Autofocus not working with 18-200 in telephoto

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Disambiguous66

Member
It seems that with the 18-200mm kit lens on the FS700, when used toward the telephoto end the autofocus does not work if the subject is closer than about 25-30 feet. I have to test out if smaller apertures are a factor, but mostly it is shooting outdoors, in the shade. When I'm shooting an event, I'll see a good subject, like a person, fill the frame with head and shoulders, and the autofocus will not pick it up at all. I'll have to switch to manual, and often by that time the person is gone. I know it's within the range of the focus, as I can focus it manually, and the autofocus should be able to pick it up easily. It's happened a lot, and it's driving me nuts. Anybody else having this problem?
 
You should be able to get focus as close as about 5ft at full tele on the SEL18200, closer at wide angle.

Have you tried turning FACE DETECT on???

Ya, sounds cheap consumer cam, but it works REALLY well.

I find the FS700 is often confused by contrasty backgrounds, and will prefer them over faces. With face detect on, problem solved.

I also much prefer the power zoom version of the lens, but have both, and either work well for me in run & gun interviews, ***if*** face detect is on. By default, it's assigned to your assignable button 3, so easy to turn on & off as needed.
 
One problem with Face Detect is that it will disable shutter speed. That means, if you want to change shutter speed, you need to turn off Face Detect, change shutter speed, then turn Face Detect back on again. That firmware bug sounds stupid. It is confirmed by many people and it does not seem to be fixed anytime soon.
 
Or an easier way to fix it is to Change focus to manual, then you have full access over shutter speed. Then change back to auto focus. Simple hard switch vs. digging through menus for face detection.
 
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