This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2010 [Best Of 2010]

This Is the Best of Lifehacker 2010 [Best Of 2010]: "

2010 was a huge year at Lifehacker, and we spent the month looking back at the biggest and best posts of the year. Here's one last look back at the best of 2010 in case you missed anything along the way. More »

The 50 Best How-To Geek Windows Articles of 2010

The 50 Best How-To Geek Windows Articles of 2010: "

Even though we cover plenty of other topics, Windows has always been a primary focus around here, and we’ve got one of the largest collections of Windows-related how-to articles anywhere. Here’s the fifty best Windows articles that we wrote in 2010.

Want even more? You should make sure to check out our top 20 How-To Geek Explains topics of 2010, or the 50 Windows Registry hacks that make Windows better

Latest Features	How-To Geek ETC
The 20 Best How-To Geek Linux Articles of 2010 The 50 Best How-To Geek Windows Articles of 2010 The 20 Best How-To Geek Explainer Topics for 2010 How to Disable Caps Lock Key in Windows 7 or Vista How to Use the Avira Rescue CD to Clean Your Infected PC The Complete List of iPad Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials	Classic Super Mario Brothers Theme for Chrome and Iron Experimental Firefox Builds Put Tabs on the Title Bar (Available for Download) Android Trojan Found in the Wild Chaos, Panic, and Disorder Wallpaper Enjoy Christmas Beyond the Holiday with Christmas Eve Crisis Parrotfish Extends the Number of Services Accessible in Twitter Previews

Most Popular Lifehacker How to Videos of 2010 [Video]

Most Popular Lifehacker How to Videos of 2010 [Video]: "

We've worked hard this year to bring you lots of great original video content, covering a range of subjects from building a Hackintosh to slowing down Justin Bieber. Here are the most popular original videos from 2010. More »

Something Funny for the Holidays

Something Funny for the Holidays: "

As it is almost Christmas (where has this year gone), I thought it might be amusing to share this with everyone. Enjoy!

Many, many years ago, the Two Ronnies did a very funny sketch involved hose and fork handles (those of you reading this who remember it will know what I am talking about).

Now for Christmas there is an updated version, and for anyone who likes technology, you will get a kick out of this! And thank you to the BBC!

Enjoy – and Merry Christmas!

Five Best Virtual Machine Applications [Hive Five]

Five Best Virtual Machine Applications [Hive Five]: "

Most modern computers are powerful enough to run entire operating systems within your main operating systems, which means virtual machines are more commonplace today than ever. Here's a look at the five most popular virtual machine applications. More »

XBMC 10 Dharma Makes Installing Add-Ons and Skins Much Easier [Downloads]

XBMC 10 Dharma Makes Installing Add-Ons and Skins Much Easier [Downloads]: "

Windows/Mac/Linux: XBMC, the powerful, trimmed-down media center that's easy to love, is out with a 10.0 'Dharma' release. New in this version are add-ons and skins you can add and change from your remote control, along with hardware acceleration and more. More »

Most Popular Repurposing Tricks of 2010 [Video]

Most Popular Repurposing Tricks of 2010 [Video]: "

We love it when people bring out their inner MacGyvers and share with us all how to make one thing into a very useful, or just entirely cool, other thing. Here's some of our favorite DIY conversions from the past year. More »

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2010 [Video]

Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2010 [Video]: "

It may not be the most popular operating system around, but we still love Linux around these parts (and we know you do too). Here are some of our favorite Linux downloads and posts from the past year. More »

Advanced Tips for Tack Sharp Images

Advanced Tips for Tack Sharp Images: "

One very common question I get from photographers is why they can never get their images as sharp as the ones they see online. This is a loaded question, and it really made me think about all the things I go through to get tack sharp focus on my images. Sure there are the obvious tips like holding the camera properly, squeezing the shutter instead of stabbing it, tucking your elbows in, and so on. The truth is, that is just the beginning to taking sharper photographs.

Let me start off by saying that I still take blurry images from time to time. All professional photographers do. The only difference is that we don’t post them online! However, I will also bet that I take far less than most other photographers, and there are clear reasons as to why. Getting sharp images involves a combination of a few different techniques, and when put together they will produce a far higher success rate of sharp images.

