jmwhite151
Mu-43 Rookie
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2017
- Messages
- 22
I have been taking pictures of ultimate frisbee games with my E-M1.2 and 40-150/2.8 PRO off and on for a couple of months. I have been getting inconsistent focus results and am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. (Disclaimer: I'm still a relative newbie.)
Here are my ideal settings if the light allows:
1/1000 sec, f/2.8, Auto ISO, Silent Seq. Low, C-AF+TR, 9 point focus
Other settings, for reference in case changing one of these helps:
C-AF Lock: 0, AF Limiter: Off, AF Scanner: mode2, Face priority: various (I accidentally change this all the time), Firmware: 1.2
I have only been using the tracking recently. I find that the green box seems to track the subject well. But the focus is still inconsistent. I took a series of pictures yesterday (focal length: 150mm) where the subject was not moving. The tracking seemed to do just fine. But the sharpest point in the image is the grass that is ~3 feet behind the guy. The subject focus was less than ideal. I didn't take enough other pictures to notice a trend. But a good portion (half?) of the pictures were slightly out of focus. Some were nice and sharp.
I had been using the same settings, except without the tracking and have temporarily given up on that due to inconsistent results. If I can get the tracking to work, I would like to give that a try.
I have found that decreasing the aperture to f/4.0 or higher can help. But that seems like cheating and hurts in low light.
In going back through my C-AF (no tracking) shots, I found that I had a bunch of ones with good focus when the subject was in direct sunlight.
Any suggestions on how to improve the focus in less than direct sunlight? I have a couple of opportunities to try things out this week.
_________________________________________________________________
8/30/2017 Update - I wanted to reference a few related threads/links as well as summarize some of the things that have been said by others here and in related threads. (Thanks to everyone who has contributed.)
Related Threads/Links:
EM1ii - experience with C-TR focus
EM1MK2-CAFTR check your settings
Nikon D500 vs E-M1 II: My Thoughts for Motorsports
Exclusive interview: Olympus R&D on continued E-M1 Mark II development (external link)
Suggestions:
1. Try C-AF instead of C-AF+TR
2. Try S-AF (S-AF uses CDAF whereas C-AF uses PDAF)
3. Minimize the number of AF points to 5 or 1
4. Adjust C-AF lock Description (external link)
5. Adjust focus fine tuning (only affects PDAF, right?) Instructions
6. Make sure face priority is off
7. Make sure image stabilization is off
8. Use a mechanical shutter instead of electronic
9. If light allows, use a smaller aperture to increase the depth of field
10. Turn release priority off (there was one suggestion to turn it on)
11. Some users have reported that faster shutter speeds improve the AF performance
12. Buy a Nikon D500. (Ha, kind of kidding here, but it has gotten a lot of praise, even from E-M1.2 users.)
Other Comments:
1. Subjects crossing the frame seem to cause more AF issues than subject coming at or going away from the camera. Camera panning while shooting also causes issues.
2. C-AF+TR doesn't seem to do well with static scenes. The tracking seems biased towards motion in the frame even if it isn't the original subject.
Here are my ideal settings if the light allows:
1/1000 sec, f/2.8, Auto ISO, Silent Seq. Low, C-AF+TR, 9 point focus
Other settings, for reference in case changing one of these helps:
C-AF Lock: 0, AF Limiter: Off, AF Scanner: mode2, Face priority: various (I accidentally change this all the time), Firmware: 1.2
I have only been using the tracking recently. I find that the green box seems to track the subject well. But the focus is still inconsistent. I took a series of pictures yesterday (focal length: 150mm) where the subject was not moving. The tracking seemed to do just fine. But the sharpest point in the image is the grass that is ~3 feet behind the guy. The subject focus was less than ideal. I didn't take enough other pictures to notice a trend. But a good portion (half?) of the pictures were slightly out of focus. Some were nice and sharp.
I had been using the same settings, except without the tracking and have temporarily given up on that due to inconsistent results. If I can get the tracking to work, I would like to give that a try.
I have found that decreasing the aperture to f/4.0 or higher can help. But that seems like cheating and hurts in low light.
In going back through my C-AF (no tracking) shots, I found that I had a bunch of ones with good focus when the subject was in direct sunlight.
Any suggestions on how to improve the focus in less than direct sunlight? I have a couple of opportunities to try things out this week.
_________________________________________________________________
8/30/2017 Update - I wanted to reference a few related threads/links as well as summarize some of the things that have been said by others here and in related threads. (Thanks to everyone who has contributed.)
Related Threads/Links:
EM1ii - experience with C-TR focus
EM1MK2-CAFTR check your settings
Nikon D500 vs E-M1 II: My Thoughts for Motorsports
Exclusive interview: Olympus R&D on continued E-M1 Mark II development (external link)
Suggestions:
1. Try C-AF instead of C-AF+TR
2. Try S-AF (S-AF uses CDAF whereas C-AF uses PDAF)
3. Minimize the number of AF points to 5 or 1
4. Adjust C-AF lock Description (external link)
5. Adjust focus fine tuning (only affects PDAF, right?) Instructions
6. Make sure face priority is off
7. Make sure image stabilization is off
8. Use a mechanical shutter instead of electronic
9. If light allows, use a smaller aperture to increase the depth of field
10. Turn release priority off (there was one suggestion to turn it on)
11. Some users have reported that faster shutter speeds improve the AF performance
12. Buy a Nikon D500. (Ha, kind of kidding here, but it has gotten a lot of praise, even from E-M1.2 users.)
Other Comments:
1. Subjects crossing the frame seem to cause more AF issues than subject coming at or going away from the camera. Camera panning while shooting also causes issues.
2. C-AF+TR doesn't seem to do well with static scenes. The tracking seems biased towards motion in the frame even if it isn't the original subject.
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