Focus on Focus

[Eric F.]

Hello Everyone:

G2 ? Focus?

I am a happy owner of a G1. Have taken a lot of good pictures and have overcome most problems that are part of using the G1. The only thing that is a thorn in my @#^$ is the focus. Not that I have a problem every time, but enough of the pictures are not sharp that it is my major complaint of the camera.

The G2 seems to have some advanges over the G1. I have the ability to sell my G1 and purchase a G2. This sounds good as I have all the stuff that goes with it. But this switch would not be worth it if the focus is not quite a bit better.

Those who have a G2, would you comment on the focus and other differences that you feel are note worthy.

I am trying to decide between the G2 or wait till another camera comes along that may fit my needs better. That new Nikon 5000 looks interesting. Anybody notice that it looks a lot like a G1? :)

[Don Ellis]

I had the same complaint with my G1. Loved the camera, hated the focus problems. Too often, the best picture out of thirty would be the one with the focus problem -- making it the worst picture out of thirty.

I bought the G2 based on a one-picture test in the shop. I fired at the "Pull" sign on a glass door with people and buildings outside. The G1 did its best, the G2 did it perfectly.

I've had the camera for a week now and I'm pleased every time I shoot. Light metering is another wonderful improvement. No more blown highlights unless I want them.

These two improvements are worth the upgrade, and there are other nice touches. It's easier to delete pictures. Zooming in and out in Review mode is handled with the zoom lever. The new grip makes handling a bit surer.

There are other benefits you'll enjoy as well. I can't know what they are because I'm not you, but maybe you'll like being able to choose 8-bit or 16-bit channels.

I'm very happy with the G2. I liked it so much that I bought one for my lady at the same time. And the next day they announced the Nikon 5000. I held my breath while I read the specs, but ended up knowing I would have picked the G2 anyway. Microdrive, hotshoe, 34-120, etc., etc.

But that's just me.

Don

[ellbru]

I had a G1. I had the same focus problems. I hoped upgrading to the G2 would solve them. It did a bit, but not enough. It is still a difficult camera to focus, especially indoors, even with good lighting and a 420EX. The manual focus distance indicator I think is inaccurate. I have set it to 10ft when I know my subject is 10ft away (I measured with a tape) and I still got out of focus. And no it's not because of camera shake. I have a steady hand and the shutter speed is typically faster than 1/60 of a second. So go figure. Still like the camera though.

[Scott99999]

I actually have alot of focus problems with G2. I don't know what it is...I do alot of focusing on flat surfaces for texture-making, but even when it gives me a green light and the shutter speed is reasonable, I still seem to get soft shots.

Very few shots seem perfectly focused. I think part of it is a contrast issue...when I bump the contrast in photoshop, they tend to seem a little sharper...but it's easier to notice focusing problems on my 2D texture images, since they're so geometric.

I'm not saying this is absolutely the case...I'd want to do test comparisons...but I'm always filled with self-doubt as to why my images seem a little "off" in terms of focus. I don't think you'd notice in a 4x6 or 8x10 print, but I can notice it on-screen, since I do alot of Photoshop work to the images.

(I have a $1,000 flat-screen monitor and use all Canon add-ons, so that's not the issue)

[danielchtong]

G1 has the tedency to misreport subject distance which also causes problem to my 420EX. The manual focus is also off as well. I have certain degree of success is to use its AF to focus and MF to verify if it is in focus. It seems to work.
Say your subject is 5 ft away from a wall of 20 ft at the back. A quick autofocus then followed by a manual one can verify if you are focusing properly. This is very critical if subject is small compared with the distant background.

Daniel
Toronto



ellbru wrote:
I had a G1. I had the same focus problems. I hoped upgrading to the G2 would solve them. It did a bit, but not enough. It is still a difficult camera to focus, especially indoors, even with good lighting and a 420EX. The manual focus distance indicator I think is inaccurate. I have set it to 10ft when I know my subject is 10ft away (I measured with a tape) and I still got out of focus. And no it's not because of camera shake. I have a steady hand and the shutter speed is typically faster than 1/60 of a second. So go figure. Still like the camera though.

[sherrys]

indeed the folks at Adorama LOVE this one.. but we relied ultimately on Stevesdigcam review and he was really really really lukewarm about it.

if you do go for the Nikon, it's down to $1,000 from its opening price at adorama.

Good luck.

I'm too much of a novice to address the technical issue.

[justincase]

at first, was totally perplexed by the G2's focusing. i also considered the nikon 5000. well, just yesterday, i got to play with my friend's brand new nikon 5000...he even let me stick my CF card in there and take a bunch of pictures which i ran home afterwards to compare. whew, what a relief...i am so glad i went with the G2! i really wanted to love the 5000 but i just say that i do. i do love the rubber grip and the feel of the 5000's shutter response. it was also much smaller and lighter than i imagined it would be. i also thought it's black body was more attractive and serious-looking than the G2's champagne finish. however, on the same shots i was doing with the G2, it was hunting and pecking, looking for a good focus whereas the G2 focus assist lamp was really quick. many of my people shots with the nikon were inexplicably overexposed by the flash but the white balance on auto setting was much more accurate than my G2's. in any event, i had many problems with out of focus pictures when i first got my G2 (much more so than my G1!). i don't know why but the G2 requires that i remain much steadier at the usual default f2.0-2.2 and 1/60th setting it seems to like for most situations than the G1 (or my old S10 for that matter. now, i get focused pictures *most* of the time. i did go out a grab a good tripod and a good monopod to help out but, as i've gotten more used to the G2, i don't use them as much.

[polocat]

I've been using an EOS Rebel 2000 for a couple of years and the G2 is my first digicam, so bear with me here. I too am irritated by focusing problems with the digicam. Sometimes, even though I preset the focus and got the green light, it seems like the thing is focusing on some arbitrary point in space. I've learned to take several different shots of my subjects just in case. I also went out and got a tripod. It really makes a difference.