auto focus or not?

[fishstix]

My underwater video experience is limited to pond and creek "diving" so far. In these conditions the water is usually full of particles and makes the auto-focus function have trouble with finding the right focus- it keeps getting "distracted" by the particles that come between the camera and the subject.

Is this an issue with underwater video in open water diving? Do you experienced UW videographers usually use auto focus or set it at a best guest focus and keep it at a wide focal length? My housing won't allow me to manually focus.

 

[ronscuba]

As you stated, the more particles in the water, the more trouble auto focus will have. This is true in a creek, river, ocean, pool, etc..

 

[sharksdelight]

Been shooting for a long time and since you are new to openwater filming, in addition to what Ron said about particulate in the water, manual focus shooting is especially important in open water. Imagine a nice great white comes by but the cam doesn't know whether to focus on the blue water or the shark. A ruined clip is ruined no matter if part of it is in focus. The only time I shoot in Auto focus is for close up macro work.
Steve

 

[robint]

My underwater video experience is limited to pond and creek "diving" so far. In these conditions the water is usually full of particles and makes the auto-focus function have trouble with finding the right focus- it keeps getting "distracted" by the particles that come between the camera and the subject.

Is this an issue with underwater video in open water diving? Do you experienced UW videographers usually use auto focus or set it at a best guest focus and keep it at a wide focal length? My housing won't allow me to manually focus.

This used to be a big problem for me with my old SD camcorder. The video would go in and out of focus due to the particulate passing in front of the subject. I had lots of footage that I couldn't use for this reason.

My new HD camcorder doesn't seem to have this problem at all! Watch my video posted here yesterday, diving in Calif. The vis was only 30-50' at best and the water there always has particulate. I was afraid that it might be an issue like with my old camcorder, but NOOOOO! The camcorder was a champ and focused on my subject and never once lost it. Very, very nice! On another dive I was 80' down in 20-30' vis in the near dark and the camcorder was able to focus just as well. I am really impressed with the Canon HG-21. (I don't have a manual focus option.)

So, what I am trying to say is, not every camcorder has this problem! My camcorder has diffferent focus settings and I think I have mine set correctly for underwater conditions. It stays in focus and the whole field is in focus even when I move around. I like that so much better than my old camcorder which spent seconds searching every time I moved. So much time and footage wasted!

robin

 

[sharksdelight]

Robin,
It's always good to be happy with one's gear. I watched your San Clemente video on Vimeo and most every shot was a medium or CU clip, didn't see any underwater wide angle clips which could pose a problem for your cams focus. The wider shots of the kelp actually fill almost the entire frame so it is was clear for your cam as to what to focus on. I would be interested to see how this cam would perform in blue water on a wide shot filming a shark or barracuda, especially if the subject did not fill the frame. That's when manual focus is so valuable and important.
Hope you will be going to the San Diego UnderSea Film Festival Friday and Sat night this weekend.
Steve

 

[robint]

Robin,
It's always good to be happy with one's gear. I watched your San Clemente video on Vimeo and most every shot was a medium or CU clip, didn't see any underwater wide angle clips which could pose a problem for your cams focus. The wider shots of the kelp actually fill almost the entire frame so it is was clear for your cam as to what to focus on. I would be interested to see how this cam would perform in blue water on a wide shot filming a shark or barracuda, especially if the subject did not fill the frame. That's when manual focus is so valuable and important.
Hope you will be going to the San Diego UnderSea Film Festival Friday and Sat night this weekend.
Steve

with only 30-50' vis, there was no way to film distant shots! There were some shots that were at a distance farther than that from the lens, like the kelp shots at the end and the footage is crystal clear, not even showing the particulate. Manual focus is not an option for me regardless.

As I read it, the OP was not asking about filming blue water shots, he was asking about low vis locations where particulate is a problem.

No, I won't be in San Diego, I am just a diver who makes underwater videos for fun.

robin

 

[ronscuba]

If your housing doesn't have access to manual focus, then obviously you just live with it.

In my experiences, manual focus really helps for wide angle and macro. Standard and medium angle, auto focus works fine.

For me, a key to manual focus is a camcorder and housing that has a push auto focus button as well as a manual focus wheel. Camcorder is in manual focus mode, you push in and hold the button, camcorder auto focuses, you let go of the button, it locks to manual. No hunting and you still have access to manual focus wheel if you want.

If and when you upgrade, it's a very nice feature to have.

 

[mobula]

I would highly recommend to work on a solution for the manual focus. Focus pumping is really a nats thing when watching the whaleshark shot on the big screen.......

 

[shmuggy]

You have heard from some good photographers who are really creating works of art with their cameras. I think it depends on what you expect from the video. Auto focus is fine if you are OK that it will have problems when there is a lot of particulate in the water but that means the overall quality will not be as good as if you are in complete control. It really is also a question of how much you want your video taking to impact your dive. Some divers only care about getting good shots and others, like me, are interested in looking beyond the lens.