Focusing

[rkmart]

I know that the D70S has 5 FOCUS AREAS
D80 has 11 FOCUS AREAS
D300 has 51 FOCUS AREAS

My question is does each of these camera use all their FOCUS AREAS all the time? If not, how do you set the camera to use ALL the FOCUS AREAS or some or one?

When do you know when you are to use the diffrent FOCUS AREAS?

Thank you.

[TonyW]

Good question. I have the D80 with 11 focus points and I do sometimes move around them if the subject I'm taking is off centre. I hate to think what having 51 would be like but it appears to work the same.

http://www.digitalreview.ca/content/...mera-Pg2.shtml

I guess it comes into it's own when taking moving subjects in continuous focus mode and I see that you can track subjects in 3D.

I'll be visiting my brother-in-law soon who has a D300 so I'll get a chance to play - from all the reviews it looks like an amazing camera and I'm already jealous (he moved up from a D70 having played with my D80 but by the time he procrastinated about buying a D80 the D300 appeared ). Sometimes it pays to wait around....

Tony

[kImages]

Tony - Do not pick up your BIL's camera!!! You will suffer withdrawal symptoms beginning the moment you put it down that will be debilitating until you become the proud owner of your own D300. Yes, it's true - it's that good.

Continuous focus mode is really sweet at 8 fps. I can't wait for the spring soccer season to start. Between the rapid fire action shooting and the size of the files I've had to invest a bunch more $$'s in memory cards.

[Codebreaker]

I don't have a Nikon - prefering the far superior Canon - but the same principle and discussion applies.

I find myself setting the camera to only use the center focus point and I asked around on the Adobe Photography forum what other folks did. Of those the responded the majority did the same. They then used - like me - the focus and re-frame technique.

I've been doing this for years but just recently have started to use other focus points - specifically all of them. This was mostly due to the number of 'grab' shots I was trying to take, with flash, of children - who never keep still. The low light meant a wide apperture with a resulting low depth of field. I found that a nicely composed shot required the focus to be anywhere but the centre. Using all the focus points got me a better success rate.

In many cases though I still can't bring my self to compose the shot in the frame and then select the focus point.

Colin

[lexcell]

You can set any of the cameras to use one single focus point, or let the camera choose which one to use.
I use many of the focus points to allow me to compose the image the way I want it. You can do the single focus thing and recompose on still subjects but, for moving subjects, there is not enough time and I shoot in the continuous focus mode. This way I can select the focus point that hit's the eye ( for wildlife or people) still compose the image my way. If you use the center focus point only, you will have a tendency to keep your subject in the center of your frame. If that is where you want it great but, it is a fairly static spot.
Take control of the camera and use the focus point that gives you the composition you want.