Focus Faster?

[No Crust Racing]

Morning gents.

I bought the missus a D90 kit 2yrs ago and she hasn't really taken to it. Granted she said she wanted to do a photography course and hasn't done so yet, meaning she really doesn't know how to drive the camera properly or get the best from it, but the big issue for her is she feel as though she misses the shot every time because the camera is too slow.

I've spent a bit of time with it so I at least know how to adjust aperture or shutter speed to use to get a reasonable photo where as she just wants to leave it on Auto and have it be magic, I told her that's not how it works... That said, I do agree with her that sometimes, the camera can take too long on finding its focal point and I've tried to beat it using manual focus or selecting the focal point in the viewfinder to help but it doesn't seem to do much better.

I understand that with a point and shoot it'll just take the shot anyway and be blurry, where as the D90 won't take the shot until it has focus, which can be frustrating when it's zooming in and out trying to find its range.

Is this a limitation of the camera? or the lenses? (18-55m and 70-200mm kit lenses). I'll admit I did drop the 18-55 once and the ring gear is slightly loose but the focal speed has always seemed to be an issue and the images are still crisp when it does find focus.

Can we just buy a faster focusing lens?

Thoughts?

Edited August 27, 2012 by ActionDan

[MaTBoY]

There's little focus points across the camera. like in the centre and a ring about half way around. in the menu you can turn on a display for these focus points if it's not up already.

ifyou want to focus fast put a high contrast area inside these little squares and it will lock on (Focus works on contrast for both light/dark and (nikon only colour contrasts too))

then hold the AE lock button and reframe shot if needed.

[No Crust Racing]

I've got those points enabled and selecting between them is not an issue, my issue is more how long it takes the lens to focus. I'm assuming what you mean is focus on the point I think the shot will be at and be ready, but the what I'm trying to do is improve the time it takes the lens to perform its initial focus.

Even in well lit areas in doesn't seem quick. Is that likely to be a lens issue, camera issue, or just the behaviour of the system?

[Jay019]

to work out if its the camera or lenses a store or friend with a d90 would be handy. then you can compare bodies and lenses and try to work out if there is a hardware failure or not

Edited August 28, 2012 by Jay019

[No Crust Racing]

Good idea. I've also been doing some reading on the AF system in the D90 to see what changes can be made to speed up the process, at the moment I think it's set to matrix metering and 3D focal points (or something to that affect) consensus seems to be that unless you are going for an artistic shot or a specific composition that you leave it to centre weighted and focused so I'll try that too.

[MaTBoY]

Keep it set on auto - wide.

that 3d tracking thing is f**king shit. so are all the other options for AF.

when i say focus on te contrast, i dont mean centre it on the centre of the red shirt your friend is wearing. if you want fast focus centre it on the edge of the shirt and the black background. find clear/sharp edges to lock on. then reframe. if it's a normal shot you won't have to, but if youre trying to get super quick focus on the fly, this is how you do it.

It's a pain in the arse and tricky to start with, but if it can be done with enough time to reframe shot on a car travelling 200kmh i'm sure it can be done under normal circumstances pretty easily.

[No Crust Racing]

but if it can be done with enough time to reframe shot on a car travelling 200kmh i'm sure it can be done under normal circumstances pretty easily.

Hah, OK I'll have a fiddle and see what I can do. Camera might take a back seat for the moment though, car dramas take priority.

[Frosty]

Keep it set on auto - wide.

nailed it!

[No Crust Racing]

I've had a bit more of a play since this question, and found that for the type of pics I'm taking that auto-centre seems to be the quickest.

That said, I the standard 18-55mm kit lens has taken a beating and it wobbles a bit and I've noticed it will bind up a bit sometimes so realistically it should be replaced.

What's a good standard 18-55 or 18-70mm or so auto focus lens that's worth looking at?