A1 -- Zoom and focus at the same time????

J

joenationtv

Member
So i am sitting here in my underwear about to fall asleep and I am soo tempted to purchase an A1... my main issue with it is not being able to zoom and focus at the same time.. i wanted to get some users input on this. i am a manual focus kind of guy

has this been an issue for anyone?
can this issue be solved with the preset zoom / focus option. Is there any way to zoom and control focus at the same time?
In auto focus, do both zoom and focus function at the same time or does only one function at a time?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

THAnksss
 
You cannot zoom and focus at the same time because the same servo motor is used for both function. When it's used for one function, it's unavailable for the other. I've never run into a situation where that's an issue. Realistically, zooming and focusing at the same time isn't as easy as it sounds. You have to be really good at it and the focus/zoom control on the A1 aren't exactly precise. In a narrative situation, it's almost always sufficient to zoom in, get focus first, then zoom out.
 
Pretty much all the canons do this. The whole XL- line (1, 1s, 2, H1) and the A1/G1 .. Haven't tested the GL1/2 yet.

Best I can tell, it's manual focusing that's impossible while you are zooming. I belive Autoforus works just fine while zooming. It doesn't matter how you are controlling the zoom (rocker or ring, same deal)

Not much of an issue for narative work, but it can be a huge problem for event coverage (bit me pretty bad last spring on a shoot with the XL1) ... It's very normal for event coverage to start on a wide shot and then gentally zoom in on the subject, ridingin focus as you go. Well that's where it becomes a probelm. As you push in, your subject goes soft as you have no control over focus, and that sucks.

Come on Canon, what was wrong with the lens on the L1?

- Mikko
 
It kind of works in autofocus. If you zoom in slowly while autofocussing, there is a sort of pulsing effect as the motor is switched between functions. As jade says, it's safer to set the focus first before starting, and stay in manual while zooming.
 
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