I’m struggling…

[Smudge04015]

I am still struggling with focus settings. I have been serious about photography for just about one year. I have learned a great deal over the last year and while reviewing my own photos, I think I have improved during this time. That being said, I still have problems nailing focus. I think I have tried almost all of the focus settings on my A7lll, just when I think I’ve got it, my photo series will prove me wrong. I shoot landscapes, animals, and sports. Where I lose focus is with action, yeah, if I’m taking 500 photos most of them are in focus and sharp but sometimes the ones I really want are in the toss out category because they’re out of focus. I have tried wide area, as well as the different sizes of flex spot and expandable flex spot and I just have not been able to find “the one” that works. I have stayed away from center only mainly because I feel like I don’t have a good handle on panning. Maybe that is the absolute wrong way to look at it that is the solution but I just don’t know. Any suggestions are great appreciated!

Happy New Year!
~Brian

 

[Brownie]

I have been serious about photography for just about one year...(snip)... yeah, if I’m taking 500 photos most of them are in focus and sharp but sometimes the ones I really want are in the toss out category because they’re out of focus.

It sounds like you're under the impression that many people shoot hundreds or even thousands of action shots and every single image is in focus on a regular basis. I can tell you that it happens, but not as common as you'd think. What's more, the faster the action the higher the failure rate. Everyone ends up with images that have to be tossed, and they're usually those they want the most. Sometimes it's the camera, sometimes it's the photographer, sometimes it's both.

There are a lot of variables that go beyond AF. What's your shutter speed? What about IBIS? Do you change it to panning mode before trying to pan? What about DOF? If you're shooting a very shallow DOF and you lose tracking even for an instant while panning, the results will be poor.

Can you think back to a shoot where you lost more than what you think is reasonable, and confirm that your variables were unchanged for the images, keepers and those you had to toss?

Lastly, practice. Practice, practice, practice. Never stop. Go out and walk around without plans to make great photos, just practice focus. Birds, airplane, cars, anything that moves.

 

[Jeff A]

Are you using a focus area that offers tracking?

 

[Smudge04015]

Are you using a focus area that offers tracking?

You may have been my ah-ha moment. Thinking back I can’t confirm or deny that setting. How do you have it assigned? Custom key or just leave it on the af-on or ael?

 

[Smudge04015]

It sounds like you're under the impression that many people shoot hundreds or even thousands of action shots and every single image is in focus on a regular basis. I can tell you that it happens, but not as common as you'd think. What's more, the faster the action the higher the failure rate. Everyone ends up with images that have to be tossed, and they're usually those they want the most. Sometimes it's the camera, sometimes it's the photographer, sometimes it's both.

There are a lot of variables that go beyond AF. What's your shutter speed? What about IBIS? Do you change it to panning mode before trying to pan? What about DOF? If you're shooting a very shallow DOF and you lose tracking even for an instant while panning, the results will be poor.

Can you think back to a shoot where you lost more than what you think is reasonable, and confirm that your variables were unchanged for the images, keepers and those you had to toss?

Lastly, practice. Practice, practice, practice. Never stop. Go out and walk around without plans to make great photos, just practice focus. Birds, airplane, cars, anything that moves.

 

[Brownie]

Here's a link to the page for AF settings and tracking for the A7III. If you've used the different AFs you say in your first post, you've used settings that track. The question is did you have tracking on?

ILCE-7M3 | Help Guide | Focus Area

 

[Smudge04015]

Yesterday it was with my pup and he was running towards me. He was moving pretty fast, every one of those photos were OOF. Hearing you say it, of course I wouldn't see any of those, just like myself, I wouldn't share any trash photos so I'm not as terrible as I may think. Get back out there and keep pushing the button! Thank you Brownie!

 

[Hank]

Brian I can recommend watching Mark Galer's Sony Alpha Focus Masterclass (note the correction in description regarding using AF tracking to apertures as small as f11 on the a7iii) and also his Choosing the best focus area on your Sony Alpha camera videos if you haven't already. Top notch instruction.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I literally use 3 modes only, but 90% of the time I only use one, which is single centre point, which is the most accurate by far, as the other options are easily distracted by other things in the field of view.
The only others I use are zone with tracking and centre with tracking, and those I use for birds in flight when it's smaller or fast moving subjects. Anything big, even owls for example, I use centre and track manually, with my focus lock sensitivity set at 1.