Low Light Focusing at DVinfo.net

Ben Brainerd · May 7th, 2006, 12:29 PM

So, I just finished a wedding shoot yesterday, and ran into some interesting issues at the reception. Focus Assist has been working great for me thus far, but when I got into the ballroom, with its lower light levels, FA didn't seem to work, at all. I managed to pull it off by estimating distances, and using the deep DoF.

So, I guess my question is this: Is this a function of how FA works? Or an indication that my footage is tremendously underexposed? Exposure seemed to be pretty good, but I won't know until I get back home tomorrow and start dumping.

Or here's an even better question, that would probably help in the future as well: How DOES focus assist do what it does?

(And from the completely off-topic department, for those of you from Texas: Does it ALWAYS storm like it did in Austin this weekend? Or did my cousin just get really unlucky for her wedding?)

Joel Aaron · May 7th, 2006, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Brainerd

Is this a function of how FA works?

Focus assist doesn't work well in low light. You need to switch back to peaking. Zoom in to 16x, focus and pull back. Also - like you did - shooting wide angle and setting your focus to less than the distance to target works fine.

May 7th, 2006, 12:29 PM	#1
Ben Brainerd Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 48	Low Light Focusing So, I just finished a wedding shoot yesterday, and ran into some interesting issues at the reception. Focus Assist has been working great for me thus far, but when I got into the ballroom, with its lower light levels, FA didn't seem to work, at all. I managed to pull it off by estimating distances, and using the deep DoF. So, I guess my question is this: Is this a function of how FA works? Or an indication that my footage is tremendously underexposed? Exposure seemed to be pretty good, but I won't know until I get back home tomorrow and start dumping. Or here's an even better question, that would probably help in the future as well: How DOES focus assist do what it does? (And from the completely off-topic department, for those of you from Texas: Does it ALWAYS storm like it did in Austin this weekend? Or did my cousin just get really unlucky for her wedding?)