Focus assist with non-Panasonic lenses

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Phil1076

Well-known member
This may be a stupid question but I just want to make sure....

Will the AF100's focus assist (the red outline) work properly with old lenses (such as Canon FD)?

Thanks
 
Here is a tip I got here: set the EVF to black and white and use FA with it when shooting outside. Works great
 
OK well the red edge indicates that it is active, so that's good. The way it works, it puts a red edge on sharp contrasting edges in the frame. It may not be apparent to you at first so try shooting something shiny, then adjust focus and you will see that shiny edge appear. Where that red appears, you're in focus. For people, you can usually see eye light very well.

If you still can't see it you can select EVF DETAIL on the camera, but only so you get an idea of what it looks like. Don't leave the EVF DETAIL on when you're using if for focus.

Sometimes it helps just to have a light, or something shiney that your talent can hold to see it well. On one shoot, a guy was playing a cop and had a badge around his neck so I would just ask him to hold it up next to his eye to help me focus.
 
If you're just learning it, try shooting a piece of newspaper. You'll see the red effect pretty easily. And to really use it, use the viewfinder and turn it to black and white.
 
tommygdawg said:
Thanks all for the insight, I think I'm figuring it out :)
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If you have an iPhone or iPad with movie slate, the app contains a Siemens starburst chart which is really useful if you are shootings rioted material.Hold the iPad in frame at the desired plane of focus with the star burst chart displayed and you really can miss.
 
Hey guys, I don't think there is .. but is there anyway to increase the Focus Assist red outline? I got it, but it's not always as reliable as I'd like. Would be nice to bump it up a little more. Anyone?
 
I am using Canon FD 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 135mm & 19-35mm, 28-80mm, 80-200mm. Though the focus assist work for them, its not reliable at all! I had to use a full Hd monitor to check the focus for narrative/feature work; as all other workarounds failed for me.
 
kajman said:
Set "EVF DTL" on and change you viewfinder to black & white
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That will indeed increase the size of the red outlines, but I caution that you should never do this, because the result is simply going to be out-of-focus footage. The EVF DTL + Focus-in-Red makes the red outlines TOO generous -- and things that are borderline in focus, or even slightly out of focus, will show up with red outlines, leading you to think that they are indeed in focus, when they're not.

My advice is to never ever combine EVF DTL and focus-in-red.

However, the suggestion to turn the viewfinder to black and white is one I wholeheartedly recommend. A black-and-white viewfinder, with the focus-in-red enabled, is the best way to see the red outlines and guarantee yourself perfectly sharp focus.
 
Barry_Green said:
A black-and-white viewfinder, with the focus-in-red enabled, is the best way to see the red outlines and guarantee yourself perfectly sharp focus.
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Thanks Barry. I have adjusted the LCD to black and white and kept the viewfinder in color because I get more accurate color in the viewfinder. This way I get to see AF in a black and white LCD at a glance and can check on the color via the VF when/if required.

By the way, I received your DVD in the post yesterday and I'm really enjoying the learning curve. Thanks!
 
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