Back Button Auto-Focus

I can honestly say that about 90% of the photographers I talk to don’t use this built in feature on almost all cameras. Whenever I ask photographers how they focus on a subject, the response is that they press the shutter half way down to focus, then all the way down to take the picture. The problem with this is that EVERY time you take a picture, your camera is going to re-focus the frame. What if your subject is a far away person and there is a crowd of people walking between you? You can’t just set your focus distance and fire away. Instead you have to wait for line of site to your subject and hope nobody walks by while you focus each time.

On most (nearly all) cameras, there is a button on the back of the camera titled “AF On.” Through your menu settings, you can set this button as your focus trigger. This way, you set your focus then fire off as many shots as you need to. The focus point stays the same through all shots and the shutter is free to be used as just that, a shutter.

Single Point AF

One of the many revelations that photographers have is discovering the difference between letting your camera decide how to do something, and telling your camera what to do. Most photographers press their shutter down halfway and the camera decides what to focus on. More often than not, it picks the right thing. This is normally because the subject is prominent in the frame and the camera can easily find a contrasting element to focus on. Using this simple method is fine in a lot of cases, but if you begin to venture into prime lenses and shallow depth of fields, your images will begin to suffer greatly.

If your subject is 10 feet away and you’re shooting f/2.8 at 200mm, your depth of field is only 1 1/2 inches deep! That means that your subject will come into focus at 9.94 feet away, and drop out of focus at 10.06 feet away. Do you want to leave a 1.5 inch depth of field up to your camera? What if it focuses on the tip of the nose? Now your subjects eyes are out of focus.

Your camera should have a button (top right in image) that shows how the camera is focusing. The default is to have all the focus points on and the camera uses those points to decide where to focus. Instead, press the focus grid button and use the joy stick (bottom left in image) to decide where to set your focus point. Instead of a bunch of focus points popping up when your go to focus your subject, you will now only see the single focus point that you set. Now if you want to focus on your subjects eye, place your selected focus point over the eye and simply tap your AF-ON button. Your focus is now set for that mark in the frame. The only thing you need to worry about now is movement.

AI Servo Focus Tracking

Funny name, serious setting. Getting your camera off of “One Shot” can be revolutionary to your photography if you have yet to discover Servo focus mode. Here’s an example of how Servo works: You’re shooting a wedding during the end of the ceremony. You are at the end of the aisle and the wedding party is walking down toward you. You are shooting at f/2.8 because it’s dark and you want to let in as much light as possible. Your depth of field is 6 inches. With “One Shot,” your camera only focuses on the subject each time the focus button is pressed. You then have to press the shutter to take the picture. With a depth of field of 6 inches, and the wedding party walking towards you in groups of two, your window of opportunity to get your shot in focus is incredibly small. One strategy is to just try and be quick, pressing the focus button and shutter in succession as quickly as possible. Another strategy is to set a mark on the aisle as a window of opportunity and wait for each person to hit that mark, then take the picture. This is hit or miss though, and you only have one chance. You don’t want to take chances like this at a wedding!

Enter AI Servo

When you switch your camera over to AI Servo, everything changes. Servo was introduced as a standard camera setting all the way back in the 80’s, by request of several sports photographers who needed a better way of ensuring focus on moving subjects. With Servo activated, now your camera will track focus on the wedding party as they move toward you, and will keep updating every step of the way. This works whether the subject is coming toward, or moving away from you. In your menu settings, you can even adjust the sensitivity of the focus tracking.

Examples Using These Tips

This shot is from a meet and greet session with the band Jars of Clay, at a concert in Austin, Texas. The manager told everyone not to worry about taking pictures until after the show because any meet and greet pictures would be boring. I took that as a challenge. I sat patiently for the right moment and when I saw their lead singer make eye contact with my lens, I fired away.

With normal focus methods, this shot may not have been possible, and I don’t like taking chances. If I used grid focus, how would my camera know to focus on HIS face, and not something else in the frame? Instead of using the entire focus grid, I turned on a single auto focus point and placed that point over the lead singers face. I then used my back button to focus that point over his face and waited for the right moment. When he looked my way, everything was already done, all I had to do was hold down the shutter.

