AF assist - on or off on rides?

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Do you turn off the AF assist when you're photographing inside rides? On the D-80 if AFassist is on, then it'll flash a small light in front of the camera to assist with AF, even if flash is set to off.

 

[Master Mason]

yes you should turn it off, otherwise you'll be flashing the ride which will detract from it for those around you.

 

[NostalgicDad]

I never use the AF assist light on my D80. I find it too annoying not only to me but the subjects as well.

 

[Groucho]

The other thing is that the AF assist light slows things down, and most rides move quickly enough that by the time the AF assist light shines and the camera focuses on it, you've moved on and the AF may not be accurate any more.

On the other hand, continuous AF might be a good idea on the rides. I didn't have my camera set that way last time and I probably should have, now that I think about it...

Also, on the topic of politeness, I think it's a good idea to turn off the LCD review function on your camera, so it's not flashing a big bright picture for a few seconds every time you hit the shutter. I try to be as non-distracting as possible...

 

[Steve's Girl]

I try to be as non-distracting as possible...

Sorry - all I can think of is you with a "Groucho stick" or whatever you call it 10 feet in the air taking pictures over everybody's heads. I know that post was ages ago, but I still get a good laugh out of it.

 

[Groucho]

Good memory! The "Groucho stick" did not make it to California with us. And the one time I used it as described was when there was no one behind me. Besides, it's easier to see around an aluminum tube than someone's big sweaty vacation head.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I never use the AF assist light on my D80. I find it too annoying not only to me but the subjects as well.

I think it's annoying also, but in the d80 manual it says that if you turn off the Af assist that it takes longer for the camera to focus. strange. I'm going to turn it off and see how it goes.

 

[NostalgicDad]

I think it's one feature on the D80 that is actually poorly designed. Fingers can actually block it if your not careful and even some lens hoods can get in the way if you happen to use one when using the flash.

If you must use a flash (not on a ride), it's better to use an external flash and make use of the less-obtrusive red light it uses for focusing. You can also use it to focus without actually using the flash as well.