XL2 searching for focus at DVinfo.net

John Walton · November 26th, 2009, 01:14 PM

Hi Folks - can anyone throw any light on the symptoms I noticed last night whilst videoing a group of friends. In lowish light, I observed that when using the 3x wide angle lens, the camera seemed to keep "hunting" for focus - even with the lens switched to manual. The scene would briefly go out of focus every second or so, before returning.
I checked with the 20x lens, and again, the same thing was happening, but not quite so noticable.
Are there any settings I need to make to the camera to stop this happening. I was shooting in appeture priority with a gain of +3db.
Any info would be appriciated. Many thanks

John

Gilles Debord · November 27th, 2009, 02:24 AM

Hi

May be but not sure, a low light problem and the autofocus "pump".

Terry Shaw · November 28th, 2009, 10:23 PM

John, It could be that it just looks to be hunting for focus and may be it the leafs in the lens hunting for the best appeture. Try shooting in manual mode. Good luck!

Terry

Michael Nistler · November 28th, 2009, 11:31 PM

Remember that the camera's auto-focus circuitry is looking for a crisp white-black transition to adjust the focus. If the camera is hunting, try one or more of the following:

1. Add more light to scene
2. Slower shutter
3. Open up lens
4. Turn up gain
5. Get closer to your subject
6. Before shooting, place a well-defined object in the scene (see above)
7. If all else fails, use manual focus

Good luck, Michael

Luc Fontaine · April 19th, 2010, 10:09 PM

Hi John,

I'm not sure 100% but if I remember well, the motor that drive the autofocus and the stabilizer is the same. When you have autofocus on at the same time as image stabilizer, the motor tends to get mixed up between choosing to drive the autofocus or the stabilizer. I try to shoot with manual focus as much as possible now and use both of these functions only if I really have to.

Best regards.

Luc Fontaine

November 26th, 2009, 01:14 PM	#1
John Walton New Boot Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Berkshire Posts: 10	XL2 searching for focus Hi Folks - can anyone throw any light on the symptoms I noticed last night whilst videoing a group of friends. In lowish light, I observed that when using the 3x wide angle lens, the camera seemed to keep "hunting" for focus - even with the lens switched to manual. The scene would briefly go out of focus every second or so, before returning. I checked with the 20x lens, and again, the same thing was happening, but not quite so noticable. Are there any settings I need to make to the camera to stop this happening. I was shooting in appeture priority with a gain of +3db. Any info would be appriciated. Many thanks John

November 27th, 2009, 02:24 AM	#2
Gilles Debord Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: France Posts: 152	Hi May be but not sure, a low light problem and the autofocus "pump". __________________ Gilles Debord http://www.wwvideo.tv

April 19th, 2010, 10:09 PM	#5
Luc Fontaine New Boot Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Cap-aux-Meules, Quebec, Canada Posts: 18	Autofocus Hi John, I'm not sure 100% but if I remember well, the motor that drive the autofocus and the stabilizer is the same. When you have autofocus on at the same time as image stabilizer, the motor tends to get mixed up between choosing to drive the autofocus or the stabilizer. I try to shoot with manual focus as much as possible now and use both of these functions only if I really have to. Best regards. Luc Fontaine

November 28th, 2009, 10:23 PM	#3
Terry Shaw Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 42	John, It could be that it just looks to be hunting for focus and may be it the leafs in the lens hunting for the best appeture. Try shooting in manual mode. Good luck! Terry

November 28th, 2009, 11:31 PM	#4
Michael Nistler Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Petaluma, CA Posts: 456	Remember that the camera's auto-focus circuitry is looking for a crisp white-black transition to adjust the focus. If the camera is hunting, try one or more of the following: 1. Add more light to scene 2. Slower shutter 3. Open up lens 4. Turn up gain 5. Get closer to your subject 6. Before shooting, place a well-defined object in the scene (see above) 7. If all else fails, use manual focus Good luck, Michael