Best focus mode to use when shooting Jousting?

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eurotrash

Senior Member
I'm attending a renaissance festival this weekend and am excited for the jousting! I'm hoping to get even better pictures than a few years back. I was thinking that AF-C would be a good focus mode to be in. It depends where I'm sitting however.
Last time I was dead on staring at the horse that was charging in my direction. That would mean the horse was coming at me directly. If I'm shooting bursts, can the camera dictate focus quickly enough between shots to grab focus on something like that?
Let's say I'm sitting 90 degrees to the horse, would AF-C still be a good mode?

Thanks, I have not much skill in shooting fast moving objects/sports.
 
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stmv

Senior Member
I am thinking that if the contrast is good, light is good, and you have a fast focusing lens, then the AFS-C should be able to keep up, I like about a 45 degree angle instead of direct on for that type of moving object.
 
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eurotrash

Senior Member
Aw, surfer burst is RAD! Where did you focus on these shots? They look great!

Related: would 3d focus tracking be valuable in a situation where something was moving towards you, such as a car?
 
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KWJams

Senior Member
AF-C basically uses all the focus points and locks in with movement.
Say the focus point on the right side of the view finder is on the horses head but by time the shutter is triggered the other end of the horse has reached that focus point.
The camera will hand off the focus on the head to the next focus point so the entire horse will be in focus.
Direction of travel determines shutter speed. Movement coming towards you is for slower shutter speeds while movement across your field of view requires faster shutter speeds to prevent blur -- unless you pan with the camera to blur the back ground.
 
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KWJams

Senior Member
As a starting point, I would try ISO 100, S mode, Continuous release, AF-C, Dynamic-area mode, Center weighted metering. White balance according to conditions and check the histrogram for blinkies and adjust the command dial for more or less speed.
 
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pedroj

Senior Member
I just spot meter...Try to keep that area on the subject...

I tried multi point metering but the camera sometimes lost focus on the surfer
 
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pedroj

Senior Member
Here's a MotoX shot....These kids come at at you quick..
 

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KWJams

Senior Member
Spot would work best for the surfer because of the high contrast between the surfer and the water. But trying to imagine a joust there would be a back ground of trees, grass, people etc that would not offer much contrast so spot metering on the horse or jouster would be my choice. But I may be wrong??
 
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eurotrash

Senior Member
Yes, there are usually a lot of people in the adjacent stands and of course a ton of carnage going on, shiny armor, flung up dirt, all manner of things happening at once. Here's one that I took a few years back with my d5100 and cheap tamron 70-300. I shot this in SINGLE shot mode, AF-S, likely. I remember waiting until the exact moment that the spear hit the jousters' face. Lucky shot! This time, I'm doing it right :)


facespear2 by stupidphotoguy, on Flickr
 
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KWJams

Senior Member
Watched a TV series called Full Metal Jousting last winter -- :cool: them dudes are crazy!

That is some tough conditions. The shiny armor on the left wants to blow out the exposure and the jouster on the right is close to being under exposed unless he is in the shade. I would pre-focus on the bottom post so the lens is focused on that range and then start firing when they fill the frame.
 
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eurotrash

Senior Member
Well, this years' event was a bit more subdued than previous ones. I didn't really get great shots of the joust as the first event at 2 was packed like crazy and I couldn't find a good vantage point. Luck was on my side the event at 4, but I got the same vantage point I had last year :/ And, much the same picture, LOL.


Jousting 2 by stupidphotoguy, on Flickr

And this weirdass thing..


WTF? by stupidphotoguy, on Flickr
 
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eurotrash

Senior Member
Well, this years' event was a bit more subdued than previous ones. I didn't really get great shots of the joust as the first event at 2 was packed like crazy and I couldn't find a good vantage point. Luck was on my side the event at 4, but I got the same vantage point I had last year :/ And, much the same picture, LOL.


Jousting 2 by stupidphotoguy, on Flickr

And this weirdass thing..


WTF? by stupidphotoguy, on Flickr
 
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Eye-level

Banned
Try it on M, focus it yourself, and get your bearings with a handheld light meter. If you can do it that way then you can do it anyway anytime. Shoot 90% of the session using your crutches...shoot the other 10% using your self! Soon you will learn to walk without the crutches... :)

You can pan against a moving object and get some great effects...I like the wide angles and bright subjects on dark backgrounds for stuff like this.
 
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Eye-level

Banned
Yes it was in jest but also I am halfway serious particularly about the second part because with a wide angle you can zone focus and therefore not worry about focusing period.
 
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eurotrash

Senior Member
I did that on this shot, prefocusing on the post in the ground where they normally would hit each other with the spears and shot a small burst when they came close to that point. It works pretty well if you know exactly what is going to happen in a scenario. Though, I wouldn't use this method if the action is "unsure" and random, like a football match or similar.
 
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