Question about Pentax Optio S4 Digital Camera

S4 No Multiple Focus?

I realized that if i take a medium-distance picture of a group of people (3), the camera will auto-focus to just one person (most likely the middle one), leaving the rest out-of-focus. This is also obvious if only 2 persons are in the picture. Do u experience this too? Or am i missing something?

1 Answer

Anonymous

Level 3:

An expert who has achieved level 3 by getting 1000 points

All-Star:

An expert that got 10 achievements.

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

Master:

An expert who has achieved Level 3.
Master
542 Answers

Acceptable focus depends on many things and an appreciation of aperture, lens, distance and shutterspeed is needed before understanding the finer points of 'depth of field' (what will and wont be in focus). Like all cameras, an auto focus camera cannot make everything sharp, it has to focus on one thing, usually in the middle, and the rest of the picture either falls in or out of focus, depending on the combination of the above points. For example, if you shoot on a wide-angle lens with a small aperture, say anything above f8, you should have everything you want in focus. In contrast, on a longer telephoto lens with a wide aperture (more light being allowed to hit the film or chip or whatever) the resulting picture will be sharp within only a few inches of the focus point. This can be really nice if you are shooting single portraits in bright light as the background will become extremely blurry and colourful. I am presuming that the shots you are concerned with had the camera settings set to wide aperture priority, possibly because it was dull or you had a 'sport mode' selected where fast shutterspeed is needed to catch rapid movement thus a wide aperture is needed to compensate and so shallow depth of field results. I don't know the camera you are using or whether you will understand any of the above. If you need a greater explanation of what is essentially a science, please let me know.

Posted on Sep 08, 2005

Add Your Answer

Upload

Upload an image from your computer

Uploading: 0%

my-video-file.mp4

Complete. Click "Add" to insert your video. Add

Loading...

Include an image. It's worth a thousand words.

prev next

Related Questions:

1 Answer

Why when you turn the camera appears focus error

Although the manual does not have indicate a focus error, I assume you notice the camera can't focus correct.
I hope you know the camera has a focus selector, see the picture. (in the manual, page 10. For auto focus you should select C-AF (continues) or S-AF (single). If it is in manual, toy should focus yourself using the focus ring on the lens (closest to the camera)
Then to help the focus system, there is a external AF sensor. If it is dirty, then it is difficult for the camera to focus correct in a short time.
Also be aware the camera likes to have extra contrast on the focus distance and no objects in front of the subject you want to pictures, with lots of contrast.

Sometimes point to a object with a sharp contrast, on the same distance, press the shutter release button half, then reframe your picture and only then press the button complete.
when you want to shoot fast moving objects choose C-AF.

I hope this helps.

Jul 13, 2014 | Fuji Finepix S9600 Digital Camera

1 Answer

Why won't my fugi finepix s4500 won't focus sharply ?

No good working auto focus can have many causes.
Like the camera is in Macro mode, or manual focus. The best thing to try, is to switch your camera to the auto mode. The camera logo on your mode dial. And then shoot some pictures. There should be enough light and contrast in the frame, on the place you want the camera to focus on. Sometimes you have to chose an object, with enough details and contrast, on the same distance as the object you want to take a picture of. Then press the shutter half way, till the camera is in focus. the indicator lamp next to the mode dial glows green. Then frame the picture like you want it taken end only than press the shutter completely.
If the camera does focus correct in the auto mode, then you can check, why it did not focus before.
Check page 19 of the manual, to see how to use the shutter release button, for correct focus.

Apr 23, 2014 | Fuji Finepix S1500 10.0 Megapixel 12x...

1 Answer

My pl1 camera has blurred pictures but when lens taken out, its ok.

Are you using an auto-focus m4/3 lens? I have about 20 lenses for this camera and only 1 of them is an auto-focus m4/3 lens. I have an adapter so I can use my 4/3 lenses on it in auto-focus mode along with other various mounts (including cctv) that do not support auto-focus. So if you are using a non-auto-focus lens, you will need to manually focus the pictures.
If you are certain it is an auto-focus lens, are you sure you have it set to auto-focus?
What settings do you have your camera set to (aperature mostly is what I'd like to know)? Try adjusting your aperature to be small (to increase your DOF).
Also what lens are you using and what is your focal distance? It could be your lens has a larger or shallower focal distance than what you are trying to achieve (like a macro lens doesn't work that great for landscape photography or a telephoto lens doesn't work great for macro photography).
Last thought: is your lens or sensor dirty? A dirty lens can cause focusing issues if it is REALLY dirty and a dirty sensor can too (sensor is a bigger pain to clean. I strongly recommend taking it to the pros as they scratch really easily). Dirty lenses can be cleaned with a blower and a lint free cloth and rubbing alcohol if those 2 things don't clear it out.

