I can't seem to focus

Tradeco

Tradeco

Member
Hi all,
First off I'd like to say what a great community. I'm new here and to the amazing dvx 100a, so I think this is a great resource and wealth of priceless information for us newbies as well as the novice. Kudos to all of you who make this place what it is.

Now my question goes something like this, I can not seem to get my camera to focus in on close ups. I tried searching the issue here and the manual didn't help much. Is there a preset I overlooked for auto focusing? I really didn't think this would be such an issue, but I can't seem to focus :(
 
When you say "focus in on close ups," exactly what do you mean?

The distance of the camera to the subject could be an issue if you're talking macro, since there is a minimum focal distance.

But if you are talking about simply zooming in to shoot a subject a bit tighter in the frame, well... I wouldn't use auto focus, for starters. Zoom all the way in, use the manual focus ring to set focus on the subject, then zoom back out to set your framing. See if that helps, since the problem may be that your auto focus is, for one reason or another, having issues.
 
Hi C2V,

Thanks for the input,
so yeah, I'm shooing in auto mode and everything appears fine when I'm zoomed all the way out, however once I start to zoom in everything begins to go out of focus????

Now when you say my auto focus could be having issues, do you mean they simply need adjusting? because I did by the camera used and this worries me.
 
Important: do you have any filters on the lens? If so, what brand(s) and what type(s)?

Everything will almost always appear fine when the lens is at its widest, but if you look very closely on a large monitor, you might notice that not everything is as it seems. You can get away with more focus issues on wide shots. If you zoom in and the subject is out of focus, chances are that the subject is actually out of the focal length in the wide shot as well.

Again, auto focus is really a last resort in most situations. Try to adjust yourself to shooting with manual focus. But try and see if you can get the camera in focus manually. In fact, set the camera up on a tripod and try both auto and manual focus modes on the same subject at the same distance. Report back with what you find.
 
C2V,
no filters what so ever so that we can rule out.

I was messing around with the camera set up on the tripod earlier.
I will definitly give it another go in the a.m. with what you suggested, I need to get this issue resolved asap...however right now it's past my bedtime here .

I do appreciate your help and will report back here tomorrow to let you know what I found out.

Thanks again my friend.

CHEERS
 
O.K.....so I tried everything you said and still I have the same problem.

I put the camera on its tripod and zoomed in tight on an object in manual mode, tried to focus using the focus ring, but it just does not seem to be able to sharpen the image no matter which way I turn the dial..........same problem occurs in auto mode.

I'm 99.9% sure it's not my camera, maybe just something is not set properly???

Any other thoughts or ideas would greatly be appreciated.
 
Exactly what distance are you trying to focus at? Sounds like you are exceeding the minimum focus distance - or your camera has a problem.
 
Hi J.A. and thank you for your input.

I'm trying to focus in on subjects 3 feet away as well as objects that are 10-15 feet away.

I don't think it's the camera bcuz I've seen footage shot on this exact same camera that looked real good.

However when I first got it I was playing with all the buttons and fear I threw something off. Just shooting under normal conditions looks nothing like I would hope for. It's not sharp at all.
 
Weird... that should be a problem to do at all... Are you completely on manual mode when you do this? Manual iris, gain, focus? How much light is on what you are shooting? I've noticed my images tend to look softer when they are noisy and underlit.

Posting a screengrab may help a bit if you can do that, no guarantees though, soft blurry images are soft blurry images usually...

There's got to be someone in the boston area familiar enough with the DVX or have one you could compare it to. Might try getting in touch with them.
 
Yeah, I am a member of my local community access television station and will bring it in for a once over.
Four years @ Emerson College for screenwriting and nothing on how to manually focus a camera.......go figure.
Film school is so over rated. I wish I found this place b4 I spent all that dough on how to write scripts.
Thanks again and I'll keep you guys posted in case anyone else around here is having similar problems.

CHEERS
 
Tradeco,
On the side of the camera, behind the LCD, there is a small hole in the case. This is the reset switch. Use a pin or something similar to reach in and press the reset switch. This will return your camera to the original factory settings. You might try this to see if it helps.
 
Paladin - thanks for your input, it appears to be somewhat better after resetting, however I am still unable to zoom in on objects sharply.

I tired distancing the camera between the subject which helped a little but I know this camera can do better as when I first bought it I was producing crystal clear images without any problems.

Seems it is going to take a lot more time getting familiar with then I anticipated.

Looks like I'm in the right place :)

Thanks again and I will keep updating as progress is made.
 