This is one of my favorite pictures I’ve taken. It’s my nephew Will being spun around by his dad Billy (my brother in law). I think the image embodies the love between a father and a son, and what better backdrop than fair grounds? With factory set focus methods, the probability of pulling off this shot would have been slim to none. Sure, you can spray and pray, and hopefully you will end up with a keeper, but what if you don’t? The moment is gone! For this shot, I had a single point activated in my focus grid and used AI-Servo to track my nephew as he spun around in circles. Because I had back button auto focus on and Servo tracking, I was able to hold down the focus button to track focus as he spun around. This allowed me to track focus using my thumb and hold down the shutter with my index finger. Trust me, this stuff becomes crucial when you start using shallow depth of field like in this shot.

I took this shot during a family shoot last spring. I was having a tough time getting this little guy to open up to the camera and I had to figure something out quick. I noticed a ledge (as seen in the background) and made a bet with him that there was just no way he could jump off that ledge because it was only for big boys. Well, that was all it took! Within seconds he was up on the ledge with a smile on his face, ready to prove me wrong. Again, I used Servo focus tracking and held it down during the jump using back button focus. I grabbed this frame as he made a bit of a rough landing.

This image was taken at Carlsbad State Beach in southern California. This surfer girl noticed my camera and came running up the beach to greet me and talk photography. She was also a photog and wanted to make sure I didn’t get a shot of her wiping out! As she walked back out to catch some more waves, I grabbed this shot of her. I placed a single AF point over her back, then held down Servo focus tracking so my camera would keep her in focus as she walked away. When the moment was right, I held down the shutter to capture a hand full of frames. This was the winner.

Conclusion

These focus tips completely rocked my world when I discovered them, and they will always be part of my work flow, now and in the future. I probably use AI Servo about 90% of the time. The only time I don’t is when it’s too dark for the camera to focus without an assist beam from a flash. To use a flashes focus assist grid you have to be in “One Shot” instead of AI Servo (at least as far as I can tell). I don’t see any reason to ever go back to using my shutter button for focusing. I have never looked back on that front! And as far as grid or single point AF goes, it’s pretty much the same story. I use my entire grid maybe 1% of the time.

If these tips are new to you, I urge you to stop what you are doing and give them a shot. I will admit, using back button focus and single AF points takes some getting used to, but eventually it becomes second nature. At this point, I can switch focus points on my grid in the blink of an eye, and using the back button for focus is instrumental in placing those points of focus on their targets.

Call to Action

Let us know if these tips have helped you! Use the comment section below to post links to examples or ask any questions you may have. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@jamesdbrandon), I can answer questions there as well and I always try to share links of other inspirational articles and work from around the interwebs! Now go out and take some pictures!

Post from: Digital Photography School

Most Popular Free Mac Downloads of 2010 [Video]

Most Popular Free Mac Downloads of 2010 [Video]: "

Unless you built yourself a Hackintosh, Macs can be get pretty expensive. Fortunately, some of the best Mac software costs you absolutely nothing. Here's a look at the most popular, free Mac downloads for 2010. More »

Most Popular Free Windows Downloads of 2010 [Best Of 2010]

Most Popular Free Windows Downloads of 2010 [Best Of 2010]: "

We've featured quite a few Windows downloads throughout 2010. Here's a look back at the most popular free applications to help you tweak, customize, and enhance your Windows experience More »

How to Take Great Portrait Photos [How To]

How to Take Great Portrait Photos [How To]: "

2010's coming to a close and everyone's in a rush to get their picture taken for holiday cards, albums, or even their brand new Facebook profiles. Here's how to use any camera you've got and some DIY tricks to take awesome portraits. More »

This Is Why We Have Stop Lights [Video]

This Is Why We Have Stop Lights [Video]: "

I'd like to say that no one was harmed in the making of this video, but when you go through so many car-on-car, car-on-bike, and bike-on-bike collisions in such a short amount of time, well, that's just being unrealistic. More »

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Top 10 Registry Tweaks that Power Up Windows [Lifehacker Top 10]

Top 10 Registry Tweaks that Power Up Windows [Lifehacker Top 10]: "

The Windows registry is a mysterious place, but if you're comfortable editing it, you have the power to tweak nearly every Windows setting you can imagine. Here are 10 of our favorite registry tweaks that make life easier. More »

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