I want to use this for an academic research which requires keep it at a fixed location and shoot moving vehicles driving by. I read one of the comment that it could lose focus after a short period of time. Was that just a defected unit or a common problem with this camera? I want to use this for an academic research which requires keep it at a fixed location and shoot moving vehicles driving by. I read one of the comment that it could lose focus after a short period... » Read More I want to use this for an academic research which requires keep it at a fixed location and shoot moving vehicles driving by. I read one of the comment that it could lose focus after a short period of time. Was that just a defected unit or a common problem with this camera? « Show Less
202429
All you need to do is focus on what ever you want to record and then press the auto focus button (AF) on the camera it should then stay focused, I haven't had any problems with my camcorder. I hope this helps, good luck.
202430
not a common problem, the camera shoots higher than 30 FPS which would be standard to capture motion in video. Camera is great with a great price.
202431
I have found that it was dong the same for me......I have yet to try it while I am personally holding it as apposed to setting it down....so I still need to do some testing.
202432
It is a common problem. The camera will lose focus when trying to automatically focus on an object. I use my cameras for investigation purposes and needless to say will not be buying another B&H.; Try the Sony HD
202433
In general I think your best solution is to manually focus. Set the camera up, frame your shot, zoom in to the center of your frame, manually focus it, then zoom back out and verify your shot.
585644
I have been in Photography for nearly 30 years and I can tell you that there is DEFINITELY a problem with the XSi's auto focus. I have shot over a thousand test shots with this camera and although most of them turned out looking pretty good I noticed a CONSISTENT problem with the auto-focus feature. One thong is that even if you set it to focus only on the center spot it will still occassionally focus on the area closer to you than the focus spot. Actually it is not just occasionally, but nearly every time. I have got so teed off with this persistent problem that I shoot everything that is important to me in manual focus! I have been in Photography for nearly 30 years and I can tell you that there is DEFINITELY a problem with the XSi's auto focus. I have shot over a thousand test shots with this camera and although most of them turned out looking pretty good I noticed a CONSISTENT problem with the auto-focus feature. One thong is that even if you set it to focus only on the center spot it will still occassionally focus on the area closer to you than the focus spot. Actually it is not just occasionally, but nearly every time. I have got so teed off with this persistent problem that I shoot everything that is... » Read More I have been in Photography for nearly 30 years and I can tell you that there is DEFINITELY a problem with the XSi's auto focus. I have shot over a thousand test shots with this camera and although most of them turned out looking pretty good I noticed a CONSISTENT problem with the auto-focus feature. One thong is that even if you set it to focus only on the center spot it will still occassionally focus on the area closer to you than the focus spot. Actually it is not just occasionally, but nearly every time. I have got so teed off with this persistent problem that I shoot everything that is important to me in manual focus! « Show Less
849564
Hello, The OM-D E-M10 has exceptional auto focus. You should not have a problem shooting moving subjects or from a moving car. Matched with the lenses you are considering you should have a well functioning relatively compact camera system and you should not have any problem getting the shots you want. Thank you, Mason Roset OC Camera
31097
I actually am going to try and return the Nikon CoolPix I recently purchased. The auto focus is not working correctly and the zoom takes too long to focus to take good action pictures. Once focused, it goes blurry when you snap the picture. May be only my camera, but I was unable to take ANY pictures of my daughter when she rode in an evening parade recently. I suspect it has a defective auto focus since no one else can get it to work either. You might want to go to a local camera store and try one out before purchasing. The camera is nice sized and has a great zoom ability which is why I bought it to use at my daughter's horse shows. I actually am going to try and return the Nikon CoolPix I recently purchased. The auto focus is not working correctly and the zoom takes too long to focus to take good action pictures. Once focused, it goes blurry when you snap the picture. May be only my camera, but I was unable to take ANY pictures of my daughter when she rode in an evening parade recently. I suspect it has a defective auto focus since no one else can get it to work either. You might want to go to a local camera store and try one out before purchasing. The camera is nice sized and has a great zoom ability which is why I... » Read More I actually am going to try and return the Nikon CoolPix I recently purchased. The auto focus is not working correctly and the zoom takes too long to focus to take good action pictures. Once focused, it goes blurry when you snap the picture. May be only my camera, but I was unable to take ANY pictures of my daughter when she rode in an evening parade recently. I suspect it has a defective auto focus since no one else can get it to work either. You might want to go to a local camera store and try one out before purchasing. The camera is nice sized and has a great zoom ability which is why I bought it to use at my daughter's horse shows. « Show Less
801501
I believe it has a built in protocol that takes images from the bottom camera and compares the most current image to the previous frame. This unfortunately causes some drift over time. Playing around some you should be able to have it use an initial image and use that one as a reference for all other frames taken and later time points.
