[UncleVanya]

Maybe in a handful of cases. I'd certainly have to practice a lot for AF point selecting to be faster. I think the main thing I learned is to consider picking the focal points more than using SEL as a replacement for the recompose.

Having spent many years with center weighted metering and then single point autofocus I find it hard to transition to other models of af. With my m43 gear touchscreen
Af point selection is relatively simple but hard for me to get in the habit of using.

[pacerr]

Having spent many years with center weighted metering and then single point autofocus I find it hard to transition to other models of af.

Habit's are hard to break. I made a concerted effort to use AF modes a few years ago and found I spent more time confirming focus than if I'd simply manually focused.

I've spent 10-15 minutes setting up and 'proofing' a burst, AF-C shot only to end up with the same single happy-to-have-it shot I'd have gotten with an ad-hoc fixed, pre-focus set-up. (Like shootin' basketball with a Yashica TLR 6x6 and flash bulbs?)


Center point and re-compose works effortlessly for me for both focus and exposure. (Perhaps ghosts of Spotmatics-past lookin' over my shoulder? OK, thanks ol' friends.)


Even AF was not 'normal' for me until a nerve injury inhibited my ability to use my left fingers for manual focus. Now it's a necessity.

[BruceBanner]

Habit's are hard to break. I made a concerted effort to use AF modes a few years ago and found I spent more time confirming focus than if I'd simply manually focused.

I've spent 10-15 minutes setting up and 'proofing' a burst, AF-C shot only to end up with the same single happy-to-have-it shot I'd have gotten with an ad-hoc fixed, pre-focus set-up. (Like shootin' basketball with a Yashica TLR 6x6 and flash bulbs?)


Center point and re-compose works effortlessly for me for both focus and exposure. (Perhaps ghosts of Spotmatics-past lookin' over my shoulder? OK, thanks ol' friends.)


Even AF was not 'normal' for me until a nerve injury inhibited my ability to use my left fingers for manual focus. Now it's a necessity.

I can understand that process. Directional pad for single focus points can be handy, but not so much if yer spending too much time fiddling with them. Quick Shift lenses can be amazing, using centre AF to help you quickly get to the general ball park focus and then manually focusing to fine tune the process.

[Janet wolfenden]

The set up works so well, I have a new respect for the software.
K3 with Tamron 18-200 and I'm getting shots that I have only been lucky to catch before. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

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[Oktyabr]

I sold my K-70 and bought a lightly used K3ii. I now use back button focus on both my Pentax and my Panasonic bridge camera and can't imagine shooting any other way. It DID take a couple of weeks of acclimation, so don't try it once and give up! SEL, I still don't use, as most of the photography I take are photos of opportunity of moving subjects (birds mostly, and my cats) and spot focus and recompose just seems much more able to provide the "keeper" I want. I'm posting again here because while my time with the K-70 was relatively short (about 3000 shots) I was impressed, and surprised, at how accurate "catch in focus" tended to be with this particular body, usually with a vintage prime on board, like my beloved 50mm 1.7. I expect the KP might be at least as capable and perhaps some of the older bodies as well (my previous Pentax was a K10D and I never did learn catch in focus while I had it).

Pentax M 50mm f/1.7, back button focus, catch in focus.

[Piotrek K]

This works very well with my K-r. But this week I should get new (for me) K-7 plus grip. I do not know how much people can use such a camera, but maybe soemone can give me some camera/grip specific tips?

[edri]

Perfect focus everytime is a dream for all brands.

[dieselpunk]

I've been using the select focal point technique for most of this year after discovering it on this thread. This summer I was on a family vacation and I was telling my father (a photographer since the 1960s) about this his response was, "Why make it so complicated? Just use the face detection feature." Ha ha. I guess there's no good response to that. I thought of all people he would appreciate being accurate with focus, but his vision has gotten bad and basically relies on technology to keep taking photos. He's shooting some kind of Canon mirrorless these days.

It did make me think though. Am I just doing a lot more work to compensate for using an 8 year old camera? From a focus perspective, would my shots be easier to take with face/eye/whatever detection and I could then just concentrate on composition?

[ecostigny]

This thread has given me some solid ideas as to making my focusing more reliable with my Pentax K-5; its automatic focus point selection gets confused too easily if left unsupervised. Thanks for the tips!

[BruceBanner]

I've been using the select focal point technique for most of this year after discovering it on this thread. This summer I was on a family vacation and I was telling my father (a photographer since the 1960s) about this his response was, "Why make it so complicated? Just use the face detection feature." Ha ha. I guess there's no good response to that. I thought of all people he would appreciate being accurate with focus, but his vision has gotten bad and basically relies on technology to keep taking photos. He's shooting some kind of Canon mirrorless these days.

It did make me think though. Am I just doing a lot more work to compensate for using an 8 year old camera? From a focus perspective, would my shots be easier to take with face/eye/whatever detection and I could then just concentrate on composition?

