problem with my xl1s
 

hi,i have a little problem with my camera,when im filming and i zoom in the image blurs for an instant and then goes back to normal,it just happens very quick,this happens in every position i use it even in auto,is there a setting i have to fix or something?does anyone had that problem before?thank you very much for the time,bye

If you zoom in very slowly, this will not occur.

The Canon lens has one motor. It can be used for zooming or focusing, but not both.

If you zoom in slowly, there is time, as suprising as it is, that it can alternate between zooming and focusing. Of course, you may want a fast zoom, in which case it can not do both.

The problem applies equally to both auto-focus and manual-focus, as all of the focusing is done via the one motor.

thanks for the post dan,at first i tought the lense was probably dirty or something,but now that i read about the one motor lense,i think theres nothing i can do but to zoom slow,on the zoom speed it has variable,slow and fast,the medium and fast get blury but the variable and slow doesnt,its sad how my 500 dollar sony camera dont do that! :(

One technique, is to first zoom in all the way, then focus.

Then turn off auto-focus.

Then, as you zoom, at all speeds, you have a better chance of being in focus.

Actually, the XL1 standard lens has separate stepper motors for zoom and for focus (two motors). However communication with the lens is serial data (zoom, focus, aperture, iris, and some low frequency VAP commands) over the same link. Focus is calculated in the body based on image contrast. Fast zoom may fool the focus sensing/adjusting/tracking system as image content changes.

thanks for the trick,im going to try it,bye

nothing can be done to fix this ha? so everyone working with an xl1s has this problem??

Yup, I've got that problem as well. It sucks, and it severely limites the types of shots you can get, such as dollying forward and zooming out while maintaining focus. You can rectify this buy purchasing a 16x manual lens which is true manual control on the focus and zoom rings seperately. It has a switch from true manual to servo, but true manual is the way to go for any serious professional camera operator.

thanks,im gonna do my research on that one,i still cant believe this problem cant be fixed :(