S6500fd Out of Focus..why??

[mactreouser]

Hi,

I just started the practise for my S6500fd shooting in wedding event.I found that i always get the picture which is Out of Focus...The event condition as...Low Dim Yellow light...No follow spot light for the Subject.And my Focus setting was set to Centre(even i'm sure i was focus on the Face of Man,but still out of focus like focus the thing beside and background as well not the subject i pointed),1600 ISO,Aperture priority mode,Flash Use and Zoom Not up to 200mm.

Is it because of the Aperture?2.8 - 4 always will out of Focus for sure?Or the subject was moving while i Focusing it??

C'ld anybody give me hand,i really Sien and Fade-up la..

[teekc]

hi, i am not a fuji user but have some 'out of focus' experience with oly and nikon. this happens in low light high contrast situation, especially when the high contrast area is close to the subject of focus. it seems that the focus mechanism is looking for something (contrast!) to focus and is invariably drawn to the high contrst area for for a 'natural' solution. but most of the time i can see in the view finder that the main subject is not so focused. when this happens, i would look for other suitable points (like areas on the shirt, pendant) to attain focus, a tricky situation! hope this help.

[mactreouser]

Hey Teekc,

Thanks ya!

erm..i think most of the time (what i feel) the FOCUS will attracted by those subject which is still and bright...sometimes,while shoot in event the subject (man),the face are not really that bright or s'ld say that the background or others (like Glasses,The instrument on stage...) will be more clear and brighter than the FACE of Man...so,it'll automatically suck by them...

From the view finder,what i see is what i wish...mean,i do correct focus on the face of man..but maybe of the 2.8-4 aperture setting will cause it OUT?!

I did try to point at the clothes or maybe nearest side-object to be my focusing aim...at last...exactly the focus BOOM on it..and means...out of focus as well...haa...

Am my problem is really cause by high apperture (2.8 to 4)??

[wiLLy-LucifeR]

maybe u wanna try manual focusing by adjusting the mechanical focus ring? in that way, ur focus is never diverted away whenever smth of a higher contrast appear in ur frame cos it's always dependent upon ur adjustment.

[felixcat8888]

Originally Posted by mactreouser Hi, I just started the practise for my S6500fd shooting in wedding event.I found that i always get the picture which is Out of Focus...The event condition as...Low Dim Yellow light...No follow spot light for the Subject.And my Focus setting was set to Centre(even i'm sure i was focus on the Face of Man,but still out of focus like focus the thing beside and background as well not the subject i pointed),1600 ISO,Aperture priority mode,Flash Use and Zoom Not up to 200mm. Is it because of the Aperture?2.8 - 4 always will out of Focus for sure?Or the subject was moving while i Focusing it?? C'ld anybody give me hand,i really Sien and Fade-up la..

Bro,

Post your pics here and so we can help advise. Cannot see hard to know the real reason.

[Fotophilic]

does this happens in good lighting condition?
did u set some "soft" settings on ur camera?

not sure if this can be done:
1) try not using the face detection. maybe the FD found something else and AF it together with the person's face.
2) set the focusing point to be the middle of the viewfinder; after AF on the thing u want, shift back to what u want to compose. I've been doing this since my first 2MP panny digicam years back till today on a Fuji S3 Pro. It works perfect for me. I nv totally trust the microchip to get the AF spot.

yah, maybe u should post ur pics up here so tat we can make a better "guess" what happened.

[mactreouser]

Thanks to all Sifu:


post two here...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21298758@N06/2068377956/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21298758@N06/2067570307/

No worries,just tell me the truth of the problem..

[eejal]

hhmm...

do u use matrix or central focusing?

[Fotophilic]

Originally Posted by mactreouser Thanks to all Sifu: post two here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/21298758@N06/2068377956/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/21298758@N06/2067570307/ No worries,just tell me the truth of the problem..

the "blur" looks more like noise to me....
the focus obviously not on the person. it's the glass. u sure it focused at the right spot?
looking at the properties, it says flash did not fire (but u say flash used) and ISO1600.
maybe next time round u try flash and see how?
but be warned that at close ranged, the flash will over expose some parts of the pic.
a trick i use is to tie a sheet of tissue to the flash to cover the tube, acting as a diffuser. but u will need some practice to get the compensation and exposure corrections right.

do simple focusing test a home at sth stationary under good lighting. if the same thing appear again, u probably need to service it.

[mactreouser]

fotophilic,

Hey bro..thanks for comment..erm..most of my pics did on flash but sorry for these 2 pics..haa...ya i really focus and spot at the person..but i also realise that the focus are on the glass...i really don't understand...

eejal,
i'm using centre focus

[Fotophilic]

like what most ppl will advise. try doing a simple test at home to see if the AF is really siao one.
just test it out and see if the same occurs.
if u are pretty sure the problem is not on ur side, then maybe u try email fujifilm or give them a call and ask.
if it is still under warranty, then maybe u consider send it in, and rem to demo your problem to the counter staff, if possible bring some sample pics to show them too. i know because i did that when i brought my camera there to service, also sth to do with focusing.
fuji service centre service although not excellent, but still reasonable to me.

hope this helps.

