Focus on the eyes - autofocus need some sort of contrast to read the distance from camera to subject precisely. So frame the shot with the focus point in the viewfinder on the corner of the eye and half press the shutter, The recompose if need be with the shutter still half depressed - then shoot..

Having said all that I would expect your focus problem to manifest itself more in the eyes being in focus and the ears/nose not being - as a result of a shallow depth of field (DOF). If you have that lens set at f/2.8 the depth of field (the plane in focus) will be quite shallow. If you stop down to say f/5 the DOF will be deeper and more will be in focus..

Alex..

And quit focusing on his ear.  .

You might also run a few tests to make sure that the lens isn't back focusing..

DIPics..

For a lot of little kid photography, there are real problems with autofocus because the kids have such smooth skin..

Autofocus needs contrasty areas to focus on, and as someone has mentioned, the eyes are the most contrasty part of a little kids face..

But you need to focus and recompose, sometimes, and if the kid is moving, and you are moving, and you have a larger aperture (F5.6, 4, 2.8, etc.) with shallow depth of field, you're in trouble..

At a wide aperture, if you jus t lean forward two inches, and the kid leans forward two inche, the shot will be four inches out of focus..

SO, YOU ASK? Use manual focus, and you can see the eyes, regardless of where they are in the frame..

BAK..

... I'll keep practicing... I know there's a narrow DOF, but I didn't think 2.8 would be this challenging... I really want to use the wide aperture to get the fuzzy background effect....

BAK - so - manual focus then? Because the autofocus doesn't work so well on smooth skin/moving subject... I just assumed AF would be way better that me trying to focus on my own! I thought this was one of the reasons to get a DSLR with all the bells and whistles in the first place! Well, I'll give it a try... I'm sure you're right....

DIPICS I have no idea what backfocusing is & how to fix it... ..

Awww. How cute is that kid. And He has such spiky hair standing on his head...

Origami5000 wrote:.

... I'll keep practicing... I know there's a narrow DOF, but I didn'tthink 2.8 would be this challenging... I really want to use the wideaperture to get the fuzzy background effect....

Stick with it. Are you using a tripod? There is no exif information on your photo so I cannot tell your shutter speed but there should not be a problem there using f2.8. Use those 11 focus points on the D80. They are easier to use on a tripod or monopod..

BAK - so - manual focus then? Because the autofocus doesn't work sowell on smooth skin/moving subject... I just assumed AF would be waybetter that me trying to focus on my own! I thought this was one ofthe reasons to get a DSLR with all the bells and whistles in thefirst place! Well, I'll give it a try... I'm sure you're right....

You will find it very difficult to MF a D80 without a tripod or monopod. In fact I personally would not recommend it. A child will rarely stay still long enough to set it up. Better to take several shots with AF and keep only the best..

DIPICS I have no idea what backfocusing is & how to fix it... .

Backfocus is a lens fault. Do not concern yourself about it. User inexperience is a far more likely explanation for your "problem"..

I am not a fan of "focus and recompose" it builds in focus distance errors ** and, on the D80 exposure errors***. In the days when a camera had only one autofocus sensor there was no choice but with 11 of them you should have no difficulty. Just set the appropriate AF point on the eye and squeeze the shutter..

Which eye? That is where experience comes in. If light is coming from one side it will make a difference to your exposure on the D80. Try them both.

Final though. It is good practice to use a little flash with portraits not so much to light the subject but to get a catch light in the eyes. If you have got light from one side it will also even out the exposure i.e fill flash. No need for a big off camera flash. It is just the reflection you want to give a glint in the eye..

** If you have not reached information overload this will tell you more!:http://www.mhohner.de/recompose.php?lang=e.

*** The D80 weights the exposure to the selected AF point..

P.S. I now have your photo back in front of me having posted. You have something of a catch light in the left eye from a reflection. You can imagine what a difference it would make to the image to be without it..

Chris Elliott.

*Nikon* D Eighty + Fifty - Other equipment in Profile.

Http://PlacidoD.Zenfolio.com/..

Chris - I probably need to read up on the 11 AF points on this camera... I really don't know much about it yet, although, as you said, with 11 whole points, I shouldn't have a problem... I'm not using a tripod - I was hoping to get a little free of the tripod with a 2.8mm aperture....

The first baby pic was taken 1/250th, f4.0, 75mm, ISO100, and I had it on the highest resolution (on the D80)... with those specs I was very surprised not to have way more detail and sharpness - but these are some of the first pics I've taken with this camera and lens, so I'll have to do some more test runs. Great tip about using fill flash - got to read up on that in the manual too. I've been using a P&S camera for 7 years, so I'm rusty!.

For comparison - here's the same shot taken with my 5-year old P&S camera for comparison - and it looks sharper to me... (1/250/ f4.0, 20.69mm - it's a canon g5) - That's why I'm a little worried!.

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Try setting the camera to a SINGLE autofocus point and see how it does. Multiple AFs can cause problems until you know how the camera responds to differences in contrast across an image. Sometimes it causes more problems then it is worth..

MaddogOlympus E-500, Olympus E-510..

Maddogmd11 wrote:.

Try setting the camera to a SINGLE autofocus point and see how itdoes. Multiple AFs can cause problems until you know how the cameraresponds to differences in contrast across an image. Sometimes itcauses more problems then it is worth..

You cannot use groups of autofocus points on the D80 only a single point so your comment has no relevance..

Chris Elliott.

*Nikon* D Eighty + Fifty - Other equipment in Profile.

Http://PlacidoD.Zenfolio.com/..

Origami5000 wrote:.

