Nikon has finally caught up with Canon on autofocus with the Nikon D3/D300, at least in theory.
By having a large number of focus points the camera has more signal to process if the object gets bigger (moves towards the camera) or gets smaller (moves away from the camera). It is also possible to track an object across the frame quite easily. Having 45 (Canon) or 51 (Nikon) focus points means that less time is needed for the object to pass from one point to the next. Consequently, the camera can track the object better.
With the Nikon D3/D300 there is a new type of autofocus technology. Nikon has added to the mix a new ingredient: Color.
For quite some time now, Nikon has been using their 1005 pixel sensor system for metering. It works quite well by comparing a database of scenes to the scenes that the photographer is metering.
Now however, Nikon is using the 1005 pixel sensor in combination with the new 51 point autofocus system. Set the camera to 51 points 3D mode, lock one of the points on the object and you are all set. The camera will now remember the scene when the focus point was locked and will try to track the object across the frame.
I have made a short clip so you could see how this works through the viewfinder. You’ll notice the 1005 pixel sensor view at the right. This is a simulation of how the 1005 pixels sensor of the Nikon D300 viewed the scene.
It seems to work quite well, but you may find some difficulties when there are busy backgrounds with no depth of field or when the object moves too fast across the frame. If the object moves out of the frame the lock is gone and you have to re-lock the camera. Because of the relatively low resolution of the 1005 pixel sensor you should get better results when the distance of the object is constant and the movement is across the frame. Overall it works quite well for a version 1 system, it’s a very strong tool for sports photography.
Scene recognition skin tone (face) detection
As an added bonus, Nikon provides a new mode called “Auto Area AF”. When the camera is set to this mode you can’t choose any AF point. The camera automatically chooses the AF points based on a database of scenes Nikon as “taught” the system, using same principle as the metering system. It does not just try to find the closest object.
There is another twist. Because the camera can see color, it is possible to detect skin tone. I’ve made another clip this time to show how the camera automatically selects skin tone when available. It seems that Nikon tries to detect the actual face and eyes as sometimes the focus points are actually on the eyes, depending on the size of the face in the frame.
Final words
We are definitely talking about the future there. There is so much potential in the idea to combine two dimension color sensors and autofocus systems. Just think what could be done with more pixel resolution (face recognition, player number tracking, live view, etc…). I reckon this is where autofocus systems are heading in the future. I can’t wait.
Digg this story
Add to del.icio.us