Focusing

J

jporter

New member
Is it possible to get reliably sharp focus with the stock viewfinder (and/or the LCD) on the HPX300, or is it necessary to get a 7- or 9-inch HD field monitor?

Jeff
 
The HPX300 offers several focus tools to make sure you get sharp focus. The stock viewfinder is 1.2 megapixels, which is almost enough by itself to show you all the detail. When combined with the EVF DTL ("peaking") function, and the magnified focus assist, you certainly don't "need" an external monitor in order to get razor-sharp focus.
 
But suppose you wanted to do this on an HPX170 chasing little gymnasts.......then, what tricks/techniques would you use?

I know I'm in the wrong section, but no one is answering this in the HPX170 section.

Please! I'm sitting on the forum, like a puppy waiting for its master to return, hoping some one will offer their best fast focusing tips for the HPX170. (See Proud Dad Syndrome).
 
There's a whole chapter on "Focusing" in The HVX & HPX Book, which you should have gotten for free with your camera... :thumbsup:
 
I read every word. Just looking for reinforcement (and courage, and handholding).

Oh yeah, and maybe some thoughts on the Varizoom.
 
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You are better off shooting gymnasts from the side rather than them coming at you at full speed, if your client agrees. That way you're not racking. It helps if you are in a static position to have a monitor and someone is watching it and telling you if you're soft. Perhaps go into +3db so you can stop down a little, the clients will notice bad focus more than they will noise. Make sure all the lights and windows of the gym are maxed out so you can stop down. And practice a LOT during their warm ups so your fingers know the distance to roll. With gymnasts you're moving too fast to utilize focus assist, etc. Also try to shoot the body as wide as the client allows, with gymnastics you have to be at least head to toe, that way you'll have a deeper DoF.
 
I've set focus marks before on my old 200... the only issue is because it's electronic focus.. when you power down the camera the focus marks are lost...

I just cut up some white stickers to resemble pointers and stuck it on the lens...

Cheers

PS: was for a fashion shoot...

http://www.vimeo.com/5706734

Password : mimo
 
Thank you very much, Ned! Greatly appreciated.

I thought they moved way too fast to use any focus assists as it takes all of my attention and efforts just to track them and keep them in frame (at least for floor). I just wasn't sure if seasoned videographers were sufficiently talented to track and use multiple focus aids simultaneously at high speed. Maybe some are. I'm not.

I will follow all of your advice and hope that stopping down will save the day.

BTW, my clients are my kids and after this camera purchase, they might be facing some allowance cutbacks.
 
Thanks Lez. That was an inspiration to watch, even if I don't set focus marks.

Doing a fashion shoot for glasses doesn't leave a very big margin for error, does it?

Makes my task seem easy. Did you use any focus aids, external monitors, etc?
 
As a new 170 user, I am finding a huge difference in how my cam responds to focus, whether or not I am using the Focus Assist feature in the SW menu. This feature changes the sensitivity of the focus ring. When FA is engaged, the focus will go from 95 to around 60 in one instant jump, seemingly way to fast to use while shooting.

So, you may want to work with this feature and see how it might help or hurt you.

I have begun to use a Manfrotto 521PFI focus controller. It has limiters on the focus control so you can pull focus between two points consistantly. It takes a little bit of monkey time to figure out the workings, but it can really work. Though don't even think about using this with the Focus Assist feature previously mentioned, as it runs wild. Of course you need a tripod or a shoulder rig to use this, which you may want to consider.

Grant

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/531214-REG/Manfrotto_521PFI_521PFI_Focus_Remote_Control.html
 
That particular focus assist feature you're talking about is the Manual Assist. It's there because sometimes you want to shoot news-style, with a very short focus throw, and sometimes you want to shoot cinema style, with a very long focus throw. With the short-throw, you dial in the focus quickly, and then autofocus takes over for a second and tries to fine-tune the manual focus you've done. With the long-throw, you have a lot more precision over the focus, and autofocus doesn't get involved.
 
lhryshko said:
Thanks Lez. That was an inspiration to watch, even if I don't set focus marks.

Doing a fashion shoot for glasses doesn't leave a very big margin for error, does it?

Makes my task seem easy. Did you use any focus aids, external monitors, etc?
Click to expand...


No focus aids.. no monitors... just sliding the focus ring on the 200...

I put 2 triangle marks on the lens... 1 at the point where they started the walk... and another at the end...

So I'd just adjust the focus points between those marks...

The talent walked all over the place as the show was for the audience... not for me...
but looking at the lens markings and where they position was worked...

The footage on vimeo is just the rough shots....

In fashion stuff a bit of wonky focusing can help in the edit suite...

Cheers
 
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