Autofocus absolutely useless for video!

[sh1209]

I have been doing video for several years and been more serious about it for the last 4-5 years and I have found at least with wildlife, autofocus really has no use whatsoever. This has held true with numerous Nikon bodies and now three different Sony bodies. No matter the settings, whether it be enabling breathing compensation or merely slowing the focus speed down, you always get the glitchy footage. Unless there's something I am doing wrong, I have found no solution to the problem. I have been acquiring focus lately with autofocus and immediately switching to Manual focus which solves the problem. This week I did some video and used autofocus on the A6700 I recently purchased and it performs exactly the same as all other cameras I've tried. I think for now unless something changes, I'll be sticking with full manual when it comes to video. Perhaps in different scenarios such as filming people it would be better, especially with wide angle lenses but with long zooms they all suck lol.

 

[jeffnles1]

I hear ya Steve. I shoot Canon EOS R7 and while AF for stills is really good AF for video is less so. Whenever possible, I try to start the video "early" to allow it to capture focus and then trim in post. I don't do big focus pulls in my videos frequently and when I do, it's manual focus. I am not a video shooter and just thought it was something wrong with my technique. Sorry to hear you're having the same problem but it is always comforting to learn we may not be the only ones.

Jeff

 

[sh1209]

I hear ya Steve. I shoot Canon EOS R7 and while AF for stills is really good AF for video is less so. Whenever possible, I try to start the video "early" to allow it to capture focus and then trim in post. I don't do big focus pulls in my videos frequently and when I do, it's manual focus. I am not a video shooter and just thought it was something wrong with my technique. Sorry to hear you're having the same problem but it is always comforting to learn we may not be the only ones.

Jeff

Yeah, if I use full manual focus or let auto focus just acquire focus on the subject first and switch to manual focus the problem does not exist. This happens even locked down on a tripod, not touching the camera. I feel like auto focus on at least 85% of the clips I shoot you’ll have that glitch in the footage. No matter what setting you use on the acquisition speed or anything like that, it doesn’t seem to rectify the problem. It could be something I’m doing wrong, but I don’t know what on earth it would be because the only common denominator is autofocus.

 

[Nimi]

Yeah, if I use full manual focus or let auto focus just acquire focus on the subject first and switch to manual focus the problem does not exist. This happens even locked down on a tripod, not touching the camera. I feel like auto focus on at least 85% of the clips I shoot you’ll have that glitch in the footage. No matter what setting you use on the acquisition speed or anything like that, it doesn’t seem to rectify the problem. It could be something I’m doing wrong, but I don’t know what on earth it would be because the only common denominator is autofocus.

Welcome to vid... Shooting UHD or HD helps, but the processor can't keep up with the data. That's why cinema lenses are all MF. A couple of missed frames and the footage is completely useless.

I shoot strictly manual, and punch in for assistance. External monitor really really helps.

 

[sh1209]

Welcome to vid... Shooting UHD or HD helps, but the processor can't keep up with the data. That's why cinema lenses are all MF. A couple of missed frames and the footage is completely useless.

I shoot strictly manual, and punch in for assistance. External monitor really really helps.

I think that’s exactly what I’m going to do from this point onward because it does it no matter what the settings, no matter how expensive the lens or how steady you are on a tripod. Sometimes what I do is just let the camera grab the initial focus then immediately switch it to manual through a custom button I have programmed and that seems to work really well.

 

[sh1209]

Welcome to vid... Shooting UHD or HD helps, but the processor can't keep up with the data. That's why cinema lenses are all MF. A couple of missed frames and the footage is completely useless.

I shoot strictly manual, and punch in for assistance. External monitor really really helps.

One thing that I will add is it seemed to not be as bad on the D850 and D750 so maybe mirrorless exaggerates the problem a bit? And also like on a cell phone video I never see that problem even shooting 4K60 or 4K 120 but I realize it’s different sensor technology but it’s still confusing to me.

 

[PhilcTx]

Have you been using animal eye tracking?

I've been using an A7iv and recently an FX30 and have had good results with them on deer with them moving relativity slowly (walking, etc.). Once the eye tracking locked box is displayed it tracks amazingly well.

 

[sh1209]

Have you been using animal eye tracking?

