RE: Leaving through the side door...
- From: "Ted Grant" <tedgrant@xxxxxxx>
- To: <leica@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2008 10:34:16 -0700
David Young offered:
Subject: Leaving through the side door...
>>>Like most of us, I try to post only photos which are technically very
good, if not excellent.
But this shot is testimony to the pitfalls of auto focus. The action moved
so quickly, that the camera simply could not find the subject and so it
focused on the only non-moving thing it could find ... the ground in front
of the subject matter.
Still, in all my years of watching rodeos, I've never seen a rider leave his
steed in such a spectacular manner. Thus, technical flaws and all, I could
not resist sharing the shot with you.
As the cowboys would say, he was "leaving through the side door".
http://www.furnfeather.net/Temps/SideDoor.htm<<<<<
Hi David,
I don't think this is the pit fall fault of auto focus not being quick
enough, it's a super fast action that would more than test the ability of
any photographer focusing manually! No matter who it is or who thinks he
could focus fast enough to catch it pin sharp!
I always prided myself at being able to manually focus very fast with long
Leica glass, certainly covering sports of any kind. That was until I was
given a Canon to try at the Olympics some years ago with a 300 2.8. Then I
learned "just how slow I was" compared to the auto focus. Yes auto focus
will pick the wrong spot if you if you don't make the camera do what you
want it to do. Just the same as allowing the camera to pick and set the
exposure without ones knowledge of what's right and wrong when looking
through the view finder.
Quite frankly I'm being weaned from my manual focus Leica SLR glass on my
Canon digi cameras while using Canon glass, simply because it allows me
easier faster handling of the camera with auto focus. Not to forget some
failing eye sight in my 80th year. It also affords, in some cases, a better
hit ratio of in focus images on moving subjects.
I turn off all the extra focusing points, working only with the centre spot
as this increases the speed of the auto focus action. By the same token you
have to be right on the mark what you're shooting at, but that only means
you make the camera do and go where you want it to.
And in the case of the rider being dumped at such an unsuspecting speed and
angle is an added factor at missing the shot. Not you nor cameras' failure!
It's just one of those things in this kind of situation.
Cheers,
ted
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