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G7 and G85 AutoFocus while shooting video questions

Started Jan 2, 2019 | Discussions thread
pannumon Veteran Member • Posts: 4,130
Re: G7 and G85 AutoFocus while shooting video questions
1

red sled wrote:

Thank you pannumon. I was almost ready to purchase one of these two cameras but the focus difficulties others were having has given me pause.

I'm not familiar with these AF difficulties as I normally shoot with a Nikon D90 or D300s which I see have phase-detect AF for normal shooting. Perhaps, as you say, it would get better with experience trying different settings.

Are we talking about stills AF or video AF? Because G7 and G85 will be way ahead of any Nikon DSLR when considering video AF. Also the whole "live view" experience should be a totally new world when using a system that is built on top if it.

When it comes to stills singe-point AF (S-AF), Panasonic cameras should focus much faster than you Nikons. Considering continuous AF (C-AF) or tracking focus, expect the Nikon DLSRs to be better (by far).

When shooting video, unless you actively tell the camera where to focus (either by touching the screen or half-pressing the shutter release button), any camera will have difficulties to know where you want the focus to be, or when to refocus. This can be controlled semi-automatically (much like using A or S mode instead of fully automatic mode for stills).

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