XZ-2 AF question to those who have had problems.

From my experiences, outside in the dark has been fine. usually, night time scenes with street lighting etc, are actually quite contrasty. The problem with the AF system isn't darkness. My XZ-2 will focus amazingly well in pitch black with the AF assist lamp on.

The problem I find is when its dim enough that the AF assist lamp doesnt think it needs to be on, but the lens can't focus as the scene isn't contrasty enough. Typical evening lighting in a house or in a restaurant etc.

From what I've found, the camera struggles with a single AF point. Use it in multi point mode and it manages a lot better. Even when pin pointing the same central single point it previously couldnt manage to focus on.

Face recognition seemed to work pretty well in dim conditions, mainily because the camera will switch to multi point focusing to use it.

Of course, outside, at night, with no lighting, any camera will struggle.

That is very helpful.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Stephen

This is helpful information. Simplifies the process a bit! At least I know what to try ahead of time.

S Jones said:

S Jones wrote:

3) There have been many posts regarding the OMD EM5's small focussing points and various 'work arounds.' It is my understanding that the XZ-2 uses the same sized points. Has anyone found these to be a problem: when picking out small flowers from other vegetation for example.

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You can make the focus box quite small on the E-M5 using a slider that is adjustable via the touch screen interface. But I know of no feature on the XZ-2 that allows you to reduce it to the same extent.

Thanks for that.

I will have to look back and see exactly when the problems arose on the EM5 and see if they are likely to affect my potential use of the XZ2.

Thanks again.

Stephen

A few answers from my experience:

"1) Have any of you had problems with the AF outdoors in dim light eg. night street scenes?"

I have had no problems with AF on night scenes. By that I mean scenes like dimly lit buildings, streetlight scattered in the scene, people more than 20 feet away. Last week I went through some vacation photos for twilight strolls and did not find a single mis-focus for that kind of shot.

"1B) Have any of you had problems with the AF outdoors in dim light eg. ... photographing leaf/bark patterns or fungi in the dim light that can occur in British woodland this time of year."

Yes, that kind of thing causes problems. With objects 2 3 or 4 feet away, zooming in close, in low light that is when I find AF problems. (if you set up your shot so the camera has in its frame see something in the corner far beyond your intended focus distance, you will discover the failure to focus AF near means the focus gets set far away.)

"2) In the indoor conditions that have caused AF problems with the centre spot, has using the face recognition feature made any difference? (assuming people are in the frame)"

Face recognition works pretty well and solves a lot of the problems. The one annoying thing I have found it may think something like a button on a shirt is the face. But that does not usually happen.

"3) Thirdly a question unrelated to the low light issue....small focussing points ... It is my understanding that the XZ-2 uses the same sized points. Has anyone found these to be a problem: when picking out small flowers from other vegetation"

With good light, small focus points, I am always able to pick out the part of the scene I intend and get good focus.

I hope that helps.

"I hope that helps."

It does.

Thanks for taking the time to reply

Stephen

S Jones said:

S Jones wrote:

1) Have any of you had problems with the AF outdoors in dim light eg.

night street scenes,

photographing leaf/bark patterns or fungi in the dim light that can occur in British woodland this time of year.

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Generally better outdoors under conditions you have mentioned (really cannot speak to leaf/bark as I am generally shooting that during the daytime. But while I have had some of the issues others have seen, I don't find it happening often enough to ruin my overall enjoyment of the camera.

S Jones said:

2) In the indoor conditions that have caused AF problems with the centre spot, has using the face recognition feature made any difference? (assuming people are in the frame)

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Yes - it does help because as was pointed out the camera will AF on faces even if they are not in the focus box you select. I generally keep the camera on the center box but when I know I will be shooting people (like parties or grandson's visits) I will turn the Face Detection but leave the AF only on center point. And the camera will find faces outside that center box successfully. I have read that using all or multiple points improves the cameras AF issues, but then you have be concerned on what the camera has decided to AF on.

S Jones said:

Thirdly a question unrelated to the low light issue.

3) There have been many posts regarding the OMD EM5's small focussing points and various 'work arounds.' It is my understanding that the XZ-2 uses the same sized points. Has anyone found these to be a problem: when picking out small flowers from other vegetation for example.

Click to expand...

There are two different size AF spots - one based on 25 (5x5 grid) of AF points and one smaller set based upon 35 (7x5 grid) of AF points. I generally use the smaller set because it does give more control over the area that the camera has to select. Is the AF better using the larger spots or more of the spots - your mileage may vary but I don't see a significant difference.

Thanks for taking the time to add your experiences.

I am looking forward to tomorrow's announcement by Olympus then I will have to start making up my mind.

Thanks again for your help.

Stephen

S Jones said:

I am looking forward to tomorrow's announcement by Olympus then I will have to start making up my mind.

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ME TOO!!!!!