How do you track moving subjects with a fast telephoto prime lens?
Asked 3/30/2012
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I’m comfortable shooting with both eyes open using normal primes, but with a 200mm f/2.8 on APS-C (about 300mm equivalent) I struggle to keep moving subjects in frame. The narrow field of view and shallow depth of field make it easy to lose the subject, especially for sports, demonstrations, or birds in flight. Since this is a prime lens, I can’t zoom out to acquire the subject first. What techniques help with finding and tracking action at long focal lengths?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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Shooting birds in flight with the Pentax DA★ 300mm f/4, I think the answer is twofold:
- Prefocus on something, either by finding a target at a similar distance, or by the distance scale. For most larger birds at a good distance, infinity is good enough to see a bird-blob in the viewfinder.
- Find the target with one eye open. Yeah, I know you've tried. Try again. I just keep my left eye open during target acquisition, and then I close it. What you're trying to do is get the bird in your naked eye to line up with the center of the viewfinder (i.e. the center focus point). As the "naked eye bird" approaches the center of the field, the "viewfinder bird" will zoom into the frame at the last moment. Then you can close your naked eye and concentrate on tracking the bird in the viewfinder and focusing.
This is the sort of thing where practice really helps.
Note: Don't engage autofocus (shutter half-press or AF button, however you have it set up) until you're sure the target is under an AF point. Otherwise, it's likely that the lens will seek to the near limit, and you have no hope of catching anything until you start at the beginning again.
Originally by user2138. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user2138
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The main tricks are pre-focus, use continuous AF, and practice target acquisition.
Pre-focus at roughly the right distance so the viewfinder image isn’t just blur. You can focus on something at a similar distance, or use the distance scale; for distant subjects, near infinity may be enough to make the subject visible.
Set the camera to continuous autofocus/tracking mode, and if your camera supports it, use multiple AF points rather than a single point so it has a better chance of holding the subject.
For acquisition, many shooters keep one eye outside the viewfinder while bringing the lens onto the subject. The goal is to line up the real-world subject with the center AF area; once it appears in the finder, concentrate on tracking it there.
It also helps to use background landmarks. If you can relate what you see in the finder to a tree, building, or other visible object, you can better predict when the subject will enter the frame.
Mostly, this is a skill that improves with practice. Long telephoto primes are harder to aim, but repeated practice makes finding and tracking subjects much more natural.
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