Pro 1 Focusing Speed/Accuracy Question

I have had my Pro 1 for about a month (it has the firmware upgrade) and have
been trying to get a feel for the autofocus speed and accuracy and I just
get disappointed time and again. I know it's not going to focus as fast as
my SLR but what kills me is the fact that it will simply not focus on the
subject - even with what I consider to be adequate lighting. More than half
of the shots I take are soft because the camera has decided to focus on the
wall or the floor or God knows what else.

Is there some advide that Pro 1 users can share with me? I've tried both
the single shot and continuous modes and have tried to use the camera like I
use my SLR - very selective of the framing, set the exposure and allow the
camera to lock focus and I have tried to use it in a fully automatic
camacity: point and shoot. Both ways I get either stunning, tack sharp and
well exposed images or I get well exposed soft images.

Thanks in advance,

Scott

You're experiencing just what drove me away from that camera. The zoom
controls and AF speed are horrid, and there's not much you can do about it.

"Scott" wrote in message
...
I have had my Pro 1 for about a month (it has the firmware upgrade) and
have been trying to get a feel for the autofocus speed and accuracy and I
just get disappointed time and again. I know it's not going to focus as
fast as my SLR but what kills me is the fact that it will simply not focus
on the subject - even with what I consider to be adequate lighting. More
than half of the shots I take are soft because the camera has decided to
focus on the wall or the floor or God knows what else.

Is there some advide that Pro 1 users can share with me? I've tried both
the single shot and continuous modes and have tried to use the camera like
I use my SLR - very selective of the framing, set the exposure and allow
the camera to lock focus and I have tried to use it in a fully automatic
camacity: point and shoot. Both ways I get either stunning, tack sharp
and well exposed images or I get well exposed soft images.

Thanks in advance,

Scott

You're experiencing just what drove me away from that camera. The zoom
controls and AF speed are horrid, and there's not much you can do about it.

"Scott" wrote in message
...
I have had my Pro 1 for about a month (it has the firmware upgrade) and
have been trying to get a feel for the autofocus speed and accuracy and I
just get disappointed time and again. I know it's not going to focus as
fast as my SLR but what kills me is the fact that it will simply not focus
on the subject - even with what I consider to be adequate lighting. More
than half of the shots I take are soft because the camera has decided to
focus on the wall or the floor or God knows what else.

Is there some advide that Pro 1 users can share with me? I've tried both
the single shot and continuous modes and have tried to use the camera like
I use my SLR - very selective of the framing, set the exposure and allow
the camera to lock focus and I have tried to use it in a fully automatic
camacity: point and shoot. Both ways I get either stunning, tack sharp
and well exposed images or I get well exposed soft images.

Thanks in advance,

Scott

For me, once in a while the camera guesses wrong and focuses on the
background rather than the subject--it's nowhere near half my shots.
Probably not even one in 10. I just checked a batch of about 25 from a
couple of days ago. No AF misses at all. The firmware update hasn't
changed that--the AF is much faster, but the accuracy seems about the same.

Are there particular conditions that produce the problem (low light, long
zoom?) Are you sure you're shooting with a shutter speed adequate to the
zoom level?

If your shutter speeds are not too slow and you're getting AF misses on more
than half your shots across all kinds of conditions and focal lengths, then
I'd say there's a problem with the camera and it needs repair.

Mark


"Scott" wrote in message
...
I have had my Pro 1 for about a month (it has the firmware upgrade) and
have
been trying to get a feel for the autofocus speed and accuracy and I just
get disappointed time and again. I know it's not going to focus as fast
as
my SLR but what kills me is the fact that it will simply not focus on the
subject - even with what I consider to be adequate lighting. More than
half
of the shots I take are soft because the camera has decided to focus on
the
wall or the floor or God knows what else.

Is there some advide that Pro 1 users can share with me? I've tried both
the single shot and continuous modes and have tried to use the camera like
I
use my SLR - very selective of the framing, set the exposure and allow the
camera to lock focus and I have tried to use it in a fully automatic
camacity: point and shoot. Both ways I get either stunning, tack sharp
and
well exposed images or I get well exposed soft images.

Thanks in advance,

Scott

For me, once in a while the camera guesses wrong and focuses on the
background rather than the subject--it's nowhere near half my shots.
Probably not even one in 10. I just checked a batch of about 25 from a
couple of days ago. No AF misses at all. The firmware update hasn't
changed that--the AF is much faster, but the accuracy seems about the same.

Are there particular conditions that produce the problem (low light, long
zoom?) Are you sure you're shooting with a shutter speed adequate to the
zoom level?

If your shutter speeds are not too slow and you're getting AF misses on more
than half your shots across all kinds of conditions and focal lengths, then
I'd say there's a problem with the camera and it needs repair.