Which "F" setting do you have it set to? F1, F2, F3? I found that F1 is good for indoors. Then I adjust my shutter speed; also try 24p vs... ?other settings. Now this is coming from a rookie too so don't take my word for it, but I too had/have to figure out my new camera.

Seems this camera don't pick up subjects very well under normal room lights, and subjects that are 4-6 feet away are darker in-camera than seen with the regular eye. That is, until I opened the iris all the way, then adjusted the shutter speed and set to 24p. After experimenting with a few settings, it's better, but still not as good as I thought it would be (may need more/better lights). I think subjects have to be lit with projection lamps, rather than regular room lamps; the 3ccd chip set also makes a difference; it's more advanced and requires more functions than (say) a regular camcorder where all the light is allowed in and there is no color controls. The DVX100 offers more film like colors/quality, and, because of that quality, the settings are more advanced/the color adjustment options affects everything regarding the images... I could be wrong in my research/observations, which have just developed over the past 2 weeks. Users, let me know if I'm close on this. Thanks.

Also, why do the DVX100 pick up lines on my TV whenever I film/video my TV?
 
i;ve lit with regular Compact floros and it works fine and even just with just a kerosine lamp(different light tests)...and under regular lights all around the house. Its not about 24p or not,u even though i think 24p reqires more light( i could be wrong). It really does seem like something is wrong with ur camera Tradeco...focusing shouldnt prove to be that difficult, i mean after the tests you've put it through. Go have a repair place take a look and see whats up. hope it works out.
 
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denodigital said:
Also, why do the DVX100 pick up lines on my TV whenever I film/video my TV?
Click to expand...


Read the manual under "synchro scan"...it will help u out. U can adust the syncho scan shutter i believe to match the frequency of ur tv/pc screen so it wont flicker or pick up lines.
oh and just a little note, u can change scenefiles to anything u want, they are not confined to "F1" "F2" ect factory settings.
Best.


Darren

edit: side note....u guys are really helpful on this site...i really luv it. Just felt like saying that :D
 
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I just came back from my tech guy and he noticed right away the problem was internal. He said when you switch from manual to auto you should be able to hear the auto focus focusing in on an object (hand) and it does not.
I was told it is either the switch or a lens ring. It's time to let the Dr. do his thing.

I really do appreciate all the good input fellas, but this sux and so does e-bay:(
 
Tradeco said:
I can not seem to get my camera to focus in on close ups. I tried searching the issue here and the manual didn't help much. Is there a preset I overlooked for auto focusing? I really didn't think this would be such an issue, but I can't seem to focus
Click to expand...


It's probably the fact that you were never actually focused in the first place. When you are at wide angle and the camera is on auto focus, there is no telling which plane of focus the camera will actually focus upon. Say you are in wide angle, and there is a woman sitting in a chair in front of you. You quickly zoom in and, to your dismay, her face is completely outside the depth of field. In face, the whole time your lens was focused behind her. But when you are at full wide, changes in focus are not as apparent. When fully zoomed in, say 55mm on a 1/3rd inch cam, the limits of the DOF become more apparent, and you realize that you were never actually focused on the woman. That's why it's crucial to first zoom in, grab your focus, and zoom out. Because wide angle lenses have more apparent depth of field they tend to minimize the appearance of out of focus objects. I say apparent because they only increase what is acceptably in focus, they dont actually change the DOF technically..this could start an argument.
That's why it is so much harder to maintain critical focus on 35mm lenses. The format is larger, thus the focal lengths of the lens must be longer to achieve the same field of view. This translates to: more magnified out of focus background/foreground, and more apparent changes in depth of field as you're filming.
 
Tradeco said:
Yeah, I am a member of my local community access television station and will bring it in for a once over.
Four years @ Emerson College for screenwriting and nothing on how to manually focus a camera.......go figure.
Film school is so over rated. I wish I found this place b4 I spent all that dough on how to write scripts.
Thanks again and I'll keep you guys posted in case anyone else around here is having similar problems.

CHEERS
Click to expand...

this one here should be gold plated and put on a STICKY!
at least the part about 'film school'.
thnx.
 
Lmao

Lmao

Well I'm glad you guys are having a good time at my expense :)

You have to admit it is true, what I got out of film school was a fistfull of bills and a bunch of unanswered questions. Something I know I could have managed to do on my own.

I always liked this quote here -
A famous film maker once said "all the technical stuff you need to know about making movies could be learned in a few weeks, he was being generous." From the book "Rebel without a Crew" By Robert Rodriguez


At any rate I just got back from dropping my cam off at the Docs. I'll know in a few days what the damage is and will post it here for future reference.

Thanx again gang
 
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