Focus on G2?

Aquatic11 · Oct 1, 2002

I am still thinking about buying a Digital camera. The G2 looked real nice until I started reading in this forum. Now I am not sure how serious the focus problem is on the G2? Are many of you G2 owners noticing problems with pictures being out of focus?

Is this a common problem with Digital Cameras or just Canon?

Ruffian · Oct 1, 2002

Seen too many Focus-related issues, and they are not strictly limited to Canon, although the situation is worse with the G2s.

http://search.dpreview.com/forums/search.asp?query=poor+bad+autofocus&forum=all

It doesn't matter if you have a spiffy EOS-1Ds or a Dimage 5, there's a chance you'll be disappointed in poor focus.
--
http://printerboyweb.net/G2

Jamie Bird · Oct 2, 2002

Well, I guess what constitutes good and bad focus must be subjective. With regards the G2, I do not agree with Printerboy at all. I have a Canon G2 and yes, although I do have the occasional focus problem, it normally transpires that it was my fault all along - as, I think, will be the case with many of the posts here. Anyway, how do we define 'out of focus?' I find the kind of heavily pixelized images that some seem to seek (and here it is the same with T.V.s, with Phillips bringing out their Pixel Plus technology, which to my eye looks almost hyper-real and 'unnatural'. Incidentally, it uses the same technology as Fuji's interpolation) somewhat strange. For me, the image quailty of the G2 is more than adequate (both on my monitor and in print), especially as I am unlikely to ever print anything larger than a 10x8.
Just my 7/6 worth.
Cheers,
Jamie

Miguel R. · Oct 2, 2002

I'm a power user of G2. There are a
few tricks to get the correct focus on the subject.

You asked for a opinion about how many owners notice problems with
the focus :

I've taken about + - 3,000 pictures since may 2002, + - 45 pictures were out of focus (i've got them in separate folders, just for questions like this

If I was the G2, and if I had to focus something really weird, with no

contrast, I would say " What the heck??? What do you want me to focus ?! Make up your mind or use manual focus... dumb user..."

gkl · Oct 2, 2002

Compact digicams check the contrast in a small area of the CCD to establish focus. This method is not as accurate as old-style MF rangefinders or the phase-detection method used in AF SLRs (dedicated sensors). Compact digicams have large depth of field (DOF) due to the small sensor size and in many circumstances don't need the pinpoint accuracy of an SLR. Their slow AF speed and accuracy will give problems for quickly moving close subjects. They will not focus well on low contrast subjects, so you have to find an object with contrasty vertical detail that is at the subject distance.

Being a G2 owner, I've followed most of the AF threads. Some complainers simply didn't understand basic photographic techniques. Others seem to have consistent problems with AF. Some returned their G2s. Canon gave some a clean bill of health, others had parts replaced. Personally, I've had occasional AF misfires, but I think you have to take into account the technical limitations of contrast detection AF.

There have been a number of long threads on Canon compact AF simply because Canon is pretty much the only digicam manufacturer that writes out focus distance EXIF data. Canon's software doesn't decode it, but 3rd party readers do. As I said above, due to the huge DOF of compact digicams, contrast detection cannot provide pinpoint focus accuracy. Hence the EXIF focus distance is often quite different from what the photographer "knows" the subject distance was. This generated a lot of complaints, but in my experience, the focus usually falls within the DOF. However, I have had a few examples where the reported EXIF data was outside the DOF, or did not agree with what I saw in the image. Others have posted similar examples. But these "misfires" seem to be the exception rather than the rule for most of us.

So, is their room for improvement in compact digicam AF? I think the answer is obviously "yes". But occasional frustration with AF (and MF) hasn't affected my overall enjoyment of the G2. hope this helps, GKL

Eric Haglund · Oct 2, 2002

I think the significance of the focus problem depends on the type of pictures you take. I take many wide angle people pics, snapshot type of pics and I've probably been one of the biggest b!tchers about G2 AF performance. I now aim at people's feet where they hit the ground to lock focus, I get better performance that way. Not stellar performance, but better performance. If even a tiny part of the AF square falls on green trees in the background, your subjects will likely be soft as the G2 uses infinity focus. Your subjects can't move at all while the G2 attempts to focus or you will get infinity focus and a soft picture. It will confound you. My stock advice is for people to buy the camera from a retailer who allows some kind of 30 day back guarantee so if you take pictures that fall into the AF black hole, you can simply return the camera and try something else. But remember any other camera will likely have it's own issues so I think it's key to buy from somewhere where you can return it if it doesn't work in your own shooting situations.

