GH2 long lens focusing

F

flinty

Veteran
Yes i do a lot of wildlife filming and i think i have made a big mistake getting this camera ,for use with long lenses focusing is very difficult,today i had the oppertunity to film otters they were almost posing but the 45-200mm just would not focus on anything much over 45mm on AF and manualy i just did not have time before they dived under,i know i have made a mistake and should have got a new camcorder XA1 possibly,even my HV30 would have got a lot more good close up footage today,the trouble is its a buyers market and my GH2 and 6 lenses wont make a third what i paid for them :cry:
 
I have been doing a lot of nature filming this year with mine. I got the 100 to 300mm and it is great for what I have been using it for. I use the ex tele often with it and get great shots.
 
DOES THE 100-300s AF ACTUALY WORK WITH THE 45-200mm THE 3 SECS AT MOST I HAD TO GET FOCUS BEFORE THE OTTERS DIVED AGAIN WAS NOT ENOUGH USING AF OR MANUAL FOCUS,MY HVs AF INSTANTLY GETS FOCUS AS I EXPECT WOULD A CAM LIKE THE XA10.REGARDING EX TELE I THINK THATS A JOKE.
 
Curious, how wide is your aperture when you're shooting? Wide open (even in the 4.0-6.7 range) on about any lens, the DOF becomes very shallow at full tele. My workaround is to kickup gain slightly in order to stop down a little more.

I had some students shooting football this weekend with the GH2/100-300 combo, sometimes with ETC, and reviewing the footage, they didn't have any AF problems.

I've also used a cheap Sigma 100-300 (Nikon mount) on full manual, similar workarounds necessary.

A decent external monitor can also help to nail focus quickly.
 
Um....I think it has been mentioned many times over that these DSLR type cameras are not for that kind of shooting. That's what camcorders are for...point...shoot...quickly. The the GH-2 is the closest to performing like a camcorder....but it aint there yet. One could probably make it work in most situations but you're just taking a chance when buying it for this reason. So...no need to rant on the camera....it is doing exactly what it's meant to do.
 
Wet fur happens to be low contrast, and AF works on contrast. I remember having trouble shooting a river otter with my SLR a few years ago, the camera tended to lock on to the background rather than the wet otter.

The other factor may be that the 100-300 has much faster AF than the 45-200.
 
Thanks all i think Ian-T has hit the nail on the head but the stills the Canon shooters were getting was unbelievable plus Kin Laus theory seems fair,take the HV or HG2 with the 14-140 tommorrow mm.
 
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