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#11
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On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 19:11:46 -0500, Roy Smith wrote:
In article , "David J. Littleboy" wrote: Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty in the background instead of your subject. I've seen my Canon PS-400 do exactly the opposite; focus on something in the foreground when my subject was further away. Remember the camrera doent know what the subject is, only the photogrpaher does. |
#12
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On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 19:11:46 -0500, Roy Smith wrote:
In article , "David J. Littleboy" wrote: Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty in the background instead of your subject. I've seen my Canon PS-400 do exactly the opposite; focus on something in the foreground when my subject was further away. Remember the camrera doent know what the subject is, only the photogrpaher does. |
#13
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"YAG-ART" wrote in message ... On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 19:11:46 -0500, Roy Smith wrote: In article , "David J. Littleboy" wrote: Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty in the background instead of your subject. I've seen my Canon PS-400 do exactly the opposite; focus on something in the foreground when my subject was further away. Come to think of it, My S85 used to do that for landscape shots. It would focus on the pavement at my feet even though the center 1/3 of the image was all a long way away. Remember the camrera doent know what the subject is, only the photogrpaher does. Yes, but that's not the only/major problem. You careful place the (single) AF point over the subject but the camera finds something in the background or foreground to focus on. The focus area in a lot of P&S cameras is just too large. David J. Littleboy Tokyo, Japan |
#14
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On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 10:28:33 +0900, "David J. Littleboy"
wrote: "YAG-ART" wrote in message .. . On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 19:11:46 -0500, Roy Smith wrote: In article , "David J. Littleboy" wrote: Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty in the background instead of your subject. I've seen my Canon PS-400 do exactly the opposite; focus on something in the foreground when my subject was further away. Come to think of it, My S85 used to do that for landscape shots. It would focus on the pavement at my feet even though the center 1/3 of the image was all a long way away. Remember the camrera doent know what the subject is, only the photogrpaher does. Yes, but that's not the only/major problem. You careful place the (single) AF point over the subject but the camera finds something in the background or foreground to focus on. The focus area in a lot of P&S cameras is just too large. I didn't know that. Shooting a DSLR I guess the p&s just don't come close. |
#15
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David J. Littleboy wrote:
[] The P&S cameras use the CCD for AF and have to read out several frames to focus. So the fastest P&S is going to be a lot slower than the slowest dSLR. Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty in the background instead of your subject. This makes the EVF cameras attractive, since you can see when the AF is messing up. The Nikon 8400 includes an additional focus sensor in addition to contrast detection and is much faster in focussing. In the Nikon 990 (IIRC) the logic is to focus on the nearer part of the scene. On the Nikon 5700 and 8400 you can get a red rectangle showing to highlight the actual area of the scene which has been used for focus - I always have this enabled and find it invaluable. Later cameras offer you the optional choice of scene area to focus on, just like an SLR. David |
#16
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David J. Littleboy wrote:
[] The P&S cameras use the CCD for AF and have to read out several frames to focus. So the fastest P&S is going to be a lot slower than the slowest dSLR. Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty in the background instead of your subject. This makes the EVF cameras attractive, since you can see when the AF is messing up. The Nikon 8400 includes an additional focus sensor in addition to contrast detection and is much faster in focussing. In the Nikon 990 (IIRC) the logic is to focus on the nearer part of the scene. On the Nikon 5700 and 8400 you can get a red rectangle showing to highlight the actual area of the scene which has been used for focus - I always have this enabled and find it invaluable. Later cameras offer you the optional choice of scene area to focus on, just like an SLR. David |
#17