I've been using an A7iv and recently an FX30 and have had good results with them on deer with them moving relativity slowly (walking, etc.).

I’ve tried with and without and seems to do it either way. It isn’t terrible but definitely noticeable. I agree the tracking is fantastic.
Here’s just a small video and sample of what I’m talking about.

 

[PhilcTx]

Also - I just recently discovered Focus Mapping on my A7iv and FX30. Especially when shooting outside in brighter light it is now my go-to 1st method for manual focus with either camera's LCD or external monitor.

 

[sh1209]

Also - I just recently discovered Focus Mapping on my A7iv and FX30. Especially when shooting outside in brighter light it is now my go-to 1st method for manual focus with either camera's LCD or external monitor.

I’ll check into that.

 

[Phil Seu]

I gave up using AF-F on my Z9s

 

[sh1209]

I gave up using AF-F on my Z9s

That’s pretty much where I’m at now, it just doesn’t work that great on any camera I’ve tried. It does seem to be ok whenever using wide angle lenses but that’s sorta understandable considering more is in focus at a wider angle.

 

[BlackRockArt]

I have been doing video for several years and been more serious about it for the last 4-5 years and I have found at least with wildlife, autofocus really has no use whatsoever. This has held true with numerous Nikon bodies and now three different Sony bodies. No matter the settings, whether it be enabling breathing compensation or merely slowing the focus speed down, you always get the glitchy footage. Unless there's something I am doing wrong, I have found no solution to the problem. I have been acquiring focus lately with autofocus and immediately switching to Manual focus which solves the problem. This week I did some video and used autofocus on the A6700 I recently purchased and it performs exactly the same as all other cameras I've tried. I think for now unless something changes, I'll be sticking with full manual when it comes to video. Perhaps in different scenarios such as filming people it would be better, especially with wide angle lenses but with long zooms they all suck lol.

Steve, for people & events, video AF can be quite helpful; when it comes to wildlife, I always use manual focus and focus assist or DMF to start with, this is my go to method with birds especially.

Oliver

 

[Garfield]

Autofocus for wildlife is not useless, but you need to be very selective as to how you use it. It's almost a requirement when shooting BIF for example. FWIW I never use AF-F -- only AF-C assigned to the BBF set to AF-ON Only. Hence, I only allow the camera to AF in specific circumstances by pressing the BBF button -- as soon as I release the button the AF locks. Shooting long glass with paper-thin DOF necessitates developing focusing technique, and be willing to trash a lot of video clips in the process!

 

[sh1209]

Autofocus for wildlife is not useless, but you need to be very selective as to how you use it. It's almost a requirement when shooting BIF for example. FWIW I never use AF-F -- only AF-C assigned to the BBF set to AF-ON Only. Hence, I only allow the camera to AF in specific circumstances by pressing the BBF button -- as soon as I release the button the AF locks. Shooting long glass with paper-thin DOF necessitates developing focusing technique, and be willing to trash a lot of video clips in the process!

Yeah I agree with birds in flight but no matter the camera I’ve tried, even locked down on a tripod that glitching is in at least 80% of my videos. It’s not the end of the world but I really just don’t understand exactly why it happens. I mean I’m using high dollar lenses and camera bodies. The 600mm GM is the worst lol and for that reason I normally use my 200-600 for video. Most of the time anymore I just use peaking and manual focus with AFC. I keep the subject transition speed very low as well.

 

[sh1209]

Now if I use a 20, 35 or 50mm lens for example the problem never happens, or at least it’s not visible to me.

 

[Garfield]

Yeah I agree with birds in flight but no matter the camera I’ve tried, even locked down on a tripod that glitching is in at least 80% of my videos. It’s not the end of the world but I really just don’t understand exactly why it happens. I mean I’m using high dollar lenses and camera bodies. The 600mm GM is the worst lol and for that reason I normally use my 200-600 for video. Most of the time anymore I just use peaking and manual focus with AFC. I keep the subject transition speed very low as well.

For whatever reason it appears video AF is still phase detect based and comes up way short of stills AF technology. Anyway, as you said the AF "hunting" artifact is common across all brands, which is exactly why I only let the camera AF (by pressing BBF) when needed. For example, I may allow the camera to follow a moving bird walking, flying etc. but as soon as the bird stops moving I release BBF to prevent the camera from jumping focus to a branch, or background or anything other than the bird -- which it absolutely will do if you give it a chance. Video AF technology seems to be very good tracking human faces/eyes, but when it comes to wildlife it's still very unreliable.

