Camera Choice.

Hello Cornersteady.

Thank you, first attempts.

I'm either not understanding how the camera works, or stuck in old school thinking.

But when I point the camera at my chosen subject a green box will appear in the view finder, a focus point, this can be left, right up down, one or two, which at the moment is frustrating the heck out of me, as sometimes it's not focusing on what I have centralised in the shot.

By pressing active track the camera then puts a small box in the centre of the view finder which I can then "lock on", so I did that on some photos, I'm probably wrong.

Help is most welcome, it was just, in the field use for the first time I was struggling to understand what and why. 

Lots more reading and garden practice required!

Darren.

I use active track on mine quite regularly especially if there is a bird sitting in branches/hedges etc.  I find that it helps to pin point the focus on the subject I want.  When I go to film low flying aircraft at the Max Loop later this year I think the feature will come into its own.  

I use it too because even minute things in nature move eg a slight breeze on a leaf or flower. If I'm too hasty the photo wont be focussed. But there are other ways to capture the moment which I'm not good at. 

Good to know, thanks.

OK yes similar to my two canons (80D and 77D) I always have it on center box/spot only and forget all the other focus points (all 45 of them), just focus using that one on the part of the pic I want in focus then recompose as needed.

I also use 'back focusing' (not back focus) or back button focus so that focusing and shutter/metering are separated. It's sounds a faff but once you do it is it actually quicker and leads to better exposure even with moving objects/people. But it's a personal thing.

Some good videos here and here

The second video is probably better

I'm not so good at distance but I do a lot of close up shots of plants etc so  that's another consideration when you're finding your way round the camera.

indeed each subject type almost defines they way you use your camera.

But wow isn't modern auto focus a wonder? especially when tracking moving (fast) objects? also image stabilisation too.

Does anyone else remember the uproar when canon changed to the EF mount from FD? Paid dividend in the end though. Any new developments (like IS) are easily incorporated.

I certainly do, Canon T90 with a 300mm F2.8 lens manual focus used wide open late Saturday wintery afternoons or evenings under poor floodlights trying to catch sports pics with about 10 inches of depth of field, followed by traffic bound dash to the office and hours in the darkroom. 

Best of the fastest films was a Fuji 800asa/iso pushed to 1600 shutter speeds of 1/250 per second needing to get 5/6 pics from a roll of 36 exposures, 2 portrait, 2 potentially square images and 2 landscape to fit the holes in the page that the sub editor had already scoped out the page layout before seeing any pics.

If you missed the important moments either a goal, try or streaker, you had to explain why.

Compare today, endless number of images on 64gb cards ISO up to and beyond 250000 high shutter speeds even under very low light, auto focus and very lightweight equipment. All followed by instant images on the Laptop via wifi. which is wired from the ground back to the office while enjoying a cool beer to finish the afternoon evenings game.

Methinks I was born too soon.

Dammit, BlueMalaga,  you  aren't  suggesting  that  Brian  puts  his  Half  Plate,  Mahogany  &  Brass  photographic  equipment  away  surely 

me too as well. Agree with all of that 100%

Also mention the photoshop type programs that allow even more adjustment and even selective adjustment than could ever have been with a negative.