Tip: AF in manual focus mode - Panasonic video

I have been shooting Panasonic M43 cameras for several years but have only just noticed something about the AF icon that appears when in MF focus mode on the current cameras (I verified this on the GH4 and GX80).

Since it first made its appearance, this facility has been a handy way of getting initial focus when in MF mode both for videos and photos. This works, for example, on the GX7, but not when video shooting is in progress.

The new thing (for me) is that on newer cameras this not only works while video is running but it focuses much faster while rolling than when using other methods such as AFC or AFS with a shutter half-press or touching the screen. As a bonus, if you have peaking enabled this highlights where the focus is and you can make fine adjustments with the focus ring if needed.

To use "AF in MF", first set the camera in MF focus mode then, if necessary, press the Display button until you see the AF symbol near the bottom right-hand corner of the LED display. If you are hand holding the camera, you can use your right thumb to touch it.

If you use the focus ring while shooting the AF icon will disappear. To make it reappear quickly you can half-press the shutter button.

Another tip: from the GX80 on you can enable auto-ISO in video mode. If you want, you can use shutter priority and let the camera adjust the aperture and ISO settings. Transitions, e.g. light to dark, seem quite smooth.

I don't get your story.

If I switch to manual mode I cannot mak a video. Cause I am in photo mode.

Maybe you can explain a little bit more.

Vesku wrote:

RickPick wrote:

I have been shooting Panasonic M43 cameras for several years but have only just noticed something about the AF icon that appears when in MF focus mode on the current cameras (I verified this on the GH4 and GX80).

To use "AF in MF", first set the camera in MF focus mode then, if necessary, press the Display button until you see the AF symbol near the bottom right-hand corner of the LED display. If you are hand holding the camera, you can use your right thumb to touch it.

You can also use back button focusing (AF-ON in menu) with manual focus. It is easier, just press AE-lock button.

Another tip: from the GX80 on you can enable auto-ISO in video mode. If you want, you can use shutter priority and let the camera adjust the aperture and ISO settings. Transitions, e.g. light to dark, seem quite smooth.

Auto iso exposure change is smooth but when the camera adjusts aperture the exposure changes in visible steps. Auto iso and S is handy indoors where the aperture stays fully open anyway.

That is what I do, I have mostly use manual focus on my GH4 and GH5 and just use the AE lock button to get focus quickly. I found use the AE button doesn't work well when moving from focusing on something in the background the foreground and trying to focus on the object in the foreground, especially with a busy background.

There are times when I have tried to go from focusing on a wider shot to a plant in the foreground and more often than not, it won't lock focus using the AE button with AF-ON when the wide shot was busy and the lens kept focusing on the background.

eivissa1 wrote:

I don't get your story.

If I switch to manual mode I cannot mak a video. Cause I am in photo mode.

Maybe you can explain a little bit more.

I think he means setting the focus to manual focus with a switch on the back of the camera, not changing the mode on the mode dial.

Vesku wrote:

RickPick wrote:

I have been shooting Panasonic M43 cameras for several years but have only just noticed something about the AF icon that appears when in MF focus mode on the current cameras (I verified this on the GH4 and GX80).

To use "AF in MF", first set the camera in MF focus mode then, if necessary, press the Display button until you see the AF symbol near the bottom right-hand corner of the LED display. If you are hand holding the camera, you can use your right thumb to touch it.

You can also use back button focusing (AF-ON in menu) with manual focus. It is easier, just press AE-lock button.

Yes, that is right, but my point is that using the AF icon on the touchscreen causes the focus change to be made much faster than any other method (while recording a video). Part of the reason I posted this was to see whether anyone else has found this to be the case. Maybe I didn't test the back button focusing - my testing was fairly unscientific!

Another tip: from the GX80 on you can enable auto-ISO in video mode. If you want, you can use shutter priority and let the camera adjust the aperture and ISO settings. Transitions, e.g. light to dark, seem quite smooth.

