action sports focus issues

[FarmerJohn]

So I noticed on a lot of my photos from sporting events, the background is more in focus than the intended subject. Which can sometimes look good, but it's obviously not what I'm aiming for :D

Is this an issue of my focus selection (continous mode, AI-servo) or simply a limitation of my camera and lens combo? (Canon Xti and 28-135 IS) I see no real pattern to the issue besides that closer action is more consistently in focus than further away stuff.

I've tried to get pairs of photos that are fairly similar. Numbers 1 and 2 were taken the same day, with the action at about the same distance away.

Numbers 3 and 4 were taken at slightly different times, but about the same distance. The action in number 4 is a probably a little closer than the action in number 4.

Sample 1 - background in focus
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3105/2882214926_8351d591d6.jpg

Sample 2 - subject more in focus
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3235/2882215150_2243da54d7.jpg?v=0

Sample 3 - background in focus
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_nadzVfy-AUk/SLFx1FAP3SI/AAAAAAAABBc/iV60KCRj77E/s640/nield2.jpg

Sample 4 - subject more in focus
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_nadzVfy-AUk/SLFyPvcIlSI/AAAAAAAABC0/kOuHksEInfg/s800/nield5-d.jpg


(My sport of choice here is ultimate frisbee. It's a 7-on-7 game that's most easily explained as a cross between soccer, and american football, and aussie rules football without the violence.. It's continuous running, no stoppages until a goal is scored or a foul is called. You catch the disc from a teammate and then have ten seconds to throw it someone else, the idea being to work it down the field and catch it in the endzone for a score. If the other team blocks it or your team drops it, the other team gets possession and then tries to score. )

[sun5150]

Is your focus point set to center focus only?

[NWcityguy2]

I also recommend only using the center focus point. Using all 9 points will lead to a lot or random focus points, mainly the background or the bottom point picking up the ground in front of your subjects.

The XTi isn't going to perfom miracles when it comes to sports, but you should still be able to get a decent keeper rate. I've also found a monopod increase my keeper rate, as I'm more likely to track motion without the weight of the camera, instead of just watching the action then trying to get focus when I think something is about to happen.

Hope it helps.

[cdifoto]

Center focus point, tighter composition so the subject is easier to hit with the AF point, and faster lenses (and a faster camera too wouldn't hurt).

You can find the fault based on the type of missed focus:

1. Way out/background sharp = focus point wasn't where it needed to be. User error.
2. Barely out/subject focused but not sharp = kit couldn't keep up with the speed of the action. Equipment error.

[Csae]

If you shot raw, i think the Xti could even show you where it decided to focus.

Make sure your using AI Servo, Center focus only, Make sure you track the action and keep it half-pressed, so its in constant focus when your not shooting. (Will drain your batteries though.) Pointing it at something constrasty also helps it focus faster. Jerseys usually help with this.

Shooting fast sports is hard, you'll get the hang of it eventually. At some point the Xti and the lens will become the limit factor, but you haven't told us your keeper rate.

Its normal that some of the photos will be out of focus with lower-end gear, but if you kept something like 10 photos out of 600*, you know theres a problem. Let us know an approximation of how many photos you shot and how many you kept.

*Thats what happened when i tested the Sigma Apo 70-300 DG Macro. The rest was awesome, optics and all, but the AF ? A joke.

[FarmerJohn]

Thanks for the tips guys. Yeah, I will try out the center focus only next time. I'm nearly certain I would have had it set to all 9 when I took those.

Keeper rate is decent, I don't know any percentages. But out of any given sequence of continuous shots, I only keep 1 or 2 that got the action right, even if the rest were exposed okay. So I'm not sure that's a good indicator. . . .

(Tongue-in-cheek - Also I apply my pack-rat tendencies to all my hobbies, so I "keep" almost every photo I take, even if the exposure and such is crap. Because you never know when it might be useful, someday. :D )

[Honest Gaza]

Having said that, it is quite possible that if you had "centre focus point" selected, the results would have been the same as it appears that 1 & 3 have focused on the centre of the frame....which in this case, is the trees/tree in the background.

[Honest Gaza]

If you shot raw, i think the Xti could even show you where it decided to focus.

You don't need to shoot in raw for this function to work (Zoom Browser will still show the focus points on JPG files).

[GaryS]

The latest version of DPP shows the focus points too... Alt+L

[adam75south]

also dunno if this has been addressed or not, but you want to make sure the image stabilization is off during action shots.

[Honest Gaza]

also dunno if this has been addressed or not, but you want to make sure the image stabilization is off during action shots.

I'm not saying that this is wrong....,but I do have a different opinion here. While I agree that IS won't help with "slower" shutter speeds for moving objects, it will definitely help with focusing.

[VTEC_EATER]

Center point focus only? Do the Canon cameras not have focus tracking? Maybe the XTi doesn't but the mid and upper cameras should have that feature.