--
Eric
Disclaimer: Snapshooter, and proud of it ;-)
http://www.pbase.com/haglunde

Mickey64564 · Oct 2, 2002

I'm another one who has had practically no focus problems with the G2. I think it's more user error than anything, so if you know how the system works and use the proper technique, you shouldn't have any problems either. I find that if I give the camera to someone else, they're much more likely to get out of focus pics. I get maybe 1 or 2 OOF (out of focus) shots out of 100 at most, and they're usually in situations where I can't really blame the camera.

Also, sometimes people complain about the images being out of focus when in fact they're looking at "soft" images at 100% on an 800x600 screen. Say the user has a 17" monitor set at that screen resolution. That's only about 62 pixels per inch. Most images will look quite soft at that resolution. So these images aren't in fact OOF, but rather unsharpened and just need a bit of Unsharp Mask in Photoshop and to be viewed at a proper screen resolution (or printed).

So...make sure you know how the focus system works and use the proper technique (i.e. focus on contrasty vertical detail by using the half shutter press) and view the images on a proper display, and things should look great.

Michael

Michael

--
http://www.pbase.com/mooremwm
http://www.photosig.com/userphotos.php?id=7178

Detailer · Oct 2, 2002

I have had my G2 for a month and I have focus problems. I am taking pictures on the soccer field which is a very tough job. To cope with this I use telephoto, shutter priority mode, iso 50 and manual focus at inifinity. In addition I have been able to keep shutter speeds above 400 and aperture between f5.0 and f8.0 I do not touch the zoom after I set the manual focus to infinity.

The camera gives me a picture where the players and grass up close is sharp and it fades to out of focus by after about 30 yards. Imobile objects across the field are not in focus but moving player 10 yards away is sharp.

I need to get this problem fixed soon.

One forum participant said the focual distance is recorded in the jpg and with the right reader you can see it. Anyone know which reader tells you the focal distance? Not the focal length.

Bruce

Eric Haglund · Oct 3, 2002

Breeze Browser from Breeze Systems will give you the subject distance. Problem, is, that value isn't always right. It's inaccuracy has been shown in numerous posts and photos so I'm not sure how much help it will be to you.

I'm confused, this sounds like a perfect picture to me. Can you post such a picture for us to evaluate?

--
Eric
Disclaimer: Snapshooter, and proud of it ;-)
http://www.pbase.com/haglunde

Mickey64564 · Oct 3, 2002

I agree with Eric. Don't rely on the reported subject distance (although BreezeBrower is an excellent application).

I too am confused about your problem. Sounds like the results I'd want to get, although it's strange that the background should be out of focus if you've locked focus at infinity. Yes, please post a sample image for us to take a look at.

Michael

--
http://www.pbase.com/mooremwm
http://www.photosig.com/userphotos.php?id=7178

Picacon · Oct 3, 2002

I don't think there is a big problem with the focus, of course is not perfect but looked at this gallery for some samples and judge for yourself.

Paul

http://www.pcorrigan.com

David N. · Oct 3, 2002

I sent my G2 off for repairs and got it back yesterday. One of the things I asked them to do was check the focus and make any improvements possible. The repair order that came back with the camera cited a couple of "adjustment" procedures (nothing was replaced) that were done to the focus and exposure systems.

The auto-focus locks in much quicker than before and I have not had any out of focus shots yet that were not due to camera shake.

--
http://www.pbase.com/dnewell228/

Eric Haglund · Oct 3, 2002

Great news! Can you tell us specifically what the repair order said was actually done? Thanks--

--
Eric
Disclaimer: Snapshooter, and proud of it ;-)
http://www.pbase.com/haglunde

mantastic · Oct 3, 2002

My observations after 6 mos G2 ownership and 1000+ pictures. With proper focus lock (green square in center of LCD oh 1/2 button press ) pics come out clear and sharp every time if no camera shake. This is true for bright light, low light or no light. Out of focus pics only result when there is camera shake or no green square in LCD at full button press.

Detailer · Oct 4, 2002

Appreciate you and Eric responding to my post.

I will try to explain my problem a bit better. I am trying to get the players at 20 to 50 yards in focus that are in the middle of the soccer field. I want as much depth of field as possible but my depth of field seem to be from 0 to 20 15 yards, even with a f5 apertature and smaller and the camera manually set at infinity. I don't have a web sit to put a picture on so I am E Mailing you guys a photo. Hope it is not a problem.

Thanks.
Bruce

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Focus on G2?

Aquatic11

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Ruffian

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Jamie Bird

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Miguel R.

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gkl

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Eric Haglund

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Mickey64564

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Detailer

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Mickey64564

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Picacon

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mantastic

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