GH4 Eye Sensor AF? What is it? Anyone get it to work?

"Together with the Eye Sensor AF which starts focusing by just looking into the viewfinder, the AF/AE lock button works for AF for quick auto focusing even when using the LVF. "

I'm confused about this Eye Sensor AF thing.

What I thought it meant was that when you looked at something in the viewfinder the camera would figure out what point you were looking at and focus at this point. Some old cameras had this tech I think.

But I can't see any sort of autofocus mode on the camera that behaves like this.

Is this what it means?

From what I can see all the "Eye Sensor" does is turn off the external LCD panel when you get close to it and turns on the EVF. But this is NOT the "Eye Sensor AF" advertised.

Note: this is not the Eye Detection AF ie. "GH4 incorporates Eye Detection AF which automatically sets focus right on the eye of human face."

I use it on my GH3 - it simply means that, when the eye-sensor detects that you're close to the viewfinder, it's starts to focus on whatever the camera is pointing at/where the AF point is set.

Cheers,
Paul

amipal wrote:

I use it on my GH3 - it simply means that, when the eye-sensor detects that you're close to the viewfinder, it's starts to focus on whatever the camera is pointing at/where the AF point is set.

I have it on too on my GX7. Since I'm usually on AF-S, it only focuses when I first look into the EVF, much like a half press on the shutter. Since I don't use AF-C, I'm not sure if it continuously AF the whole time while you're looking through the EVF, but it sounds like it.

uRebel Rob wrote:

amipal wrote:

I use it on my GH3 - it simply means that, when the eye-sensor detects that you're close to the viewfinder, it's starts to focus on whatever the camera is pointing at/where the AF point is set.

I have it on too on my GX7. Since I'm usually on AF-S, it only focuses when I first look into the EVF, much like a half press on the shutter. Since I don't use AF-C, I'm not sure if it continuously AF the whole time while you're looking through the EVF, but it sounds like it.

Me too. I always have it on my GX7.

uRebel Rob wrote:focuses when I first look into the EVF, much like a half press on the shutter.

That's right.

It's not what the OP thought.

uRebel Rob wrote:

I have it on too on my GX7. Since I'm usually on AF-S, it only focuses when I first look into the EVF, much like a half press on the shutter. Since I don't use AF-C, I'm not sure if it continuously AF the whole time while you're looking through the EVF, but it sounds like it.

I have no experience with GH3/GH4, but it sounds that Eye Sensor AF means that pre-focus is enabled when eye sensor detects the eye (from infrared radiation). Pre-focus at least in older models means that there is continuous focus when shutter release button IS NOT pressed at all, whereas AF-C means that there is continuous focus when the shutter button release IS (half-)pressed. Pre-focus + AF-C means that the camera is focusing all the time. I don't use either.

Right, well it's not what I thought it meant then - that's a very basic feature then. I was thinking it was a way more advanced eye-tracking-focus system that would focus on the point your eye is looking at in the viewfinder and continue to track your eye position and refocus as where you looked changed.

I seem to have got this impression both from the name they choose to call it and what I seem to remember was on one of the brochure sites for the camera on some Panasonic site. Maybe they deliberately did this to make people think it was the more advanced system...

geogan wrote:

Right, well it's not what I thought it meant then - that's a very basic feature then. I was thinking it was a way more advanced eye-tracking-focus system that would focus on the point your eye is looking at in the viewfinder and continue to track your eye position and refocus as where you looked changed.

Been done and dropped many moons ago.....

geogan wrote:

got this impression both from the name they choose to call it and what I seem to remember was on one of the brochure sites for the camera on some Panasonic site. Maybe they deliberately did this to make people think it was the more advanced system...

I don't recall reading anything, from Panasonic or elsewhere, that implied it was more than it is. I thnk you just didn't read carefully. It was clear to me what it does.

This keeps coming up.

The Panasonic "Eye Sensor AF" will, as the Instruction Manual says, " automatically adjust the focus when the eye sensor is active". When your eye is on the EVF it will continually focus and adjust focus within the focus box (whatever you have set)

It is not tracking

It is not AFC

It will not work well in low light.

It is not fast.

It has a limited range of focal distances

It will not lock the focus as the half-press does.

It is for framing the shot so you can see what you are looking at, not focussing to shoot.

It is very useful. You pick the camera up to your eye and can see what you see.