Dumb Mistake

I made one of those frustrating mistakes this week. But I was so wound up I missed it. Unfortunately that is part of the condition my condition is in. Before everything changed I had a decent memory and I was pretty pragmatic. I did not have to write much down. Now that is not the case. More than once I have overflowed the sink and burnt lunch because I got distracted. All part of the new normal.

Well I have been playing with my new Nikon 200/500 and struggling a bit with focus, but thinking that it was more my tremor and getting used to the wait, I was soldiering through it. I ALMOST always have my focus set on AF-S and I use the back button focus so I figured that was it. It was more camera shake then anything else.

Then the last shot I took before the Blue Jay got bored with me yesterday I realized I was in AF-C and the hunting was not JUST my tremor but the camera trying to settle on a focus point.

I have check sheets for this, but when I get excited about stuff I forget... It is the most frustrating thing to go from being able to do anything from memory to not being able to count on it at all.

But i am so thankful for this gift of photography. God lets me capture a memory and share it. Puts me in a place were I can learn to do it better. In spite of the dain bramage.... :encouragement: which is just a minor inconvenience

You have an inspiring perspective on the situation Danno. Where you see a dumb mistake, I see a perspective we should all learn to follow.

Tell you what you dont need drain bamage to cock up,i can do it with out.

Slightly off topic i sett BBF on my D7100 and kept getting OOF images,i later found it over rode my focus priority setting,they tell me this doesnt happen with the D7200 but havent got round to finding out yet.

Danno said:

I made one of those frustrating mistakes this week. But I was so wound up I missed it. Unfortunately that is part of the condition my condition is in. Before everything changed I had a decent memory and I was pretty pragmatic. I did not have to write much down. Now that is not the case. More than once I have overflowed the sink and burnt lunch because I got distracted. All part of the new normal.

Well I have been playing with my new Nikon 200/500 and struggling a bit with focus, but thinking that it was more my tremor and getting used to the wait, I was soldiering through it. I ALMOST always have my focus set on AF-S and I use the back button focus so I figured that was it. It was more camera shake then anything else.

Then the last shot I took before the Blue Jay got bored with me yesterday I realized I was in AF-C and the hunting was not JUST my tremor but the camera trying to settle on a focus point.

I have check sheets for this, but when I get excited about stuff I forget... It is the most frustrating thing to go from being able to do anything from memory to not being able to count on it at all.

But i am so thankful for this gift of photography. God lets me capture a memory and share it. Puts me in a place were I can learn to do it better. In spite of the dain bramage.... :encouragement: which is just a minor inconvenience

Click to expand...

Which AF-C mode were you in Danno? I tried most (D9 D21 3D )and so forth, and I am most successful locking focus quickest is when I'm in AF-C S mode.
I would suggest that you use one of the user modes if you have trouble remembering. I have mine set to a prefered minimum shuttere speed(in my case it's 1/1600) to a maximum ISO and Aperture 5.6 and the focus is set to AF-C S
When in user mode you can change things around like aperture, but after you shut off the cam and turn it on again, it will default back to your original saved setting.

At least you figured it out.
I am still learning my camera. I was having trouble the other day, and same thing was happening. I also had it on exposure lock. I am learning to check those controls when things go wonky.

I have been forgetful my whole life and have no clue what it is like to have a tack sharp memory. I can see how that would be frustrating for you. It frustrates me, and I am used to it.

Blacktop said:

Which AF-C mode were you in Danno? I tried most (D9 D21 3D )and so forth, and I am most successful locking focus quickest is when I'm in AF-C S mode.
I would suggest that you use one of the user modes if you have trouble remembering. I have mine set to a prefered minimum shuttere speed(in my case it's 1/1600) to a maximum ISO and Aperture 5.6 and the focus is set to AF-C S
When in user mode you can change things around like aperture, but after you shut off the cam and turn it on again, it will default back to your original saved setting.

Click to expand...

That is a really good suggestion to use the User Mode anything using continuous. I was using the AFC-51 and the focus was hunting a lot. I will give that approach a try and I can adjust it if need be. Thanks @Blacktop.

mikew said:

Tell you what you dont need drain bamage to cock up,i can do it with out.

Slightly off topic i sett BBF on my D7100 and kept getting OOF images,i later found it over rode my focus priority setting,they tell me this doesnt happen with the D7200 but havent got round to finding out yet.

Click to expand...

Mike, you can select Focus priority with BBF in the custom menu under A2 for AF-S. It works but you loose the ability to focus on a point and recompose the shot if you set it to Focus Priority. You would need to pic a different focus point if you wanted to focus off center for example. But once you have the subject in focus you do not have to refocus every time you just keep taking shots.

I am going to set mine that way for a while just to see how it goes. Thanks for mentioning that.

Dawg Pics said:

At least you figured it out.
I am still learning my camera. I was having trouble the other day, and same thing was happening. I also had it on exposure lock. I am learning to check those controls when things go wonky.

I have been forgetful my whole life and have no clue what it is like to have a tack sharp memory. I can see how that would be frustrating for you. It frustrates me, and I am used to it.

Click to expand...

The frustrating part for me is I never learned to make check lists and to do lists. I did not have to. So remembering make a list is tough... But you know what God is good and I know He makes good use of the time and I learn something new every day. So I am content with it all.

Don't beat yourself up too much. We all do it from time-to-time and some of us have no excuse so it may not even be memory but simply cocked up (stole that from mikew side of the pond, I like the phrase).

Last fall I got a Sigma 150-600 C. Other than testing it out, I let time get away from me and I am only just getting back to it now to really get comfortable with it. I'm dealing with the same thing, I use bbf with af-c. No big deal on my 300mm if I keep the bb pressed or release it. Very easy to stay on target without hunting. Now I'm back to playing with the 600mm this week. I'm all over the place with af-c and bbf. Any little shake and I'm focused on the bushes in the distance and then back again. After annoying myself for some time, I'm learning to relax and recognize my wobble pattern and let go of the back button just as my focus point moves over the target . Very much like a aiming a rifle scope. Once I release the back button as I float over the target, I'm locked. Then I am free to waver all I want while working to better compose my shot. I hope that makes sense, it might work for you.

Side note Danno... Do you have a smart phone? If so, Google Keep is a great list keeper app. You can still use it online even if you don't have a smart phone, but its nice to have with you all the time. You can add pictures too. I live by it. Its like having a screen full of searchable sticky notes. I have grocery lists, home depot list, car maintenance lists, short term to-do lists, long term to-do lists, things to tell my wife, things to tell my daughter, notes on camera learning, blood pressure log, freezer inventory, tools I loaned to friends, etc. EVERYTHING is in there. I have about 50 different lists in there. If you use it on a phone, you can set location reminders. If I get close to home depot, my list will beep me. If I visit my friend, I can set up a beep to reclaim borrowed tools while I'm there, lol. I love it, its a load off my mind, literally.

I make dumb mistakes all the time; my wife says I have a talent for it.

Thank you @nickt. I will look into that app. Sounds useful. And thanks for the focus suggestion. Worth trying and that's a good analogy.

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

Danno said:

Mike, you can select Focus priority with BBF in the custom menu under A2 for AF-S. It works but you loose the ability to focus on a point and recompose the shot if you set it to Focus Priority. You would need to pic a different focus point if you wanted to focus off center for example. But once you have the subject in focus you do not have to refocus every time you just keep taking shots.

I am going to set mine that way for a while just to see how it goes. Thanks for mentioning that.

Click to expand...

Thanks Danno will look into that.