Mark


"Scott" wrote in message
...
I have had my Pro 1 for about a month (it has the firmware upgrade) and
have
been trying to get a feel for the autofocus speed and accuracy and I just
get disappointed time and again. I know it's not going to focus as fast
as
my SLR but what kills me is the fact that it will simply not focus on the
subject - even with what I consider to be adequate lighting. More than
half
of the shots I take are soft because the camera has decided to focus on
the
wall or the floor or God knows what else.

Is there some advide that Pro 1 users can share with me? I've tried both
the single shot and continuous modes and have tried to use the camera like
I
use my SLR - very selective of the framing, set the exposure and allow the
camera to lock focus and I have tried to use it in a fully automatic
camacity: point and shoot. Both ways I get either stunning, tack sharp
and
well exposed images or I get well exposed soft images.

Thanks in advance,

Scott

Thanks you for your reesponse Mark (and TAFKAB):

The situations where I am frustrated by this camera seem to occur (mostly)
indoors where below average lighting prevails. I have set the camera to use
50 ASA in all modes except AUTO, where it choses whatever is appropriate.
If the ambient lighting indoors is too low to accurately focus then I guess
Canon should have included some type of AF assist lighting. My 10 year old
ELAN IIe with the 28-135 IS lens focuses in almost no lighting and very
quickly to boot...I guess I've only had the camera for a month and I should
give it more time. Do you have any advice or suggestiooons you can share
with regard to improving the focusing quality?

Thanks again.

Scott

"Mark Weaver" wrote in message
...
For me, once in a while the camera guesses wrong and focuses on the
background rather than the subject--it's nowhere near half my shots.
Probably not even one in 10. I just checked a batch of about 25 from a
couple of days ago. No AF misses at all. The firmware update hasn't
changed that--the AF is much faster, but the accuracy seems about the
same.

Are there particular conditions that produce the problem (low light, long
zoom?) Are you sure you're shooting with a shutter speed adequate to the
zoom level?

If your shutter speeds are not too slow and you're getting AF misses on
more
than half your shots across all kinds of conditions and focal lengths,
then
I'd say there's a problem with the camera and it needs repair.

Mark


"Scott" wrote in message
...
I have had my Pro 1 for about a month (it has the firmware upgrade) and
have
been trying to get a feel for the autofocus speed and accuracy and I just
get disappointed time and again. I know it's not going to focus as fast
as
my SLR but what kills me is the fact that it will simply not focus on the
subject - even with what I consider to be adequate lighting. More than
half
of the shots I take are soft because the camera has decided to focus on
the
wall or the floor or God knows what else.

Is there some advide that Pro 1 users can share with me? I've tried both
the single shot and continuous modes and have tried to use the camera
like
I
use my SLR - very selective of the framing, set the exposure and allow
the
camera to lock focus and I have tried to use it in a fully automatic
camacity: point and shoot. Both ways I get either stunning, tack sharp
and
well exposed images or I get well exposed soft images.

Thanks in advance,

Scott

Adequate lighting is the key. The brighter the subject the better.
I'll admit the PRO1 is extremely finicky in low-light situations - even with
the firmware upgrade.
And yes - for the money I paid, Canon should have included a focusing
light.
I've resigned myself that there's nothing to be done and have learned to
live with it.
I now bounce my 420EX flash much more often.
Your less than perfect shots in low-light might be camera shake rather than
bad focusing.
Have you done any low-light tests using a tripod?

JT


"Scott" wrote in message
...
Thanks you for your reesponse Mark (and TAFKAB):

The situations where I am frustrated by this camera seem to occur (mostly)
indoors where below average lighting prevails. I have set the camera to
use 50 ASA in all modes except AUTO, where it choses whatever is
appropriate. If the ambient lighting indoors is too low to accurately
focus then I guess Canon should have included some type of AF assist
lighting. My 10 year old ELAN IIe with the 28-135 IS lens focuses in
almost no lighting and very quickly to boot...I guess I've only had the
camera for a month and I should give it more time. Do you have any advice
or suggestiooons you can share with regard to improving the focusing
quality?

Thanks again.

Scott

"Mark Weaver" wrote in message
...
For me, once in a while the camera guesses wrong and focuses on the
background rather than the subject--it's nowhere near half my shots.
Probably not even one in 10. I just checked a batch of about 25 from a
couple of days ago. No AF misses at all. The firmware update hasn't
changed that--the AF is much faster, but the accuracy seems about the
same.

Are there particular conditions that produce the problem (low light, long
zoom?) Are you sure you're shooting with a shutter speed adequate to the
zoom level?

If your shutter speeds are not too slow and you're getting AF misses on
more
than half your shots across all kinds of conditions and focal lengths,
then
I'd say there's a problem with the camera and it needs repair.

Mark


"Scott" wrote in message
...
I have had my Pro 1 for about a month (it has the firmware upgrade) and
have
been trying to get a feel for the autofocus speed and accuracy and I
just
get disappointed time and again. I know it's not going to focus as fast
as
my SLR but what kills me is the fact that it will simply not focus on
the
subject - even with what I consider to be adequate lighting. More than
half
of the shots I take are soft because the camera has decided to focus on
the
wall or the floor or God knows what else.

