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Forced to turn off focus light, is this fair?

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dpyy

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I'm been playing with my 3 lenses quite a bit with the nex6 (kit, e30, e50) but what I've realized I that the focus light screws up my focus. It just plainly will not focus with the e30 and e50 unless I use manual or upturn off the light.

Is this expected? I'm using official emount lens with no adapter why does it do this? It's annoying to have to keep turning on and off the light depending on lens.
 
Many of us just leave the focus light off permanently. ;~}
 
I don't know about fair, but it is a common issue with all AF systems in very low light, subject contrast will play a big part in focus acquisition, I would try a static setup on a tripod to rule out the lenses.
 
to me its simple

there is a "focus assist light"

when this light is on and you are shooting in low light you get a huge box indicating that something might be in focus - - and its slow - most likely because the additionally light actually drowns out contrast the AF system needs

when the light is off you get the normal focus indicator box and it focuses quickly and accurately

My "focus assist light" is off by default because it doesn't "assist"

not a big deal - just learn what works best and dont bitc# about what doesnt

JMO
 
Last edited:
kerpan said:
kerpan wrote:

Many of us just leave the focus light off permanently. ;~}
Click to expand...
Got my first AF e-mount in today, the 35mm f/1.8, and I tried out the AF assist light for fun to see what the fuss was all about when focusing in low-light.

Wow, it really does make everything so much worse!

http://matthewdurrphotography.com
 
kerpan said:
kerpan wrote:

Many of us just leave the focus light off permanently. ;~}
Click to expand...
The AF light is useless with manual lenses... :D
 
So I guess my real question is are there any situations where the light is actually useful? I want to know what I'm sacrificing to make thear lenses work.
 
dpyy said:
dpyy wrote:

So I guess my real question is are there any situations where the light is actually useful? I want to know what I'm sacrificing to make thear lenses work.
Click to expand...
no - just turn it off - the af system in the NEX relies on contrast to focus - light that comes straight on reduces contrast it eliminates the shadows / contrast that come from side lighting. If the NEX cameras used a phase detect AF system like DSLR's use it would be different, but for contrast detect - - I personally think the AF light is just there so that they can say they have it

JMO
 
The focus assist lamp is designed to provide a bit of illumination where there is no light. Unfortunately, it has a very limited range and often, the AF light doesn't improve contrast. With longer lenses, the chances are that you're far enough away from the subject that the AF lamp is ineffective. When it's on, the AF system seems a little less aggressive in terms of hunting for focus and will often miss.
 
When I first got my 5n i had the focus light on and could never get a clear focus point.

When I turned it off, the camera focused as expected .... keep the focus light off unless you are in a almost pitch black room.




wll
 
edwardaneal said:
edwardaneal wrote:
edwardaneal said:
dpyy wrote:

So I guess my real question is are there any situations where the light is actually useful? I want to know what I'm sacrificing to make thear lenses work.
Click to expand...
no - just turn it off - the af system in the NEX relies on contrast to focus - light that comes straight on reduces contrast it eliminates the shadows / contrast that come from side lighting. If the NEX cameras used a phase detect AF system like DSLR's use it would be different, but for contrast detect - - I personally think the AF light is just there so that they can say they have it

JMO
Click to expand...
 
Just turn it off. I find it distracting (for the living subjects I shoot) and focus works without it.
 
El Matadurr said:
El Matadurr wrote:
El Matadurr said:
kerpan wrote:

Many of us just leave the focus light off permanently. ;~}
Click to expand...
Got my first AF e-mount in today, the 35mm f/1.8, and I tried out the AF assist light for fun to see what the fuss was all about when focusing in low-light.

Wow, it really does make everything so much worse!

http://matthewdurrphotography.com
Click to expand...
The annoying thing is, my old Canon G12 used a similar AF assist light and it worked brilliantly. Like many people on this forum, I find the NEX AF assist light to be pretty much a disaster. How can this be? How can adding light to a dim scene make it harder for the camera to find focus? There are situations in low-light where even with the SEL50f18 attached, the sensor is not getting enough light to find focus easily. Of course, switch the AF assist light to ON, turns a difficult task into an impossible one!
 
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