Anyways, I would set the camera to shutter priority, I think you guys call that Tv, and set the shutter speeds to a minimum of 1/500. You may need even faster speeds to freeze the action a little more. Let the camera choose your aperture as it is of less importance than shutter speeds in this situation. Does the XTi have Auto ISO? Probably not, but you shouldn't need it on a sunny day. If it does have it you may be able to set up the camera to never go above a certain aperture before it raises ISO to keep the 1/500 shutter speed. At least you can have some control over both aperture and shutter speed like that.

If you don't have focus tracking, then I guess set it to center point focus only and do your best to keep the action right in the center of the frame. Continuous auto focus is a must, I think you guys call that AI-servo. I'm not sure what you Canon guys call it, we Nikonians call it AF-C (Auto Focus - Continuous). Definitely try to pre-focus if you can to make sure your subject is in focus and not the background. If your lens has a focus limiter, like 2.5m-infinity, use it. The lens will focus faster as it will not travel throughout its entire range when its lost focus.

As for IS, if you are doing a lot of panning action, and nothing abrupt, set the lens' IS for that. I'm not sure what that all requires on the Canon lenses, there may be a switch on the side. If the action is abrupt and your subject is constantly changing direction/starting/stopping, the IS will just slow the focusing down. Turn it off in this case. Actually, IS probably wont even be needed at 1/500+ shutter speeds, especially on a lens that is shorter than 200mm.

Lets see, what else... I guess that's about it.

[cdifoto]

Center point focus only? Do the Canon cameras not have focus tracking? Maybe the XTi doesn't but the mid and upper cameras should have that feature.
Yes, AI Servo is available on the XTi. The recommendation of center point is because that's the most accurate focus point on the camera, and it's easier to hit a shirt than a face when starting out.

[adam75south]

I'm not saying that this is wrong....,but I do have a different opinion here. While I agree that IS won't help with "slower" shutter speeds for moving objects, it will definitely help with focusing.

so do you think he should keep IS on when he's tracking moving subjects? i'm talking normal mode IS, not mode 2 made for panning.

[FarmerJohn]

I generally try to have IS Off when doing movement, at those fast shutter speeds I thought it was essentially useless anyway. My 28-135 only has one mode, not 2 like the 70-200L's.

I have used both the Tv Shutter Priority mode at 1/500s or faster and the Auto-Sports mode, which also does better than I expected. The one advantage of the Auto mode is that it automatically sets the ISO higher, which can be a good thing.

I have the AI-Servo mode, but that still doesn't help with all 9 focus points if it chooses the wrong one to start a series of continuous shots.

[rdub202]

wow, sweet to see some ultimate on here. i cant offer any help, just wanted to give some props to the sport

[FarmerJohn]

wow, sweet to see some ultimate on here. i cant offer any help, just wanted to give some props to the sport\

Cool, thanks for the response! I see your profile says you're in Michigan, I'm in Chicago.

Do you play on a club team? Mebbe see you at a tournament around here sometime?


:D

[zmikers]

What about manually focusing? On bright sunny days, you could stop the lens down giving you a greater depth of field, thus allowing more room for error on what's in focus. Focus for just in front of the moving objects and take a few continuous shots as they move through the focus point. You should get at least one good shot. Like I said before, with a small aperture (bigger f stop number) you should have more "keepers."

[FarmerJohn]

What about manually focusing? On bright sunny days, you could stop the lens down giving you a greater depth of field, thus allowing more room for error on what's in focus. Focus for just in front of the moving objects and take a few continuous shots as they move through the focus point. You should get at least one good shot. Like I said before, with a small aperture (bigger f stop number) you should have more "keepers."

If only every day was a bright sunny day :D

[zmikers]

If only every day was a bright sunny day :D

Fair enough, but it doesn't need to be that bright and sunny to get greater depth of field, especially if you are focusing on something farther away from you!

[FarmerJohn]

But if I want to stop action at 1/500s or 1/1000s, it has to be pretty bright and sunny to support an aperture of f/8 at those shutter speeds.

[adam75south]

no problem if you bump up your ISO when you need to. personally, i think less dof looks better in the shot...and will help you build your AFing skills too.

[cdifoto]

Isolation and timing are key to great sports photography.

[zmikers]

no problem if you bump up your ISO when you need to.

You beat me to it. I just took an incident light reading with my meter in the shade on my balcony on a cloudy day and got ISO 800, 1/500s, f/5.6, and a reflected light reading of the trees on the mountain ISO 800, 1/1000s, f/5.6 (Lots of room to lower the SS and get a larger Aperture or even drop the ISO). At the distances you are shooting from that is more than enough to keep the players' whole bodies in focus and room for missed focus. Personally I would at least try manual focusing, you might be surprised.

[zmikers]

Isolation and timing are key to great sports photography.

Exactly. No one said it would be easy to get great sports shots!