ALL: Does this look like an Autofocus Bug to You?? -- Video Clip

Thanks for the update, Jan. I'm very close to getting the HPX250, but will wait to hear what the factory says first. While I don't use full auto focus much, the "push auto" can certainly come in handy sometimes and it would be nice to know that it's working properly before I make the purchase.

Again, thanks so much for keeping us informed.

Best,
Matt
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
The Push to Auto works fine on all of these cameras.

Best,

Jan
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The last job i did i use the auto push button so much that it got stuck and stay on auto focus , I push again than it snap back to manual it did that couple of time now it stop doing that.
Hope i don't have to send for repair . Thank for looking into the focusing jan.:cheesy:
 
I appreciate the clarification, Jan. I just assumed that Auto Focus and Push to Auto would be employing the same mechanisms and that any issues that affected one would affect the other. Good to know that is not the case!

Matt
 
Thanks Jan for looking into this. I have the money for the camera waiting in my savings. I don't mind waiting for this camera if there can be a fix for the autofocus. You gave me some hope.
Merry Christmas
 
Wouldn'nt wait longer pulled the trigger for an AC 130. just a question outside the topic, why did Panasonic resort to an "unknown" lens? :undecided
 
That's good to hear the report about panasonic looking into it. I really want to buy these cameras but the autofocus reports really concern me. Hopefully it will be resolved soon enough before my work demands a purchase. The new threesome (ac130/160 and hpx250) have so many good things going for them.
 
Jan: I have a AC160 and twice I have had the auto focus lose focus and hunt for focus. I tried to control it by going to manual controll, but to no avail. Both time the setting ws a concret in low light and with 12 db gain added. I hope it is someting I am doing wrong and not the camacorder. Any ideas.

John Czere
 
jtczere said:
Jan: I have a AC160 and twice I have had the auto focus lose focus and hunt for focus. I tried to control it by going to manual controll, but to no avail. Both time the setting ws a concret in low light and with 12 db gain added. I hope it is someting I am doing wrong and not the camacorder. Any ideas.
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John: Low light also means low contrast and difficulty for any Autofocus system to cope with. Can you upload a clip online of either of these incidents to illustrate what you experienced? All Autofocus systems struggle to some degree when the light gets very low.

If the light that you are working with is indeed low, you may want to use manual focus on those occasions. I would advise using the focus assist feature in such circumstances. It works extremely well, and will enable you to confirm when your subject is in focus. In a dark scene the red colored focus assist highlights would really stand out. So you should have no problem then in ensuring that your subject is in perfect focus.
 
qap15 said:
Wouldn'nt wait longer pulled the trigger for an AC 130. just a question outside the topic, why did Panasonic resort to an "unknown" lens? :undecided
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This lens is a new Panasonic design. The lens design seems to be preforming very well as far as I can tell. Distortion is well controlled, especially for a lens with such a long zoom range. And sharpness appears to be outstanding, as long as you heed Barry's advice of not letting your iris go smaller than f5.6

I think that you will be most happy with the lens, once you get some experience in using it.
 
Thank you for the info. I have attached two short clips that show the out of focus events. Any help would be appreciated. The problem was probably my lack of knowledge and not the camcorder....but?

John C
 
Wow, that is very bad indeed. The Autofocus never seems to be able to successfully sort the subject out and get the range.

The children do look to be in very poor light, in an area that is in shadows. However, there is contrast in their clothing, which I would normally think would help out.

The second clip is interesting, as it starts out fairly in focus, but then seems to go out of focus once the children start waving. I've noticed this symptom too, where motion in the scene seems to throw off the autofocus system, which seems very strange to me.

All of the indoor shooting that I have done so far was in better lighting than what you had in that situation. It is thus difficult for me to judge how much of the problem is with the camcorder, or the scene itself. But I can see why this would concern you.

Perhaps some of the experienced videographers can chime in here, and let us know if they were able to handle an environment like you were shooting in there OK with older Panasonic camcorders.

Thanks for posting this clip, as seeing the actual video is far superior than just providing a description of it. For your video actually looks far worse than how you described it. For now, I would simply recommend trying the workaround I mentioned of using the Focus Assist feature together with manual focus. You could also use the push focus feature that Jan mentioned earlier in this thread too.
 
Have always taken it for granted since witnessing years ago a sony camera with auto focus hunting every 30 seconds or so that any autofocus system will keep looking for focus after awhile when it gets bored. Without wishing to stir up the old argument why not in this case zoom in, focus and pull out - job done. I am being drawn to a 160 or 250 regardless of this "issue".
 
Auto focus freaked out

Auto focus freaked out

Used the AC130 at a wedding, it worked fine except for the auto focus freaked out before the ceremony.
NOTE: When I say "Manual Focus" in the video the camera is still in "Auto Focus" I am just turning the focus ring to help it get in focus, so I am manually turning the focus ring.

The password is "130"

 
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Jtczere
That is a great example for the issue the camera is having. From standpoint A you could say this is very bad lighting and you should never use auto focus. But, I have shot a lot of children's programs with lighting on par with this. I use to just throw my Sony FX1 in auto focus mode, adjust exposure and white balance, and it would handle it with relatively no major issues.

One shoot with the AC160 in full auto and Boom it jumped out like a sore thumb.

Something is not correct with the AC160 and Jan stated that they are taking a look into the auto focus as we speak. Hopefully it will be resolved soon. Until then, I recommend that if you need something done professionally with this camera, do not-I state- do not use auto focus. Must use both manual focus and iris to make thing come out great. My two cents. Enjoy!
 
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