Photographic failures - shame about that.

As one who tries to take a decent picture, but often fails, this thread is for those 'if only it had been in focus' moments that we have all suffered. I'm not sure if other regular posters will contribute, but there are times when you curse a wrong camera setting, the person who gets in the way of a decent shot, camera shake or the usual composition hiccups not noticed at the time, sun in the wrong place, under/over exposed beyond rescue by a digital edit program.

To kick off, a few failures from Goodwood Revival 2018. Some may appear to be not too bad, but the full sized image is a different story.

Any images posted on here by me will be deleted from my own system.

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The problem is heightened today, of course, by the preponderance of self-focussing cameras...

I have a great camera, an Olympus SP500. 6mp, a really good lens. But to put focus on manual is a chore, a real chore, and then I don't know if it works.

With auto focus you might have everything just right and as you depress the 'shoot' button the focus point changes itself to something much nearer!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ray Bell

The problem is heightened today, of course, by the preponderance of self-focussing cameras...

I have a great camera, an Olympus SP500. 6mp, a really good lens. But to put focus on manual is a chore, a real chore, and then I don't know if it works.

With auto focus you might have everything just right and as you depress the 'shoot' button the focus point changes itself to something much nearer!

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Ray and others ; I am often "out of focus " so far that the camera cannot compensate that is why have taken photos like this :

Back in the day of a Brownie Starlet camera - and now even with a digital SLR sometime not much better - Cheers Guys.

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PS Ray have stolen the Blurry DD300 photo as look good !!

Nick 'Sideways' Swift giving the Mini some stick - as always.
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Here's what happens with the modern camera...

https://i.postimg.cc/Y25gzzLK/1018fr_EU16_Monaco1.jpg

The camera, after showing that the area desired is in focus, changes its mind and the last minute and grabs hold of the fence for focus, putting the car in a blur.

https://i.postimg.cc/15DFCVDg/1018fr_EU16_Monaco2.jpg

Again, this time it's picked up on a head in the crowd, well away from the centre of the photo and completely unpredictable.

https://i.postimg.cc/SxqMwQGg/1018fr_EU16_Monaco3.jpg[/url]

And clicking the 'shutter' doesn't always result in a pic coming forth straight away. This was an attempt to get a shot of the Scarab, but the shutter decided to wait until it was almost out of the frame.

Yup. The moving focus point has driven me nuts and I lost a lot of Goodwood stuff because of it. Thanks for reminding me that I need to delve into the camera manual - again...

Mine has the option of single point, 11 point or 39 point focus, but even if I start on single point, slap in the centre, it drifts all over the place with virtually every shot.

Seems you just have to keep an eye on it, which is a real pain - Nikon D5200. Other cameras may have that option.

Nigel's pics are always impressively razor sharp!

Ray, usually these types of cameras have a focus set, sometimes holding the finger halfway down on the shutter button or there may be a focus hold button. Mine is a Canon and has these functions.
Guess you have it set to sport or action type mode, the portrait mode goes all over the show searching for faces.
Hope it helps
I still like your pics!
Cheers
Paul

Thanks Paul. I have searched on line but this is a real problem experienced by others with this particular model. Switch the camera off, or take one shot with the focus point in the correct position (ie. for me, dead centre) but for the next shot, it has moved. Not easily visible through the viewfinder for high speed action shots, where it is often auto focussing all the time as the subjects approach.

Sure, get it in the right place, and hold whilst lining up a shot and it is OK, but not for the following shots. In a race situation, when holding the camera ready and taking shots of several cars in quick succession, it is a problem. Now I have two identical cameras, maybe I need to change yet again for one where the focus point doesn't move!

It just means some potentially good shots get dumped.

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Am I to assume that auto focusing is being relied upon rather than setting the focus manually in anticipation of the expected distance?

I have to stress this, please note...

The SP500 does have a preset option, but it is very time-consuming and difficult to set up and I've never been able to get it to work AT ALL.

A total waste of time.

In days of old Trevor, you had no choice but to preset for a fixed spot - especially on a non-zoom lens - and you pressed the shutter at the appropriate time, hopefully, then manually had to advance the film for the next shot - by which time the next two or three cars may have passed.

You can still do that of course. You can also still manually focus a zoom lens if you wish, but getting it razor sharp whilst pressing the shutter button and swinging from cars near and far, when cars may be passing you at 100mph+ is now beyond me.

With an auto focus lens, it is feasible to get three or four shots in half a second and all will be good shots - PROVIDED you move fast enough and also that the camera's focus point hasn't wandered from your initial setting.

There is no doubt whatever that photographers such as my late Dad, armed with just 12 glass plates for the whole day, no auto anything, had it really tough and we now have it so very easy.

He'd be staggered that I could take maybe 1500 pics in a single day (for free) and 1200 of them would be in focus and properly exposed - and I could also digitally adjust the colour balance right back to black and white if I so desired. He would also have embraced the technology with open arms as he was into basic programming on a Sinclair, way back in the very early 1980s. He was also a pioneer in using auto colour film processing and printing in the industry well before that.

I will say no more than:- I will turn 90 in March but am accustomed to all things Digital and long ago parked my Pentax SLR with its many lenses. Something about sucking eggs. LOL

It could be, Trevor, that one reason I'm not willing to invest a lot of time into perfecting the manual focus methodology of the SP500 is that I bought a DSLR simply because I was sick and tired of auto focus. But I've yet to master that camera and need a bit of tutoring with it.

I have also been taking photos for a very long time, I got my first 35mm camera in 1965 and went digital in 2004, I've had plenty of photos published so I do know a little bit about it all.

My first digital was 1996! Hopeless... But, it was a revelation at the time. More a toy than a serious piece of kit (Casio).

I went partially digital 2004 (small compact camera) whilst still hanging on to the Pentax kit, fully digital 2006 I think.

I wasn't teaching you to suck eggs Trevor, but by the tone of your post, it seemed that maybe you weren't fully aware. My apologies if it came over like that.

I'm pretty sure that the cameras and auto lenses are very capable, just as long as you get the right ones and can master the instruction manual! The wandering single point focus is an issue with that particular model that I wasn't aware of when I bought my first D5200 - and buying a second on Trade Me seemed a good idea at the time...

Here's a problem from the days or yore...

https://i.postimg.cc/kM1X86Bz/jane-Egardnershell.jpg

Jane and Gardner practising for the Australian Tourist Trophy at Lakeside in November, 1965. And that same weekend, John Harvey had his first run in an open-wheeler on a road race circuit:

https://i.postimg.cc/GmYcZXqn/harveybrab.jpg

I will always regret not taking another photo here but when you only have a 35mm film of 24 and it was unknown what else was there at the 1976 F1 Long Beach Grand Prix you hope that each one can be developed. So it was with dismay when I saw that this number 1 negative had light on the 1st photo after it had been developed a week later. (Remember those days before digital ?)
Anyway this was meant to show Ronnie Peterson talking to Niki Lauda at the Theodore Racing pit as Teddy Yip is beside his March that has Peterson's helmet on it.(That helmet would be worth a lot of money today !)
Niki Lauda is on the left in his red Ferrari suit just above the raised arm looking at the March and Peterson is not visible due to the light. (Oh well I should just be grateful I saw them drive in their prime.)

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(Ken H )