Posted by Kevin Trinkner on November 19, 2008 at 10:06 AM
It sounds like I should be able to use auto-focus on the liveview function with my new 50d, but for some reason I can't get the auto-focus to work.
Am I missing something here, or does it really not work.
I do manual focus must of the time with liveview, but once in a while I wouldn't mind being able to use auto.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.
Kevin
Posted by Stephen Hester on November 19, 2008 at 12:25 PM
if the 50D is like my 1d 3 the auto-foucs does not work when you use live view only manual foucs,
this is because the mirror pops up out of the way accross the view finder.
hope this helps
Stephen
Posted by Austin Booth on November 19, 2008 at 12:40 PM
I know it doesn't work at all on my 40D. Autofocus on most SLRs use an optical AF sensor so the mirror must down to autofocus. Check out this wikipedia article on autofocus "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autofocus". Looking at the specs for the 50D however, it looks like it has the ability to autofocus by briefly leaving live mode. You might want to check the custom functions to see if there is something in the menu for turning live view AF on and off. I'm not sure if this defeats the purpose of you using live view or not but I sometimes will autofocus first and then turn on live view so its already focused.
Posted by David Bostedo on November 19, 2008 at 12:52 PM
I don't have a 50D, but according to DPReview, the 50D in Live View has both phase detect autofocus (which requires the mirror to go down) and contrast detect, which should work like a P&S. There's gotta be a menu setting somewhere that selects the autofocus type for Live View.
In Phase Detect mode, I'd imagine that it won't focus until you press the shutter button, then the screen will go black, it will autofocus, take the picture, and the screen will light back up. In contrast detect mode, it can probably autofocus live on the screen.
Posted by John Mumaw on November 19, 2008 at 3:29 PM
Check your manual for Quick mode AF (Phase detect).
Posted by John Mumaw on November 19, 2008 at 4:10 PM
"I know it doesn't work at all on my 40D."
Sure it does.
You need to first enable "AF during Live View shooting" which is in the C.Fn III Auto focus/Drive menu, #6.
Posted by Robert Fisher on November 19, 2008 at 5:56 PM
It's not true AF with Live View on the 40D though, John. The LCD image will disappear while the AF-On button is being depressed. You have to focus with the regular viewfinder in this case.
Posted by Wayne Jones on November 19, 2008 at 11:12 PM
Kevin,
John's reply will help you set it up with the menu, but then you also need to activate the autofocus when using live view by pressing the "AF-ON" button (next to the exposure lock button). You should check out page chapter 6 in the manual for details. Focusing is on pp. 121-129.
I have tried all the modes except face detect, and the one that seems to be most practical for casual shapshots is quick mode (although I only tried it once, so experiment). I don't use live view much, but have found it useful for macro shots at odd angles, like with the camera on the ground. In that case, I just use manual focus with live view -- it's a nice feature because you can zoom in on the subject for critical focusing. If you use it a lot, make sure you have extra batteries handy.
Posted by Kevin Trinkner on November 20, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Thanks for all the replies guys.
I will have to dig further into the custom functions. I'm pretty sure I have AF enabled in the Live View settings, but it sounds like I need to check a few other spots. I really thought it worked at one point when I first got the camera.
I generally use MF with live view anyway, but thought AF might be nice as a backup at times.
I'm definitely a big fan of Liveview overall, helps with the comp and getting sharp manual focus using the zoom feature.
Kevin,
you can actually auto-focus in live view by pressing the AF-on button. That's a contrast detecting autofocus featuresthat works without lifting up the mirror. And it's always available, even when magnification is set to 5x and 10x. I've noticed it's not very reliable though, you need to activate AF-on a few times before you get sharp focus. However, at 10x magnification it's so easy to focus manually that practically I never use the AF-on feature.
Discussion
9 repliesIt sounds like I should be able to use auto-focus on the liveview function with my new 50d, but for some reason I can't get the auto-focus to work.
Am I missing something here, or does it really not work.
I do manual focus must of the time with liveview, but once in a while I wouldn't mind being able to use auto.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.
Kevin
this is because the mirror pops up out of the way accross the view finder.
hope this helps
Stephen
In Phase Detect mode, I'd imagine that it won't focus until you press the shutter button, then the screen will go black, it will autofocus, take the picture, and the screen will light back up. In contrast detect mode, it can probably autofocus live on the screen.
Sure it does.
You need to first enable "AF during Live View shooting" which is in the C.Fn III Auto focus/Drive menu, #6.
John's reply will help you set it up with the menu, but then you also need to activate the autofocus when using live view by pressing the "AF-ON" button (next to the exposure lock button). You should check out page chapter 6 in the manual for details. Focusing is on pp. 121-129.
I have tried all the modes except face detect, and the one that seems to be most practical for casual shapshots is quick mode (although I only tried it once, so experiment). I don't use live view much, but have found it useful for macro shots at odd angles, like with the camera on the ground. In that case, I just use manual focus with live view -- it's a nice feature because you can zoom in on the subject for critical focusing. If you use it a lot, make sure you have extra batteries handy.
I will have to dig further into the custom functions. I'm pretty sure I have AF enabled in the Live View settings, but it sounds like I need to check a few other spots. I really thought it worked at one point when I first got the camera.
I generally use MF with live view anyway, but thought AF might be nice as a backup at times.
I'm definitely a big fan of Liveview overall, helps with the comp and getting sharp manual focus using the zoom feature.
you can actually auto-focus in live view by pressing the AF-on button. That's a contrast detecting autofocus featuresthat works without lifting up the mirror. And it's always available, even when magnification is set to 5x and 10x. I've noticed it's not very reliable though, you need to activate AF-on a few times before you get sharp focus. However, at 10x magnification it's so easy to focus manually that practically I never use the AF-on feature.
Paolo