A few weeks back, after saving money for a couple months, I bought a 50mm f/1.4 lens. It was my new baby! However, it did come with one suprise.
It was a Saturday when it arrived. R had gone to the White Sox game with my brother, so it was just me and our dog Marty at home. Marty has always been my best subject, so I didn’t hesistate to try out my new lens with him while R was away.
He was laying down on the floor of our living room. I snuck up and got down onto the ground. Then pressed the shutter button halfway to autofocus. Marty got up and ran to the other side of the room. So I went over there, tried to get him to lie down or do something cute or interesting. Just when I thought I was going to get the shot, I autofocused and, yet again, Marty ran away. Now, I was getting frustrated. This went on for about five minutes, to the point where I was “raising my voice” at him, telling him to stay. Finally, I got a decent shot off and decided to leave him alone. I figured he just wasn’t feeling photogenic.
But then, the poor dog stood in our kitchen, tail between his legs, head lowered, body shaking. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. He stood that way for the next 15 minutes. I took him outside to do his business to see if that was the issue–nope!
To make a long story short, I figured out that it was the ultrasonic autofocusing motor that was causing him to run away and shake uncontrollably. His big beagle ears apparently can’t take the sound. I felt so bad, but also super dissapointed. I conceded that whenever I was taking pictures of Marty or he was in the vicinity when snapping shots, I had to manual focus, something that I hadn’t been very comfortable with. Every now and then I have it set on autofocus and forget to change it. Sure enough, it sends Marty running away to a corner, shaking. The poor thing.
Needless to say, the past couple weeks I’ve manually focused more than I ever have since getting my camera. I suppose it’s good practice for getting comfortable with manually focusing (or at least I tell myself that).
Has anyone else had this issue with USMs and their dogs running away in fear and pain?
. I’ll definitely write again soon! I’m trying to do a post a day, but we’ll see how long I can keep up with that pace.
by Kari Campos
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