674740
new mom- The number of highly positive reviews vastly outnumber the negative reviews mentioning "auto-focus problems" here at Amazon. And you don't see this "problem" ever mentioned in professional reviews of the camera. I strongly suspect the "auto-focus problems" you're referring to are actually caused by a very common beginner's mistake. The Xsi has 9 independent auto-focus points available. The full auto mode which beginners are likely to start out with will use all 9 points at the same time. What this means is that the camera will end up picking the auto-focus point or points which present the camera with the best contrast for determining correct focus. The focus points the camera selects, however, aren't necessarily the best ones for the photographer because the camera doesn't really know what part of the scene is the subject and what parts are the background. The proper technique is to not use FULL auto mode but one of the other modes - P, Av, Tv or M - and to manually (pre)select ONE auto-focus point. Generally, you'll pick either the center point or the one focus point closest to your actual subject in the frame. Many photographers will use a "focus and recompose" method where they auto-focus on the subject using just the center focus point and, while still half pressing the shutter release button, reframe the scene as desired. This works very well in most cases (although there are exceptions where recomposing can cause the focus to shift too much in some fairly specific cases but this is a matter of geometry and not camera design). I believe with the proper techniques, you'll find the Xsi can focus VERY accurately and give you quite professional looking results. P.S. - Shooting active preschoolers can be a bit of a challenge in itself but I'll leave that discussion for another day. :)
2179587
Hello... This particular camera does not automatically follow and focus on motion detected objects. There are cameras on the market that do, but those are very spendy.
1157234
Would not go so far as to say it is normal, only that it has been experienced before :) and at least in my case has not apparently affected operation of the camera. However, for all I know this could have something to do with the fact that this camera has trouble staying in focus taking video sometimes. I'll never know - it's out of warranty now and there are still more pros than cons versus the alternatives available at the time so I'd have kept it anyway. :)
596187
First, I'm in the market to buy this camera, I don't own one. I'm not trying to complain about the posts so far, but I'm wondering if you are simply using the auto mode when indoors, or have you tried other modes (Indoor Mode), ISO speeds, etc that the camera comes equipped with? If the images are "VERY POOR", what exactly have you tested? (Others report indoor images have been good).
313059
I just have to mention that IS is for stabilizing the lens ( NOT the subject). For action, IS does nothing for you. It's for keeping your shaky hands still...not the subject. Pretty much all pro sports photogs turn OFF IS when shooting sports as the engagement of IS motor can actually cause sharpness issues until it fully engages. IS is awesome for handheld still subject matter, but don't be confused about it helping with moving subjects. I shoot pro sports multiple times a week and can verify that we all turn IS off.
1278589
That is not correct. You were probably in manual focus, or someone setup some strange focus points. I use this camara for filming hunting, and the focus must change constantly and have never had the issue you decribe. BTW love this camera. Great quality, but cheap enough that I dont feel I need to baby it every minute.
142357
My Canon SD850 IS worked beautifully for two years, but this summer it started having the same problems with focusing that have been described on this forum. It has become unusable, so now I am sending it to Canon for repair. Based on this forum, I don't have a great deal of confidence that it will be resolved for the long term. The canon customer rep that I spoke with today said there are no service bulletins on Canon's official website regarding this problem, so it is not a design or manufacturing flaw that they are owning up to at this time.
207626
Yes, it is continuous but it's somewhat intense for close ups. At the right distance it would work well for video.
1406690
I have used it for over a month. Amazing video quality and great underwater shots - very clear and vivid colors! But I dont recommend this cam if you are intending to use it on a regular basis - landscape shots, portraits and other "upwater" shooting. http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/Compact-Digital-Cameras/26461/COOLPIX-S32.html
845656
I wonder if you are using the camera correctly. If you set the camera to continuously focus, and then try to do focus-and-recompose, you will get out-of-focus photos most of the time. The Tamron all-in-one lens, like any all-in-one lens, is not the best lens in the world. But it isn't horribly bad, either. And it normally will not do a lot of focus hunting in decent light. If you are new to SLRs, you might begin by making sure that you aren't the problem. FWIW
1842292
Based onu limited use, wind and brush may not be an issue. In experimental trials where I was the moving object approaching the camera from various angles, I could not get the camera to take pictures on a consistent basis. It failed to take my picture at a high rate. I doubt if moving brush will trigger it at a higher rate,
1161887
I woul'dn't be able to tell you because I never used those other cameras. But I had no issue, what so ever with its focus. Try the review on the site dppreview is very detailed.