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How to avoid focus hunting in low light?

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Frank Martin

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I have an Olympus E500 and I do some night shots.

Has anyone used a laser pointer to illuminate a point on a subject to get a sharp focus in very-low light? Presumably the small point of light will not effect the auto exposure. In public places I do not want to use the strobe focus assist.
--
ratboy
 
The focus assist light on the FL-36 and FL-50 flashes (does not require flash to used). This is a red LED which is relatively unobtrusive.
 
I am with Mark T and use the fl36 for this.

imv 'painting' subjects with a light source bright enough to do an accurate job is a real no no with people (and I wouldn't use a laser pointer anywhere near where faces might be let alone at one).

on the other hand I really find myself doing this less and less nowadays on the simple basis that I don't have the problems others seem to raise with the AF system. I suspect I am simply not trying to shoot without flash at the level of light others are. I understand why some are but I just don't get the sort of results that I would want when the light falls to that sort of level.

--
  • enjoy your camera equipment -
 
photo_owl said:
on the other hand I really find myself doing this less and less
nowadays on the simple basis that I don't have the problems others
seem to raise with the AF system. I suspect I am simply not trying
Click to expand...
I think the AF system has also improved a bit since the e-500.
 
Well when it comes to low-light sitations E-5oo AF is like a child lost in the fog.

What worked for me - turn off the strobe flahes, they usually won't help a tiny bit but will surely annoy everyone around. Use only the central AF point, direct it at a contrasty element of the frame - an outline of a backlight shape or sth similar.Even in almost complete darkness it manages to focus.
 
I'm considering an option with a head lamp:

1. Turning the lamp on and pointing it at the object used for focusing
2. Focus lock (with AFL button or half-press of shutter release button)
3. Turning the lamp off
4. Exposure lock and shutter release

Has any of you tried this approach ?

I think it might more flexible and convenient than a lamp fixed on a tripod. On the other hand, I guess turning the lamp off during the operation may be problematic sometimes. The solution for that could be re-directing the lamp as high as possible (ceiling) or a mode that turns the lamp off automatically after a few seconds (but I think it won't be easy to find a head lamp with such feature).

Some head lamp reviews can be found here:
flashlightreviews.com/reviews_index/reviews_top_picks.htm

--
Rafal [rah'-faoo]
Serious photo newbie
 
An exellent thread Mark!

Some times I have hard times with my L1 now that I make social events photography and shot at night in poor light is a normal and manual focus some times makes people wait more than they whant for the photo, I have improved a lot with each event but thare is certain ocation when the the light is simply too low and is very hard to focus the subject.

Please gurus help us, give us some tips.

Thank you for ask Mark!

--
Misa
http://www.flickr.com/photos/omny/
 
Frank Martin said:
I have an Olympus E500 and I do some night shots.
Has anyone used a laser pointer to illuminate a point on a subject to
get a sharp focus in very-low light? Presumably the small point of
light will not effect the auto exposure. In public places I do not
want to use the strobe focus assist.
Click to expand...
Yes, I've used a small cheap laser, even in almost complete darkness, and it works great. But remember to turn off the laser before you press the shutter, otherwise you'll get a read/green dot on your picture.

The advantage of lasers is obviously the working distances: assist lamps works well only for a few foot.

L.

--
My gallery: http://w3.impa.br/~luis/photos



Oly Ee3 + 12--60 + 50--200 + EeC-14 + Oly EfEl50R
Pany FZee50 + Oly EfEl50 + TeeCon17 + Raynx 150 & 250
Nikn CeePee4500; Cann SDee500
 
I have been doing some shots at night with only the street lights for illumination (with a tripod) and the effects can be interesting. The focus hunting can be a problem which is why I need something like a laser.
--
ratboy
 
14mm, f4 and Dail in the distance, or LV Manual focus on a tripod

Frank,

For people, when I am in trouble in low light ... my "fall back" is going ALL Manual ... that means 14mm, f4 and Dailing in 5feet on my lens.
  • If there is no distance scale, just focus on anything you can at a simular distance.
p.s. because I shoot at 5 feet so often ... I know where that is, and know the look/framing in the VF. I also know because of 4/3 smaller sensor I have more DOF at f4 or f2.8 at 14mm as my cover.
  • 14mm and the e510 "IS" also lets me handhold at slower shutters, which helps too in low light.
But, with all that Manual stuff said, that is "JUST" my fall back ... I would take a FL50 with the AF asst light on anytime. It's only when "that" does not work , "then" I go manual.