Auto iso exposure change is smooth but when the camera adjusts aperture the exposure changes in visible steps. Auto iso and S is handy indoors where the aperture stays fully open anyway.

eivissa1 wrote:

I don't get your story.

If I switch to manual mode I cannot mak a video. Cause I am in photo mode.

Maybe you can explain a little bit more.

I think he means setting the focus to manual focus with a switch on the back of the camera, not changing the mode on the mode dial.

No, actually I am talking about the onscreen button [AF] which appears on the LCD screen (bottom right) when you switch the camera to MF.

How you switch to MF depends on the camera. Some, e.g. GH4, and GX7, have a physical switch but with others, e.g. GX80, you use focus mode in the menu or set a function button to allow you to switch.

In either case the [AF] onscreen button appears, but you may have to press Display a number of times to see the right display screen. When you touch the AF button on the screen the camera performs a single AF (GH4/GX80) and what I noticed that this appears to be faster than other methods while recording video. Focus jumps rather than crawls to the new focus point (relatively speaking). I found this quite exciting....:-)

eivissa1 wrote:

I don't get your story.

If I switch to manual mode I cannot mak a video. Cause I am in photo mode.

Maybe you can explain a little bit more.

You can make a video using manual focus. This is set either using the Focus Mode menu item or a physical switch if there is one. Whether in photo or movie mode the [AF] icon appears on the touchscreen. There are more details in other posts in this thread.

(You don't have to be in M mode - that means manual aperture and shutter adjustments independent of focus mode.)

Thanks Rick for a tip. I never ever noticed the icon with my GH4 - until GX80. Fine to know that in video camera focuses much faster - however fast refocus is not always optimal as Vesku wrote. But for sure it might be highly desirable sometimes.

There is one drawback though. Tapping the screen will place your focus point wherever you want to have it - followed by refocusing. Tapping the icon will just initiate refocusing - using the focus point previously selected. It means you have turn your camera to new object/direction and then tap the icon.

I am not sure if I explained it clearly. Imagine having camera on a tripod. Without moving the camera you can refocus to different objects without moving the camera-just tapping them monitor. This cannot be done with your method - you have to move the camera - point it to object you wish to be focused and then tap icon.

_vlad wrote:

Thanks Rick for a tip. I never ever noticed the icon with my GH4 - until GX80. Fine to know that in video camera focuses much faster - however fast refocus is not always optimal as Vesku wrote. But for sure it might be highly desirable sometimes.

There is one drawback though. Tapping the screen will place your focus point wherever you want to have it - followed by refocusing. Tapping the icon will just initiate refocusing - using the focus point previously selected. It means you have turn your camera to new object/direction and then tap the icon.

I am not sure if I explained it clearly. Imagine having camera on a tripod. Without moving the camera you can refocus to different objects without moving the camera-just tapping them monitor. This cannot be done with your method - you have to move the camera - point it to object you wish to be focused and then tap icon.

Thanks, and yes, I agree with your points and Vesku's too. Panasonic have actually said that focus changing is slowed in video deliberately because too fast a focus change can look bad. Unfortunately, a lot of the time with this system even a slow change can look quite bad too. In my case, when I shoot video it is usually at some event where we are using two and sometimes three cameras for different angles. Sometimes one camera is "roving", usually supported on a shoulder rig. I am thinking of using my new GX80 with its good stabilization for this function - maybe handheld even. In that case, this could come in handy for me. Sometimes I need the focus changes to be fast rather than "look nice". While editing I will only use certain shots from the roving camera and will obviously not use those not so nice-looking moves. So I'm glad that Panasonic have provided this option.

Same thing goes for the focus point. When hand holding I can easily reuse the current focus point and tap the AF icon with my thumb when needed. I think of this more as an addition to the armory than an answer to everything. As you say - "highly desirable sometimes".

Thanks again for your response.

I set my cameras to AFS, Shutter AF to OFF and the back button AF to ON (but not locked) when shooting video.

When I want to focus I tap the back button, and bingo.  My only complaint is that Panasonic, in it's infinite wisdom, disables the small pinpoint AF box when video is recording.