How to capture fast moving kids?

[rnl]

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\Back in the early 90s I realized that I could not capture my children with a manual focus Nikon f3hp. I purchased a Nikon 8008s auto focus.  

 

It's not going to happen with an M10... Canon 1dxmkii with EF 100-400Lii lens, set to ISO 4000, f8 and 1/2000 and blast away at 15 frames per second with all 61 auto focus points activated...

Edited February 9, 2018 by richardlipow

[TrickyMrT]

\Back in the early 90s I realized that I could not capture my children with a manual focus Nikon f3hp. I purchased a Nikon 8008s auto focus.  

 

It's not going to happen with an M10... Canon 1dxmkii with EF 100-400Lii lens, set to ISO 4000, f8 and 1/2000 and blast away at 15 frames per second with all 61 auto focus points activated...

Thank you for the feedback.

 

My idea was how to get fantastic shoots with for example Aperture F2, Shutter 125/s and ISO 1600 when kids are moving fast?

 

So I thought I would give the Techart adapter a try.... when it is constant focusing.

 

With the M10 it is really hard to get quick, super shoots..... it´s more like a lottery in my case

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[jaapv]

\Back in the early 90s I realized that I could not capture my children with a manual focus Nikon f3hp. I purchased a Nikon 8008s auto focus.  

 

It's not going to happen with an M10... Canon 1dxmkii with EF 100-400Lii lens, set to ISO 4000, f8 and 1/2000 and blast away at 15 frames per second with all 61 auto focus points activated...

This sounds a bit like "use a Kalashnikov"...

[Tailwagger]

Chasing a subject around with any camera, AF or otherwise, is generally not going to yield very satisfying results as beyond the focusing difficulties, you're allowing the target to dictate the context of the capture rather than the other way around.  That, somewhat frustratingly at times, means you have to be content with lying in wait, anticipating that eventually your target will cross the spot that gets you the cleanest shot.  As a hunter, its best if your prey isnt aware you're in the vicinity. The less a child notices you the better... until.  Once in the zone, it can be helpful to let out a little whistle or shout, the head turns and you've hopefully you got what you where looking for.  And athough the missing C switch is no longer constantly reminding us, its good to remember that the M10 is capable of around 5 fps which can come in handy as well. 

 

 

 

[mmradman]

Some toughs  on the topic..

 

Practice photographing cats, or dogs, or just practice preferably before children/grandchildren are born. 

 

SLRs, Mirrorless and RFs have similar challenges in capturing fast moving subjects, it helps to be familiar with the camera and lenses.  More AF technology is no guarantee of success unless you are master action photographer, experimenting with AF adaptors [Techart for Sony] while child is rapidly growing is no guaranty of getting desired images. 

 

Accept current child pictures to be learning exercise, embrace blurry images.  Consider more children, maybe next child pictures would be better. 

 

As in previous post, ambush and surprise works wonders.  As well known wildlife photographer would say know your subject.

[@ndy_ellis]

  Consider more children, maybe next child pictures would be better. 

 

That's the funnest thing I've read on here for ages - Bravo

[bocaburger]

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I have enough experience without AF that I can get some great shots of skittering kids and pets, using longer lenses at wider apertures for selective focus.   But I can get more of them with AF.  It's  lot different now than in the early days of AF when there was a single sensor in the middle (kind of like a single rangefinder patch in the middle )  I just pull out my AF DSLR when the grandkids come over.  My wife and kids are more interested in having a volume of great shots to pick from, and less concerned about the ecclectic advantages of Leica glass, or how much personal satisfaction Grandpa gets from using a Leica.

Edited February 9, 2018 by bocaburger

[tonyniev]

Use the right camera for the scenarios...on the M10 I would try going shutter priority and auto iso and mid aperture for deeper focus dof...having said that, many years ago, shooting sports and airshows I decided to add a Canon 7D to my full frame 5D2 because the 7D was faster in AF and can shoot faster burst continuous shooting...so I got the 7D and sure enough had sharper immages of my grandsons playing basketball ,football and the planes in the airshows, later on I realized I dont need the fast burst speed and relied more on the full frame 5D2 and AI focus...and capture even better airshow shots...Will I use the M10 to shoot my grandsons basketball games, probably not , will use the AF Canons, and  Sonys but if only the M10 is on hand I will shoot as mentioned abpve.

Edited February 9, 2018 by tonyniev

[pico]

Get a flash with bounce head and slave & tabletop pod to hold it.

Use a flash on the M10, Auto (auto thyristor) mode.

 

Place the slaved flash to the side. Bounce from the ceiling.

 

Enjoy!

Edited February 9, 2018 by pico

[fsprow]

It can be done, I've been using M's since the M3 -- but for fast moving subjects, out comes the Nikon D5 with appropriate AF-S lens.

[evikne]

I have always taken a lot of photos of my restless children, and I have not chosen the easiest way. When I used Canon a couple of years ago, my favorite lens for that purpose was the 85/1.2, mostly wide open! The only reliable way to nail the focus, was to use the middle focus point, aim at the eyes and recompose very quickly. When I moved to Leica M9 and now M10, there is not much difference, so I continue to shoot with a 50/1.4 wide open. The hit rate is pretty good.

 

I think capturing both focus and the perfect moment (timing) is pretty easy, separately. The biggest challenge with a rangefinder is to do it simultaneously! For example I can pre-focus on a place where the child is running against and then press the shutter when they reach that place, but then I will have zero control over what facial expressions they will have at that moment.

[Renatus]

This is correct. I try to prefocus and hope the kid is moving into the right place

 

 

 

It is a challenge to get a picture of moving objects.

 

Of course, i thought about a different system just for indoor pictures. On the other hand, I love my M10, and my set of lenses is lovely.

 

I would miss the rendering.

 

Maybe I will get a sony body too? Has someone here experience with this adapter?

 

https://techartpro.com/

 

Could this be a solution for my problem?

 

So I set the camera to eye detection and let the focus adapter do the rest

 

Yes I've a Sony A7R with the Techart Pro autofocus adapter. It works remarkably well with Leica M Lenses. But, it does not always know what I want it to focus on :-). M10 seems to. 

[evikne]

M10 knows if you know. 

[abrewer]

It's possible to get pictures of a quickly-moving object with an M, but it ain't easy . . . taken on an MP with 35mm/f2 ASPH

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[evikne]

But anyway, cars usually follow a much more predictable path than kids ;-)

[jaapv]

There is one possibility that hasn't been mentioned yet...

 

Try to slow down the kids?

See post # 9...

[jdlaing]

NyQuil

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Practice.

 

Every.

 

Day.

 

******

 

When I was shooting 95% rangefinder I was practising every day. At that point I could follow a bride walking down the aisle with a 90mm Summicron wide open and get 95% dead on. Kids were easy.

 

Now I'm shooting all sorts of cameras and my skill level with a RF has fallen off a cliff. You need to carry your M everywhere and dedicate 5 minutes a day to practice. Follow focus some traffic during a lunch break. Practice single throw focusing on street signs. A couple of weeks of that and you'l miss almost nothing.

 

Gordon

[robert blu]

Sometimes I ask myself how could my father take pictures of me as child with his Rolleiflex...

Than I realize that simply as kid I was not moving so fast 

robert

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M