ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE It’s time to embrace autofocus
Technology has reached the point where every video professional shouldmake the most of AF OPINION BY CARL YATES HEAD OF TECHNICAL MARKETING FOR PROAV
W e all know that autofocus has been a dirty word in the professional video industry for many years. But technology moves on – and it moves on fast. Cameras have been capable of what we would class as ‘professional level’ autofocus performance for a while, with each new generation being that bit better, giving you that little bit more expert control. Industry perception has, for the most part, completely changed. The majority of accomplished operators I speak to now use autofocus in their workflow. But there are still more than a few that either haven’t given it the chance yet, or doubt the technology. To me, those people are missing a trick.
The latest autofocus technology does more than just help people who can’t focus manually; it does a better job in some situations than most experienced operators would. It helps guide manual focus when needed, and enables you as the operator to spend your valuable time and energy on areas like audio, lighting, or the content itself. Most of the main camera manufacturers now have their own tech, be it Canon’s Dual Pixel AF, Sony’s Hybrid AF, or Panasonic’s finely tuned, contrast-based system. Even Red has phase detection autofocus in their cameras. These are all a long way from the simple systems that have been around for a very long time. Gone is the dramatic hunt to find focus. We get a host of advanced
control functionalities, like face and eye tracking, different response rate settings and easy touch-screen control. But perhaps most importantly, the algorithms have developed over the years to be much more natural-feeling. Instead of moving in a linear focus pull from point A to point B, they smoothly transition, speeding up and slowing down exactly like a human operator would. There are areas of the industry where this technology is invaluable, and has been adopted the quickest. A few that spring to mind are corporate interviews and pieces-to-camera with face tracking – or fast-paced B roll, like at a wedding, where touch-screen control makes autofocus much more successful than manual. But even in the world of narrative filmmaking, it is extremely useful. For lower-budget productions, where you don’t have a dedicated focus puller on-set, autofocus can avoid some very nasty surprises when you get back to post-production. Plus, there are some situations – like a simple shot of an actor walking towards the camera – which are challenging for even the most experienced
FOLLOW FOCUS If you have never used face detection to track a subject, then you’ll be shocked at how good it is
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