Guest Tim Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 I was using a borrowed DVX100a the other day ran into a bit of a focussing issue. I was shooting a head-n-shoulders interview in low light, wide open (f1.7), manual focus. Camera locked off on sticks. No ND. Probably about 7 or 8 feet from the subject. I'd zoom in all the way and set the focus, and then zoom out to the middle of the zoom to a good head and shoulders shot. Things looked sharp in the LCD, but when reviewing the footage later on a larger monitor, the wider shot was a little soft, and the background behind the subject was sharp. Back in the office, I setup the DVX100a (f1.7) on sticks and pointed it at a large bookcase on the opposite wall. I set the Auto Focus to ON and watched the "focus numbers" in the LCD fluctuate consistently between 55 (wide-to-medium focal length) and 68 (zoomed in). Is this a back focus problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvin Pingol Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 I'd zoom in all the way and set the focus, and then zoom out to the middle of the zoom to a good head and shoulders shot. Things looked sharp in the LCD, but when reviewing the footage later on a larger monitor, the wider shot was a little soft, and the background behind the subject was sharp. I believe this technique does not work for this camera. Have you seen the DVX Focus Charts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 Make sure you check your camera against that chart. I know of at least two DVX's that do not focus anyhere near what that chart says. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Greg Gross Posted August 30, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted August 30, 2004 Tim, what do you mean by low light? Auto focus can be a problem in low light! Was the area behind the subject lighter than the subject? Was your subject maybe backlighted? Something threw your focus off! The DX100A I would think would perform flawlessly except for the known limitations of auto focus. I'm not sure I understand your situation. I wonder if subject was backlit and you did not compensate with DX100A "backlight" control(compensation). I wonder if you were shooting at known limitations. With PD-170 I would have shot in manual mode(set my zoom) manually. If Iwould have seen backlit situation I would have pressed the "backlight" compensation control. I wonder if there was more light behind your subject thus subject slightly out of focus,with more light behind sub- subject rear of subject would focus sharply. I'm not sure if I'm interpeting your situation accurately. I find that I have to be very careful in low light during weddings in churches and when I shoot at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in low light. Why did'nt you move your subject to more light for the interview(I'm not trying to be a smart ---) always analyze your shoots, shooting. I wonder maybe if you were shooting at limitations of auto focus and also may have needed exposure compensation for backlight. My girl- friend Stephanie, shoots with DX100A(loves it!). I'll pick her brain about you're situation and get back to you here. Maybe something with f 1.7 too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hayes Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Thanks for the focus chart info. It has been dead on. I?m still pretty good at guessing distances and knowing 66% on the focus chart equals 6? etc.. Makes it pretty easy. It?s a shame the Auto focus is so slow on the camera. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Tyler Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 Thanks for the focus chart info. Anybody have a chart they could upload here? The old links are broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stas Tagios Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 Here's the chart info, which I saved from the linked webpage before it was taken down: Measured from the accessory shoe / light mount. 50% 3?10" 51% 3?11" 52% 4? 53% 4?1" 54% 4?2.5" 55% 4?4" 56% 4?5" 57% 4?6.5" 58% 4?8" 59% 4?10" 60% 4?11.5" 61% 5? 62% 5?2" 63% 5?4" 64% 5?6" 65% 5?9.5 ? 66% 6? 67% 6?3" 68% 6?6" 69% 6?9" 70% 7? 71% 7?4" 72% 7?8" 73% 8? 74% 8?6" 75% 8?12" 76% 9?6" 77% 10? 78% 10?8" 79% 11?6" 80% 12?4" 81% 13?4" 82% 14?7" 83% 16? 84% 17?9" 85% 19?11" 86% 22?9" 87% 26?6" 88% 31?10" 89% 39?9" 90% 52?11" 91% 79?5" 92% 160?8" 93% Infinity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Tyler Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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