[Wolfie665]

Hello all,

I am interested to hear from you about your favorite settings you use in different compositions.

More specifically your recomendations for metering and focus best and worst combination settings in your opinion for different type of compositions.

Focus:

Center
Select
Auto

Metering:
Spot
Center weighted
Multi-segmented

I read in a post:

Focus hunting may say something about your technique at that moment. Spot meter a hummingbird in flight with blue sky as the background and yeah, you are going to hear this lens hunt. Add a contrasty closer background, and things improve. Widen the metering slightly from spot, and all of a sudden this "lens focusses" the elusive hummingbird just fine.

So in that case I assume it is best to use Multi-segmented metering with center focus while shooting birds in flight against the sky?

What about if the light is coming behind the object? My dog always manages to go to the wrong side of the light what settings you recomend inthat case?

[Fenwoodian]

.
I set up my auto focus based upon what I'll be shooting. If I'm shooting barefoot water skiers flying by me at 45 miles-per-hour, I'll set up my auto focus one way. But for most of my subjects which are slower/static I just -

Focus = back button & center spot.

Focus on the subject, recompose, then shoot.

[ramseybuckeye]

.
I set up my auto focus based upon what I'll be shooting. If I'm shooting barefoot water skiers flying by me at 45 miles-per-hour, I'll set up my auto focus one way. But for most of my subjects which are slower/static I just -

Focus = back button & center spot.

Focus on the subject, recompose, then shoot.

Same here, and most of the time multi-segment metering, unless shooting something like birds, the go center weighted or spot depending on rest of the scene.

[stevebrot]

I have simple tastes:

• Manual focus where fine focus control is desired
• AF center-point, AF-S (focus priority)
• Matrix metering
• Av or M modes

For the most part, I use my K-3 in much the same way as my film SLRs.

BTW...the linked review is not accurate. Meter mode does not affect AF hunting. The two systems don't talk to each other.


Steve

[Dartmoor Dave]

Manual focus, often zone focusing. Whenever I've tried using autofocus I've always ended up switching the lens to manual after a few shots, even at events such as airshows. I seem to get more shots in focus using the old-school manual follow focus technique than I do from autofocus, but then of course planes move at a predictable speed in a predictable direction.

Metering is either Sunny 16 or a handheld incident meter. Through-the-lens metering for each shot is too uncertain and slows me down too much, so I prefer to incident meter and pre-set the camera whenever the light changes. That way I'm always ready to shoot instantly without even thinking about exposure.

[Kobie]

Focus
Back button focus, shutter focus disabled AF.C
Expanded Auto focus at 25 (K-3)
SEL focus mode

Metering
Multi-White Balance
Avg for landscapes
Center for Birds in flight when sun is high
Spot for anything when strong light is on opposite side

Birds in flight I use TaV
Landscapes are manual exposure
Portraits all depend on the situation (Manual, Av or Tv).
Indoor events, Manual with Flash or TaV without flash set with 8000 ISO max.

I also set exposure separate from the focus point (link exposure to focus point menu option). This setting is not for everyone, but it works best for me. I like catching the whole ambiance.