Help with macro focus issues - Canon A620 - split from New 620 owner

[river_sand_bar]

Help PLEASE with you users of the A620..... I love my camera, however, I am having the worst time with the focus on close up macros. I get about 1 shot out of 10 thats clear... the rest are all fussy and blurry.

Could it be me and being a little shaky or is there a setting that helps with the focus on macro.

Also, I am assuming when you talk macro, its using the button with the little tulip flower... correctl??

 

[amajamar]

I have that problem sometimes, as well. Macro wants to focus REAL close! (Sometimes it focuses on the glass window!) Make sure you are in macro range and be as still as possible.

I am a newbie in UW photography, so I'm sure others will have more and better advice!

 

[river_sand_bar]

Sure.... make it real still, while there is swells back and forth across the wreck... I try buts its really tuff. Almost want to see if there were a manual over ride on the focus.

Ok, so whats the secret for keeping real still without touching the wreck??

 

[amajamar]

There is manual focus. When you toggle off macro you pass through manual focus.

 

[alcina]

Please post a few samples so we can try to trouble shoot more.

My first two guesses are:
1) you are actually too close. Every camera/lens has a minimum focus distance and if you get inside this distance the camera/lens just can't focus. This is the number one error I see with people shooting macro.
2) you are getting movement from a slow shutter or from physically moving. Bump up the shutter speed if you need to. You'll lose light and have to compensate somehow but it may be the only option. This is when you will see an immediate need for an external strobe

But with a few sample shots put into this thread, we may be able to isolate the trouble more exactly.

 

[The Mushroom King]

I have a A640 and have also found it difficult at times. Keep the zoom on the widest setting as I've found macro focus is near impossible once I start to zoom in even a little.

I also found it helpful to take macro photos of flowers topside to help get a feel for how close/far I need to be from my subjects. Its often closer to the lens than you think!

I'm still a complete newbie but have managed a few good luck shots with my A640! you can too, keep at it!

 

[Zeeman]

Try using spot focus and turn off AiAF (or is it AFAi) Whichever it is...

The a640 focuses down to about 1cm (below half an inch) - the a620 may be able to do similar tricks..

Z..

 

[jaybombs25]

Mushroom king any more examples of macro with the A640 mine is sitting in my room waiting to get wet.and any tips for using it?

 

[The Mushroom King]

Mushroom king any more examples of macro with the A640 mine is sitting in my room waiting to get wet.and any tips for using it?

There are a lot more qualified experts here than me that can give you good macro advice. But I'll let you know what I've found specifically to the A640 (and should think the A620 is similar)

*Get as close as you can to your subject, as the A640 can even focus as close as the housing! so really close! But if using the internal strobe, maybe not as close (see below)

*I've found sometimes the autofocus can't decide what to focus on. So you could go manual, or try focusing on something next to your subject, get a lock, then reframe your picture.

*I desperately want an external strobe. reason being is the A640's internal flash will light up the top left area, leaving the bottom right dark. This can be annoying, and most noticeable when the subject is very close to the camera. I sometimes compose my shot, get a lock, then move my subject to the top left corner - I've had mixed results doing this....

The two shots below are both using the flash on macro mode. the blue nudi I was a few inches back and then zoomed and cropped the photo on my computer. it has reasonably even lighting. the other nudi I was much closer to my subject and you can see how the top left is much brighter then the bottom right.

 

[YCW]

Yes, the macro mode is the little tulip button that you push :blinking:.

I am a A620 user and love the macro mode. A620 if I remember correctly allows you to focus as close as 10mm (about 1/2 inch). That is real close. Any closer you will be touching the subject.

When shooting in macro this is what I do:

1) Zoom all the out - I always make sure the zoom is set all the way to the extreme tele side. The macro mode will not focus properly if this is not done. A lot of people get confused thinking that they should zoom in when using the macro mode (logically it is), but it is the opposite that is true. The camera will not focus on the subject in macro mode if you zoom in.

2) Use spot focus instead of the default AiAF focus mode - I agree with what Zeeman says. In AiAF focus mode the camera will try to pick its own subject to focus on, which very often could be the wrong subject.

3) Depth of field - Very often if shooting in auto mode in dim underwater condition, the camera will set the depth of field to the minimum at f2.8 in order to allow more light in. This limits the chance of getting the subject focus especially when there is some current and hard to hold the camera steady. Try shooting with aperture priority mode and setting at deeper depth of field such as f5.6. With the strobe on and that close to the subject, brightness should not be a problem.

4) Take more shots - The beauty of digital photography! With a 1 Gb card I get plenty of shots. So on the same subject I will shoot until I am satisfy. If I have time I can also preview my shots to see if they are in focus.

The manual focus in my opinion is not that easy to use underwater with unfavorable lighting condition. Especially with the eye sight that I have, manual focusing is definitely out of the question.

At top side just try the macro modes a few times and that should get the job done.
Try to set the macro mode and zoom in and out to see whether the camera stays focus on the subject and you will see my point.

I hope the above helps.