I realize you don't have LV on a e500 (I had one too) ... but low Light on a Tripod, or just ordinary Tripod stuff Live Veiw can really, really make things easier. Like seeing the 100% veiw.
  • and my guess is, your upgrade cost from a e500 to a e510 would not be that much right now. (and you could do a Olympus Trade in program to make things easy) ... imho, worth it if you do a lot of low light, tripod shooting.
  • Below, was taken from my "FIRST" outing where I used Live Veiw on the e510. After, that one night experiance ... I will not leave home without it LOL
This shot with the e510 14-42 KIT lens ... used LV and manual focused. I have bad eyes and feel that LV was a very valuable tool.

And by the way, it allowed me to sit down as I shot, not have to look thru the VF, and drink a glass of wine :)


Frank Martin said:
I have an Olympus E500 and I do some night shots.
Has anyone used a laser pointer to illuminate a point on a subject to
get a sharp focus in very-low light? Presumably the small point of
light will not effect the auto exposure. In public places I do not
want to use the strobe focus assist.
--
ratboy
Click to expand...
--

Please feel free to criticize, make suggestions, and edit any of my photos & re-post, to help show me 'the way'. * I am trying to Elevate the Level of my 'Snap Shots' :)

Love f2 Oly lens wide open ... 14-35mm f2, & a 50mm f2+1.4TC is my fav. combo on two 'IS' oly bodys.
 
Frank Martin said:
Thanks, I did try a small torch in semi darkness but I had no luck
with it.
Click to expand...
A normal torch won't work unless your subject is very close. A $5 laser should work even at 20 meters or more.

HTH,
L.

--
My gallery: http://w3.impa.br/~luis/photos



Oly Ee3 + 12--60 + 50--200 + EeC-14 + Oly EfEl50R
Pany FZee50 + Oly EfEl50 + TeeCon17 + Raynx 150 & 250
Nikn CeePee4500; Cann SDee500
 
I shoot a lot in low light. I have a small but very powerful maglight used by hunters. I found it an army surplus store. I use it for painting with light as well because it gives off white light not blue light as with most LED flashlights. I also have a headlamp and use that quite often in pitch black. I have it attached to my tripod. I can set all my controls then point the headlamp where I need to check focus then just let it hang on my tripod.

I tend to use manual focus. What I have found is that I move the lens to infinity and then pull back just a little bit. It seems to work very well for me with much more keepers.
 
Lazers come with some problems.
They could cause eye damage to people.

They could cause a SWAT team to point machine guns at you thinking you are a sniper with a lazer sight.

Here in Australia there has been a lot of problems with people pointing lazers in pilots eyes as they try to land.

--

'The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls' (Paul Simon, The Sound of Silence)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27799025@N04/
 
Plantnerd_ said:
Lazers come with some problems.
They could cause eye damage to people.
Click to expand...
And to animals. Here lasers are even used by birdwatchers to point where a bird is in a tree, but, of course, you never point a laser to the eyes of an animal, or person.

In fact, the same applies to normal camera flashes: never fire a flash at short distance from your subject eyes, for the same reason.
Plantnerd_ said:
Here in Australia there has been a lot of problems with people
pointing lazers in pilots eyes as they try to land.
Click to expand...
What a great idea!!! I should try that.

L.

--
My gallery: http://w3.impa.br/~luis/photos



Oly Ee3 + 12--60 + 50--200 + EeC-14 + Oly EfEl50R
Pany FZee50 + Oly EfEl50 + TeeCon17 + Raynx 150 & 250
Nikn CeePee4500; Cann SDee500
 
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