I'm still curious--no one has told me yet--does the black and white viewfinder show the WHOLE picture, or just the overscanned portion?

<<<-- Originally posted by Josh Bass : Ross, next time a situation like that occurs, why not leave the camera completely wide, and just dolly your body in and out as needed? This should guarantee that everything in your shots is in focus (unless you're using a lens with a minimum focal distance). -->>>

Ta Josh - will do.

I'm thinking that's the best way to go. Or, learn to be a focal god. Pratice focusing manually when subjects move in and out of the range of focus, till get you get to be as fast or faster than the auto focus. When I watch Access Hollywood and shows of that caliber, I always see the camera guys doing that (I think that's what they're doing anyway).

Interesting thread on focussing etc!
Now imagine standing with your XL1 in the Afican bush on a Big Five Hunt and you have to take a video shot of a hunter shooting say, a Buffalo who is standing amongst bushes and shrubs. . .
1. Autofocus continuously hunts
2. You cannot keep the lens on wide - because you cannot move closer to the subject (the buffalo)
3. Manual focus is extremely difficult because of the shallow depth of field on tele.
4. Turning the ND filter off does not work to get a greater depth of field. The camera keeps on flashing the "ND filter on" in the viewfinder and the maximum iris is on f16 (exactly the f-stop where the Canon gives the poorest definition)
5. And then, wearing specs does not help to try and get one's eye as close as possible to the viewfinder for critical focussing!
While I am battling with all these factors, the hunter might shoot too fast, or the buffalo might run off - and the shot might be lost!
Can a manual lens be the solution??
Ewald

Hi Ewald,

with the std 16X you are able to work around the problem. The manual lens will still not solve your spectacles issue as you will still need to get your face to the viewfinder.

a) Shoot in AV mode and set to f5.6 or f8 (the sweet spot of the lens)
b) Fit a good polariser, you will be amazed at the increase in definition you get in the bush. Also stops the lens down by ~1.5 stops. That with the ND filter will allow you to be at f5.6 / f8. I use a circular polariser as I once read that this is better for autofocus. Many on the forum disagree and say that the cheaper linear polariser is OK. Why take the chance is what I say.
c) Switch the lens to manual focus and use the [Push AF] button to get your initial focus.

Try these first.

How about a telphone number?

Cheers
Andrew

PS: Get a monopod, will help greatly for the shakes.

Thanks Andrew!
Check out www.intovideo.co.za
Ewald

I don't think a manual lens is necessarily the answer, either. In these type shots, I worry less about the limitation of diffraction and go for the maximum Depth of Field. If the shot is not useable because of DOF or focus limitations it is unusable. But if it is a little soft because of diffraction the shot will still look fine on most TV's. set your aperture to the largest numerical number, which will provide the largest DOF. Push AF will also prevent the hunting that you find annoying.

Jeff