Low light focusing with D700 & SB800 ?

[D700 Doug]

I was doing a shoot at a local B&S ball ( at night in a paddock with minimal light ) 

 

​Focusing for shots like this that were almost total darkness using the red target illuminator from the SB 800 the focus was still really slow.

Does anyone have any suggestions for faster focusing ?


for the most I was using S Single servo AF  and Auto Area mode 

I do not have an assistant and a torch or light is not really feasible.

[Julie Edwards]

What lens?

[D700 Doug]

Tamron Sp 24-70 2.8 USD on saturday but I have had the same issues before with other lenses.


And Julie you got to photograph TOM BAKER !!! Total Dr Who /Tom Baker nerdgasm ! 

[Reimar]

Only the very center AF point works to read the IR from the flash?

[D700 Doug]

Only the very center AF point works to read the IR from the flash?

not to my knowledge  Reimar 

[Reimar]

That may be the problem then.  I don't have the D700, but the D800E (and previous DX cameras) combined with the SB800 only allow AF assist illumination with certain AF points.  See your camera manual for which points are active (it depends on the focal length of the lens between 24 and 105mm).  To be safe, I just use the very center point.

[Reimar]

Having said that, it should be clear that you can't use auto-area AF.  If the camera picks an AF point that does not activate the AF assist illumination, you're out of luck.  Probably explains your hit and miss experience.

[D700 Doug]

Ok thanks 

I will try plan B   

In the old days my eyes were good enough to manually focus 

[Reimar]

My eyes are bad too, but they were never any good in darkness.  I've shot in total darkness such that I could not see my hand let alone the subject (I'm thinking of a shoot from shore on the Li river of cormorant fishermen in a boat before dawn).  The autofocus assist light on the camera wouldn't have a chance.  But the IR AF assist from the SB800 nailed the focus every time (as long as I stuck to the center point AF-S).

[D700 Doug]

I worked in darkrooms for years so my night vision was often better than my day vision   

The main problem with the center focus is that the subject is not always the center of the shot.

​Many thanks for your advice and information though it is good to have a point of reference to work from. There are so many options and controls on modern cameras they confuse old photographers like me !! 

[dov makabaw]

I use D700's and Nikon lenses, usually 24 - 70. I use spot focus on the eyes in low light and find it fast and accurate. I have tried the D800 in low light and was most impressed compared to the D700 using the same lens in the same low  light.

 

 

dov

[Reimar]

The main problem with the center focus is that the subject is not always the center of the shot.

Agreed.  Especially with full frame cameras, the 51 AF points are often not enough.  Sure, on a tripod you could use LV contrast focus anywhere in the frame and get perfect (albeit slow) results.  But my experience with the D800E's focusing issues leads me to now rarely trust outer focus points (even the cross-hair central ones), especially those with only a single direction at the extreme left and right.  Sometimes focus and recompose is less than ideal, but I find it gives me better results.  Especially since I've taken the shutter half-press focus out of the picture and only use the AF button.

[D700 Doug]

I use D700's and Nikon lenses, usually 24 - 70. I use spot focus on the eyes in low light and find it fast and accurate. I have tried the D800 in low light and was most impressed compared to the D700 using the same lens in the same low  light.

 

 

dov

I could not see their eyes !!!!!