C100: C100 Mark I - Peaking

M

michasacuer

Active member
Hi! I have a question. What settings on peaking you have? What's is best for you? Sometimes i must judging focus on monitor build in camera, but i often have no idea if its sharp or not, especially when im shooting with my Canon lens:D Im working with DAF, so i cant walking around screen on magnification function.

Thanks for help!
 
to be honest i think judging critical focus on the C100 mk1 is only about 70% effective (IMO) whether using the built in EVF or the LCD on the back. the in camera peaking gets you close but its much to general to pinpoint exactly the peak of "in focus" is.

i always use either the SmallHD EVF or an external SmallHD 5.6" or the their 7.7" monitor if I'm on a tripod or my Dana Dolly.

its frustrating to have to use 3rd party add on aids but for me thats the only way i can be comfortable with judging focus especially in bright light. what else is a drag that to have a very sturdy arm for my 4" EVF i bought the bought one of the sturdiest arms out there which is the Zacuto arm and baseplate and with a FF attached its nowtoo heavy to handhold so i went with the RR Micro cage with a sturdy "handle" making the whole package pretty heavy and now have to rely on using an EasyRig support system which is great but wish the internal monitor were good enough to sometimes go stripped down and very lightweight barebones rig.

argh!

david
 
don't most folks just punch in momentarily to focus then punch out? Or can you only do that on the 300? My experience with peaking is that it can be a little "generous" with what it thinks in in focus, the wider the lens/focal length, the worse that issue gets, though if you roll the focus back and forth you can find the point where the peaking reaches its maximum "glow", which should be the sharpest it can be. Granted, sometimes you don't have time to roll back and forth and need to nail it quickly, but on the other hand, I think people need to have realistic expectations. . .if you're doing stuff that's moving so quickly (I don't mean subject in front of the lens, but the pace of whatever you're shooting) that you have no time to focus for a few seconds. . .maybe a large sensor camera isn't the right tool for the job? If it's a movie/narrative environment you'd want to be using focus marks anyway and probably have someone watching a monitor large enough to know when you've missed it without peaking being necessary.
 
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you can check focus prior to hitting record. you can also AF (one time) prior to hitting record as well but only in the center of the frame. its often very inconvenient to move the camera just to get the cameras idea of "in focus" then have to get it back to the desired framing especially if your taking multiple takes and you want the camera in the exact same place. also "pre-focusing" is only useful if the subject does not move and much tougher if you don't have DEEP DOF.

i see people here that are OK with the internal evf & lcd but i don't find much confidence using them when you can't to afford to have shots OOF.

david
 
punch in doesn't work while it's rolling? does the AF not work off the little square box, like on a 5D? If so, can you not move the box around the frame with the joystick (to get it over subject's eyes for instance)? Then you don't have to move cam, just the AF box. I remember a shoot in a dark auditorium with a variable aperture superzoom. . .peaking was telling me EVERYTHING was pretty much in focus, even zoomed in. . .though you could see where it was "more peaking" in certain places, and I had to roll it back and forth to figure out what was actually in focus. . .I'm guessing that's a function of poor light/softer glass--the camera simply can't tell at the point what's sharp?
 
on the original C100 you cannot move the focus box around the frame prior to rolling or when rolling. its stuck right in the middle.
 
Ah bummer. I guess that's not the case with the C300 and the C100 M2? So what have folks done for workarounds on the original C100? I do have an external monitor but it's an Odyssey7 so not the lightest.
 
On the C100 Mark I if you have an auto-focus lens on it you have to set the lens to manual focus (and have the firmware update) in order to move the focus box around the frame.

On the C100 Mark II the lens does not need to be set to manual focus in order to move the focus box around the frame.

Punch-in works while rolling on the C100 Mark I, C100 Mark II, and C300 Mark I. It does not work on the C300 Mark II, but a scheduled firmware update in July will enable it.
 
Eric Coughlin said:
On the C100 Mark I if you have an auto-focus lens on it you have to set the lens to manual focus (and have the firmware update) in order to move the focus box around the frame.

On the C100 Mark II the lens does not need to be set to manual focus in order to move the focus box around the frame.

Punch-in works while rolling on the C100 Mark I, C100 Mark II, and C300 Mark I. It does not work on the C300 Mark II, but a scheduled firmware update in July will enable it.
Click to expand...


SWEET! Good to know.
 
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