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FV mode focus problems

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Emile15

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Hi,

I am having huge problems using the Fv mode and auto-focus. The camera often refuses to focus and all I see is a blurred image and nothing further happens. When I manually bring the subject more or less in focus, the camera/lens will then do the rest. This happens on both my R5 and the R7 with at least 3 different lenses: 100-500, 200-800 and 24-105 f4. Obviously auto focus is switched on and so is the Servo mode. Do others have similar problems? Has anyone found a solution? Does the R5 II still have this problem?

PS. I sometimes prefer to use FV mode because it allows me to independently set shutter speed and aperture.
 
Emile15 said:
Hi,

I am having huge problems using the Fv mode and auto-focus. The camera often refuses to focus and all I see is a blurred image and nothing further happens. When I manually bring the subject more or less in focus, the camera/lens will then do the rest. This happens on both my R5 and the R7 with at least 3 different lenses: 100-500, 200-800 and 24-105 f4. Obviously auto focus is switched on and so is the Servo mode. Do others have similar problems? Has anyone found a solution? Does the R5 II still have this problem?

PS. I sometimes prefer to use FV mode because it allows me to independently set shutter speed and aperture.
Click to expand...
It's not an exposure mode problem, unless you have it tied to a particular Custom Mode. If that's the case then you might have something goofed up in your AF settings (such as Focus Search turned off).

In general however, if the subject is grossly OOF to start with then the Subject Detect doesn't have enough to chew on, and the AF will balk. This is why most folks have something like Spot AF tied to one of the (other) back buttons.

In these cases of gross initial OOF, use the Spot AF to get the focus close, then switch to your normal Face/eye Detect. In fact, I always try to anticipate about where my subject is likely to appear, and have my AF "preset" to that distance beforehand. Works much better.

Good luck!

R2

ps. I find that the R5ii is a bit better at this than the other bodies, but you still need to apply this technique.

--
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/galleries
 
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It's been my experience over the years, that when a subject is initially grossly out of focus, the total lack of contrast and detail renders the AF system basically inoperative.

The necessity to engage manual focus to a degree of bringing the subject more toward an in-focus condition prior to the AF functioning properly is not new.

Not sure what FV mode has to do with AF?
 
R2D2 said:
R2D2 wrote
Click to expand...
R2D2 said:
In general however, if the subject is grossly OOF to start with then the Subject Detect doesn't have enough to chew on, and the AF will balk. This is why most folks have something like Spot AF tied to one of the (other) back buttons.
Click to expand...
I too have a second back button with Spot AF. Using that button doesn’t help.
 
Leigh A said:
It's been my experience over the years, that when a subject is initially grossly out of focus, the total lack of contrast and detail renders the AF system basically inoperative.
Click to expand...
That is my experience with Fv mode too, but it is much worse in this mode as compared to the others.
Leigh A said:
The necessity to engage manual focus to a degree of bringing the subject more toward an in-focus condition prior to the AF functioning properly is not new.

Not sure what FV mode has to do with AF?
Click to expand...
Me neither, but it is so much worse in this mode than it is in the others.
 
I use Fv all the time with my R5 & R6 with RF 100-500, 24-240 and RF 14-35 lenses, and I've never had any focusing problems. Same for the M, Av and Tv modes. It seems odd that there is any correlation between focusing and operating modes.

Have you ever had any similar problems in the M, Av or Tv modes?
 
Emile15 said:
Emile15 said:
R2D2 wrote

In general however, if the subject is grossly OOF to start with then the Subject Detect doesn't have enough to chew on, and the AF will balk. This is why most folks have something like Spot AF tied to one of the (other) back buttons.
Click to expand...
I too have a second back button with Spot AF. Using that button doesn’t help.
Click to expand...
Works every time for me.

R2
 
Emile15 said:
Emile15 said:
R2D2 wrote

In general however, if the subject is grossly OOF to start with then the Subject Detect doesn't have enough to chew on, and the AF will balk. This is why most folks have something like Spot AF tied to one of the (other) back buttons.
Click to expand...
I too have a second back button with Spot AF. Using that button doesn’t help.
Click to expand...
It won’t help if you simply try to spot focus on the same vastly OOF subject that you’re struggling with. To use the technique properly, you need to use spot focus on something intermediate, that is less drastically OOF, then the subject you want will be visible enough to the AF system that subject detect will be able to grab it. The technique works very well, but you need to understand what you’re trying to do.
 
Thanks, that is helpful. No, I haven’t really tested it with any of the other modes, except Tv, where the problem is much reduced and the approach sketched by Alastair works reasonably well, even if the autofocus system is often distracted by nearby objects. I have long wondered whether it is due to one of my settings, which basically mirror my Tv settings for birds in flight.
 
Your suggestion works fine in Tv mode but not in Fv. When it is stuck in OOF it stays stuck.
 
Alastair Norcross said:
Emile15 said:
Alastair Norcross said:
R2D2 wrote

In general however, if the subject is grossly OOF to start with then the Subject Detect doesn't have enough to chew on, and the AF will balk. This is why most folks have something like Spot AF tied to one of the (other) back buttons.
Click to expand...
I too have a second back button with Spot AF. Using that button doesn’t help.
Click to expand...
It won’t help if you simply try to spot focus on the same vastly OOF subject that you’re struggling with. To use the technique properly, you need to use spot focus on something intermediate, that is less drastically OOF, then the subject you want will be visible enough to the AF system that subject detect will be able to grab it. The technique works very well, but you need to understand what you’re trying to do.
Click to expand...
Right. I don't try to focus on the same grossly OOF subject, or even an intermediate object. I simply point the camera at another object that is at the same distance. People just need to make sure that they pick a good AF target that has lots of good vertical contrast (ie branches, leaves, grass, etc). My last resort is actually to spin the focusing dial.

R2

--
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/galleries
 
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Last edited:
Possible test??

In a situation when the AF fails in FV Mode, preferably on a tripod, note all the Exposure settings, including ISO, that FV mode auto-selected, and without "touching" anything else, switch to "M" Mode, and duplicate all the FV Mode settings. then see if the AF behavior changes in any way?
 
R2D2 said:
My last resort is actually to spin the focusing dial.

R2
Click to expand...
That is my last resort too, but in fast action situations that usually means I have missed my shot. I did check the Lens drive setting and it turns out it was switched on in all my custom modes where I have no problems, and switched off in Fv mode. I am hoping that solves the problem. Thanks for mentioning that!
 
Emile15 said:
Emile15 said:
My last resort is actually to spin the focusing dial.

R2
Click to expand...
That is my last resort too, but in fast action situations that usually means I have missed my shot. I did check the Lens drive setting and it turns out it was switched on in all my custom modes where I have no problems, and switched off in Fv mode. I am hoping that solves the problem. Thanks for mentioning that!
Click to expand...
Yessir that should help. Glad you checked.

Keep those other "helper" techniques handy tho! :-D

Happy shooting!

R2
 
Sometimes when a mysterious issue arises, some combination of settings has produced an unexpected and unintended result. Tracking it down can be difficult or impossible and very frustrating. In such a situation it is worth simply resetting the camera to factory defaults. First save your settings to a card, then reset. Try your focusing with Fv mode activated - hopefully it will work normally. Now you have a choice. Either reinstall your settings, which may or may not cause the same issue, or start over with a clean slate.
 
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