When doing weddings with my Canon cameras, doing the
center-focus and recompose maneuver was and is my main way of operation for focus methodology. With the new 1D MK3 having 19 high resolution focus points to use, and now with the joystick
FINALLY activated and able to select focus points (the civilized way), it is possible to get to a focus point faster AND easier.
Even though I am talking about Canon high end cameras, this stuff is true for the Nikon D3 too (although it has 15 cross type focus points verses Canon's 19). The Nikon also employs it's own version of Canon's joystick fun thingy in it's 4 point controller "wheel" and the 2 cameras are both easy to maneuver to move the focus points to the desired location giving better results and better focusing possibilities compared to lower level cameras.
The Nikon D3 has one more feature though, it's special Scene Recognition System. This is where you let the CAMERA choose the focus point instead of you doing it yourself.
In the past, with my Canon gear, and with just about any other camera, I would never
NEVER let the camera CHOOSE the focus point. Blasphemy!!! No way Jose' . . .
But I am REALLY surprised to find with the Nikon D3 I am now allowing the camera to select the focus points up to about
50 percent of the time. I have figured out where the system excels and what type of scene needs
my expertise
Why is this important?? Because, in my testing - BOTH of them - the Canon & Nikon cameras - I find I get
THE best and sharpest pictures of the actual focus point when the camera picks it. Trouble is that until now, that point was usually
NOT where I wanted it to be.
Here is a neat interview that explains the Scene Recognition System for those that have any curiosity to learn more about it. Here is an interesting taste of what's in the article:
"
It is correct to say that this is an epoch-making technology that has changed in a fundamental way the usual thinking about cameras. While 3D color matrix metering has vastly improved exposure accuracy with information obtained from the sensor, in the Scene Recognition System the recognition of various other elements beyond brightness has been improved to a level close to that of the human brain."
And here is the link:
http://imaging.nikon.com/products/im...e/19/index.htm
Canon once addressed this point of interest about better focusing with the eye control system in one of it's film cameras. I am hoping this will come around again to the forefront very quickly in some of the new released cameras coming up. If not, I am sure Nikon will continue to develop and advance this system to be better and better as time goes on and in the future I think it will prove to be one of the more important features on the higher end DSLR cameras. Megapixels is not the name of the game anymore for wedding photographers, my opinion is that it is now all about
FOCUSING.
Let me tell you a little story, actually it's a driving story:
Driving down a very steep winding mountain road in a (red of COURSE) exotic speedster causes, no FORCES me to often shift gears to make the fabulous automobile
know it is driven by me rather than I am being driven by it. Still, for those that KNOW how to drive one of these wonders - or took some kind of evasive driving maneuvers course, knowing when and how to apply power and what gear to apply it at makes the car dance on the head of a pin. Besides all that - it's darn fun
So, the D3 is a pretty nice machine, but I drive it shifting gears at the right time. First off I have it set to 51 point 3D tracking in the custom menu. Then I use the Auto Auto focus (the top position, back switch for complete auto focus letting the camera do it's thing.
Then when the times for it, I will shift out of AAF (Auto Auto Focus) to the center position which is the the regular Dynamic auto focus and select my AF point.
But there is more to the game. The feature you mentioned is "overdrive" baby
Shift the camera down to Dynamic AF and shift the front paddle shifter (the lever in the front that controls Single/Continuous/Manual from Single shot mode to Continuous Mode and as you said, watch the camera follow the bride right up the aisle seamlessly and totally automatically. It follows the color of her face (or anything else you focus on) and locks on it and moves the focus points for you and all I have to do it keep the car on the road - I mean keep her in the viewfinder.
After she (the bride, not the car) rides down the aisle and arrives to her future husband, I switch the Continuous paddle back to Single Shot and leave the back shifter (paddle) on Dynamic and choose my own focus points, and one center press takes me to the center AF point in an instant. If I move back a little distance from the service happening at the altar of the church and I might just switch to the 70-200 VR and zoom in so I get one face or at the most 2 faces in the viewfinder, I can shift the camera back to the top paddle position which is the AAF mode.
All this can and is done without the camera ever leaving my face. With a car - it's called heel-toe for shifting. With the D3 it is pinkie for the front paddle and thumb for the back paddle. Easy as pie
The Auto auto-focus (top position) I find is best when there is greater DOF, or just 1 or 2 people in the frame. If there are 3 people in the frame and I need to control the DOF or the focus plane I feel it is better with me selecting the focus point. With 2 people it can be "iffy". If the plane of focus is controllable and the eyes are very near on the same line, then the AAF is wonderful. If the 2 are farther apart, it will default to the closer person. This is true of table shots (yes, gotta do them) too. The AAF works well with a large group of people as it take into account the whole banana bunch and returns a nice sharp focused picture. But get yourself into the creative zone while doing the bridal fashion shots and again, I switch to selecting my own focus point.
Now, I really DO need to read that manual . . .
Peter
PS I use both Canon and Nikon gear. I had the 1D MK3 for 7 months and was finally went with the Nikon D3 as my main camera and use a few 30D's as second and back-ups. I had the opportunity to use both the D3 and the MK3 at the same time for a few weeks so I was able to compare them extensively and first hand without outside influence. There is NO loser here, both the 1D MK3 and the Nikon D3 are phenomenal machines for wedding and portrait work, so I like both systems and refuse to dog either. I will, however, not refrain from being hard on either of them in my observations as they usually demand OUR pretty pennies. But for the photographers that use either one or the other, I have the highest respect for the photographers no matter what equipment they are using, they are out there making a living just like me.
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