Is there some advide that Pro 1 users can share with me? I've tried
both
the single shot and continuous modes and have tried to use the camera
like
I
use my SLR - very selective of the framing, set the exposure and allow
the
camera to lock focus and I have tried to use it in a fully automatic
camacity: point and shoot. Both ways I get either stunning, tack sharp
and
well exposed images or I get well exposed soft images.

Thanks in advance,

Scott

"Scott" wrote in message
...
Thanks you for your reesponse Mark (and TAFKAB):

The situations where I am frustrated by this camera seem to occur (mostly)
indoors where below average lighting prevails. I have set the camera to
use
50 ASA in all modes except AUTO, where it choses whatever is appropriate.
If the ambient lighting indoors is too low to accurately focus then I
guess
Canon should have included some type of AF assist lighting. My 10 year
old
ELAN IIe with the 28-135 IS lens focuses in almost no lighting and very
quickly to boot...I guess I've only had the camera for a month and I
should
give it more time. Do you have any advice or suggestiooons you can share
with regard to improving the focusing quality?

Thanks again.


Well, I have to admit I do mostly outdoor photography, but the light has to
get pretty low before the AF fails. Is the camera indicating a good focus
lock even though it is off? Or is it failing to lock at all? I assume
these flash photos? Otherwise ISO 50 in low light is going to require a
tripod. BTW, I've had pretty good luck with ISO 200 and 400. They don't
look great on screen at 100% (pixel-peeping) resolution, but they look quite
good at lower resolution or in prints (especially with the use of noise
reduction software).

Mark

"Scott" wrote in message
...
Thanks you for your reesponse Mark (and TAFKAB):

The situations where I am frustrated by this camera seem to occur (mostly)
indoors where below average lighting prevails. I have set the camera to
use
50 ASA in all modes except AUTO, where it choses whatever is appropriate.
If the ambient lighting indoors is too low to accurately focus then I
guess
Canon should have included some type of AF assist lighting. My 10 year
old
ELAN IIe with the 28-135 IS lens focuses in almost no lighting and very
quickly to boot...I guess I've only had the camera for a month and I
should
give it more time. Do you have any advice or suggestiooons you can share
with regard to improving the focusing quality?

Thanks again.


Well, I have to admit I do mostly outdoor photography, but the light has to
get pretty low before the AF fails. Is the camera indicating a good focus
lock even though it is off? Or is it failing to lock at all? I assume
these flash photos? Otherwise ISO 50 in low light is going to require a
tripod. BTW, I've had pretty good luck with ISO 200 and 400. They don't
look great on screen at 100% (pixel-peeping) resolution, but they look quite
good at lower resolution or in prints (especially with the use of noise
reduction software).

Mark

Thank you John and Mark:

I get false focus locks with camera set to full auto so I assume the
software will select the appropriate ISO rating for a particular shot. The
camera does lock focus, albeit on the background or the floor...with my EOS
all I have to do to get a guaranteed tack-sharp focus is to place the focus
sensor partially on some vertical element of the subject (side of a person's
head, sleeve, etc) and after a fraction of a second, Bam! I get a solid
focus lock. With the Pro 1, however, try the same method and it hunts and
hunts and Bam! The fence in the background or the the leading edge of the
counter top in the foreground is tack-sharp but not the subject. So I have
to recompose and start over again. By the time I get a good focus the
moment has usually passed.

Anyway, I am sure the camera is working per design and I just need to quit
comparing it to my 35mm. My biggest problem is that my wife is slowing
learning to hate the camera becasue she can't pick it up and take a shot. I
brought home the A85 from my office to take on a business trip and that $250
camera repetedly takes in-focus images with little or no fuss. Granted the
quality isn't as good as the Pro-1 but at least they're in focus.


"Mark Weaver" wrote in message
...

"Scott" wrote in message
...
Thanks you for your reesponse Mark (and TAFKAB):

The situations where I am frustrated by this camera seem to occur
(mostly)
indoors where below average lighting prevails. I have set the camera to
use
50 ASA in all modes except AUTO, where it choses whatever is appropriate.
If the ambient lighting indoors is too low to accurately focus then I
guess
Canon should have included some type of AF assist lighting. My 10 year
old
ELAN IIe with the 28-135 IS lens focuses in almost no lighting and very
quickly to boot...I guess I've only had the camera for a month and I
should
give it more time. Do you have any advice or suggestiooons you can share
with regard to improving the focusing quality?

Thanks again.


Well, I have to admit I do mostly outdoor photography, but the light has
to
get pretty low before the AF fails. Is the camera indicating a good focus
lock even though it is off? Or is it failing to lock at all? I assume
these flash photos? Otherwise ISO 50 in low light is going to require a
tripod. BTW, I've had pretty good luck with ISO 200 and 400. They don't
look great on screen at 100% (pixel-peeping) resolution, but they look
quite
good at lower resolution or in prints (especially with the use of noise
reduction software).

Mark