Re: Does autofocus dslr video work on steadycams?
 

Hi folks, I just wanted to raise the debate on this again.

I had pretty much decided the 70D autofocus for steadycam work was not good enough to rely on for weddings.

But then I found this video - completely autofocus and shallow. - I'm shocked and very tempted!

Re: Does autofocus dslr video work on steadycams?
 

With such shallow dof it's always a risk using autofocus, no matter how good it is, I think it's more a matter of keeping your subject in that area where you know your camera is focusing, if the subject will be out of that focus area too long focus will eventually shift while that might not be wanted.

Re: Does autofocus dslr video work on steadycams?
 

That seemed to work much like the FS700 does auto focus wise. When I watch it full screen at higher resolutions I see a bit a focus hunting in most of the shots.

If you notice many of the shots in that video have a lot of parallax going on (pivoting around the subject). That makes it a lot easier for the camera to grab the subject since most everything in the image except the subject is moving quickly. The edit doesn't show any missed shots or describes how many shots were dropped for being missed.

As far as a debate I think many of the operators with a bit of experience will still tell you to set the camera to manual and roll. Autofocus is unpredictable. It could seriously let you down at the worst time possible. Since you have no opportunity for a second take I don't think its worth the risk.

Re: Does autofocus dslr video work on steadycams?
 

I understand the reservations but when I think of the shots I do (see video) with a minimum of f3.5 (f9 outdoors), I really don't imagine it will get overly confused. I'm tempted to give it a go. Low light would not be so graet, shooting shallow - so i may take some evening down time and switch to flying my 6D (worth the effort to rebalance?)
password - flycam