2 replies to this topic

[Noodles994]

Hi all, 

 

i was out with my D3300 last week and it seemed to struggle in AF-C to maintain focus on moving dogs, what would be the best focusing mode for resolving this? AF-area or 3D Tracking?

 

Thanks in advance.

[ScottinPollock]

I am afraid the D3300's focus system is not one of the camera's strong points. There is only one dual axis phase detect point (center) and few focus points in general, and the processing is a little slow.

So the tracking is not really gonna make things better. I would just concentrate on using the center focus point, and stop down if you can to maximize your depth of field.

[TBonz]

Mostly I agree with Scott...You don't indicate the lens you are using, so that may impact the problem as well, but regardless, the D3300 is not really designed for "action" photography.  Not suggesting you can't shoot action and Scott's suggestion of the single point center is excellent to improve your chances.  I would stick with AF-C and a single center point.  I would also choose back button focus (you can search for that here or just Google it).  It allows you to separate the focus piece from the shutter.  Most action photographers I know use this technique.  Feels strange at first but I use it all the time and have gotten so that it feels strange not using it!  The best action photos are typically shot wide open or very close to wide open in order to highlight the subject and blur the background so I probably wouldn't go too far with increasing the DOF - maybe a couple of stops at most...