Is it easy to focus with the 150, and how is the auto focus?

D

Deer Film

Well-known member
Hi, If I am recording a ceremony from 100 yards away, and if I zoom in, is this camera pretty easy to focus with. If I have auto focus on, does that do a good job? How does auto focus work and can it be changed. Like a DSLR, you can have it center, or closest , just wondering how the 150 handles autofocus.
I know most people like manual, but for family events or ceremonys, I like to just go with auto.

what are your thoughts?
thanks
 
100 yds is a pretty long way, but some churches and outdoor ceremonies could be this big. If you zoom in, engage the focus assist and manually focus you can get things pretty much spot on. in bright light you may want to use the viewfinder instead of the LCD.

It may take a little practice, but you should be able to get the hang of things within 10 minutes or so.

Focus assist is based on the center of the picture, so if you need off center focusing just move the camera to have the desired object in the middle, focus and move it back.

Auto focus works, but can be slow and of course it's not a mind reader. Auto focus will look for areas of contrast and if the best contrast is found 6 feet behind your subject then guess where it's going to focus ;)

The good news is that for auto focus, the depth of field on the HMC is pretty deep so you can be off by quite a lot on wider shots and get away with it. You aren't so lucky on close up shots. HD footage will really expose out of focus shots. We only use AF when some one is walking towards or away from us (and even then not always AF). The rest of the time we are on MF.
 
Another nice thing is that when you set up a shot, you can use the "push auto" button to quickly auto focus and get the focus near to where you want to be while remaining in manual focus mode to fine tune and maintain it. I use push auto somewhat frequently. The manual focus assist also works very well.

For family events and ceremonies as you said, auto focus works just fine (as good or better than other cameras IMO) so long as you keep in mind that it sometimes changes when you don't want it to, especially during pans, etc. which can give it that amateur look.

You can download the manual in .pdf for the HMC150 (google it) and it will tell you all of the focus features.
 
I am not sure what I was thinking when I wrote this at first, I am standing back about 30 yards. not 100. sorry and thanks for your comments
 
Getting focus in low light is challenging with most cameras. One trick covered in Barry's HMC150 book is to use a laser range finder to measure the distance from the camera lens to the object you want to focus on, then just dial in that distance in the cam's focus controller. I have found this useful when shooting a speaker from a fixed position. Obviously, I use the laser range finder before the event starts - you never want to point it at a person or use it during an event.

If you buy an HMC150 be sure to buy Barry's book!
Exact said:
OK - 100 feet is more like it :)

Focusing to 100 feet should not be a problem.....
Click to expand...
 
THe only time I had trouble with autofocus was shooting a sunrise---the focus went in and out. This was before I started using manual focus exclusively. Don't forget to use the "Focus Assist" button and the "EVF DTL" buttons when you manually focus; these focusing tools are an absolute must.
 
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