V1.02
Thom Hogan’s Complete Guide to the Nikon D300
Page 394
Lock-On (Focus Tracking)
The D300, like all previous Nikon bodies, has the tendency to
hold focus at an established position when objects move in
front of the object being focused on. This trait can also show
up as an inability to
follow
focus on something that’s jumping
big distances between shots when you’re a using Continuous
release shooting method
and
Continuous Servo AF. Custom
Setting #A4 (see page <528>) gives you the ability to fine tune
this function.
More so than previous Nikon bodies, you may find that you
need to shorten or remove the Lock-On value to satisfactorily
follow focus on subjects moving towards you. If you’re getting
poor follow-focus results on moving subjects, this is the first
control to change.
The Pro Approach to Autofocus
Many professionals gravitate to the same approach to
autofocus (which I’ll describe in a moment). The reason is that
changing
autofocus settings all the time can be a tedious
process, as the autofocus controls are split between a switch
on the front of the camera, a switch on the back of the
camera, and the Custom Setting menus. Thus, most pros look
for a single menu setting combination they can use that gets
them 90% of their autofocus needs and helps them avoid
menu-itis.
The solution is the
AF-ON
button on the back of the camera.
Specifically, here’s what you do:
• Use Custom Setting #A5 to move autofocus activation to
AF-ON only
.
• Set the switch on the front of the camera to
C
(Continuous
Servo).
• Make sure that Custom Setting #A1 is on the default of
Release
.
