Zone Focussing in Sport: Best Practice for One Man Operation

[Shaun Roemich]

Originally Posted by Miggy Sanchez

Hi Shaun, why would you lose focus as you pushed in tighter?

Because longer focal length creates shallower depth of field and it is unlikely I would have been in focus on that EXACT focal distance.

[Miggy Sanchez]

Originally Posted by Tim Polster

Always great to learn your gear and use it manually.

Knowledge is power in your field.

Hope this helps.

Guys, help it does so thanks. It’s so exciting to be able to tap into the varying perspectives you have to offer.

As you zoom in the depth of field gets thinner, or more shallow.

OK, this is coming in loud and clear.

Originally Posted by Tim Polster

Now, about that auto exposure...

Any tips here? Often the brightness of the pitch shifts quickly, especially during overcast days. I am starting to live stream these games so I have got a whole bunch of stuff going on there. I set my shutter to 1/50, ND filter to 1 or 2 depending on the glare, and let AE do its thing. Should I be getting more proactive with it, especially in relation to maintaining a greater depth of field?


Again, much appreciated.

[Mark Koha]

I would just keep riding the manual focus. If you are a one man band and you are live streaming this then you shouldn't be making drastic zooms anyways. If someone scores then you can push in but you should be acting as a game camera most of the time. And when they do score, just be mindful of where you are in your zoom range. If people are moving away from you, turn left. If they are coming towards you turn right. Flip your peaking on and make it happen. Be an operator, not a lens pointer.

[Shaun Roemich]

Much of what Mark says above is absolutely true but don't forget that Zone Focussing IS an integral part of BEING a camera operator at the level some of us are discussing here. A camera operator indeed does more than point/aim a camera - he/she should also know the mechanics and physics of what they are doing and developing skills and practices that maximize readiness for focus, framing et al.

I know that my focus isn't critical if I'm doing play by play (because my framing is looser and my depth of field is greater) but if I'm doing tight follow, I know that I'll have VERY shallow depth of field as I push in so I'm have the lens already in the ballpark (pardon the pun) before I need to start follow focusing.

Most of my experience in live sports has been in multicamera live switched environments but as a tight follow operator I also recognized my ISO angle would be used in replays so I needed to maximize usable footage throughout the game and not just when I was "on air".

Yes, on a broadcast lens and on most video camera lenses turning counterclockwise IS "further away" but be CLOSE before you need to touch up focus. As a Technical Director/Switcher the thing that frustrated me with camera ops just starting out is they wouldn't have "prepared" the lens for when the action was coming their way and would lose focus in a zoom.

It's a SKILL. Learn it by practicing but at the same time, walk in with a quiver of knowledge that helps you to "guess" right more of the time.

[Mark Koha]

Shaun, as an EVS operator my pet peeve isn't focus so much as people whipping off of shots after something big happens to go get crowd shots. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

[Shaun Roemich]

Mark obviously yells less than I do... My guys might do that once... Then they go deaf. <sly wink >

[Tim Polster]

Originally Posted by Miggy Sanchez

Any tips here? Often the brightness of the pitch shifts quickly, especially during overcast days. I am starting to live stream these games so I have got a whole bunch of stuff going on there. I set my shutter to 1/50, ND filter to 1 or 2 depending on the glare, and let AE do its thing. Should I be getting more proactive with it, especially in relation to maintaining a greater depth of field?


Again, much appreciated.

AE is only good when there is constant lighting or when you can not handle the camera. The problem with filming outdoors is the horizon. Sunny days are better as the light is relatively even. Overcast is tougher.

I prefer to run exposure manually if possible. I always film with a preview monitor. If outside I go off of the EVF as it is the only visual reference you can trust with so much ambient light.

To me, manual exposure is where the professional/non professional divide exists. By using manual exposure, YOU are deciding what the subject is and how it should be exposed. Using AE, the camera is just trying to not over expose anything in the frame which might not relate to your subject. There are times when it works, but I prefer to know it will work by setting exposure myself.

More to learn, but it will pay off in the end.