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Re: [OM] Video shooting by E-M5

Subject: Re: [OM] Video shooting by E-M5
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 31 May 2015 13:42:45 -0700
On 5/31/2015 7:01 AM, Michael Wong wrote:
Last week I  took a video for my work at the platform of railway station
after service was closed. The lighting was not enough good but not too
dark. I found that my E-M5 auto focus in video mode was difficult to find
the focus. It was still going to find the focus even the focus was caught.
Do you apply MF for video mode?

Serious video people use MF most of the time. There are specialized devices to attach to lenses to give them a long focus handle for MF. In making commercial movies, there is (was?) a separate person with the title Focus Puller, who's only job was focus. Complex shots requiring focus changes would be set up and carefully focused, in advance, and the Focus Puller would make marks on the big arc the focus handle goes through for the various parts of a shot.

Most pro style/quality videos are composed of many relatively simple shots edited together, the majority requiring no focus changes.

The M5 does hunt for focus when shooting video with many subjects. I don't shoot much video. When I do, I half press to set focus, then press the Fn button I have set to MF before starting the video.

Another problem that has nothing to with the camera body itself is varifocal zoom lenses. In MF days, zooms were generally designed to maintain focus as they were zoomed. Consumer and middle grade AF zooms abandon that, making design simpler and lenses lighter and less expensive. That's a problem for zooming for video with MF.

True video zooms (and perhaps Pro Grade lenses?) maintain focus as they are 
zoomed.

I'm considering to buy some accessories for video shooting by my E-M5.
However, its performance cannot give me confidence that it's a reliable
video cam.

From reviews, it's clear that video on the E-M5 is fine for simple stuff. The E-M5 II is supposed to be a better, but not up to 'real' work. I forget why, but you can read the reviews.

I've got some excellent looking short videos with both cameras, but nothing complex or 'serious'. More like photos of things that happen to be better captured in motion.

Some of the Panasonic µ4/3 cameras are designed for video and much more capable for that use. If you need top quality, you might consider a Panasonic video oriented body. The problem is that, as far as I know, those bodies don't have IBIS; they depend on in-lens IS, which the Oly lenses don't have. Working with tripod with video head, that's fine. hand held, not so much.

Semi Video Moose

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