Olympus C4000 Zoom manual focus

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

nosredna wrote:
> After two years of enjoying the basics of my Olympus C4000 Zoom, I
> discovered the "manual focus" setting (by pressing down the OK button
> for more than one second and setting the focus distance) on page 32 of
> the manual ("Advanced Shooting"). Perhaps this feature should instead be
> called "fixed focus setting" instead of "manual focus, because there's
> also an auto focus/manual focus setting in the regular settings (Camera
> settings: Fulltime Autofocus), which I always set to "off." Even when I
> set focus in the "advanced setting" to "auto focus," the regular setting
> stays on manual. Can someone explain why there are two different
> auto/manual focus settings? It seems that the advanced one would be
> useful for blurring a background (or foreground) or, for example,
> keeping the distance constant when photographing a bunch of ebay stuff
> with a tripod or some such project. With the regular focus setting it
> seems there is much more depth of field (unless shooting in manual mode
> with a large aperture).


Hi Nosreda...

There are two different settings, because they are
very different  

The one you found when you held the ok button is indeed
manual focus. You (should have) seen the focus scale
on the right side of the viewfinder, the up down buttons
will let you select the distance you like.

The second, continuous focus, is related only to auto
focus, of course. The camera continually focuses, rather
than just when you half press the shutter release. Handy
in some cases - think of a child running toward you, for
instance. Downside is it's a little tougher on your
battery consumption. BTW, it's automatically turned on
for you when you select the program mode "sports". (small
icon of a skier)

Hope this helps.

Ken

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <KRmwd.525435$nl.14085@pd7tw3no>,
Ken Weitzel <kweitzel@shaw.ca> wrote:

> nosredna wrote:
> > After two years of enjoying the basics of my Olympus C4000 Zoom, I
> > discovered the "manual focus" setting (by pressing down the OK button
> > for more than one second and setting the focus distance) on page 32 of
> > the manual ("Advanced Shooting"). Perhaps this feature should instead be
> > called "fixed focus setting" instead of "manual focus, because there's
> > also an auto focus/manual focus setting in the regular settings (Camera
> > settings: Fulltime Autofocus), which I always set to "off." Even when I
> > set focus in the "advanced setting" to "auto focus," the regular setting
> > stays on manual. Can someone explain why there are two different
> > auto/manual focus settings? It seems that the advanced one would be
> > useful for blurring a background (or foreground) or, for example,
> > keeping the distance constant when photographing a bunch of ebay stuff
> > with a tripod or some such project. With the regular focus setting it
> > seems there is much more depth of field (unless shooting in manual mode
> > with a large aperture).
>
>
> Hi Nosreda...
>
> There are two different settings, because they are
> very different  
>
> The one you found when you held the ok button is indeed
> manual focus. You (should have) seen the focus scale
> on the right side of the viewfinder, the up down buttons
> will let you select the distance you like.
>
> The second, continuous focus, is related only to auto
> focus, of course. The camera continually focuses, rather
> than just when you half press the shutter release. Handy
> in some cases - think of a child running toward you, for
> instance. Downside is it's a little tougher on your
> battery consumption. BTW, it's automatically turned on
> for you when you select the program mode "sports". (small
> icon of a skier)
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Ken
>
It helps, but I'm still a bit confused. By "continuous focus," I assume
you refer to the setting for Mode Menu/Camera/AF (off/on). I always have
this OFF, because I like to focus manually (and I understand how
AutoFocus would be good for sports, etc.). It's my understanding that
the Mode Menu focus setting is the one to use for a range of "normal"
conditions, and the "advanced" focus is useful for shooting several
shots that are the same distance away, or when you want to focus on a
specific area of the scene and control the depth of field (using it in
conjunction with Aperture-preferred mode setting). At least I wouldn't
want to set distance for each shot when I'm doing casual photography.
least I don't want to set the distance before each shutter action.
Re: your comment about sports mode setting focus to auto, when I look at
the setting in the Mode Menu after setting the Sports mode, AutoFocus is
OFF. But I guess that doesn't matter--shooting in a Programmed mode
overrides what's set in the Mode Menu?

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

My C755 doesn't even mention Manual Focus in the book. Nice to know now
thanks to you...... TRR

nosredna wrote:

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <WHIwd.2045$RH4.1498@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
TRR <trrusty@earthlink.net> wrote:

> My C755 doesn't even mention Manual Focus in the book. Nice to know now
> thanks to you...... TRR
>
When I first got the camera, I skimmed through the paper manual (two
thirds of which is in a foreign language) and got very overwhelmed,
thinking I would sit down with it eventually and really learn what the
camera is capable of. I only dug it out the other day when I noticed a
red "MF" on the bottom right-hand corner of the LCD that I hadn't
noticed before. I found nothing in the manual about such initials
appearing on the LCD, but the section on manual focus rang a bell. I
suspect there's a more thorough explanation in the pdf manual on the CD
that came with the camera. When I read that, I'm sure I'll find out more
neat things about this great little camera. Last night I discovered how
to do selective focusing (hold the shutter down to focus on a point,
keep it held down, move the camera to frame the shot, and then release
the shutter).

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

nosredna <nosredna@suscom.net> wrote in
news:nosredna-061B12.19033816122004@news.isp.giganews.com:
> It helps, but I'm still a bit confused. By "continuous focus," I
> assume you refer to the setting for Mode Menu/Camera/AF (off/on). I
> always have this OFF, because I like to focus manually (and I
> understand how AutoFocus would be good for sports, etc.). It's my
> understanding that the Mode Menu focus setting is the one to use for a
> range of "normal" conditions, and the "advanced" focus is useful for
> shooting several shots that are the same distance away, or when you
> want to focus on a specific area of the scene and control the depth of
> field (using it in conjunction with Aperture-preferred mode setting).

You are wrong. The idea in Fulltime AF is simply to make the camera respond
faster. If just makes the autofocus more responsive. The downsize of using
it is more wear to the lens, more battery consumption and more noise.

--
Matti Vuori, <http://sivut.koti.soon.fi/mvuori/index-e.htm&gt;

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <Xns95C397D526702mvuorikotisoonfi@193.229.0.31>,
Matti Vuori <mvuori@koti.soon.fi> wrote:

> nosredna <nosredna@suscom.net> wrote in
> news:nosredna-061B12.19033816122004@news.isp.giganews.com:
> > It helps, but I'm still a bit confused. By "continuous focus," I
> > assume you refer to the setting for Mode Menu/Camera/AF (off/on). I
> > always have this OFF, because I like to focus manually (and I
> > understand how AutoFocus would be good for sports, etc.). It's my
> > understanding that the Mode Menu focus setting is the one to use for a
> > range of "normal" conditions, and the "advanced" focus is useful for
> > shooting several shots that are the same distance away, or when you
> > want to focus on a specific area of the scene and control the depth of
> > field (using it in conjunction with Aperture-preferred mode setting).
>
> You are wrong. The idea in Fulltime AF is simply to make the camera respond
> faster. If just makes the autofocus more responsive. The downsize of using
> it is more wear to the lens, more battery consumption and more noise.

When I say "AutoFocus" I don't mean "fulltime AF." There are two
settings in AutoFocus--fulltime (always on) and regular (you have to
push the shutter down half way to focus). My point originally is that in
most cases I would want to push the shutter down rather than go into the
Manual Focus screen and set the distance. To me, setting the distance
would be less accurate than the AutoFocus. Do any digital cameras have
the old-fashioned kind of focusing (focus ring right on the lens)? I
really miss that about 35mm SLR photography.