Sony CX675 --Fast Auto-focus?

nhsjpeterson

I webcast sports at 2 different schools. I have two Sony CX675 cameras and just bought a JVC GY-HM 250SP. I had trouble with both models  when zooming in quickly on a player--they would take several seconds to get focused (we always use auto focus).

Over the weekend I went through the JVC manual page-by-page and found a 'Fast' setting for auto-focus, and that solved the problem with the JVC. I have gone through the menus on the Sony hoping to find a similar option, but I can only find 'auto' or 'manual' settings.

Is anyone aware of some setting in the menus that would get the Sony CX675 to be able to focus faster when quickly zooming in?

Terfyn

Bearing in mind that most of the action will be at a distance, have you tried locking the focus at infinity?


My own camera seems to have a large depth of field which is annoying when I am trying for cinematic effects but clearly it was designed for point and shoot filming.

12harry

Don't recognise that CX675  (CX625?-with projector)-
Doesn't it have focus-tracking?  . . . My CX410 does and this was an earlier camcorder. [ FWIW The subject is selected via the touch-screen and when you zoom-in it should be focussed on the (now larger) subject within the previous box. -OR- you can touch-again easily....]. The downside I've found is you cant "lock" when someone blocks the scene briefly. mine goes into "can't find it mode" which is pathetic.

For anything at a distance over 20m (say) the focus DoF will be considerable, unless there are special facilities:- like large aperture, ND filters.
For consumer camcorders such features are unlikely.  

Tracking-Focus should behave like "manual" but with the advantage it Auto-tracks.
"AF" Auto-focus can be a bothersome setting and this may be part of the issue - there is a tendency for the focus to "hunt" - esp. low-contrast subjects where any "auto" feature may struggle.

The nearest JVC is surely in a different price-bracket?  . . . However, JVC are rarely mentioned here - it's as though they are never chosen....   I couldn't find that model number on a quick search.

FWIW I note that Sony has stopped incorporating a projector feature... Thank goodness - I want my money invested in the optical-recording parts.

Cheers

nhsjpeterson

We finally had a home volleyball game last night. I tried out the 'infinity' setting for the focus and it made all the difference! Thanks for the suggestions.

The JVC is definitely in a different class than my Sony--I think I paid around $600 for the Sony, $2600 for the JVC. I don't know how to effectively use the JVC, I just bought it for its built-in scoreboard feature.