18 14 December 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Technique STAY SHARPImagestabilisation
Whetherin-lensorin-camera,
imagestabilisation(IS)is
a fantasticwayof keeping
everythingsteadyandthereby
gettingsharpshots– aslongas
yourfocusis spot-onandyour
apertureis narrowenoughfor
a usabledepthof field.IS uses
electronicmotorstosteady the
viewthroughthelens.
Stabilisationmodes
Onsomelongtelephotolenses,
imagestabilisationcancomein
twoorthreetypes.First,by
stabilisingthehorizontaland
verticalaxes.Second,byonly
stabilisingoneaxis(usually
vertical),leavinghorizontal
movementsalone(greatfor
panningshots).Andfinally,where
stabilisationisn’tpresentuntilthe
shutterreleasebuttonis fully
depressed.Thisis usefulwhenIS
wouldotherwiseinterferewith
composingmovingsubjects.
Mirrorlock-up
DSLRshavea usefulfeature
calledmirrorlock-up,whichdoes
exactlywhatit says.It locksthe
mirrorup,outof thewayof the
shutterin thecamerabody,to
minimisevibrationsduring
exposure.You’llwanttousethis
whenshootingona tripodor
duringlongexposureswhere
eventhefaintestcamera
movementscreateblur.
Mirrorlesscamerasobviously
don’trequirethisfeature.
Delayedexposure
mode
Somecamerafeatures
supersedetheneedformirror
lock-up,suchasexposure-delay
mode,whichbothlocksupthe
mirrorandliftstheshutterafter
a pre-programmedlengthof
time(usuallyonetothree
seconds).It meansyoudon’t
needtoreleasetheshutter
buttonagain,noruseanexternal
shutterrelease.Alternatively, you
couldusetheself-timer.
High-resolution
multi-shotmode
Somecamerasfeaturea
high-resolutionmultiple-shot
modein whichthecamera’s
sensorshiftsaroundduring
severalquick,successiveshots,
and combines the images
in-cameratoproducea higher
resolutionthantheimagesensor
canotherwiseoutput.Thiscan
produceresultsthatlooksharper
whenzoomedin orprintedout
in a largeformat,butforthe
everydayshooterit’sunlikely
tomakemuchimpact.Single-pointAF
Single-pointautofocusmode
worksfroma smallfocuspoint
whichyoucanplacealmost
anywherein theframe.It’suseful
forpreciseautofocusingevenon
movingsubjects– thoughsome
practiceis requiredtoyield
highersuccessrates.Intelligent
autofocus
Face-detectionmodeis a great
moderntwistonautofocusing
modes.It automaticallydetects
facesin thesceneandadjusts
focustokeepthemsharp,even
if movingthroughoutthescene.
Onmanynewercameramodels,
thisalsoworksseamlesslyin
videomode,reducingtheneed
topullfocusmanually.Manualfocus
Whenfacedwitha dark
scene,suchaswhenshooting
astrophotography,autofocus
simplywon’tgivegoodresults.
In thesesituations,switchtolive
viewandturntomanual-focusing
mode.Zoomin onthescene
andnavigatetoa brightstaror
distantlightsource.Thenadjust
thefocusringmanuallyuntilit is
a small,pin-likepoint of light for
sharpshots.Avoidcamera
shake
Shootinghandheldintroduces
cameramovement,and
thereforeblur,soutilisea fast
shutterspeedtokeepthings
sharp.Goasfastaspossible
whileretaininga goodexposure,
balancingit withaperture and
ISOaccordingly.Stopdown
Togetmoreof thescenein
focus,you’llhavetousea
narrowerapertureforgreater
depthof field.Aperturesof f/
orf/16arecommonlyusedfor
landscapephotographyto
achievesharpresultsfrom
foreground to background.preciseandunequivocal,solong
asyouplaceit directlyoveryour
subject.Withheavytelephotolensesthat
area strainonthearms,it’sbesttouse
a monopodmountedonthelenscollar,
ora beanbagif you’relyingontheground.
Thisallowsyoutostabilisethecamera
andtrackyoursubjectsmoothlywithout
armfatiguewobblingthecamera,giving
youa higherhitrate.
Actionshotswithmovingsubjectsalso
requirefastershutterspeedstofreeze
theminmotion.Forsportsgames,aimto
shootbetween1/500secand1/8000sec
dependingontheamountofavailable
light.If yoursubjectreappearsinthesame
spotoverandover(iebya goalduring
a footballgame)thenpre-focusatthe
pointwhereyoursubjectwillbecome
sharpandtracktheirmovementuntil
they’reinthezone.Thiscanbeextremely
usefulforwildlifeactionshotswhere
animalsreturntothesamespot– for
example,a kingfisherusinga single
perch from which to hunt for fi sh.Jason’stop tips
Below:Pre-focusing
manuallyat500mm
awayfromthesplash
point,I wasableto
quicklytaketheshotas
thewaterhitthepool
withoutworryingabout
autofocushunt
NikonD750,50mmf/1.4,
1/200sec at f/11, ISO 100Above:Continuous
autofocusmode
combinedwith
single-pointAFmeant
trackingthisredkite
sharplythroughthesky
waseasy
NikonD90,70-300mm,
1/800sec at f/5.6, ISO 1000