g2 focus on lcd panel fuzzy, pictures clear

[peterpro]

anyone notice that the focus on the lcd is fuzzy.. yet when u snap a picture it becomes clear.

why is there such a large discrepency with the lcd image and the actual image.

most of my pictures come out slightly fuzzy.. even with automatic turned on, with all default settings.

anyone notice this? is this common?

for example..
you could zoom all the way in.. with digital.. and note that its kinda fuzzy.
when u actually take the picture.. it's clear and focused.

the problem is that the lcd stays fuzzy.. but. when i'm attaining an automatic focuse by hitting the button half way... there is a moment when the image is clear.. and then it rests on fuzzy..

also 1/2 of my photos are usually slightly blurry in automatic mode.

anyone else having this problem or do i have a defective camera.

[Sniper]

Hi peterpro!

I had the same problem with blurry pictures. It seemed that the camera often focused at a point behind the objekt I was aiming at. So I sent the camera back to Canon and I got a new one. Had the same problem with that camera, so I sent it back again. They adjusted the focus and upgraded the firmware, but the problem was still there. Then I gave up, and now I live with it :(

It appears most of the time when I zoom half way. Then the camera can set the focus to 2 meters, even if the object is a house 40 meters away. Or I can take a portrait with a distance of 1.5 meters and get an "infinite" focus.

The best way to come around the problem that I have found out, is to zoom in maximum (without digital zoom), focus, press manual focus, zoom out and then take the picture. It's not fun, but what else to do!?!?

I don't now if this is a common problem.

Anders

[Vasily]

Turn off the digital zoom, it may solve the problem... If you are really want to zoom in - use enlargement function on your computer, you may even get a better results.

[Mind Socket]

This is a crazy long shot ... but did you take the protective plastic off the LCD screen when you got the camera?

[peterpro]

thanks. thats helpful..

i recall the zoom in trick from tvproduction days.

i think there still is some sort of problem.. i dont fully understand the 3 autofocuus modes yet..

but definately..
there is some problem with focus on the lcd being blurry.. but when u snap that pic.. it's pretty clear.. my ownly guess is that whatever drives the lcd is some sort of average.

in response to the lcd protective coever.. mine didnt come with one.. and no. were talking blurry until you hit the snap button half way.. it will be clear.. and the slowly focus.. and then your "focused" but it's usually slightly blurry till i acutally take a picture.. and when it displays the result it's clear..

[Mind Socket]

ah. I understand what you mean now. If you have constant Auto-focus turned off, or are in an environment where the camera is having some difficulty auto-focussing (dark, lots of movement etc) then it will often be blurry.

As for the comaparison between composing your shot and the actual display of saved shot, I think your theory about the averaging is correct. With a constant update ofwhat the lens sees, the LCD probably can't give a crisp scaling of the image in real-time. However, once the shot is taken, a thumbnail can be produced of the final image, with a better, but more time intensive algorithm.

[TonyC]

Hi all fuzzy snappers,
Just a thought or two and a couple of things for you to try.
1/ In auto mode, the camera sets tha ASA between 50 and 100, I am sure, as best quality is at 50, that most of the time it will set it to 50. Now, in my semi-pro days of 35mm cameras, the only time I would shoot 50asa would be in the studio with the camera on a tripod to avoid shake. We have a lot of overcast days in Ireland, so outdoor shooting with such a slow film is a no no as it would require a slow shutter speed which, of course, encourages camera shake.
What I have done is set the ASA manually to 200 and set the in-canera sharpening on. I have found very little difference in quality for the average shot, and if I want something special it is easy to re-set the camera.
2/ Again to my 35mm days. When you pick up a 35mm camera to take a picture, you automatically hold it in two hands, with the viewfinder pressed against your eye. This in effect forms a human tripod, which is an extremly stable stance.
With the digital, you pick it up, in a lot of case one-handed, and hold it out at arms length to look through the lcd panel and press the shutter release, which is not as instant as a 35mm camera so you have to keep your hand tensed longer. Not a very stable platform!!!, again easy to produce camera shake. Try using the viewfinder for few shots to see the difference.
Sorry to waffle on, but hope these ideas might be of some use.
Best wishes
Tony.

[danielchtong]

There are extensive discussion on this subject at

http://tedfelix.com/CanonG1/Focus.html

This problem has been known for a long time which is applicable to both G1 & 2

Daniel

[nevermann]

Hi peterpro!

Yes, you are right, it's blurry!
It's because the G2 shows a low resolution video-like picture of the scene for speed reasons!
After you have taken the picture the G2 displays a thumbnail of the newly taken still image in a much higher resolution.

Actually, this blurry lcd mock-up of the scene makes manual focusing very difficult!
Using manual focus, the G2's lcd is - even in that zoomed in centre area - not capable of drawing sharp lines on the bottom and top of displayed items, but only on left and right edges. What a drag!