Preferred autofocus mode?

[rob_w]

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As a newbie to autofocus photography I have been learning about the autofocus capabilities of my new CL, with mixed results.  My main concern has been when photographing groups of people.  Some observations:

• Face detect can struggle to find a face in the scene, at times when it seems obvious to me.
• Spot metering seems very narrow and can miss the target.  Field metering is more reliable but I often find the focus point has moved from the centre position (and don't know how to move it back) which is pretty annoying
• Multi-field at least takes a pretty good guess at what I want and can be encouraged to think again if I move the camera around a bit.  Then I can lock it in place, re-compose and shoot.

I have not missed focus on many shots I wanted to keep, so I am not unduly worried.  But thought it would be interesting to hear what friends on the forum have chosen to do in similar circumstances.

Apologies if (a) this is altogether too naive a question or (b) it was discussed long ago when the CL first came out and I have not found the thread.

[JayBird]

As I tend to use the camera for landscape or group photos, I tend to use the field setting for focusing mode and center weighted for exposure. I find this combination gives me good results. I need to set up a user profile for wildlife when I am out in the state parks. There have been a few times where I could have gotten a good BIF (birds in flight) if I had the proper settings. My thoughts are to set the camera for Continuous High Speed drive mode, multi-field exposure and metering. I would save this configuration to my user profile page.

[wda]

For groups of people and other similar situations I use face detection and fine-tune the focus manually . You can pick out desired targets easily with little time penalty. 

[jaapv]

11 hours ago, rob_w said:

.find the focus point has moved from the centre position (and don't know how to move it back) which is pretty annoying

That  is a  major drawback of the camera and Leica hasn't fixed it yet. We must keep pestering.

To return to the centre: use the arrow keys or tap the LCD twice in the middle.

[justbananas]

On 4/22/2019 at 2:33 AM, jaapv said:

That  is a  major drawback of the camera and Leica hasn't fixed it yet. We must keep pestering.

To return to the centre: use the arrow keys or tap the LCD twice in the middle.

Learn something new everyday

[LocalHero1953]

On 4/22/2019 at 8:33 AM, jaapv said:

That  is a  major drawback of the camera and Leica hasn't fixed it yet. We must keep pestering.

To return to the centre: use the arrow keys or tap the LCD twice in the middle.

Tapping the LCD is not a natural action when the LCD is against your cheek😏! 

To the OP: AF is not a system that automatically focuses on the part of the scene that your brain wants it to. It's a system has to be learned and managed just like manual focus. Autofocus is the wrong name really - it should be 'focus assist' - but I guess that boat sailed long ago.

I typically switch between face detect and single point focus. The former can be quicker when photographing people on the move (defaulting to multifield when it can't see a face), but needs to get a good view of a face to work properly. Single point focus is more reliable, but slower because you have to manually select the target, which may then move.

[wda]

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1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Tapping the LCD is not a natural action when the LCD is against your cheek😏! 

To the OP: AF is not a system that automatically focuses on the part of the scene that your brain wants it to. It's a system has to be learned and managed just like manual focus. Autofocus is the wrong name really - it should be 'focus assist' - but I guess that boat sailed long ago.

I typically switch between face detect and single point focus. The former can be quicker when photographing people on the move (defaulting to multifield when it can't see a face), but needs to get a good view of a face to work properly. Single point focus is more reliable, but slower because you have to manually select the target, which may then move.

This is how I work except that I fine-tune focusing manually while holding a half-pressure on shutter release.

[rob_w]

On 4/25/2019 at 7:54 AM, LocalHero1953 said:

AF is not a system that automatically focuses on the part of the scene that your brain wants it to. It's a system has to be learned and managed just like manual focus.

Amen.  A very good way of putting it.  After 40 years with Leica R and M cameras, the CL is my first serious experience of autofocus.  There were a few flirtations along the way, but they were short-lived.

I have converged on face-detect/multi-field for most uses with single-point as the alternative.  It would be nice to switch between them with a single button press, so I don't have to take my eye from the viewfinder.  [The wandering focus point doesn't help, however]

Edited April 26, 2019 by rob_w

[Guest]

I have focus mode set as the default for the top right function button so I can quickly switch between the above modes when I’m viewing through the EVF. 

[rob_w]

Yes.  I have the Fn button set similarly.  But it is not one press to change to the alternative.  AFAICS

[justbananas]

I used the cl and 18mm this weekend at a wedding. I left auto focus in multi-point, and it performed admirably... way better than i thought it would. Out of 500 photos, 3 were ditched from focus issues. 

[Louis]

On 4/25/2019 at 2:54 AM, LocalHero1953 said:

Tapping the LCD is not a natural action when the LCD is against your cheek😏! 

To the OP: AF is not a system that automatically focuses on the part of the scene that your brain wants it to. It's a system has to be learned and managed just like manual focus. Autofocus is the wrong name really - it should be 'focus assist' - but I guess that boat sailed long ago.

I typically switch between face detect and single point focus. The former can be quicker when photographing people on the move (defaulting to multifield when it can't see a face), but needs to get a good view of a face to work properly. Single point focus is more reliable, but slower because you have to manually select the target, which may then move.

As I am doing lots of street photography, my camera is set on focus tracking ( continuous focusing) to have moving subjects in focus and I am very happy with this mod! 

What I am not happy at all about is not having the focus point back to the center after each shot. It makes me lose some precious time in many situations to move It  back to the center. More over, I can’t even see and find the focus point in some lighting situations which makes me lose time and often shots!

As discussed this issue many times in the past, this focus problem is an important issue for me and I truly hope that leica would give us more setting choices in the future FWs. I must also point out that I shared my view with people in Leica that are involved with CL production. But of course, I did not have any response!

Edited May 3, 2019 by Louis

[dfdann]

Thanks. This remains my only complaint with CL. Only thing we can do is to 

continue to bring it up and hope Leica responds. 

Dan