ChrisHarding
Well-known member
Hi Jeff
If you are shooting mainly on wide (like I do most of the time at wedding receptions) the autofocus will behave itself very well actually!! It seems to only act up when you are zoomed up a bit and static on a tripod. Use it handheld and moving around the event it's really good but it only mis-behaves on static shots...At weddings I use the one 130 on a tripod for speeches at a lectern and then shoot cutaways on the second camera...the AF will lock onto the person at the lectern without too much trouble and hold focus in auto fairly well but if they happen to move out of shot the whole image goes fuzzy, despite the fact that the lectern is, say, about 3' in front of a wall with some flowers (so there is plenty for the cam to refocus on) BUT it doesn't!!! It goes way, way out of focus really badly and as soon as the speaker moves back into shot the focus is still way off to the point where the image is a total blur...Now, I would have expected at worst, the AF to refocus on say, the flowers behind the lectern or the lectern itself and then refocus again when the speaker moved back into shot but it doesn't do that at all!! The depth of field at say 15' away and at F3.5 (I have good lighting) is more than 3' at a focal length of say 30mm (which is more than I zoom anyway) (At 30mm zoom you are in focus from 12' to 18' ) so for me the image shouldn't change. As proof if I set the lens in manual to 15' the image is clean regardless so I have absolutely no idea what the AF does?? Maybe it gives up and sets the focus to 12" ??? It certainly looks like it!!
Of course the answer is simple ..don't use AF if you are on a tripod and zoomed in even 2 x or 3X ....using the push for auto and manual it works like a dream!!!
I must admit I do find the ND's a pain but only in bright outdoors when you have to constantly change it when you are moving from shade to sun...however I'm getting used to it now!!!
Chris
If you are shooting mainly on wide (like I do most of the time at wedding receptions) the autofocus will behave itself very well actually!! It seems to only act up when you are zoomed up a bit and static on a tripod. Use it handheld and moving around the event it's really good but it only mis-behaves on static shots...At weddings I use the one 130 on a tripod for speeches at a lectern and then shoot cutaways on the second camera...the AF will lock onto the person at the lectern without too much trouble and hold focus in auto fairly well but if they happen to move out of shot the whole image goes fuzzy, despite the fact that the lectern is, say, about 3' in front of a wall with some flowers (so there is plenty for the cam to refocus on) BUT it doesn't!!! It goes way, way out of focus really badly and as soon as the speaker moves back into shot the focus is still way off to the point where the image is a total blur...Now, I would have expected at worst, the AF to refocus on say, the flowers behind the lectern or the lectern itself and then refocus again when the speaker moved back into shot but it doesn't do that at all!! The depth of field at say 15' away and at F3.5 (I have good lighting) is more than 3' at a focal length of say 30mm (which is more than I zoom anyway) (At 30mm zoom you are in focus from 12' to 18' ) so for me the image shouldn't change. As proof if I set the lens in manual to 15' the image is clean regardless so I have absolutely no idea what the AF does?? Maybe it gives up and sets the focus to 12" ??? It certainly looks like it!!
Of course the answer is simple ..don't use AF if you are on a tripod and zoomed in even 2 x or 3X ....using the push for auto and manual it works like a dream!!!
I must admit I do find the ND's a pain but only in bright outdoors when you have to constantly change it when you are moving from shade to sun...however I'm getting used to it now!!!
Chris
