STOP BLAMING THE AUTOFOCUS. Maybe that's not the problem!

[@johnwest7228]

I always take credit for the bad focus photos- I'm the one that selected the settings and pushed the shutter- if something went wrong or right it's on me-

[@semperfi-1918]

I always manual focus. And getting great at it.

[@LeeIveson]

Knowing your gear inside & out is the key! Understanding what is possible & the limitations of the gear & more importantly yourself. Good video 👌

[@KobieMC]

Thanks mate!

[@mobileandhostile7895]

⭐️ good call…I was recently guilty of exactly this…the answer to my cry of “what is wrong with this lens ?” turned out to be “nothing”…my eyes hadn’t spotted the end of a small twig pointing directly towards the lens…..the AF on my camera HAD spotted it though and absolutely nailed the focus on it 😂…frustrating in the moment but funny now because by moving slightly I eventually got the shot of the bird I was after…lesson learned was “AF works much better than my eyes” ⭐️ Thanks for the tips 👍

[@pamelahooper7851]

Thanks for all these reminders Kobie. I’m always forgetting something. Best regards

[@cdrkennon]

Another thought: I have been experimenting with using high-speed multi-shot for short bursts of fast subjects. I noticed when my arthritic shoulders and back make me shaky that in HS I can use burst because as one shakes there is a brief ‘pause’ between directional movements. Burst can often catch that ‘pause’. It is like snipers trained to time their shots between heartbeats. Try it and let me know what you think.

[@KobieMC]

I use the sniper breathing technique when I'm doing handheld slow shutter shots. But, I could see how it could work in your situation as well.

[@jeffcarpenter5147]

Informative as always Kobie.

[@HusbandnWifeDuo]

Great suggestion!

[@scrptwic]

Kobie The K3Mark 3 Is critical of what setting you are in AFC you need movement for it to properly focus In AFS it does not

[@rrysiekk]

..ha ha, it's exactly as you said!.. and I almost always have the ISO set to 400 - there is almost no loss in quality, but it helps a lot ! :)

[@AllistonOnElement]

Remember to factor in the crop factor of focal length x1.5 when establishing minimum shutter speed with an APS-C camera (150mm = 225mm / 450mm = 675mm 2nd There is a setting that gets misinterpreted regrading how short or long a duration focus is held and rechecked (in relation to K-1/ K-1 Mark II). The best setting is to have AF Hold set to off.

[@KobieMC]

But that changes when you're using SR. And depends on which camera. Prior to the K-3 III, SR was rated at 4-5 ish stops based on a 50 mm focal length. The K-3 III is rated at 5.5 stops with an 85 mm focal length. So I'm not so sure regarding the older need to recalculate based on Full Frame vs APS-C, at least when using SR. Not to mention, as I said in the video, some people are shakier than others. Plus it's really only a general guideline. There's a number of variables that could render the whole thing useless too.

[@dominicwroblewski5832]

It's the cameras fault ! The lens is bad ! LOL I think it is human nature to blame the tool.

[@NoMastersNoMistress]

It helps to stop the lens down far enough to have enough DoF as well.

[@vincemokry9643]

What af point spread do u like for the 150-450? Select? I think the full spread of points is where you could get bad results. Like the photos where it got the water and not the duck.

[@KobieMC]

I generally use Sel Ex M with AF type set to 3 and tracking set to 5. For the video images, I didn't use AF. C. So, AF. S Sel is what I used.

[@NoMastersNoMistress]

APS-C and FF aren't 4/3's... aren't there engineering limitations on larger sensors that prevent the focus points being spread as far out as they are on Olympus sensors? That's the only other thing I miss from using my Olympus cams exclusively, the focus really can be idiot proof thanks to focus points being spread out and deeper DoF.

[@KobieMC]

It has to do with the fact that mirrorless cameras which are using the sensor itself as the focus sensor get the luxury of using the entire sensor size to get hundreds of focus points spread across the frame.

[@NoMastersNoMistress]

@@KobieMC Actually I still have an E3 and an E30, classic Olympus DSLR's, not mirrorless, and they have their full complement of cross type sensors spread across the chip. Great for street photography, lousy for landscapes.

[@dbeechphotography2835]

My take away was Turn Off SR.. Is that what you meant for handheld?

[@KobieMC]

No. I'm just explaining that when you use a long telephoto lens, don't expect SR to be of much help due to the magnification and limited movement the sensor has to work with. SR at a 16,18, 21, 35, 50 and even 85 or a 100 mm focal length will be much more effective than it would be at a 450 mm focal length.

[@tomsun3159]

Regarding the shutterspeeds in respect to the focal length, is there a difference between Full-Frame and Crop-sensor? Do you have to calculate the crop-factor in (like in astrophotography 300 -Rulevs. 500-Rule)? I assume when you a virtually zoomed in the effect of shalky should be more visible, same if using a Teleconverter. So Full-Frame at 450 mm vs. APS- C at 450 mm with a 1,4 Teleconverter The FOV changes from 450 mm to 450 mm * 1,5 * 1,4 = 945 mm (of course the focal length of 450 mm remains 450 mm)

[@KobieMC]

I've heard that you should factor that in, but I never have and it seems to work fine for me keeping it all even. As I said, some people may be steadier than others and it's just a guide line.

[@billkennon319]

Couple of things that a recent shoot reinforced for me. Shooting a songbird on the ground. I got close to the ground to get eye-to-eye. The auto focus was on zone with a large field. That was great for flowers. But the bird was dark with bright grass in front, so the camera (K3-III) wanted to focus on the grass. I had to switch to single point to get the bird. As @leeiveson says, KNOW the camera and focus options. Another "gotcha" is macro with leaves in front of the field for a nice blur. Again, point can make that much better. Auto focus on the K3 III is awesome; knowing the characteristics of different focus modes is key. Great video!

[@DeanHughes-um1um]

Words of Advice when. Trying the 600mm ...again ! ??

[@KobieMC]

For the last time. IT NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED. I know you've been following it like a hawk and you know this. There's zero point in trying it again unless it gets fixed.