Run and Gun Focus (Manual or Auto?)

B

BrianBrook

Active member
I've got a gig friday-Downtown L.A.-actually skid row-and I've got alot of footage to capture-I've been using manual but I just realized I've been spending way too much time with the manual assist to get it sharp-my question:is there a way in Auto focus to lock down the GH-1 so it won't auto-focus in the middle of the shot? hence ruining it or do I just stay full manual to have to avoid this....I've read the manual and when it comes to focus I can tell a techie who never shoot wrote it!
 
For me, the HUGEST problem with the GH1 (way more so than low bit rates) is that it is a DSLR-type camera that stupidly disables the AF-S in video mode.

Alls you can do is half press the shutter release to lock focus, then while holding it down, turn the focus knob to MF...and pray it doesn't change when turning the knob. With some lenses you might have better results by turning the knob to AF-S while locking focus...then turning to MF after it locks.

With no HDMI out to monitor the video on the GH1, I personally have very little use for MF. The LCD is just too small for me...even using high-powered reading glasses. All the "sharp" glass in the world can't compete with the GH1 autofocus, with a tiny LCD screen. I've seen it over and over again on posted videos here...people that swear by cheap manual lenses...but then can't nail focus whatsoever.

AF-S in video mode would, IMHO, finally make this a really groundbreaking camera!
 
Well it doesn't help that the majority of people are shooting at F1.8 all the time. If you can get a decent F-stop (2.8-4) and depending on focal length, you could get close to a foot of DoF which is more than enough to manually pull to.
 
Thanks all-yes the kit lens-when using AF-S and pressing half way for focus I get a cross hairs lighting up green meaning focus then going to MF locking it seems to work, conversely when I start with AF-C I get not conformation so is the routine of AF-S then manual what you guys use most when shooting?
 
Okay, if your full manual do you use the manual focus assist-where it zooms into confirm it's sharp-my problem is it's going to a bright summer day and it's tough to confirm sharpness-do you find using the LCD or EVF is the better option when full manual?
 
Well, if your subject will be in the same spot then yes use the focus assist. It's reliable. If our subject is moving and you have to follow focus then that's another story. I have used the viewfinder with success on bright days.
 
Yeah, how run and gun are you talking about? If you're going to be following people around I'd go with manual control. If you will be just moving quickly from set up to set up you could get away with out manual control I think. But it all depends on the situation.
 
Run and gun non planned doc style with kit or 20mm pancake lens I always use af-s to get it, then lock it by switching to manual focus... tweak it there, go back to af-s if I get lost, find it, lock it back to manual.

Kind of silly but it's the only way I can seem to get it to correctly lock right now... I don't understand why af-s doesn't work in video mode either and it keeps hunting.
 
It looks like I was pretty much on track w/ AF-S half-way down, lock into manual and shoot-I do like the confirming green in the crosshairs before going to manual so I don't lose the subject, if I had more time and less pressure full manual would be optimal but the above compromise will do-thanks to all for your input!
 
Blackout said:
I don't understand why af-s doesn't work in video mode either and it keeps hunting.
Click to expand...
GH1's sensor carries out all tasks -- imaging and axillary (autofocus and metering). When you shoot 24 fps auto-focus procedures have less than half as much information to work with as when shooting stills (60 fps in LiveView mode) or in 720/60 mode (ditto). There is always focus hunting going on, but in 24 fps mode it takes 2.5 times more time to reach focus point, therefore that much more noticeable.
 
Only way i can run and gun is with a wide angle lens and f4 so the DOF is large or just use my HMC 152 with auto focus for that scene.
 
Interesting problm....
Would the Face Recognition algorithm help in minimizing the "focus drift" ?
And probably another good thing to do is to avoid the "23 area focus" program as well...

Paul
 
just to clarify... you guys are talking about turning the left top dial to afs --> half press shutter --> turn left dial to mf --> record. is this right? thanks.
 
Tracey Lee said:
Well, if your subject will be in the same spot then yes use the focus assist. It's reliable. If our subject is moving and you have to follow focus then that's another story. I have used the viewfinder with success on bright days.
Click to expand...

+1 I find the viewfinder superior to the foldout LCD for pulling focus on MF lenses, and yeah, get into f/2.8+ and pulling MF can absolutely be done in run 'n gun situations and I'd rather have full control than let the camera do it, but it takes practice, I personally find it easy to pull focus on the GH1 but my background is purely in sports photojournalism so I'm used to that sort of thing, it doesn't happen overnight but it's a skill that can definitely be developed. I find AF hunting to be more distracting than MF focus pulls.
 
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