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"David J Taylor" wrote: David J. Littleboy wrote: [] The P&S cameras use the CCD for AF and have to read out several frames to focus. So the fastest P&S is going to be a lot slower than the slowest dSLR. Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty in the background instead of your subject. This makes the EVF cameras attractive, since you can see when the AF is messing up. The Nikon 8400 includes an additional focus sensor in addition to contrast detection and is much faster in focussing. It seems you are wrong on this. "A half-press of the shutter release results in focus lock in just under half a second in most cases. It can take around a second or so in more difficult focusing situations. Low light focusing was better than average (thanks to the AF-assist lamp), but not the best I've seen." In other words, a lot slower than the slowest dSLR. In the Nikon 990 (IIRC) the logic is to focus on the nearer part of the scene. That only works if some sensor area actually finds the nearest part of the scene. The problem is that contrast detection finds contrast in the sensitive area, and the sensitive areas tend to be too large. The general recommendation (even with dSLRs) is to only use one AF sensor, point at the subject, half press, and recompose. On the Nikon 5700 and 8400 you can get a red rectangle showing to highlight the actual area of the scene which has been used for focus - I always have this enabled and find it invaluable. Later cameras offer you the optional choice of scene area to focus on, just like an SLR. If you think there is _anything_ about small-sensor cameras that is "just like an SLR", I've got a bridge to sell you. David J. Littleboy Tokyo, Japan |
#18
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"David J Taylor" wrote: David J. Littleboy wrote: [] The P&S cameras use the CCD for AF and have to read out several frames to focus. So the fastest P&S is going to be a lot slower than the slowest dSLR. Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty in the background instead of your subject. This makes the EVF cameras attractive, since you can see when the AF is messing up. The Nikon 8400 includes an additional focus sensor in addition to contrast detection and is much faster in focussing. It seems you are wrong on this. "A half-press of the shutter release results in focus lock in just under half a second in most cases. It can take around a second or so in more difficult focusing situations. Low light focusing was better than average (thanks to the AF-assist lamp), but not the best I've seen." In other words, a lot slower than the slowest dSLR. In the Nikon 990 (IIRC) the logic is to focus on the nearer part of the scene. That only works if some sensor area actually finds the nearest part of the scene. The problem is that contrast detection finds contrast in the sensitive area, and the sensitive areas tend to be too large. The general recommendation (even with dSLRs) is to only use one AF sensor, point at the subject, half press, and recompose. On the Nikon 5700 and 8400 you can get a red rectangle showing to highlight the actual area of the scene which has been used for focus - I always have this enabled and find it invaluable. Later cameras offer you the optional choice of scene area to focus on, just like an SLR. If you think there is _anything_ about small-sensor cameras that is "just like an SLR", I've got a bridge to sell you. David J. Littleboy Tokyo, Japan |
#19
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"David J Taylor" wrote: David J. Littleboy wrote: [] The P&S cameras use the CCD for AF and have to read out several frames to focus. So the fastest P&S is going to be a lot slower than the slowest dSLR. Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty in the background instead of your subject. This makes the EVF cameras attractive, since you can see when the AF is messing up. The Nikon 8400 includes an additional focus sensor in addition to contrast detection and is much faster in focussing. It seems you are wrong on this. "A half-press of the shutter release results in focus lock in just under half a second in most cases. It can take around a second or so in more difficult focusing situations. Low light focusing was better than average (thanks to the AF-assist lamp), but not the best I've seen." In other words, a lot slower than the slowest dSLR. In the Nikon 990 (IIRC) the logic is to focus on the nearer part of the scene. That only works if some sensor area actually finds the nearest part of the scene. The problem is that contrast detection finds contrast in the sensitive area, and the sensitive areas tend to be too large. The general recommendation (even with dSLRs) is to only use one AF sensor, point at the subject, half press, and recompose. On the Nikon 5700 and 8400 you can get a red rectangle showing to highlight the actual area of the scene which has been used for focus - I always have this enabled and find it invaluable. Later cameras offer you the optional choice of scene area to focus on, just like an SLR. If you think there is _anything_ about small-sensor cameras that is "just like an SLR", I've got a bridge to sell you. David J. Littleboy Tokyo, Japan |
#20
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When I bought my Minolta Dimage A1 it was reviewed as having the shortest
lag of any digital non-SLR. I was very disappointed with it. Although it was indeed faster than any other camera I had owned to that point, it focuses too softly, defaults to 72 dpi for jpeg compression, and has a lot of digital noise. The A2 supposedly corrected all these faults and was even faster. The smallest cameras are going almost entirely to SD cards. I really love Jane's Nikon 5200. It is very fast, too, but uses only the SD cards. |
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