Hello shooters! I recently was heartbroken after reviewing footage from a recent concert I shot with my EX3 where I realized that my footage was soft when I zoomed out for wide shots. This was particularly confusing because I was using full manual focus with no auto assist focus on and the subject was very sharp when zoomed in all the way. I had never had a problem like this before with any camera and had never heard of back focusing. After doing some research I found out that it is not necessary to do any updates to the firmware to resolve the problem as many forums were saying. Steps to correct the problem are below…
1. Set your camera to 1080i60 even if you don’t normally shoot this way, it will make the adjustments more accurate.
2. Print out the located below “Back Focusing Chart” and resize so that it fits on an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of white paper.
3. Tape the paper to a well lit wall as level as possible.
4. Set up a tripod about ten feet (three meters) from the chart with the camera at the same height as the chart.
5. Make sure your zoom is set to servo and not manual. (Located on the bottom of the camera) Zoom all the way into the chart so that it takes up the entire frame on the viewfinder.
6. Set the camera to full auto focus using the focusing ring and the switch on the side of the lens.
7. Go to the “Lens” menu in the main menu when your camera is in camera mode.
8. Select “Auto FB Adjust” and the camera should begin automatically calibrating itself.
9. If the test fails you might need to double check that you are shooting in a well-lit environment.
10. Your camera’s back focusing problems are now history!
This helped me and I hope it helps you too. You can also find several other back focusing charts by searching in Google, I just included this one here to save you folks some time. Please feel free to comment or contact me with any questions.
Happy shooting!
Mr. Magic Carpet Ride Productions Back Focusing Chart
Hello:
I am having a problem with my center focus point. When zoomed out pic is fine. Between Z14 and Z38 the subject is out of focus in middle of screen…ouside areas are focused. I have noticed this especially when Brides are coming down the isle…I am a videographer. I tried doing what you said above, but it did not resolve the issue. Any help would be appreciated.
thanks,
Frank
Hi Frank,
I have to say that is a new one to me. I also have had good luck on occasion with taking the lens completely off and then putting it back on. It sounds like that could be something with the way the lens is sitting on the body. If all else fails you should surely contact Sony to see what they have to say.
Thanks for the comment. Best of luck!
-Andy
http://www.mrmagicproductions.com
hi i have beckfocus problim in my camera but my opiction is closed auto fb adj …. so what can i do i have ex3 sony camera
Hi, thanks for your question. I’m sorry, but I’m not sure if I understand your question. Do you mean that the menu does not give you the option to perform the test?
Let me know how I can help. Thanks.
It doesn’t work. Focus is still soft.
Hi Royce,
bummer. Try taking off the lens and putting it back on; sometimes it can fix the issue. Unfortunately if the back-focus adjustment doesn’t fix the issue the only option might be to call Sony. I had some pretty bad luck with mine in that it seemed to be sharp sometimes and soft at other times. The test would fix my problem but so would taking the lens on and off.
Sorry for the troubles you’ve had. Let us know if you find a solution.
Good luck.