Mar 03, 2013 | Olympus E-pl1 Pen Digital Slr Camera w/ M....

1 Answer

I can not get my canon eos rebel k2 focus on a

Autofocus is activated by pressing the shutter button halfway, be shure to have a EF lens in the camera, otherwise it won't make autofocus, put camera on full auto mode or "sports mode" (the running guy) and the focus settings on redictive AI Servo AF: Continuously tracks subject movement and achieves focus before the exposure starts.

Jul 10, 2009 | Canon Photography

1 Answer

How many focusing points are there provided in the camera to measure distance to a subject?

Normally the camera measures the distance to the subject using the 3 auto focus frames (left, center and right auto focus frames) in the viewfinder and selects the most appropriate point automatically. You can also select any one of the three points.

Sep 04, 2005 | Olympus EVOLT E-300 Digital Camera

1 Answer

Cannot focus on a particular subject

If the camera is having a difficult time auto-focusing, you can try the FOCUS LOCK feature. This feature allows you to focus on another subject roughly the same distance from you and then move the camera back to the intended subject and take the picture without losing focus. First, turn the camera on and locate the Autofocus Target Mark in the center of the LCD. The AF Target Mark resembles an open and close bracket [ ]. Position this AF Target Mark on a subject roughly the same distance away as the subject the camera is having trouble focusing on. Press the shutter button halfway enabling the lens to focus. While holding the shutter button halfway down, aim the camera at the original subject and press the shutter button all the way down.

Sep 01, 2005 | Olympus D-630 Zoom Digital Camera

1 Answer

Focus on a particular subject?

If the camera is having trouble doing an auto focus you can try the FOCUS LOCK feature. This feature allows you to focus on another subject roughly the same distance away from you, and then move the camera back to your original subject and take your picture without losing that focus. First turn the camera on and locate the AutoFocus Target Mark in the center of the LCD. The AF Target Mark resembles an open and close bracket [ ]. Position this AF Target Mark on a subject roughly the same distance away from you as the subject that the camera is having trouble focusing on. Press the shutter button halfway enabling the lens to focus. While keeping the shutter button pressed halfway, move the camera back to include the subject you originally wanted in the image, then press the shutter fully. (Please see page 42 in the D-535 Zoom Reference Manual in Section 3, under the heading titled “If Correct Focus Cannot Be Obtained”, for a more detailed explanation.)

Aug 31, 2005 | Olympus D-535 Zoom / C370 Zoom Digital...

1 Answer

Focus

If the camera is having a difficult time auto-focusing you can try the FOCUS LOCK feature. This feature allows you to focus on another subject roughly the same distance from you and then move the camera back to the intended subject and take the picture without losing focus. First, turn the camera on and locate the Autofocus Target Mark in the center of the LCD. The AF Target Mark resembles an open and close bracket [ ]. Position this AF Target Mark on a subject roughly the same distance away as the subject the camera is having trouble focusing on. Press the shutter button halfway enabling the lens to focus. While holding the shutter button halfway down, aim the camera at the original subject and press the shutter button all the way down.

Aug 31, 2005 | Olympus Camedia D-435 Digital Camera

1 Answer

Focusing Difficulties

1. Typical problem subjects for autofocus 1) Very low-contrast subjects 2) Overlapping nearby and distant objects 3) Very bright subjects in the center 4) Subjects moving very fast 5) Subjects through glass Focus on an object that is at the same distance as the desired subject, apply Focus Lock, and then recompose the picture. Or set the lens focus mode switch to (or), and focus manually. (Manual focus is only possible with cameras providing this feature.) 2. Attempting to take pictures out of the camera's shooting distance: When taking pictures out of the camera's shooting distance, the subject will be out of focus. The shooting distance differs from each camera model. Please check the specifications of your camera in the instruction manual to determine the shooting distance.

Aug 29, 2005 | Canon PowerShot SD10 / IXUS I Digital...

1 Answer