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Ep1 Ep2 focus question

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Antoine7881

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I was all set on pre-ordering the E-PL1 when I noticed that even though it has a pop up flash, it doesn't have a AF illuminator. My question is, how is the low light focusing on the E-P1 and E-P2? I already own a E510 and wanted a nice small camera for late nigt affairs like dinners in dimly lit restaurants, lounges and local bars.
 
you'll want to be liking manuel focus .... auto focus in anything but good light is a non event!
 
Not as bad as this other chap is making out.

I just took this with the kit zoom, in my bathroom with no lights on, focus locked quick with no hunting. Forget about the shake, thats just my hands:



Funny thing is it looks like there's alot more light in there than there really is!

I can't see bars etc being a problem. With the 20mm 1.7 it is a complete non issue.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29810686@N03/
 
I don't find it that bad. It's a least as good as my G9, even considering the G9's focus assist. Here are a couple of examples in a dim restaurant, and outdoors with little light. The E-P1 autofocus is never blazing fast, but it's consistent even in low light. The key is to turn off Face Detect and to use center point AF. That really increases the reliability. I use the 17mm f/2.8, so the 20mm f/1.7 should be even better.





--
Russ
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rfortson/
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/russfortson
Even bad photography can be fun :)

 


Outdoor restaurant after sunset, not much light. EP, Kit zoom

As others have said - the EP series have never had blazing fast AF, but have found it will AF fine. Sold the EP1 for the EP2 and Oly seems to have improved it a bit - the EP2 seems to lock focus in dim light a bit better. (But nothing to really write home about.)
Steve
 
Thanks for replies and comments. I'm not looking for blazing fast autofocus. I just want reliable autofocus, even if it hunts for a couple of seconds. As long as it locks on, I'm good. Now I'm really on the fence between the E-PL1 and the panasonic ZS7/TZ10.
 
The ZS7 will out focus the epX in low light by a mile...

Yeh you can post images that did focus but i can't post the ones where focus just refuses to lock - most the images (with the exception of the bathroom) had good contrast for the camera to work on (lights evon)- an unlit building face at night - just street light from the other side of street will hunt & hunt & hunt and on the 7th time you try pointing it at something slightly more contrasty it might lock and take a photo.... Bang on side by side, my 5yr old Olympus 770UZ will hold the same auto focus speed in low light and get a lock in lower light than the ep1 (ok so the kit is f3.5 and the 770 is f2.8)... and in good light the ep1 is about 2-3 (at best) times as fast.

But my TZ7 won't brake a sweat in the same low light conditions!

Its not one to buy for its low light focus ability.... for everything else it is!
 
In my experience the autofocus is same speed as E420 slightly slower in the dark. I don't know exactly how that compares to the E5x0?

You will likely not be able to take snapshots the same way you will with a fast DSLR in low lights, but the E-P1 is much less intrusive than a 5D or other DSLR that will focus fast in these conditions...

Move focusing to the AFL button in any case. And in "dark" round the table environments, set the focusing about the middle of the table and a medium f value (8-10) and you will get perfectly good focused pictures without any delays in shooting...
 
AF works fine, it is just about same speed as a p&s...

If you come from p&s world, you won't notice the difference, but ofcause if you some from high end DSLR world you are bound to notice... Comparing it to a 5D or 1Ds is not really fair though is it?
 
Coming from D300. And using E-P1. AF speed is not bad. Especially after 20mm, it is possible to focus even a plain wall.
 
My two cents: it's not all that bad with AF in dim light but it's not at all like a good DSLR. In a recent four day shoot in dim light I used an E-3 with the 50mm f/2 and an E-P1 with the 14-54mm II at the wide end. The E-3 - 50mm, despite considerably less dof (though a brighter image to work with at f/2) locked on quickly; the E-P1 did not with AF. Not quickly; it would get there but I was shooting people on the move. My intention all along had been to use MF and that was confirmed by my efforts at AF.

I did not bring a just-bought ClearViewer, but in future I would, because it doesn't prevent holding the camera a bit in front of the chest (that is, a bit ahead of where a TLR would be) but it is available if you need to really check focus. The alternative would be reading glasses but with two cameras already in use the ClearViewer will be more handy.

The other lesson learned was that the ergonomics are very different and I need to get a lot more used to the E-P1 to avoid errors with my settings.
--
W Alex Stewart
 
Funny guy... Wonder why I always end up using manuel focus when its poor light? - yeh i must love making trouble for myself...

Like I said - it works - but with exactly the same ability as my 5yr old 770UZ.... so argue what you want but its autofocus is poor by any modern standard - I doubt there is a superzoom with much worse CDAF out there?
NuFonaut said:
J R R S said:
you'll want to be liking manuel focus .... auto focus in anything but good light is a non event!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I agree. The d300 is faster and needs less light, but the difference is acceptable. On both i use the AEL button to focus, not the release button. After 25 years using the releasebutton it is a little getting used to, but rewarding. Only on low-contrast low light the E-P1 AF doesn't lock sometimes.
--
http://bobreurink.nl
 
low light isn't the problem, it is low contrast.

both cams get focus quick enough to not miss a shot in normal conditions, IF the contrast of the focus area is high enough.
 
J R R S said:
The ZS7 will out focus the epX in low light by a mile...

Yeh you can post images that did focus but i can't post the ones where focus just refuses to lock - most the images (with the exception of the bathroom) had good contrast for the camera to work on (lights evon)- an unlit building face at night - just street light from the other side of street will hunt & hunt & hunt and on the 7th time you try pointing it at something slightly more contrasty it might lock and take a photo.... Bang on side by side, my 5yr old Olympus 770UZ will hold the same auto focus speed in low light and get a lock in lower light than the ep1 (ok so the kit is f3.5 and the 770 is f2.8)... and in good light the ep1 is about 2-3 (at best) times as fast.

But my TZ7 won't brake a sweat in the same low light conditions!

Its not one to buy for its low light focus ability.... for everything else it is!
Click to expand...
Again, not my experience at all. My E-P1 is consistent with focus even in very dim light, and out focuses my Canon G9 (which uses a focus assist light). I turn off the face detect and just use center AF point on single AF. If your camera doesn't focus consistently, then I'd suggest it's faulty. You're the only dissenter in this thread.
--
Russ
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rfortson/
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/russfortson
Even bad photography can be fun :)

 
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