how you handle the slow focus on X ?

[leica1215]

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i have been using the X1 for sometime

. often that when take portraits AF take second or 2 to focus, i feel i missed the moment , i'm not skilled photoghrapher , any advise ?

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[michaelbrenner]

i have been using the X1 for sometime

. often that when take portraits AF take second or 2 to focus, i feel i missed the moment , i'm not skilled photoghapher , any advise ?

 

I used the X1 extensively for candids and other "capture the moment" types of shots. To get around the slow AF I used zone focusing (especially in NYC for street photography where many shots were taken at waist level to avoid drawing attention) where I set the focus for given distance and then changed focus mode to manual and took shots at about that distance without using the AF. It is much faster and allows you to capture those spontaneous moments. I would then control depth of field by adjusting the aperture with the smaller apertures (e.g. F11 instead of F8) causing a larger depth of field and thereby allowing more tolerance in actual subject-camera distance versus the estimated distance that the focus is set to. The X1 had a DOF table in the latest firmware update built into the manual focus bar.

 

No need for data tables or calculations. Set your focus (using auto focus) on an object at about the same distance your subjects will be at. Switch to manual focus. Take a few shots of your subjects. Then play with the aperture setting until you get desired depth of field in your shots. If you have too much depth of field, reduce the aperture setting (e.g. from F11 to F8). If not enough, then increase (e.g. from F8 to F11).

 

Zone focusing, as this technique is called, is especially useful for erratically moving objects and for low-light situations. For example, for Christmas my brother and his family came to visit. In order to capture pictures of his children opening their presents, I set the X1 at the closest distance I thought they might be and then adjusted aperture so that subsequent pictures were in focus. Lighting was not the best so I knew AF was out of the question anyway. I was able to get many candid shots in focus in that way.

 

There are many articles on zone focus techniques. Just do a Google search on it for more info.

[leica1215]

thanks for such a detailed information , i will try it...the zone focus:)

 

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[symmetron]

Patience. That's what it takes with the X1 (X2 not much better IMHO). Can be frustratingly slow.

[michaelbrenner]

The slow AF was one of the biggest problems with the X1. However, if you have the patience to learn how to work around it using the zone focus method, the pictures you take can be quite rewarding. It is such a small, non-intrusive camera that it is very easy to carry (e.g. in a belt case) and for the most part it goes unnoticed, so it makes an excellent candid camera. The main drawback (besides the slow AF) is that the focus setting is not maintained when the camera is turned off.

[elgenper]

... The main drawback (besides the slow AF) is that the focus setting is not maintained when the camera is turned off.

 

In that case you should update the firmware! The latest (2.0) improves focus handling in several ways, the most important being that it does maintain focus setting when going to sleep or being turned off.