HV10 in the Desert

Jim Hardy · January 29th, 2007, 10:48 AM

Meryem,

loved the video.

One question - how did you achieve the rack focus in the opening shot?

The only manual focus button I see on the HV-10 is so small, I'd have thought these kinds of rack focus moves would be tricky. Yet yours looks pretty smooth.

Any tips for that you could share?

Thanks.

Meryem Ersoz · January 29th, 2007, 01:06 PM

thank you, jim. it is quite a subtle move using that little wheel, and i probably blew about 7 or 8 takes until i got it just right. so, my big insight would be--it just takes a little practice, until you get a feel for the wheel. and shoot stationary objects! also, the wheel is a bit touchy, you can control the focus speed (slow it down, into and out of focus) by moving it just a fraction at a time, instead of its full rotation. pretty subtle, like i said, but once you get a feel for it, it's a pretty cool tool.

i like that shot, too, but i'm also mixed about it. to get it, i shot in Av mode, with the aperture wide open, but it introduced significant purple fringing. still, it shows the amazing flexibility of this little cam and the remarkable DOF on this little 37mm lens, so i kept it. a polarizer might have helped. skies blow out easily.

January 29th, 2007, 10:48 AM	#16
Jim Hardy New Boot Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Provo, Utah Posts: 14	Meryem, loved the video. One question - how did you achieve the rack focus in the opening shot? The only manual focus button I see on the HV-10 is so small, I'd have thought these kinds of rack focus moves would be tricky. Yet yours looks pretty smooth. Any tips for that you could share? Thanks.

January 29th, 2007, 01:06 PM	#17
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	thank you, jim. it is quite a subtle move using that little wheel, and i probably blew about 7 or 8 takes until i got it just right. so, my big insight would be--it just takes a little practice, until you get a feel for the wheel. and shoot stationary objects! also, the wheel is a bit touchy, you can control the focus speed (slow it down, into and out of focus) by moving it just a fraction at a time, instead of its full rotation. pretty subtle, like i said, but once you get a feel for it, it's a pretty cool tool. i like that shot, too, but i'm also mixed about it. to get it, i shot in Av mode, with the aperture wide open, but it introduced significant purple fringing. still, it shows the amazing flexibility of this little cam and the remarkable DOF on this little 37mm lens, so i kept it. a polarizer might have helped. skies blow out easily.