I took 15 shots of this bird using Auto-focus on a Nikon D5200 in every case all of the autofocus points were on the tree trunk and the bird itself. I was shooting with 3fps continuous so ham handed button pushing doesn't seem to explain why all 15 shots were poorly focused. ISO 160 F5.6 1/320th at 140mm. Any ideas of what went wrong here.
Is this cropped? I know that my eye for close work is a problem but it looks as though this is in focus but I may be wrong. Was the bird moving about? If so, maybe the shutter speed needed to be higher. Is the Auto Focus working for other shots? Has the lens got auto focus capabilities because I found that when I wanted to borrow someone's lens, the auto focus on the body wasn't working and the lens had no auto focus which is why it didn't work. Other than that, I don't really know what is going on. Perhaps someone else might have an idea
I have the same camera. Maybe try shooting in shutter priority with a faster speed than the 1/320. If it looks too dark, raise the ISO - but probably will be fine outside in the sun. Personally, I got a long lens (55-300) as part of the package when I bout my camera, and I haven't been a fan of that lens. However, that's also not the type of pictures I usually take, so it very well could be my experience level!
@rosiekind - Thanks for the reply. Yes the auto focus worked fine on other shots with the same settings. This photo is cropped, but not severely. What really staggered me was that all 15 shots were out of focus. Not severely just enough so I could not crop to the zoom level I had in the other shots.
@tracys - Thank you, I was using the 18mm-140mm zoom lens that came with the camera, I have taken extremely sharp photos of flying birds with it so I know the auto focus works, This bird was relatively stationary, but if you look closely even the tree bark is not in sharp focus.
"All the auto focus points?" Unless you are shooting AUTO, you should be selecting the AF point to use for these static shots. "AF-S" for the AF Mode and "Single Point Area AF Mode" and choose one point so that's all you see lit up. And then actively place the focus point you have chosen - usually best to use the center one as it will focus down better than the ones further out - over the subject, presumably the bird, then half press the shutter to acquire focus (the camera will probably "chirp" and the circle in the lower left of the viewfinder will be solid round), re-frame the shot as you hold the shutter halfway down, and then press the point all the way down when you have the frame as want.
And AUTO won't work well here either since the camera will pick up the closest "object" which is probably the thing protruding about 1/3 the way up the trunk.
And are you sure you held the camera steady, or turned on VR, as you shot?
@frankhymus - Ah! Lightbulb goes on. Time to re-think the whole AF thing. Thank you Frank. I was shooting in P mode, but the AF is set for Auto area not Single Point. Then there is "Focus mode" mine is set for AF-S single servo, the other option are AF-A auto servo, or AF-C continuous servo. How do those settings affect this type of shot?
To answer your question VR was turned on, and I'm pretty sure out of 15 shots at least one or two would have had a steady hand. I do get good focus most of the time at 140mm.
@sarasotab Ah. I suggest that you shoot "AF-S" and "Single Point." At least for standard shots. I would NEVER shoot AF-A, it's a nasty kluge that Nikon should be ashamed of. :)
If you do shoot moving subjects and want to do what people call "subject tracking" or "focus tracking" shoot AF-C and Dynamic Area. Nikon has got this down to a fine tuned thing, and in fact do it better than just about any other vendor. Start with the selected focus point, usually the middle one, lock subject focus with a half shutter press, and then let the subject move or move the camera while keeping the shutter half pressed until you want to FIRE. As long as that subject on which you locked initial focus stays within the boundaries of your AF 39 point area, it's outlined for you in the viewfinder, you'll be fine. You'll see the focus point shift to follow the subject you originally locked on.
But for normal "static" ideas, please think to use "AF-S" ( AF mode) and "Single Point" (AF-Area Mode) on the center point. It is probably best to have this as your "default" shooting mode. I do. The "lock focus" and then re-frame idea...
"Auto Area" (AF Area Mode) is really never a great idea. Ever. You surrender control to the DUMB camera, and it will choose the CLOSEST piece that could be considered a subject, it doesn't know any better.
That is, if you want to shoot in anything but AUTO mode, which I hope you are prepared to try. Start with the AF-S and Single Point, take control and see how you go. I think (hope) you will come away much happier with the results. Trust the technology to work with you, but never surrender "creative" stuff (like what exactly is the subject) to the camera.
@frankhymus - Thank you for the advice, Frank. I hardly ever use "Auto" but rather use P . Sometimes, I use straight manual or A or S depending on the situation, but I was not aware I was surrendering Focus to The Auto Area focus mode. I will do as you suggest in future. I'll go back to my newly discovered nature preserve and capture that Woodpecker, I know where he lives now. Thanks again.
I agree with Frank @frankhymus I rarely use AF-A. Because I do a lot of portrait work I tend to use AF-S single focus but I also AF-C continuous is another good option especially when shooting a moving subject such as a bird. Also your aperture is 5.6 so using a somewhat wider aperture is going to effect the focus as well as the shutter speed. It is difficult to really tell on 365 when the primary subject is so small but it appears that your woodpecker is in focus.
@myhrhelper - Thanks for the input, the bird only appears in focus because of the small amount of crop. This was only a 140mm lens, and I can usually crop to get a much closer in-focus shot. but in this case that was as much as I could get. In fact I wouldn't have posted this picture except to get a critique. I have since heeded @Frankhymus advice and use either AF-S or AF-C. Getting better results now. Thanks again.
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@tracys - Thank you, I was using the 18mm-140mm zoom lens that came with the camera, I have taken extremely sharp photos of flying birds with it so I know the auto focus works, This bird was relatively stationary, but if you look closely even the tree bark is not in sharp focus.
And AUTO won't work well here either since the camera will pick up the closest "object" which is probably the thing protruding about 1/3 the way up the trunk.
And are you sure you held the camera steady, or turned on VR, as you shot?
To answer your question VR was turned on, and I'm pretty sure out of 15 shots at least one or two would have had a steady hand. I do get good focus most of the time at 140mm.
If you do shoot moving subjects and want to do what people call "subject tracking" or "focus tracking" shoot AF-C and Dynamic Area. Nikon has got this down to a fine tuned thing, and in fact do it better than just about any other vendor. Start with the selected focus point, usually the middle one, lock subject focus with a half shutter press, and then let the subject move or move the camera while keeping the shutter half pressed until you want to FIRE. As long as that subject on which you locked initial focus stays within the boundaries of your AF 39 point area, it's outlined for you in the viewfinder, you'll be fine. You'll see the focus point shift to follow the subject you originally locked on.
But for normal "static" ideas, please think to use "AF-S" ( AF mode) and "Single Point" (AF-Area Mode) on the center point. It is probably best to have this as your "default" shooting mode. I do. The "lock focus" and then re-frame idea...
"Auto Area" (AF Area Mode) is really never a great idea. Ever. You surrender control to the DUMB camera, and it will choose the CLOSEST piece that could be considered a subject, it doesn't know any better.
That is, if you want to shoot in anything but AUTO mode, which I hope you are prepared to try. Start with the AF-S and Single Point, take control and see how you go. I think (hope) you will come away much happier with the results. Trust the technology to work with you, but never surrender "creative" stuff (like what exactly is the subject) to the camera.
All the best!