Manual focusing

ramkuma

ramkuma

Well-known member
What is the technique for manual focusing on the fly, i.e., while moving around or while your subject is moving? Do you just constantly have the Focus Assist and EVF on while adjusting the focus ring? Any basic advice on how to go about doing this is appreciated. I couldn't come up with anything on a Google search. Thanks.
 
I'm no cinematographer but, I never use auto focus. You just have to live through one edit where the auto focus is creeping back and forth from your subject and the background and you'll be a believer too. In very bright conditions with a fast shutter speed and if you really can't take the time to grab a focus, then chunk it down to Focus A and run and gun. You can always push the Push Auto button and see if the camera agrees with your focus. I think the best focus assist is a good monitor on board so you can really see what your shooting.
Grab a copy of Barry Green's "The HMC-150 Book" and turn to page 173. Hope this helps, maybe some real shooters will chime in.
 
Always have EVF DTL on, and I always have the distance meter on so I can make sure that the focus ring is at least in the appropriate ballpark based on how far the subject is. And, keep the lens as wide-angle as you can possibly keep it, which will make the DOF deeper and make getting sharp focus easier.
 
Well, I'd recommend auto focus.

Your original post says that both you and/or your subject will be moving around. I don't know of a "shortcut" to focusing manually.

If it's run and gun stuff like weddings, then autofocus is your friend.
 
I'd agree with Phil on this one. There are times when manual focus is just not practical, such as when both subject and camera are moving and you have no control over where the subject is moving to, and you can't reshoot if you mess it up.

At those times, auto-focus can be a shot saver.
 
I agree with dwelter. There's a reason that the higher end you go on the camera ladder, the more manual controls you have. The reason for this is obvious - better and greater control of your shots. Auto nothing gives control of your shot. Auto focus, auto iris, AWB etc will change at random and ruin your shot especialy a moving subject with a changing distance behind it. My advice, know your camera and its controls, its buttons, where they are and what makes it tick, sort of like you would with your woman!
If you do this, you're better prepared to get a more reliable shot for longer and will be able to adjust quicker and more accurately as your scene changes.
 
I'm with robydon... I've never used auto-anything in the two years I've owned the HMC150. And I've shot everything with it... weddings, sports, police combat training, church services, you name it. It does take practice, but there are no cameras that I know of, save for maybe the EX3, that use autofocus over about the $8k range. When hand held, I have one hand on the rocker and the other on the focus. When on a shoulder rig or tripod, I spent the money for a zoom control.

As far as both the camera and subject moving, you're simply going to be faster and more accurate than the camera, especially if the camera is set to 24p. Nothing is more annoying than looking at footage of the camera constantly hunting for focus.

Is it easy? Not always, but you simply have to know your camera. And I trust myself 100% of the time more than the camera.
 
I don't own the 150, but do own other PannaCams. At lower frame rates, and in lower light, without too much contrast, auto focus will suck, especially if you and the subject are moving. Even under the best of circumstances, it is pretty marginal. And if it hunts much, your shot is screwed. I don't shoot interlaced, but that is supposed to be better for AF.

Expanding on what Barry said about using wider shots, you might also try to get your aperture up a little to say 5.6, but not above f8 where the lens performance begins to degrade. That will increase your depth of field. Thinking about where your manual focus is set: 95 on your display is infinity, but I would guess that at a reasonably wide angle view @ f5.6, you could set your focus at 80 and infinity would still be in focus. At 80, even things pretty close to you will be in focus.

You can easily test this type of stuff with your own cam. In a few hours, you could come up with a matrix showing what will be in focus at what f-stop and focus and zoom settings. This is an old technique that in this case would be pretty useful to get you started. After using my own cams quite a bit, I can usually make a gut call on this, but a matrix will be a more sure thing.

I find manual focusing while handholding a compact cam while moving is pretty difficult to impossible. Maybe some of you are superhuman. in fact I find handholding pretty difficult period, so anything I can do to reduce my mistakes is a help. If you do a lot of this work, a shoulder mount cam or a shoulder rig would probably help quite a bit.

Grant
 
Auto focus, auto iris, AWB etc will change at random
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If those things change at random, then the camera engineers didn't do a very good job designing those features.

In my own experience, such auto features generally 'change' when they are supposed to 'change', doing their jobs properly.

Now, it is possible that an auto feature may well 'change' when you don't want it to, but that is very different from changing randomly.

Like I said before, there are times when you'll want to disable auto-whatever, but there are also times when having that on can save your shot. And the situation the OP is talking about is one of them.
 
Not hammer an old debate that has more to do with personal style then what is right or wrong but IMHO relying on auto anything is not only asking for trouble but it also mean you are not practicing a technique that every pro shooter should have. Manual Focusing. As I have never used it, for video, I'm not sure if technology has gotten better but every test I have ever done has been less then satisfying. My HVX makes manual focus easier then ever as it gives a focus distance in the LCD. You just have to practice judging how far away things are.
 
Auto Iris is brutal when say someone with a white shirt walks through a shot. The Iris will close down then open up again.
Auto colour will be your colour correction persons nightmare.
Auto focus is like rolling the dice, especially when there is something close to the camera and what you are shooting is far away. Auto focus has to decide what to focus on and may not be what you want it to be. I do sometimes use the auto focus button to try and get in the ball park when run and gun though.

If your shooting situation is such that using a cam mounted external 7" monitor is practical, these can help a lot with focusing, even the cheaper ones. Not so sure about colour/exposure on a cheap LCD though. WFM is what I tend to use for that.

Like Barry said, I highly recommend switching your focus and zoom to numbered display (feet and mm - in your settings).
 
Jim Simon said:
If those things change at random, then the camera engineers didn't do a very good job designing those features.
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Auto features dont change at 'random' - there are always reasons why its changing. Just as Denwa says whats really changing is what your are shooting! White shirts, windows, outside doors opening, zooming in or out, subjects moving etc will make your auto features adjust to these new situations.

Auto Focus is a beast - it can be somewhat tamed with a few tips: Shots that are wide will most likely focus on the background since obviously the camera thinks that you would want 90% of the frame (the background) in focus and not the 10% your subject is. Autofocus is a lot better when you are close up on the subject and they are filling a lot more of the screen up. Ive been there, the 1st concert I shot - was all focused on the background and you cant tell on the little built in LCD while your shooting. Years later I now always shoot with a 7" monitor and always use the camera in manual. Framing and focus cant be corrected in post and an external monitor helps tremendously.

Best way is to use the best of both worlds... put it on MANUAL and use the Auto Focus BUTTON when needed. This way you can tweak whats in focus after pressing auto and its not going to change on you when you zoom out and have a lot more background or other objects in your shot.

People these days are use to Auto everything, just point and shoot. That works for cheap cameras with small sensors that pretty much put EVERYTHING in focus. With higher end cameras with stronger DOF and higher resolution you cant 'get away' with it.


Jim Simon said:
Like I said before, there are times when you'll want to disable auto-whatever, but there are also times when having that on can save your shot. And the situation the OP is talking about is one of them.
Click to expand...

From my experience, Auto features may save the shot 10% of the time. A good camera OP is what saves it the other 90%. Furthermore, the 1-2 seconds it takes for a OP to focus on something new, makes for more interesting footage when edited right.
 
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Auto focus is a pain in the neck...use the manual focus, the focus assist, the scale and practice. Get yourself in the wrong situation and if you are using auto it will be in and out and in and out, I see it happen way too often and I agree that it is useful 10% or less of the time.
 
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