Thanks again! --- Nikon D300/D200/D100 Subject Re: D300 Single Area Vs. Dynamic Area Posted by Beau Long [CLICK FOR PROFILE] Date/Time 5:38:51 PM, Friday, December 21, 2007 (GMT) No problem... 21pt, Release Priority, tracking/lock OFF, AF Assist OFF, AF On only a5 (I prefer to separate the shutter and AF... only way to set focus, release AF ON button and recompose in AFC mode. I rarely recompose shooting action, but when I need a shot at a particular spot, it's far easier to accomplish as I follow into the spot of focus and fire without the consequence of the shutter activating focus again... if that makes any sense). I haven't played around too much with 3D. The couple times I did, the crowd in the BG was too much for it to not see and it shifted focus one too many times for me to use again. I would imagine it is great for single subject with relatively free BG clutter. So far, all of my serious shooting with the cam has been indoor sports with crowds. I can't wait to get this thing into some decent daylight action... feeling a bit vampirish lately. ;-) --- Nikon D300/D200/D100 Subject Why single point AF? Posted by larsbc [CLICK FOR PROFILE] Date/Time 5:26:25 PM, Friday, December 21, 2007 (GMT) I shoot a lot of fairly close portraits with my D300. And because it's frequently indoors with no window light, I am usually shooting wide open. I use single point AF to ensure that I am getting one or both eyes in focus. If I used a wider area, I could end up with the camera focusing on the nose or eyebrows. I would help if the AF area were overlayed on viewfinder screen...but it'd also make it harder to see in poor light. larsbc --- Nikon D300/D200/D100 Subject Ditto Posted by jlf [CLICK FOR PROFILE] Date/Time 4:42:36 PM, Friday, December 21, 2007 (GMT) I have found the same thing to be true - esp. in lower lighting conditions. Dynamic AF w/9 pt is more like my D200 in terms of locking focus versus Single AF. So, I use Dynamic AF on my D300. j. --- Nikon D300/D200/D100 Subject Re: D300 Single Area Vs. Dynamic Area Posted by herr_bob [CLICK FOR PROFILE] Date/Time 5:32:35 PM, Friday, December 21, 2007 (GMT) Thanks for the info. How can I control the dynamic area focus, say, I want it focus to a model in the left, will it focus to a car in the right? Is dynamic area focus reliable and point to what I want?