action photos

IN PRACTICE : ACTION PHOTOS

Autofocus will almost always perform best with action photos when using the AI servo or continuous modes. Focusing performance can be improved dramatically by ensuring that the lens does not have to search over a large range of focus distances.

Perhaps the most universally supported way of achieving this is to pre-focus your camera at a distance near where you anticipate the moving subject to pass through. In the biker example to the right, one could pre-focus near the side of the road since one would expect the biker to pass by at near that distance.

Some SLR lenses also have a minimum focus distance switch; setting this to the greatest distance possible (assuming the subject will never be closer) can also improve performance.
Be warned, however, that in continuous autofocus mode shots can still be taken even if the focus lock has not yet been achieved.