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A friend of mine does event photography for swing dancing. He's looking at getting one because it's really hard to catch focus when things are moving so quickl

by pfranz 12y ago

A friend of mine does event photography for swing dancing. He's looking at getting one because it's really hard to catch focus when things are moving so quickly (in dimly-lit halls). There are photography niches out there where features like this can be a necessity. Another use-case I've heard about was wedding photographers using depth of field as a Ken Burns-like effect for videography or on their webpage. Both are narrow use-cases, but I too find the technology fascinating and hope it finds a sustainable use-case.

aaronbrethorst 12y ago
Why not set up a strobe or two at relatively low power in the corners and use those instead?
djKianoosh 12y ago
this won't really help him catch focus of moving objects... because they are moving. only a faster shutter speed can help there.
- lelandbatey 12y ago
  But when someone is moving closer/further away from you (as probably happens when you're a stationary photographer among dancers) the ability to not worry about what's in focus right now seems huge.
  - elithrar 12y ago
    > But when someone is moving closer/further away from you (as probably happens when you're a stationary photographer among dancers) the ability to not worry about what's in focus right now seems huge. But the subject is still moving quickly - the Lytro can't compensate for that. Dark, high movement indoor scenes (dancing, sports, etc) are always some of the toughest situations to shoot in, and are probably one of the times where gear can make a substantial difference between getting a "passable" shot and getting a completely unusable one. Stop down as much as you can, zone focus, push the ISO up to maintain the minimum shutter for the activity at hand and shoot. You can get push ISO higher if you're not looking to print big (as in, 16x20" and up) too, which can help give you more breathing room.
    - stevekemp 12y ago
      Agreed entirely, although it has to be said the f/2.0 will help a little. (Of course a 4MP image will not be as good as a real cameras, but low-light performance should be reasonable with that aperture - though I've not seen anything mentioned about ISO ranges.) I will go hug my 70-200 f/2.8 now, it truely is an amazing lens :)
      - djKianoosh 12y ago
        I took a Nikon 180mm f2.8 [1] to the world cup and it was phenomenal[2]. It's less bulky than the 70-200. Now, if this Lytro has real good ISO range and decent glass, then it might be good for a travel kit. Just depends on how big it really is. -- 1: http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/singlefocal/Telephoto/af_180mmf_28d_if/ http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/singlefocal/Telephoto/a... 2: https://www.flickr.com/photos/djkianoosh/sets/72157644825335868/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/djkianoosh/sets/72157644825335...
kghose 12y ago
I agree with the other poster - I think your problem is motion blur rather than focus - if you have a decent lens (one of the "pro" lenses, rather than kit) the focus is very fast, smooth and does well in low light for both Nikon and Canon.

by pfranz 12y ago

aaronbrethorst 12y ago

Why not set up a strobe or two at relatively low power in the corners and use those instead?

djKianoosh 12y ago

this won't really help him catch focus of moving objects... because they are moving. only a faster shutter speed can help there.

lelandbatey 12y ago
But when someone is moving closer/further away from you (as probably happens when you're a stationary photographer among dancers) the ability to not worry about what's in focus right now seems huge.
- elithrar 12y ago
  > But when someone is moving closer/further away from you (as probably happens when you're a stationary photographer among dancers) the ability to not worry about what's in focus right now seems huge. But the subject is still moving quickly - the Lytro can't compensate for that. Dark, high movement indoor scenes (dancing, sports, etc) are always some of the toughest situations to shoot in, and are probably one of the times where gear can make a substantial difference between getting a "passable" shot and getting a completely unusable one. Stop down as much as you can, zone focus, push the ISO up to maintain the minimum shutter for the activity at hand and shoot. You can get push ISO higher if you're not looking to print big (as in, 16x20" and up) too, which can help give you more breathing room.
  - stevekemp 12y ago
    Agreed entirely, although it has to be said the f/2.0 will help a little. (Of course a 4MP image will not be as good as a real cameras, but low-light performance should be reasonable with that aperture - though I've not seen anything mentioned about ISO ranges.) I will go hug my 70-200 f/2.8 now, it truely is an amazing lens :)
    - djKianoosh 12y ago
      I took a Nikon 180mm f2.8 [1] to the world cup and it was phenomenal[2]. It's less bulky than the 70-200. Now, if this Lytro has real good ISO range and decent glass, then it might be good for a travel kit. Just depends on how big it really is. -- 1: http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/singlefocal/Telephoto/af_180mmf_28d_if/ http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/singlefocal/Telephoto/a... 2: https://www.flickr.com/photos/djkianoosh/sets/72157644825335868/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/djkianoosh/sets/72157644825335...

kghose 12y ago

I agree with the other poster - I think your problem is motion blur rather than focus - if you have a decent lens (one of the "pro" lenses, rather than kit) the focus is very fast, smooth and does well in low light for both Nikon and Canon.