Posted by Danny Laureys on September 24, 2011 at 8:07 PM
Hi,
I recently acquired a 5DMK2, there are a few things about it that puzzles me. But the one that kind of puzzles me more is when I focus in live view with backbutton focus the screen goes to black then come back on, is this normal? Or should I focus manually with live view? Thank you for your time.
Danny Laureys
Posted by Hali Sowle on September 24, 2011 at 10:44 PM
I always focus manually with live view on my 5DMII, and I use the zoom button to help me get critical focus (the one that lets you choose your af points in ttl mode) press it once for 5X, twice for 10X
Posted by Peter Cross on September 24, 2011 at 10:47 PM
Hi Danny. I'm going to take a stab at this but I could be incorrect. I have a 60D and mine does that, too. What is going on is that the default focusing method for the camera is phase detection. To do that the mirror has to be down. When that happens the screen goes blank. Phase detection is faster and considered more accurate than the other method, which is contrast detection. If you choose contrast detection, the mirror stays up and you don't get a momentary blank screen. The penalty is that the camera takes a bit longer to focus and it may not be as accurate. So, you can choose the best compromise for what you want to do. If you are doing landscapes, the momentary black screen probably isn't an issue. If yor're tracking a bird in flight, that may not work. That's my understanding of how the system works. Actual 5D owners may have other more correct information but I hope this helps.
Peter
Posted by John Mumaw on September 24, 2011 at 11:15 PM
Just a note to be sure and press your depth of field preview button while making manual focus adjustments with LiveView.
Posted by Paul DeCesare on September 25, 2011 at 2:45 AM
Right, the mirror popping up causes lag. The absoulte best function of LiveView focusing is on a tripod (and even handheld) is hitting the top right plus button twice to digitally zoom in 10X. Then you can manually dial in your focus as razor sharp as you'd like. The picture won't be taken zoomed in, that's just a very excellent focusing aid on a tripod.
Posted by Wick Smith on September 25, 2011 at 5:38 PM
I concur with Paul. I've shot the 5DII for two years with mostly landscapes. Every shot I take, I take with live view, zooming to 10x & getting the exact focus I want in every scene. If you turn on the grid lines from the camera's menu, you can focus on a spot along the lower horizontal grid line, that represents 1/3rd of the way into the scene along the camera's sensor plane (not to be confused with 1/3rd of the way into the scene itself). This is a great way of hitting the hyperfocal distance on almost any scene you come across. If you aren't sure this represents the best focal point, just shoot 2-3 more with different points of focus and see which ones are best for that scene.
One other note that helps a lot. If it is a low light scene, and your focal point is not very visible in the live view, use your exposure compensation to lighten the scene by two stops. That usually helps to see what you are focusing on. Then, remember to turn the compensation back to the intended spot for your shot & you are good to go.
Posted by Danny Laureys on September 26, 2011 at 3:01 PM
Discussion
6 repliesI recently acquired a 5DMK2, there are a few things about it that puzzles me. But the one that kind of puzzles me more is when I focus in live view with backbutton focus the screen goes to black then come back on, is this normal? Or should I focus manually with live view? Thank you for your time.
Danny Laureys
Peter
One other note that helps a lot. If it is a low light scene, and your focal point is not very visible in the live view, use your exposure compensation to lighten the scene by two stops. That usually helps to see what you are focusing on. Then, remember to turn the compensation back to the intended spot for your shot & you are good to go.