New user needs help again! Please.

[Ann G]

It's me again! I am getting so frustrated with my new G3. I know it is probably user error, but I've just got to get this figured out. Landscape and macro pictures are great, but people pictures are very disappointing. It seems like the person in the picture is out of focus and the surroundings are in focus. I know that my focus point is right on the person, and I have made deliberate efforts to get people in focus but to no avail. This happens in auto and program. Will someone please give me some advice on what I am doing wrong. Here is an example, just a silly picture, but a perfect example of every people shot I take. Thanks, Ann

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/albu...?album_id=8775

[PacAce]

Ann, do you press the shutter button half way when focusing and wait until the focusing point (box) turns green before pressing the shutter button all the way to take the picture?

From what I can see (which isn't really saying a lot since I'm using a laptop and your picture is small on the monitor) the picture doesn't look that bad. It does seem like the leaves behind the subject is a little more focused that the subject himself. Is that what you were referring to?

[Ann G]

If you click on the picture it will enlarge. The leaves being in focus and the person out of focus is what I'm referring to.

I always pre-focus, wait for the box to turn green. This is my third digital camera, so I feel like I am taking the right steps to take the picture correctly, but I just can't get this figured out. If it were just a picture or two here and there I wouldn't be concerned, but it's 95% of the pictures I take. Ann

[Dana]

The G3 has a focusing "trick" that can sometimes trick the G3 itself.

If you take one picture at one distance, and then take another, sometimes the G3 remembers the wrong focus depth and uses the previous picture's setting. There was a thread on DPReview where this was demonstrated and discussed.

So that might explain a few pictures, but not 95%. My numbers are probably close to the opposite of that.

You might try turning up in-camera sharpening and contrast (on the function menu) and see if that helps get the shots more to your liking.

If you have more depth of field you'll also reduce your focus issues - you might try shooting in AV mode, w/the fstop set to F4 (or more, if there is sufficient light). Higher the fstop you use, the more of your picture that will be in focus.

Finally, try the portrait mode on your settings dial when you're shooting a portrait like that. It is designed to keep the subject in focus and the background out of focus...

Try a few and see what happens.

Dana

[dagger]

I have used the "half-press" focusing technique, and it works quite well.

I remember turning off the continuous focus feature in the G3 coz it always interfere with the manual focusing.

Just a suggestion, but why not try using the manual focus? It takes some time t oget used to the LCD viewer, but eventually you'll get the hang of it. Hope that helps a little.

[SpiDEX]

hi,

try using AV mode to adjust the f-stop and set "AF mode" to single.
Not too bad a picture .... keep trying ...
have fun

[TimNYC24]

Ann,
Welcome as a new G3 owner. I agree, it is frustrating at times, but I have to agree with Dana.
Try using Portrait mode and of course, focus on the eyes. Probably not anything you don't already know

[Peter Aczel]

I don't think portrait mode will help in this case. On the contrary the subject will be even more blurry because of the limited DOF with portrait mode. As I see on the photo the focus is one - one and a half meter behind the person. (I see this on the floor.) Try to fill the entire yellow-green focusing box with the object when focusing. (You can check the distance set by G3 in the exif information. - but only after shooting, of course. Nevertheless it can help you to find the best methode to find good focus. And it can show you your G3 is defective or not ) Actually I don't think your photo is a really wrong one, even if the focus is indeed behind the man.
One more thing: check if the exposure time isn't too slow. If it is slow, the person canl be blurry - those living pesons always are moving .