The first baby pic was taken 1/250th, f4.0, 75mm, ISO100, and I hadit on the highest resolution (on the D80)... with those specs I wasvery surprised not to have way more detail and sharpness - but theseare some of the first pics I've taken with this camera and lens, soI'll have to do some more test runs. Great tip about using fill flash- got to read up on that in the manual too. I've been using a P&Scamera for 7 years, so I'm rusty!.

For comparison - here's the same shot taken with my 5-year old P&Scamera for comparison - and it looks sharper to me... (1/250/ f4.0,20.69mm - it's a canon g5) - That's why I'm a little worried!.

You cannot compare the two. F/4 wil have different depth of field with different sizes of CCD. Take a look at this table and put the figures in for yourself:.

Http://www.dofmaster.com/doftable.html.

At 6 ft & f/4 DOF field on the Nikon will be 5.85 - 6.15 ft i.e 4 inchesAt 6ft & f/4 DOF on the G5 will be 5.45 - 6.68 ft i.e 15 inches.

I suspect distance will be greater (and maybe not directly comparable) but you get the idea. You are comparing a blunderbuss with a sniper's rifle. With the blunderbuss you are bound to hit something. With a sniper's rifle it is ultimately a better tool but you need to know how to use it properly to get the best out of it..

Second thing to do. Set the sharpening to +1. The settings on the D80 are rather conservative.

If you use your free trial of Capture NX and shoot RAW you can bring your focus point up on the screen (and adjust the sharpening and loads of other things.).

Chris Elliott.

*Nikon* D Eighty + Fifty - Other equipment in Profile.

Http://PlacidoD.Zenfolio.com/..

It certainly does look more focused on the ears, which would lead me to think there might be a back-focus problem. If you're attempting to focus on the eyes, then there should be plenty of contrast there to focus, and a kids smooth skin shouldn't matter..

First, I would recommend that you set the camera for a single focal point, the center, just to keep things simple. Set the camera to 'P' mode, and when you press the shutter half-way down you should see a focal point blink red in the viewfinder. If it's not the center one, try changing it with the 4-way dial to the right of the back LCD. If it's not changing, make sure the slider switch just below it is not in the 'L' or Locked position..

Once you have confirmed you have a single center-focus spot, I would put a ruler on a table, and take a picture of it focusing on the 6" mark. You'll probably have the camera at about 45 degrees from the ruler. Take the shot, and see if the 6" mark is indeed the most in focus. If it's not, the focus may be off on the lens..

Does this happen with any other lenses?.

Everything I write is a personal opinion. Even when I quote facts, they are the facts I personally choose to accept.http://www.pbase.com/mariog..

Is on the money. You are a long way off having evidence that there is an issue with the lens..

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Chris Elliott wrote:.

You cannot use groups of autofocus points on the D80 only a singlepoint so your comment has no relevance..

No, I think there is a point to be made there..

When the camera is set to Dynamic or Auto Area AF, it may select from any or all of the sensors depending on "closest" subject, subject movement etc. So that can cause confusion if you're not watching where the camera has decided to focus..

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My reply was a little too hasty. You are quite right in your answer. I am assuming the camera is set to AF-S and Single Area Mode which are my default settings and thus operates solely on the focus point the user sets. That gives me control and not the camera. That is not necessarily a safe assumption..

If the camera is set to AF-C (or AF-A) and/or "Closest subject" the camera may chose the focus point for you as you have indicated. The post I was replying to seemed to suggest group autofocus as on the D200 which, of course does not exist on the D80, but I ought to have "thought outside the box"!.

So to be clear for the benefit of the OP. (1) Set the camera to AF-S autofocus if it is not already there (2) Set the Autofocus Area Mode to "Single Area AF" and (3) use the most approriate focus point and focus on the eyes (or rather an eye)..

IF you still have problems then use the central focus point and try again (never mind the composition)..

IF you still have problems check that yoiu have sharpening set to +1..

IF you still have problems then you can begin to suspect the lens but I very much doubt that is the problem..

Chris Elliott.

*Nikon* D Eighty + Fifty - Other equipment in Profile.

Http://PlacidoD.Zenfolio.com/..

RE>I really want to use the wide aperture to get the fuzzy background effect...<.

Your choice; fuzzy photos at f2.8 or sharp ones at f5.6 or smaller..

Move the kid father from the background, and the background will be fuzzier, allowing you to use a reasonable f stop to get eyes, nose, ears sharp..

BAK..

BAK wrote:.

Your choice; fuzzy photos at f2.8 or sharp ones at f5.6 or smaller..

Move the kid father from the background, and the background will befuzzier, allowing you to use a reasonable f stop to get eyes, nose,ears sharp..

There should be no problem with 75mm at 10ft at f2.8 where you have a DOF of about 8 inches. or 60mm at 8ft which will give you the same. Opening up to f/4 will give you more to play with..

I regularly use circa f2.8 on my 80-200 with my grown up daughter..

Chris Elliott.

*Nikon* D Eighty + Fifty - Other equipment in Profile.

Http://PlacidoD.Zenfolio.com/..

... you're going to make me work at this!!!.

I totally get what you're saying about needing to learn how to use this superior tool - (my new camera/lens). I had a feeling this was the case... I'm pretty sure I set the AF to a single point, but I'll double-check and take some more test pics...Theresa..

... with this kind of lens before I bought it... but I didn't expect it to be this hard though. Clearly I need to practice more to get it down...

I'll try the ruler test... I did have the center focus point right on his eye, so... well, I'll try again... I haven't tried any other lenses on this camera...

I had the same lens, and sold it because I thought it was soft for distant objects. However, for close-up items like your picture I thought I got some pretty sharp pictures. If you have another lens, give that a shot..

But it seems like you're doing everything right..

Everything I write is a personal opinion. Even when I quote facts, they are the facts I personally choose to accept.http://www.pbase.com/mariog..