craigbuckley Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Hey guys, I have been having some trouble with my camera. I have been reading the eos gh2 guide and I have been learning that I should pretty much always use the manual functions, especially the manual focus. But I have been having trouble focusing when I am filming, it kind of.makes the camera shake. I don't know if its because of my small 20mm Panny lens or that I am just new, but I have it on a steady cam and its smooth except when I focus its really hard to keep the shot steady. Any help with this from some experts? Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
see ya Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Practice, Patience, Perseverance, follow focus. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 In general, you won't want to be changing the focus while its on a steadycam. That means you'll probably need to use a smaller aperture so that you have less trouble getting whatever it is youre filming in focus. If you're just filming one moving subject, staying the same distance from that subject will keep it in focus, rather than moving around and changing focus. When you aren't on the steadycam, a tripod is a helpful tool to combat this :) craigbuckley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 On a sfeadicam, once balanced. should be printed 'Don't touch this!' In a bright place, you can be lucky, and the continous autofocus works. Much better of course is the so-called 'hyperfocal distance' with more tolerance, again, in a bright place, where you can close the aperture. If you want to keep a talent in focus while performing 'Don Juan', and have shallow DoF at the same time, you can use a black thread as distance-keeper. But first, as mentioned above, train yourself. Aim at a point with the crosshairs as guides, then move the camera with the point nailed to the crosshair. Pan and learn to ease out the pan at a predefined point. Watch online-tutorials. Be patient and get better. craigbuckley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanveer Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 don't EVER focus on a steadycam or any other stabilizer. Keep the aperture around f5.6 (or higher), and the closest thing from you, should be Atleast 3 feet (preferably double that, if possible). Everything should be in focus, at the same time.The sole purpose of the steadycam, is to make panning, without rails, smooth. Focus doesn't have to adjust the depth of field. For those, shots on tripods make sense. craigbuckley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigbuckley Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 ok thanks. awesome respones thank you. I am filming a show in a new york one of these nights- a band playing inside a studio- but its very tight in the studio and I haven't shot with the gh2 too much, so I didn't know if there were any tips I can take going into this... I definitely won't use the focus once I start recording then, but I probably wont have this camera on the tripod. I will have my other (not as good) camera on the tripod not being moved and then the gh2 (20mm) on my steadicam which I will use for close ups.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigbuckley Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 If I will be continously recording for the whole show, should I still not use the focus while recording? And I will keep aperature higher.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuickHitRecord Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Make no promises to the band. Just tell them that you are just interested in testing out your new camera. Set up your safety shot with your other camera and then shoot the show lots of different ways with your GH2. Steadicam, tripod, handheld. Different lenses, different camera settings. Go crazy. Do this and you will learn a lot more than you can on any forum. Good luck. galenb and craigbuckley 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigbuckley Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 [quote name='Axel' timestamp='1351187394' post='20306'] If you want to keep a talent in focus while performing 'Don Juan', and have shallow DoF at the same time, you can use a black thread as distance-keeper. [/quote] Can you elaborate on this? I am definitely going to be wanting a shallow depth of field on most of my shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Watch the making of Musgo: http://vimeo.com/33456753 At 51" he shoots with the Hague MMC without focussing issues because it's bright daylight. At about 2'26" the actress is tied with a rope around the waist to the cameraman. I would choose a black material and much thinner, like a black shoelace. However, I am afraid this could be too complicated for your purpose. You better train yourself to keep the focus by keeping the distance. Very difficult. But all steadicam operators, even those with the real ones, get their beautiful shots by muscle control. All this has more to do with jujutso than with howto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigelbb Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 On larger productions a proper Steadicam operator will have someone pulling focus using a wireless remote follow focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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