Focus Problem
 

Hello!
I recently videotaped a debutante cotillion with my GL2, which was held in a fairly dark ballroom. I was a good distance away from my subjects (approx. 40 feet), and up high up on a platform. When I was zoomed in close onto the girls, I noticed on playback that the images were somewhat out of focus. (I had the camera on autofocus by the way) My husband was operating a second GL1 down near the runway, and had close-ups of the girls, with crisp shots.

Is there any set-up adjustment I can make in the GL2 to sharpen the image (given the distance I was from the subject) without compromising the picture quality?

Thanks
Jean King

I'd say that your best bet in low-light situations is to *always* use manual focus, Jean. Auto focus works by comparing image contrast. In a low-light situation, there isn't much image contrast available, so auto focus seldom works well in low-light. For that reason, be sure to use manual focus in areas without good light. This is sort of a general rule of videography; the GL2 auto focus is really no different from any other DV camcorder. Hope this helps,

How Auto Focus Works @ howstuff works.com.

Great link! Thanks, Brian.

Decent autofocus performance requires around 50 lux.