[Damo]

I was shooting a late night snowboard street jib & rail session last night and was having trouble focusing on the subject.

With little or no light available (except for my strobes), auto focus was out and manual focus was difficult as the subject was dark.

I shot a few test shots with the subject standing on the feature, then adjusted the focus from what I saw in the lcd screen.

Once I uploaded the photos onto the computer however, the focusing was out on most of the pics.

Frustrating.

Any ideas?

 

[MikeD]

Get a Leica.

Really, pre-focusing/scale focusing is what you're gonna have to do. Use a small aperture and a powerful-but-diffused flash to compensate. If you do it again, consider (seriously!) carrying a tape measure and mark your shooting point and your "trigger" point for the photo.

And/or get a nice flashlight like a Sure-fire and pre-focus using that.

 

[narlus]

yep...if you know where your target will be, use the distance scale on the lens and stop down to where you think a good DoF will yield good focus.

 

[Toshi]

center cross point + lenses faster than f/2.8

 

[Silver]

I shot a few test shots with the subject standing on the feature, then adjusted the focus from what I saw in the lcd screen.

Once I uploaded the photos onto the computer however, the focusing was out on most of the pics.

Frustrating.

Any ideas?

Have the guy stand on the jump with a cell phone next to his face. Focus on that. Then switch focus to manual, stop down so you have some depth of field to compensate for the subject moving, and don't move yourself...

(This won't work if the distance between your prefocused point and you changes very much...so don't try it for a sequence shot.)

 

[Transcend]

Flashlight.

 

[Damo]

Flashlight.

Enough of the terminology brainiac!

Layman's terms please!

:biggrin:

 

[sanjuro]

Weegee used a set focus of 10 feet for his wonderful nightlife shots.

I would set your focus similarly, then get used to taking photos at that distance.

If nothing at all, you will get a photo as opposed to waiting for the autofocus to stop.

 

[MikeD]

Weegee used a set focus of 10 feet for his wonderful nightlife shots.

I would set your focus similarly, then get used to taking photos at that distance.

If nothing at all, you will get a photo as opposed to waiting for the autofocus to stop.

Speaking of Wegee, I'd also recommend using a Speed Graphic 4x5...the wire-frame sportsfinder retains excellent visibility at night.

 

[Damo]

You mean this?

 

[MikeD]

Could there be any other?