topic Re: Focusing question in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Focusing question

Tintype_18 — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 13:55:07 GMT

I have a T7 with the 18-55mm lens and a 75-300mm lens. I have two grandsons who play baseball for the local high school team. I'm having to shoot photos through the safety net. I have read a bit about depth of field, focusing, etc., but not really sure without experimenting with what I read. Looking to eliminate the net and have the distant object in focus. Experience and recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Re: Focusing question

kvbarkley — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 14:01:43 GMT

How close are you to the net?

Since the 75-300 does not have a focus limiter, you will need to get as close as possible, use the single center point focus, and shoot in the gaps of the net.

If you are far from the net, you may have to use manual focus.

Re: Focusing question

Tintype_18 — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 14:09:38 GMT

Thanks. I'm about 6-8 feet from the net. Need to sit and shoot from the front row as my knees prohibit climbing to the top. Not a lot of room to get back from the net. Use the 75-300 instead of the 18-55? Get up to the net and shoot through the mesh?

Re: Focusing question

kvbarkley — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 14:37:45 GMT

I assume you want to be as "close" as possible. Use whatever lens gets you the field of view you want, or a mixture.

Re: Focusing question

ebiggs1 — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 15:34:53 GMT

If you are very far away from the net I doubt you can shoot through it without it showing up. If you can get close you can make the net OOF so it doesn't show as bad. Probably never fully eliminate its effect on the picture. Then in PSE you might be able to edit it and make it better.

With Photoshop you could completely remove it depending on how much time you want to spend on it. Set the camera to Av mode (more open aperture) and use One shot with only the center focus point active.

Re: Focusing question

Tintype_18 — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 16:16:17 GMT

EB, thanks. I use AV a lot. Will set to One Shot and go from there. You guys have given me lots to work on. Thanks to all!

Re: Focusing question

ebiggs1 — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 16:31:34 GMT

Hope it works for you. I use this technique a lot at the zoo. I tried to find a sample for you to see but I couldn't find it quickly. The trick is to get the DOF small to help keep the net OOF. If it is a small weave net it might work well. If it is a large weave net (chain link fence style) it won't be as good.

Re: Focusing question

rs-eos — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 17:41:16 GMT

I don't think your lenses have it, but a focus limiting switch could become useful. i.e. if there's a range that could be set that would be beyond the net.

Re: Focusing question

Tronhard — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 18:09:55 GMT

It is important to remember these three elements that impact DoF:

1. The closer the subject, the shallower the DoF
2. The longer the lens focal length, the shallower the DoF
3. The larger the aperture (or smaller the f-number), the smaller the DoF

Given these mantras, if you want to eliminate the fence, you need a long FL, be as close as possible to it and use a fairly shallow DoF.

This below was taken with a Canon 70-300 lens through a fairly thick wire netting enclosure - you can see that at the far end of the enclosure.

Canon EOS 7DMkII, EF 70-300L @ 300mm, f/6.3, 1/30sec, ISO-320
So, in this shot, I applied all of the above principles. I used a FL of 300mm (equivalent to 480mm), the largest aperture possible and went right up to the netting to place the netting within the closest focusing distance.

Using a short FL (e.g. the 18-55) is going to be challenging to avoid getting the netting out of focus, especially if you are not right up against the netting.

To give an idea of the effect of ONLY reducing the lens FL, the following two images were taken with the Fuji X-T4, and the Fuji 16-300 f/4 lens. Both were shot with the following settings: f/6.4, 1/900sec, ISO-320 and I was only cm from the wire matrix
The one immediately below was shot with a FL of 18mm;
As you can see, the wire matrix is clearly visible in the image.

Standing in exactly the same spot, I took this shot at 78mm

Now the wire is not in view, yet the angle of view encompasses where wire would be. The difference is that the minimum focus distance has shifted to a point beyond the wire.

Re: Focusing question

ebiggs1 — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 14:36:13 GMT

However one more point of consideration must be observed if you use those settings. Composition. Altering the FL may make the intended subject unusable or at least not wanted. You wanted a body shot of the 2nd baseman but your FL to avoid the net now gives you a portrait may not be what was intended or wanted.

In photography there is no free lunch. You give to get!

Re: Focusing question

Tintype_18 — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 15:22:53 GMT

Thanks again to all. I'm going to print these replies for reference, now and the future. So much to learn, so little time.

Re: Focusing question

Tintype_18 — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 14:57:36 GMT

Again, many thanks for your advice/suggestions. I put the camera against the net and got some great shots. I wasn't close to the net and got it in three photos. Aaarrggh! Overall, the photos came out great. I like to experiment with settings to get a "feel" for what works and what doesn't work. Still learning and I hope to have it down by the time I'm 98 years old; 74 right now.