Morning all
I’m hoping someone can kindly help me figure this out please, as I think I might be ruining my shots & time whilst out flying, also a good point to mention as has been mentioned on here before, it is also who is behind the camera taking that picture as to weather it’s any good or not & that I understand,
Coming from my MA2 to the Mavic 3 classic with the rc pro, things are very much different & more challenging ( I’m happy for the challenge ) if I’m learning correctly,
I have hunted high & low for videos tutorials on focusing still pictures but all I see is for capturing videos, I have waited patiently to see if something is posted here or on YouTube but nothing really regarding still photos,
Ian London done a video last night on YouTube on focusing for videos, so I thought I’d ask you guys how you go about focusing for stills on the DJI drones that have the capability as I believe not all do ?
So, I know how to work auto focus, then tap on the screen where your subject is or what you want to be in focus, but the manual focus I’m not quite understanding it properly or if at all, some may say just use AF but MF is there for a reason,
Again I’d like to emphasise just as your drone has a larger sensor than your previous or you think it will take better pictures but as said not always that as said, it’s the person behind it who knows how to use it properly, I don’t quite where MF is concerned !
Is there anyone who uses MF that would know kindly where I should be starting to try & focus my pictures better, clearer sharper & in focus etc, would very much appreciate it, once again, as to where drones are concerned I can only find tutorials on creating videos & nothing on stills using AF OR MF, thanks in advance.
I ask because this would vary the depth of field, and then focussing could become important. Probably not too important if you’re shooting landscapes though, because most everything in your image would be in focus anyway.
Are you looking for a particular effect, or are you looking to expand your knowledge and skills? (Or something else of course)
Well, yes trying to get in focus what I want in focus, IE
Sometimes having the main subject in focus as depending on it’s surroundings, can look better as the subject stands out from the rest, sharp crisp & the rest looks a little more subtle.
And yes as above, again depending on the subject or what you are framing, other things can look nice when all is in focus if that makes sense,
I’ll be honest, when I had the MA2 because it had a fixed aperture the only thing I ever adjusted was my shutter speed & exposure value ( I think )
But, now with many different options I find it more difficult or a case of where I should or what I should have set & so fourth,
I’m not asking for a hand on a plate easy solution by no means, maybe a nudge in the correct direction to then learn further would be great.
Well that’s what I thought as above but again as a novice to all the settings & apertures or focus or infinity, I’ve found drones with a smaller sensor actually producing sharper pictures, on the other hand I’ve seen the same drone as mine, taking excellent photos to, so I’m really guessing this is defiantly user error on my behalf with settings etc,
I know it’s not going to be a miracle over night but would just like to try & start off on the right foot or try again rather,
Thanks for your reply Andy appreciated
This morning I asked him on the video link if this works in the same way for photos / stills, I just had a reply saying yes it does, so now I at least know that & that I shall take on board & practice,
I would or could post the video here but it’s more about video, so I guess that would be off topic.
Yes, that’s the physics around the circle of confusion and the way the maths works out.
Large sensor → more shallow depth of field
Smaller aperture → more shallow depth of field.
Longer focal length → more shallow depth of field
If you want to draw the eye with focus, the above is true but you must have difference in distance between your subject and the background (or foreground but the human brain thinks it’s weird to have things nearer the camera out of focus in a photo).
I try to draw the viewers eye using composition, saturation, and having the subject brighter in the frame. It’s best to have everything right in camera but the last two can be tweaked in post processing.
I’m speaking with knowledge of cameras, lenses, and photography, I’ve not got a drone with variable aperture or focus but I’m certain it still applies.
One more thing: you’ll find it less challenging to have more in focus if you keep away from the largest aperture (that’s the one with the smallest number e.g. f/2.8). I know this from having splashed out on f/1.4 prime lenses and f/2.8 zooms, then trying to use what I paid all that extra money for, living on the bleeding edge of biggest aperture every time. Some photos I look back at and wish I had more in focus. There’s no shame in using smaller aperture (bigger f number).
Thanks Andy
Yes I did do some research a while back & yes the smaller the number the bigger the hole & bigger the number the smaller the hole,
I also see that some say an in between aperture is a happy medium, if that’s correct, meaning in between your lowest & highest aperture.
Yes I fully agree with that even tho that I’m still learning.
So higher the number to get more in focus & sharper picture,
I think I understand this, so if there was a castle so to speak on a hill, but in the background, foreground or around the subject with distance in between was trees etc, I could or would do this to make the castle in focus / sharp, crisp to draw the eye to the subject & everything else around it is subtle or slightly out of focus ? Hope that’s correct
I have also been trying to learn setting the white balance manually, I have a chart here I snap shotted from google, showing different settings for different times of day depending on sunlight cloud mood etc, I used to leave it in auto but thought again there’s manual there for a reason, just thought I’d let you know, very grateful for your time & in depth explanation, I know it can be quite hard in explaining this, as well as trying to take it in and process it for myself, once again I appreciate your input as anyone else’s, 2 battery’s on charge, I have a place to visit on the radar, so I’ll see what I can try to achieve with everything put together later today, I’m not expecting perfection but a little improvement in the right direction will be a good step in the right direction to learning & understanding this properly !
Regards rich
Shoot in RAW and don’t worry about manual white balance. Well you can set it before you shoot each picture but it’ll all come out in the wash in post processing anyway.
