Help with Video Focussing

[O2Addict]

I have an older JVC camera in an Ikelite housing. I tried using it in autofocus mode, but everything was out of focus. So on the next dive I prefocussed the camera on 15" and set the zoom to wide, but it was still out of focus.

What is the best way to focus the camera?

Thanks

Andrew

 

[O2Addict]

I have an older JVC camera in an Ikelite housing. I tried using it in autofocus mode, but everything was out of focus. So on the next dive I prefocussed the camera on 15" and set the zoom to wide, but it was still out of focus.

What is the best way to focus the camera?

Thanks

Andrew

Sorry I meant 15 feet!!!!

 

[MarkH]

I have an older JVC camera in an Ikelite housing. I tried using it in autofocus mode, but everything was out of focus. So on the next dive I prefocussed the camera on 15' and set the zoom to wide, but it was still out of focus.

What is the best way to focus the camera?

Thanks

Andrew

I agree that auto focus underwater is rubbish. The video camera doesn't know what to focus on, the fish, the particles in the water, or the port on the housing. Do you have a dome port on the housing? If so, you should set the focus for a few inches. The dome acts as a lens underwater and makes a fish 10 feet away seem less than a foot away to the video camera. Even with a flat port, I would set the focus for a couple feet away instead of 15. If you don't already have a screw-in wide-angle adapter for your video lens, it would make a huge difference. The depth of field is basically a few inches to infinity so you don't have to worry about focus. I'm assuming the video camera focus works fine on the surface and the problem is not with the camera itself.

 

[Padipro]

I've been using an older Sony Handy Cam in a DIY housing with a flat port for years and I've always set it manual focus and adjusted it to infinity. It always seemed to work great, that is until I installed a dome port. I tried the manual focus the first time after installing the dome port and everything was blurry. I set the focus to auto and it's worked great ever sense.

I'm no expert at UWVideo but this seems to have worked for me.

 

[PnL]

I've been using autofocus with good results on a 'newer' miniDV camcorder. Since its autofocus, its important to make sure that the lens of the camera and the housing is CLEAN. Any dust or air bubbles (check once underwater) and the camera will focus on these. It also might be a case of the newer technology being better at finding contrast better as I haven't had any focus problems unless the visibility is very poor. If all else fails, setting focus to inifinity, as mentioned already, should do the trick. Good luck.

 

[O2Addict]

Thanks for the advice. I will try it both ways. The autofocus worked fine at about 10-15 feet in depth and in bright sunlight, but deeper came out blurry. I will try it on infinity and and try.

I will let you know how it goes,

thanks