How to get Maximum Speed from E-P1 CDAF...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 07:24AM OK, so it's clear that Olympus have made a huge effort to develop CDAF which works accurately with all 4/3rds lenses - I think it's less 'fussy' than Phase Detect Auto Focus... in that you can press the button firmly, and while the focus 'scan' is not instantaneous - it is accurate and reliable.
So, what I've done to make the E-P1 work fast for me... is to configure the Fn button to switch between Manual Focus and Auto Focus, and the AEL/AFL to trigger an S-AF cycle.
- press the Menu function button, lower left of keypad.
- Make sure, the spanner menu->Cog Menu Display is set to ON.
- Set Cog Menu->Menu B Button/Dial->FnFUNCTION->MF
- Set <FUNCTION->BACK LIGHT ON/OFF
This allows me to very quickly set 'zone focus' by using AEL/AFL to pre-focus on a subject at the required distance, and then fire away as necessary with effectively zero lag.
By pressing the left arrow on the cursor wheel, I can also toggle the LCD on/off to conserve power and be even more low profile - using the OVF.
Do this, and get used to operating the S-AF using the AEL/AFL button and I think you'll find the biggest compromise (CDAF speed) can be improved dramatically.
Please Post a comment below with your questions/comments?
Reader Comments (4)
Hi Brian. This seems similar to how I use all my E series bodies. But why do you need to set the Fn button to switch between MF and AF? If you set MF and mode 3, then the camera is in permanent manual focus mode until you hit the AEL/AFL button when it should invoke autofocus. This leaves the Fn button free for something else.
Regards
Vaughan
Hi Vaughan, great question!
For fast portraits, the Face Detection in multi-point focus mode allows the camera to quicky target faces for focusing - I can switch quickly into AF for Face Detection... let the camera detect the focus patch for focusing - focus and then switch back to MF with a single button press.
It's a lot more obvious when you use it, than trying to explain it! lol
Cheers
Brian
Thanks for the nice tips Brian, I am looking forward to trying this out!
I have tried a slightly different way. I leave the AEL on Mode 1 and set the Fn button to toggle S-AF-MF. That way I can AF with the shutter button, and then if I want to multiple fire quickly hit the Fn button. When I am done I hit the Fn button again to return to S-AF. I prefer this because I find it quicker and easier if I want just one shot on something.
Michael