 

[sh1209]

For whatever reason it appears video AF is still phase detect based and comes up way short of stills AF technology. Anyway, as you said the AF "hunting" artifact is common across all brands, which is exactly why I only let the camera AF (by pressing BBF) when needed. For example, I may allow the camera to follow a moving bird walking, flying etc. but as soon as the bird stops moving I release BBF to prevent the camera from jumping focus to a branch, or background or anything other than the bird -- which it absolutely will do if you give it a chance. Video AF technology seems to be very good tracking human faces/eyes, but when it comes to wildlife it's still very unreliable.

I have mine set up similar to what we’re doing except I have a custom button set to manual focus. Usually once I acquire a subject like you’re saying and it is still, I will hit that and go to manual focus. I agree it is definitely pretty useful if The subject is moving. I’m sure with some of the future technology they will perfected at some point.

 

[Rudy Pohl]

... I have found at least with wildlife, autofocus really has no use whatsoever. This has held true with numerous Nikon bodies and now three different Sony bodies. No matter the settings, .... they all suck lol.

Hi Steve,

I was crazy busy this past weekend so I wasn't able to add my 2 cents until today, but I wanted to share from a Canon R5 user perspective. We have exactly the problem with Canon hybrid mirrorless cameras and the solution in our section of the pool is just like the others have stated here, which is finding a way to quickly engage and disengage the continuous AF function in video mode.

I believe what Nikon calls continuous autofocus (AF-C) Sony also calls continuous autofocus (AF-C), whereas Canon calls this Movie Servo AF. Left to itself the Canon continuous AF function in video mode just keeps refocusing indefinitely even if the subject is completely stationary. The problem in the Canon R5 is that even the most minute micro AF adjustment on a stationary subject becomes very visible as an apparent AF glitch in the footage. In my experience the only way to avoid this is to disengage the continuous AF function and shift the camera into AF-S mode (single-shot mode). I have set up one of my back buttons to toggle between PAUSE MOVIE SERVO and RESUME MOVIE SERVO.

It's a bit of a pain, but I'd be dead in the water without continuous AF tracking for wildlife videos. I spent a whole year doing wildlife videos with the Nikon D500 (no AF tracking) using one-shot AF and trying to manually focus moving subjects like slow swimming ducks. I even bought an expensive external monitor so I could see the details better. In the end I packed it in and bought a Canon R5 which two years ago had the best AF tracking available.

Take care,
Rudy

 

[sh1209]

Hi Steve,

I was crazy busy this past weekend so I wasn't able to add my 2 cents until today, but I wanted to share from a Canon R5 user perspective. We have exactly the problem with Canon hybrid mirrorless cameras and the solution in our section of the pool is just like the others have stated here, which is finding a way to quickly engage and disengage the continuous AF function in video mode.

I believe what Nikon calls continuous autofocus (AF-C) Sony also calls continuous autofocus (AF-C), whereas Canon calls this Movie Servo AF. Left to itself the Canon continuous AF function in video mode just keeps refocusing indefinitely even if the subject is completely stationary. The problem in the Canon R5 is that even the most minute micro AF adjustment on a stationary subject becomes very visible as an apparent AF glitch in the footage. In my experience the only way to avoid this is to disengage the continuous AF function and shift the camera into AF-S mode (single-shot mode). I have set up one of my back buttons to PAUSE MOVIE SERVO and RESUME MOVIE SERVO.

It's a bit of a pain, but I'd be dead in the water without continuous AF tracking for wildlife videos. I spent a whole year doing wildlife videos with the Nikon D500 (no AF tracking) using one-shot AF and trying to manually focus moving subjects even easy to shoot as slow swimming ducks. I even bought an expensive external monitor to I could see the details better. In the end I packed it in and bought a Canon R5 which two years ago had the best AF tracking available.

Take care,
Rudy

Thank you Rudy. I guess that’s what I will continue to do then. It does work well when the subject is moving as you state but once it’s static not so well. Hopefully in the future they’ll improve the capabilities.