The entire camera is technology, I really don't understand the mentality that embracing this feature or that somehow makes you less of a photographer, like somehow unless you have your eye stuffed down an OVF you're not a real photographer! ha!

On a recent pentax poll, Eye Detection came out as the second most requested feature. Second! I'm saddened to say however how few Pentaxians realise that their cameras actually have this feature already, it's just simply called 'Face Detection', but make no mistake this mode most definitely prioritises the eye, in fact it will struggle to work at all if the person is wearing sunglasses. I (and others) have put Face Detection through its paces, both with mannequins as well as live subjects, even at close range and wide apertures you will see the eye is focused, every time. Now I'm not suggesting it is perfect and cannot be improved, I'm sure modern smartphones FD is far superior, but I only wish to alert this feature as an absolute choice for consideration when shooting people (and I do weddings with this mode selected). There has been many conversations I've had where a Pentaxian doesn't even know that their camera has this AF mode. I have literally reached across the table, picked up their camera and navigated to the mode and selected it for them to hear them retort "Oh... I didn't think my camera had it!"

There are many reasons I use FD a lot, typically its because I am also using off camera flash, it's hard to do two things at once and FD can assist me during these times. Also, in chaotic scenarios (such as beer festivals) I have learned its sometimes of value to not have your eye stuffed down an ovf but to have a better bearing on what's going on all around you.

Anyway, pictures are worth a thousand words and all that so I have compiled an album of where I used FD, you can check it out here, in almost every instance these were a one shot take, no focus was missed;

Portrait (Face Detection Only) | Flickr

[ecostigny]

The entire camera is technology, I really don't understand the mentality that embracing this feature or that somehow makes you less of a photographer, like somehow unless you have your eye stuffed down an OVF you're not a real photographer! ha!

On a recent pentax poll, Eye Detection came out as the second most requested feature. Second! I'm saddened to say however how few Pentaxians realise that their cameras actually have this feature already, it's just simply called 'Face Detection', but make no mistake this mode most definitely prioritises the eye, in fact it will struggle to work at all if the person is wearing sunglasses. I (and others) have put Face Detection through its paces, both with mannequins as well as live subjects, even at close range and wide apertures you will see the eye is focused, every time. Now I'm not suggesting it is perfect and cannot be improved, I'm sure modern smartphones FD is far superior, but I only wish to alert this feature as an absolute choice for consideration when shooting people (and I do weddings with this mode selected). There has been many conversations I've had where a Pentaxian doesn't even know that their camera has this AF mode. I have literally reached across the table, picked up their camera and navigated to the mode and selected it for them to hear them retort "Oh... I didn't think my camera had it!"

There are many reasons I use FD a lot, typically its because I am also using off camera flash, it's hard to do two things at once and FD can assist me during these times. Also, in chaotic scenarios (such as beer festivals) I have learned its sometimes of value to not have your eye stuffed down an ovf but to have a better bearing on what's going on all around you.

Anyway, pictures are worth a thousand words and all that so I have compiled an album of where I used FD, you can check it out here, in almost every instance these were a one shot take, no focus was missed;

Portrait (Face Detection Only) | Flickr

Your post just prompted me to look in my K-5's manual--and it has Face Detection for Live View! I remember Face Detection being fairly reliable on my wife's Panasonic P&S from 2008 and wished that my DSLR could do something similar. Now, thanks to your example, I've learned that it can. It always pays to read the instructions!

[BruceBanner]

Your post just prompted me to look in my K-5's manual--and it has Face Detection for Live View! I remember Face Detection being fairly reliable on my wife's Panasonic P&S from 2008 and wished that my DSLR could do something similar. Now, thanks to your example, I've learned that it can. It always pays to read the instructions!

It would be interesting to know if FD has improved over the years, or if the K-5 vs the KP (newest dlsr from Pentax) is the same kinda performance..

[Kaladran]

I've been using the select focal point technique for most of this year after discovering it on this thread. This summer I was on a family vacation and I was telling my father (a photographer since the 1960s) about this his response was, "Why make it so complicated? Just use the face detection feature." Ha ha. I guess there's no good response to that. I thought of all people he would appreciate being accurate with focus, but his vision has gotten bad and basically relies on technology to keep taking photos. He's shooting some kind of Canon mirrorless these days.

It did make me think though. Am I just doing a lot more work to compensate for using an 8 year old camera? From a focus perspective, would my shots be easier to take with face/eye/whatever detection and I could then just concentrate on composition?

Short cuts like face detection are great when you have people in the shot! Selecting the focal point though is a skill you can apply to all of your photos.

[ecostigny]

Short cuts like face detection are great when you have people in the shot! Selecting the focal point though is a skill you can apply to all of your photos.

Sony's making a big deal about animal face detection now. Just when you thought there were enough short cuts in modern cameras.

[Kath]

Anyway, pictures are worth a thousand words and all that so I have compiled an album of where I used FD, you can check it out here, in almost every instance these were a one shot take, no focus was missed;

Portrait (Face Detection Only) | Flickr

Impressive! I’m going to have to investigate its use with wildlife.