"ELinder" said:
Joanie, if that's what you can get when you're struggling, I shutter (ouch) to think what you'll capture when things are going well! My favorite is the dog from the rear too.
Did you ever try the lens again under good lighting conditions before returning it? What kinds of AF settings did you use? I ask because as good as the D4 autofocus is, under certain low light and low contrast conditions it's behavior seems to change from what you expect. In my case ISO 12,800, 1/320 to 1/400 sec, and wide open at f/2.8. Depending on the contrast of the subject the release mode makes a huge difference in my keeper rate.
Erich
Hi Erich,
Thanks for the lovin!
Yes, I did try the lens under better lighting conditions and it did perform a little better, but it still was focus hunting more than it should have been. I rented that lens so I could push it under the dark ride conditions, so I needed something that was way more reliable. The reason I got the keepers that I did was because I was extremely aggressive in trying over and over again during 3 trips around. The number of shots that I have that were OUT of focus, even under the more brightly lit scenes, were telling.
I had the camera set to AF-S. I prefer that setting because I can select the exact focus point I want and take the picture immediately. I am constantly activating the focusing system as we move along so that the camera is closer in it's lens adjustment. I know
on these dark rides that any automatic focus settings the camera selects tend to default to selecting the brighter areas of a scene and that is probably not what I want. ; I also have a depth of field calculator on my phone so I know exactly what I should expect to get at a particular setting. Sometimes too shallow of a depth of field can sink your shot, especially if the focus point is not exactly where you need it when using large apertures. This is yet another reason to maintain total control over the focus point selection on a dark ride.
To sum it up, in my experience, I know that when the camera is doing the focus point selecting on these dark rides it probably will not select the area that I need in focus.
I also have the camera set to focus lock, which means the shutter will not fire until the camera is in focus. This cuts down on a lot of the misfires on the part of the camera. If it's not in sharp focus I don't want it. In some other photography circumstances it might be necessary just to get any kind/quality of shot but that's not what I am going for here. These dark ride conditions are at the extreme end of ANY camera's abilities but I have always loved how the D4 performs on these rides.
I know exactly what you mean when you say "the D4 autofocus is, under certain low light and low contrast conditions it's behavior seems to change from what you expect." I have enough experience with the camera to know that it had the capabilities to perform better under the extreme lighting conditions in Pirates, especially when using an 85mm f1.8 prime lens when compared to a zoom f2.8 24-70. That D4 is deadly with it's focus on dark rides when using the 24 to 70 mm so I know the 85mm should have been close (or even better) to the performance of the 24-70.
One of the other things I do is study a lenses specifications so I know in advance where the sweet spot is with regard to aperture and sharp focus. If it's going to have corner fall off I go into a shooting situation aware of that and It try to strike a balance between lens settings and sharpness and the demands of the lighting conditions. I'll put note on my phone that reminds me when I pull out this lens what it's best at at a certain aperture per this MM of zoom. Primes are pretty easy to keep track of but zooms can be all over the place with sharpness/ distortion depending on the mm settings.
So this is just a scarey look at what is going on in my mind when I plan my shooting on a Disney trip. Usually before I go on a trip I set a goal or an area that I want to concentrate on with my shooting and I supplement my equipment with a rental. I have a trip coming up in the beginning of March but it's a family trip so I will have to see what I can manage while "Herding the Cats" around Disney. I rented a 70-200mm lens, just because I would like to get more experience with this lens and my husband purchased a 24-120 f4 to use on my old D90. I plan on concentrating on Animal Kingdom at night if I get the chance to break away from the family. Wish me luck and we shall see!
~Joanie
; Love the shot of Old Bill and his cats...and that dog shot is one of the best angles and ideas I've seen on that one.