AC160 Autofocus

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djkoz

Well-known member
I have some limited experience with videography but now that I have more free time I am planning on getting more heavily involved in various projects I've been planning. One of the projects I will be undertaking is videoing dress rehearsals for several local theater groups. For these events I will not be sitting in the audience doing the shooting but rather I will be on the stage moving amongst the actors, weaving in and out and around as they recite their lines. There is the possibility the video may be broadcast on the local PBS affiliate channel (I am not talking about the public channels that cable companies have to make available to municipalities.) So, "broadcast" quality is a consideration.

That shots will all be handheld and I will not have time to continuously manually focus. So, I need a camera that will be able to handle the autofocusing. I had all but decided on the AC160 until I read some posts on this site from about a year ago complaining about the way the AC160 camera autofocuses. I am wondering, has this been fixed or is this is still an issue? If it is, I may have to go with the Canon XF305, a more expensive but, perhaps, a bit more professional camera with, supposedly, very good autofocusing ability.

Thanks in advance for you comments.
 
I am interested in a response. I own the 130, a great camera. At times, it will go out of auto- focus for no reason but I usually shoot manually.

So, is the upgrade necessary.I THINK, the expanded focus only works on the LCD and not displayed in the EVF? I circumvent on the 130 by assigning 2X to one of the buttons. Turbo- button? Working well? Lastly, total upgrade price with labor, shipping and tax? Happy New Year to all
 
Frankly - you'll probably HAVE to learn how to focus on the go. Go close in amongst the actors in typical stage lighting levels and the autofocus will constantly be trying to hit the mark. Manual, is probably the only way to guarantee what you want to be sharp, will be! Stage lighting is very contrasty, so the big dark sections between people can really mess the auto systems up. Not sure what kind of show it is, but strong coloured light, especially red, sort of 'steals' your focus. I don't use the 160 too much, but the spinny ring wasn't that difficult to master, once you realise it overshoots a bit.
 
Agree with Paul - the 130/160 AF is likely to hunt constantly for the typical stage event if you are moving around a stage with dark/light areas etc.

I can confirm that the expanded focus only works on the LCD.

The turbo button works OK but is a bit awkward to find/press when you have other things to attend to.
 
I appreciate all the replies. Not quite, however, the answers I was hoping for. I am curious if the the XF305 might have the same issues. Unfortunately, I do not see a XF305 thread on this site.

Thanks.
 
Couple of post notes ...

the OIS has improved on the latest Panasonic Cameras.

And, in respect of your weaving in/out could you perhaps not keep a constant distance between yourself and the actors?

And, wouldn't the new Panasonic AC8 (shoulder mount) give you better recordings than a hand held camera?

Check out a review of the AC8
http://www.hdwarrior.co.uk/2013/12/13/the-overview-of-the-panasonic-ag-ac8-camcorder/

Whatever camera you decide to buy, given what you plan to do is rather special, rent for a day and try it out.

Consider as well how long you will be doing this dress rehearsal activity and what you may want to get into after this or as well as this - I don't think you will be able to find one single camera that will do all of what you are likely to want to do.

All in all, I think the AG-AC8 is a pretty nice unit for the price.

Check out the pricing, $1200 is hard to beat. Make sure it has all of the features you want/need and make sure you check the quality of the recording before you buy.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1007127&Q=&is=REG&A=details

N.B. I don't have an AC8, I have not reviewed the AC8, but Philip Johnston is a highly respected reviewer.


I have been drooling over the Sony F55 but, frankly, it's too much for what I do. For documentaries, it's the story/background music IMO that needs most of the attention, then the recording itself.

I have found the AG-AC160 to be a very good all-around camera. Never mind auto, I rarely would want to be recording other than manual.

Hope you find these comments constructive.
 
Honestly, you're not going to find any camera that will consistently pull focus properly FOR you. Any camera is going to hunt and do so in a much more displeasing way. The best means for pulling focus is via the camera operator. Practice, practice, practice.

The thing about shooting like that, you can get away with some out-of-focus situations while you change things-up as long as you are always pulling and don't be too herky-jerky about it. You'll see constant focus adjustments made in both live shows as well as in films.
 
Re auto focus. I think all "issues" were fixed with the "a" version. so look for the letter A
other thing: this lens may not go wide enough for what you plan to do. I am not sure what your shots will look like or the length between subject and lens but you might want to test thing out prior to purchase.
 
@ELN614 ... I tested the 160 and 160A over a period of several months - the improvments in "A" were a) turbo push and b) focus magnification. I was not able to see any change in the way AF works.

I found you could by changing your travel arc from source to target, get AF to settle down very quickly or watch it hunt for quite some time. The trick was to how to identify the right arc and even if you could do that, it might not be the way you want the transition to take place.

On a stage, with dark, bright areas and flashing colors all over the place, this is not a place for djkos to be trying to get AF to work. It might be a challenge to get any camera to work on AF under these conditions.
 
From all the tests I have seen the AC-90 has very good AF so maybe that's worth a look at. I know my AC-130's used to lose focus very easily for no reason. I have a mate who has just bought the AC-8 here and he is going to bring it over on the 3rd January. My HMC80's were absolutely magical with auto focus even with dance recitals and locked on super fast!! The hunting seems to be only on the 130/160 probably due to the huge zoom on the camera! The AC-90 will probably has nicer features than the AC-8 as it costs a bit more but is not shoulder mount.
 
Hi Walter
Just bear in mind that the AC-8 I a basic entry level camera so it can never be compared to your 160 ... I just thought that the AF might be quicker with the smaller zoom

Chris
 
Interesting. Don't think it could compare though. But. You never know. My Canon XA20 is close in quality to my 130.
 
I've had the best luck (AC130) with shoulder mounting the cam on a rails system (even the $70 "fotga" rails with cavision shoulder and ebay front handles is under $200 and works fine)... and mounting the manfrotto focus remote near a front handle. Turn on focus-in-red, use the VF vs. the LCD (more stable and you can really see things), With a little practice (teach yourself which direction is "near" vs "far") and you can pull focus faster than a DSLR focuses for stills.

This would work with any panasonic that uses the double remote control jacks. I've been over-the-moon happy with it. You can also set the remote to limit near and far focus points. Pretty cool.

manfrotto.jpg
 
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