[mactreouser]

fotophilic,

thanks very much!!
Ya,i did try out the Assit Focus...and in low light situation (in house single long flourcent light) everything are fine,i mean the focus...erm...i guess...maybe Low Light+Shuttle below 100+f2.8-4+the person i shoot was slightly moving....and the focus try to get the closer,clear,bright enough and still subject for safe!!!

[Clockunder]

I tried out on my S6500fd and found that my focus indeed was a bit off at ISO 1600.

The light condition was (without flash):
F/2.8
Focal length 6.2mm (28mm equivalent field of view)
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1 second.

So I shot by zooming in and got aperture at around F/3.5, manual exposure 1/30, spot metering, cursor area focus at the centre, focus assist illumination On and set my flash to forced flash at -2/3 power.

Then I tested with ISO 200, 400 and 1600. At each ISO, I took 4 shots (with flash) of focusing on 4 different things around the room.

The ISO 200 and 400 pictures appear to be focused correctly on the subject which I have aimed at but the ISO 1600 pictures all seems to be a bit out of focus.

Seems odd because ISO should not have nothing to do with focusing as it merely boost the signals (light as well as noise) on the image sensor.

I don't know how this camera determines focus and the plausible explanation of this focusing problem is that the camera (unlike DSLR) uses the raw light signal on its image sensor to electronically determine focus by contrast and the high noise level at the raw level makes it more difficult for the camera to determine focus accurately.

[mactreouser]

Clockunder,

wow..wonderful reply of test on S6500fd.
Ya,i think so...cause by the high ISO...it seems push up the 'exposure' while choosing 1600 ISO..so looks NOISE and picture not really that sharp...expecially while Focus on Eyes..No crystal feel...

But,in the Low Light event...we need to push up the Shuttle speed on ISO 1600 to avoid hand shake.

erm...so,what tips will you advice to get the Right focus on 1600 ISO??
As my another thread mention...some tips that Zoom-in FOCUS (get the right focus) ,Lock Focus with half press shuttle button ,Zoom out, composite the picture and shoot!!!

What do you think?

[Clockunder]

Originally Posted by mactreouser Clockunder, wow..wonderful reply of test on S6500fd. Ya,i think so...cause by the high ISO...it seems push up the 'exposure' while choosing 1600 ISO..so looks NOISE and picture not really that sharp...expecially while Focus on Eyes..No crystal feel... But,in the Low Light event...we need to push up the Shuttle speed on ISO 1600 to avoid hand shake. erm...so,what tips will you advice to get the Right focus on 1600 ISO?? As my another thread mention...some tips that Zoom-in FOCUS (get the right focus) ,Lock Focus with half press shuttle button ,Zoom out, composite the picture and shoot!!! What do you think?

Frankly, no solution if the light condition is too bad.

Actually, can just shoot at ISO 400/800 with flash and it should be quite ok for most indoor situation as long as the flash can reach for sufficient exposure. (If the subject is near, lower down the flash power. Push it higher if far. Also try to use manual exposure for better control. If you use Aperture priority, use spot metering so that the flash would output an appropriate power of light).

Don't have to worry too much about handshake blur when you use flash as the main source of illumination and the ambient light is secondary because the flash will be fast enough to create a freezed image.

As for your "Zoom-in FOCUS (get the right focus) ,Lock Focus with half press shuttle button ,Zoom out, composite the picture and shoot!!!", I don't think this will work because this method only works for parfocal lens and the lens on this S6500fd is not parfocal. On the S6500fd, the focus becomes wrong once you zoom (i.e. change focal length).

[gradesm]

Originally Posted by mactreouser Clockunder, erm...so,what tips will you advice to get the Right focus on 1600 ISO?? As my another thread mention...some tips that Zoom-in FOCUS (get the right focus) ,Lock Focus with half press shuttle button ,Zoom out, composite the picture and shoot!!! What do you think?

I fail to see how that can help... most ppl zoom in to an overexposed area to lock AE, not AF... lock AF only if u are already at desired focal length... else once u zoom out u are out of focus again. Dun use a fuji cam but I dun remember any camera being able to compensate for a change in focal length after AF has been locked.

[Clockunder]

Originally Posted by gradesm I fail to see how that can help... most ppl zoom in to an overexposed area to lock AE, not AF... lock AF only if u are already at desired focal length... else once u zoom out u are out of focus again. Dun use a fuji cam but I dun remember any camera being able to compensate for a change in focal length after AF has been locked.

Some interchangeable lenses for SLR/DSLR are parfocal and this technique is only applicable if the lens is parfocal.

I don't know if there is any point and shoot camera with parfocal lens.

[mactreouser]

hey thanks everyone of you!!!

I did try out the 'parfocal' style on my 6500..seems work!!!
gonna do more practise to confirm whether it work or not?!