So my workaround was to program my G3's 2 custom settings to
provide me with a makeshift fixed focus mode for these situations.
Using flash to automatically control exposure, my settings have
manually set aperture and focus settings which give me a shotting
range of either 3-6 feet or 7-10 feet, respectively.
Mike,
What exact settings do you use for those 2 custom modes?
Av Mode
Slow Sync OFF
Flash ON
Focus MANUAL (preferably set by locking AF on a target at a measured distance)
C1
aperture f2
focus 9 feet 9 inches
effective focus/flash range about 7.1 feet to 15 feet
C2
aperrture f8
focus 3 feet 4 inches
effective focus/flash range about 2.2 to 6.4 feet
Bear in mind that these are just the settings I am currently using for my personal needs. As always, there are compromises involved, and some people might find other settings more suitable for their needs.
These settings will not always give you the best possible results in a given scene. They are meant to give you reasonably good results with fast reaction time in a wide variety of low light situations when fiddling with camera settings would be impractical.
When fine tuning settings for your own use, you need to study a depth of field chart of some sort along with a chart of flash ranges at various apertures.
Right now, I'm using a hyperfocal setting as follows for indoors
when I don't need a fast shutter speed and/or the AF doesn't work
well:
Av mode w/ aperture f5.6
Lens at full wideangle
MF at 5 ft
What do you mean "when [you] don't need a fast shutter speed"? This technique largely assumes you're using flash, which generally eliminates the need for a fast shutter speed.
This setting, as you've discovered, gives you certain benefits along with certain limitations. You must experiment with different settings in search of those that give you the best balance. But remember that this technique is merely a workaround to the limited AF performance of any non-SLR digital camera. Do not expect full creative control or perfection while using this.
This works very well for good focus from 3ft outward, but it does
yield a darker background than I like due to the small aperture
setting.
Dark backgrounds are common and often unavoidable when using flash in darkened scenes with distant backgrounds, unless you use slow flash sync mode. Unfortunately, this mode is incompatible with this technique because the background (and maybe even part of the foreground) would end up with motion blur.
Slow sync is useful, for example, if you're shooting a flash portrait of a person late in the afternoon, and you want to prevent that beautiful sunset in the background from turning into a black sky. But it's impractical in cases where ambient lighting is very dark and where there is any motion involved, such as an indoor party scene.
Like you, I bought the G3 in large part for its fast
lens, so this really defeats the purpose when the AF isn't good
enough.
It doesn't defeat the purpose. The faster aperture does come in handy in many situations, and provides you with somewhat faster autofocus in any given situation that would be possible with a slower aperture. Just because it doesn't solve all your problems or save the day in every situation doesn't render it a useless feature.
Since you use 2 settings and always tout the faster lens of the G3,
I assume your settings would take better advantage of large
aperture settings, no? I don't mind having to switch between 2
custom settings depending on distance, if it allows use of larger
apertures to help expose the background.
My C1 setting is optimized for close shots - under 6 feet. I selected the smallest possible aperture (f8) to a) avoid flash overexposure at short range, and b) provide the maximum possible depth of field, and the largest possible focus zone.
My C2 setting is optimized for shots about 7 feet and beyond, and is limited to about 15 feet by the flash range, depending on the color of the subject. I used the largest possible aperture (f2) because a) I wanted maximum flash range, and b) at these distances depth of field is no longer critical.
The down sides are that the f8 and f2 apertures do not provide the best optical performance from the lens, which generally has the least diffraction and distortion at median apertures. But since this is merely a workaround to obtain snapshots under specific conditions, these are not critical issues.
