Photography tip, How to auto focus in low light (Dom Bower)

http://dombowerphoto.blogspot.com/2010/12/nikon-sb-900-speedlight-flash-gun.html

Little video to remind some photographers about the auto focus illuminator on your camera and sb speed lights with single focus motor drive

Category:

Education

Tags:

• how
• to
• focus
• your
• dslr
• in
• low
• light
• darkness
• not
• on
• manual
• photography
• tips
• by
• dom
• bower
• www.dombower.com

[zharcos]

Question related to focus:

Imagine you are at horse or car race, close to the track, at finish line, you want to take that 90 degrees shot, following subjects, with blurred background. I tried last weekend, with my Nikkor 70-300mm and it just can't auto focus that fast, tried manual to get at least one sharp shot, didn't work very well.

How do you set focus in these situations, when you know where subject is going to be but you cant't reach that place?

[dombower]

@zharcos 90 degree shot? as in you see the side of the horses? are you sure it was not your shutterspeed that was the issue not the focus?

or look through the view finder zoom in to the max then manually focus on the middel of the finishing line and then leave it there .

[c78932500]

Hey Dom

About the Nikkor 50mm (1.4 and 1.8)

Does the 50mm 1.4 worth the extra money ??? Is there a BIG difference ?

Thanks !

[dombower]

@c78932500 its a 180th of a second vs 120th of a second difference.

[LivingForLOL]

But how on a Canon?

[dombower]

prob best just buy a nikon

[tinaboob]

holy smokes. this saved me. i knew there was something i was forgetting. i was having SUCH a hard time focusing in nightclubs and i knew it was something small that iwas forgetting. thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[ezrahumane]

Thanks Dom. You, Digital Rev, and that other Bald guy are my Go-to camera guys.

[bergerlemur]

@dombower I think he means when you're standing square on with the finish line, and say the horses were moving from left to right, you start off shooting bursts and panning with them as they begin to cross the line.

Maybe you should look into the Sony A77. I've never used it but it has a translucent mirror that can autofocus a lot faster than DSLR.

[jh3835]

in my d3100, i have to go into the menu and set focus assist on.

[briedisjun]

hey Dom, this was perfectly working with my Nikon D80, but reacently i bought Canon 600 aannnnnd i have so much problems with focusing in dark places :( especialy when i am in club or som other place :( any sugestions? (using YN 560 flashlight so theres no ttl or that infrared focus helperes)

[BigAl13NY]

Great tip to add to my photography skills.

[RobertVelascoA]

I would I set my Nikon D 7000 to shoot in the dark?.

[joyner159]

Very helpful indeed

[chuckiboi5]

is your lens tammy 17-50 dom? was it good?

[TheIamfrustrated]

@LivingForLOL on most canons they will pop up the built-in flash and strobe it at full power if you don't turn it off. Very blinding, very annoying, also bad for battery life and taking pictures in general. With the 430 series, 580 series, and similarly built canon speedlights there is a red auto-focus light just like that SB-900. Yeah, nothing beats the user friendly-ness of a nikon that I've seen