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Would someone mind explaining to me in very simple english what the L sliding switch is on the back of the D70. The manual doesnt help me much here. I do understand what the AE and AF L button means.

Help appreciated.

Peter Mc

Hi Peter,

The L sliding switch serves to lock the focussing "sweet spot". By default the AF concentrates on the central area of the view, but you can change this to any of the small rectangles that show up in your viewfinder. You do this via the rocker switch to the right of the display.

If you turn the sliding switch to the "L" position you will not be able to – accidentally or intentionally – change the AF sweet spot and it will remain locked on the area last selected.

Regards, Timbo

Excellent response Timbo. Many thanks.

Peter Mc

You're welcome Peter. Like your icon! I'm about to change mine...

Timbo

I have now tried this and am still having difficulties. I checked my settings and Under the menu I have Autofocus set on S and AF area mode set on Closest area and AF assist on.

I was focusing in the front yard on the water meter and the grass in front of it was getting all the autofocus on the bottom. Is this because I have set the AF area on Closest and does the L slider overrule this?

Peter Mc

petermmc wrote:Is this because I have set the AF area on Closest and does the L slider overrule this?

Other way round... the Closest Area setting overrides the L-slider...

Thanks John

This explains why I have lost some good shots lately having set this and left it on Closest.

In short then, If I leave it on Dynamic Area I can use the L switch but if I use the Closest Subject this will override the L switch.

Do you think Dynamic area is the best all rounder? (or is this a how long is a piece of string question?)

I'm nearly there. It is early still.

Peter Mc

I tend to think that single-area focus (with the L switch in the off position) is the best all-rounder. You can very quickly use the rocker switch to adjust the focus area, and I don't like the way the "Closest" setting overrides eveything else. Just a personal preference, but it seems to be fairly well upheld.

Its all making sense now. So Dynamic Area locked (with my new friend the L switch) in to the centre is the same as Single Area focus?

Peter Mc

The L switch is only active for single and dynamic area modes.
Single mode will always focus on the area you have selected and should be used for static subjects.
Dynamic area mode tries to focus on the selected area, but takes information from the other areas as well... This should be used if your subject is moving and is difficult to keep in any of the focus areas.

Personally, for most of my shots I use AF-S mode and Single Area, lock the focus on the selected area by depressing the shutter button half-way and then recompose the shot while keeping the shutter button half-depressed. When you have the right composition, press the shutter fully...

Personally, I have the slider switch unlocked, so that I have more flexibility in selecting the area I want to focus on. However this sometimes leads to it being inadvertantly changed... You just need to be concious of what area is displayed in the viewfinder.

petermmc wrote:Its all making sense now. So Dynamic Area locked (with my new friend the L switch) in to the centre is the same as Single Area focus?

Peter Mc

Sorry, but no... Dynamic Area behaves differently to Single Area... It takes focus information from the unselected areas as well and can cope better if your subject briefly leaves the main focus area.

Well put, John. I follow the same path.

Timbo

You've added a new dimension now. I didnt realise that the Single focus area could be moved from the centre. A whole new world is opening up.

I know this may sound 'daft' but if I can lock the Single Focus area on anyone of the 5 areas and if I can do the same with Dynamic Area then what is the difference between these?

Peter Mc

John,

I think your response to my previous note has made my last enquiry redundant.

Thanks for this great information. I am hopeless at following the manual.

Peter Mc PS I am nearly there.

Peter,

I would be using that L switch to lock the focus area rather sparingly.

As John points out, with single area mode and the use of the rocker switch you have a great amount of flexibility, as too frequently the area you want focus to be on will not be in the centre of the image.

And as an aside, I think that closest focus mode is evil; that's about the second of the default settings to go when I grab a new D70 (the first being the PHD mode). I cannot think of a good use for it.

gstark wrote:And as an aside, I think that closest focus mode is evil; that's about the second of the default settings to go when I grab a new D70 (the first being the PHD mode). I cannot think of a good use for it.

Oooh, Oooh... I can... I can... For use when very drunk at parties and you want to make sure you get people's faces in focus

leek wrote:

gstark wrote:And as an aside, I think that closest focus mode is evil; that's about the second of the default settings to go when I grab a new D70 (the first being the PHD mode). I cannot think of a good use for it.

Oooh, Oooh... I can... I can... For use when very drunk at parties and you want to make sure you get people's faces in focus

Actually, Nikon do have a fix for that.

Lindy's younger daughter celebrated her 18th birthday the other day, and was given a new CP S1. In the portait PHD modes it superimposes rough generic outlines of people into the digital viewfinder, showing you where you need to put peoples' bodies and heads ets within the frame.

Seems like a great idea for those people who always manage to chop off heads.

Thanks Gary

I agree it is evil. I had left it on for a few months while I was playing with a new lens in about July. It was the first time I noticed that the focus areas lit up red...der! (My preoccupation is always image)

Yesterday I took a series of shots at a dirt bike gig and the closest focus evil dark side area played devilish games with me. About half the shots turned out well and the others are all subject to the evils of closest focus.

By the way, I realise you are an eager car racing photo enthusiast. If you were taking shots of dirt bikes moving how would you set your D70 up for focus. AFC and Dynamic or AFS Single or other variations?

Peter Mc

Peter,

petermmc wrote:By the way, I realise you are an eager car racing photo enthusiast. If you were taking shots of dirt bikes moving how would you set your D70 up for focus. AFC and Dynamic or AFS Single or other variations?

Depends.

One very useful technique is to prefocus on an area where you know the cars/bikes will be going by. Leave the camera on manual focus and prefocus on that spot. When they go through that area, just press that little button.

If you have reasonable weather conditions (meaning consistant lighting conditions) then it also helps to take a meter reading off something that's equivalent to an 18% grey card, and set your exposure to manual, using the settings acquired from that reading.

FWIW, I'd expect that a dirt road would be a rough equivalent of an 18% grey card, so if you have good bright sunlight with little cloud, or lots of cloud with few breaks, that sort of metering should work well.

If you have intermittant cloud cover then that makes it a bit toughr, both from a metering and a WB PoV.

But getting back to your question, if the vehicles are moving towards or across you, you could also try dynamic + continuous AF.

What lens stock do you have in place for this? if there's a travel limiter, such as on the 80-400, be sure to set it, and, of course, at the far end of its range, to limit any hunting and help improve its responsiveness.

And to further help that, before the vehicles come into view, again prefocus on a subject that's a similar distance to tjat which the vehicles will be at before you start to follow them. Then, only start to follow them when the lens already has them in focus as they move within your frame. This is another trick that should help reduce hunting for focus and thus improve the apparent responsiveness of the lens.

Thanks Gary

That all makes sense. I have the Sigma 70-200 and I dont think it has a regulator on it. Manual is probably the best option.

I will post a few shots later.

Thanks

Peter Mc