Wednesday 19 March 2008

Underwater Video: Auto Focus vs. Manual Focus

Underwater Video: Auto Focus vs. Manual Focus

By Sy Harris

"I’m at 100 feet with the reef at my back, shooting into the blue. All the action is in the deeper parts of the ocean where Grey Reef Reef sharks and barracuda jockey for position in the current. It’s a wide-angle fiesta and I had everything dialed: exposure, lighting, filtration…focus? Unfortunately I was in auto focus, and as the silver/grey fish procession swam by in the deep blue water I may have been stoked, but my camera’s auto focus was lost.

While I thought I was shooting clear, well-focused footage, my camera was making a series of focus adjustments, which I was unable to see through my viewfinder and monitor. The adjustments were definitely noticeable when I viewed the footage at home. The camera was “seeking” or constantly searching for proper focus, resulting in footage that was fuzzy one second and sharp the next. My shot was ruined!"

Underwater Video: Auto Focus vs. Manual Focus

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