Hasselblad H3d II vs H4D - how important is True Focus

[Garry Sarre]

From another perspective.

I've shot portrait, both domestic and corporate, and fashion, for 35 years. Previously with MF film.

Nowadays I have true focus on an H5d and whilst it works well if timing is not a priority, I have found any MF autofocus a bit too slow to capture the 'fleeting moment'!

I tried auto focus/true focus for a few months and I began to see a pattern while going through the images after a shoot, I noticed that my best shots/facial expressions were often slightly out of focus.

I realised that this was because, seeing the right expression on the face of a client, I grabbed the shot before it had auto focused, the subsequent image was usually sharp, but the moment had gone and the expression was often not as good.

I haven't used AF on MF for a year.

Yes, my images can be very slightly out of focus, we're talking half the length of an eyelash here, but I'd rather have a great expression that is slightly soft, than a sharp mediocre one. For any autofocus, including true focus, to lock in and recompose means the moment may have already gone. At least it is with my clients.

I'm not shooting at f11 in the sunshine either. Usually f5.6 1/2 with a dark f4 120mm lens in a studio with modelling lamps, flash with no tripod. I only have one eye and my sight is not great either.

Of course, you do have to re-hone your manual focusing skills so that your focusing hand is constantly adjusting, and your modelling lamps have to be reasonably bright if you are studioing. But we are professionals aren't we. We can teach our hands to constantly focus without conscious thought.

Being able to focus manually with a big, beautiful viewfinder ground glass, was one of two reasons I switched in to digital MF.

The camera is always focused and ready for the trigger finger the moment the subject is ready.

What was the other reason? Files with uniformity, colour and substance to die for.

[The View]

From another perspective.

I've shot portrait, both domestic and corporate, and fashion, for 35 years. Previously with MF film.

Nowadays I have true focus on an H5d and whilst it works well if timing is not a priority, I have found any MF autofocus a bit too slow to capture the 'fleeting moment'!

I tried auto focus/true focus for a few months and I began to see a pattern while going through the images after a shoot, I noticed that my best shots/facial expressions were often slightly out of focus.

I realised that this was because, seeing the right expression on the face of a client, I grabbed the shot before it had auto focused, the subsequent image was usually sharp, but the moment had gone and the expression was often not as good.

I haven't used AF on MF for a year.

Yes, my images can be very slightly out of focus, we're talking half the length of an eyelash here, but I'd rather have a great expression that is slightly soft, than a sharp mediocre one. For any autofocus, including true focus, to lock in and recompose means the moment may have already gone. At least it is with my clients.

I'm not shooting at f11 in the sunshine either. Usually f5.6 1/2 with a dark f4 120mm lens in a studio with modelling lamps, flash with no tripod. I only have one eye and my sight is not great either.

Of course, you do have to re-hone your manual focusing skills so that your focusing hand is constantly adjusting, and your modelling lamps have to be reasonably bright if you are studioing. But we are professionals aren't we. We can teach our hands to constantly focus without conscious thought.

Being able to focus manually with a big, beautiful viewfinder ground glass, was one of two reasons I switched in to digital MF.

The camera is always focused and ready for the trigger finger the moment the subject is ready.

What was the other reason? Files with uniformity, colour and substance to die for.

One way to get the right moment is to cock the autofocus before the person you are photographing hits the special moment.

As one's own actions trigger the reactions of the photographed you can control this process.

Of course, the target can move out of the idea plane but that's part of the game.

[Garry Sarre]

One way to get the right moment is to cock the autofocus before the person you are photographing hits the special moment.

As one's own actions trigger the reactions of the photographed you can control this process.

Of course, the target can move out of the idea plane but that's part of the game.

Yes, that's the method I used, and the only reaction from the subject was a look of 'hurry up and take the shot' as I discovered the 'pre-focus' was now 'out of focus'. As you say, the subject moves after the focus has set and I have also. I found it so much easier, less distracting and more reliable to simply do what I had done for 35 years, focus on the closest eyelash base manually. It's just so much less hassle.

Having said all that, true focus is spot on for less dynamic focusing circumstances, and also most portrait/fashion photography. My style tends to be about capturing fleeting expressions.