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autofocus

Tune in to your tasks

We tend to be somewhat dubious of time-management software. More often than not, the time spent creating tasks, dividing them into smaller tasks within tasks, assigning them priority levels, and setting reminders is time that could be better spent just getting your work done. Autofocus, however, is different. This innovative program relies on a simple process and your own intuition to keep you productive, and we think it's a great alternative to more structured time-management options.

In truth, the Autofocus system could be followed using a regular notebook, but the fact that there's a software version makes sense … Read more

Photographers bless improved Canon autofocus

After testing Canon's newest professional SLR, professional sports photographer Brad Mangin offers praise for the camera's autofocus system that's as lavish as the scorn he heaped upon the model's predecessor.

Mangin tested the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV at a football game, and his overall assessment published on his blog doubtless was music to the ears of designers at the Japanese camera maker: "This camera performed flawlessly...Canon should be able to keep long-time (and heavily invested) users like me happy with the new Mark IV."

Perhaps not so pleasant to hear was his excoriation … Read more

Next gen iPhone auto-focus, compass revealed?

Update: June 1, 2009: UMPCFever has removed the blog post from its Web site.

A Chinese-language blog UMPCFever posted pictures recently that its claims are the first ever photos from a functioning next-generation iPhone. The Web site, translated through Google, displays images of iPhone OS 3.0 running some of the rumored new iPhone features we covered here, here, here, and here.

According to the report, the new iPhone contains an auto-focusing camera that uses an onscreen square that can be moved around with a combination of taps and dragging to choose the object to focus on. The rumored digital … Read more

Olympus: 12 megapixels is enough for most folks

A correction has been made to this story. See below for details.

LAS VEGAS--Olympus has declared an end to the megapixel race.

"Twelve megapixels is, I think, enough for covering most applications most customers need," said Akira Watanabe, manager of Olympus Imaging's SLR planning department, in an interview here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA). "We have no intention to compete in the megapixel wars for E-System," Olympus' line of SLR cameras, he said.

Instead, Olympus will focus on other characteristics such as dynamic range, color reproduction, and a better ISO range for low-light shooting, he said.

Increasing the number of megapixels on cameras is an easy selling point for camera makers, in part because it's a simple concept for people to understand. Even though having more megapixels can enable larger prints and enlargement of subject matter through cropping, adding megapixels comes with some drawbacks.

For one thing, smaller pixels can mean more noisy speckles at the pixel level and can reduce the dynamic range, so brighter areas wash out and darker areas become swaths of black. For another, images take more room on memory cards, hard drives, and Web servers, and cameras need more powerful image processors to handle them. And yesteryear's cameras already had plenty of pixels for making 8x10-inch prints, a size few people exceed. … Read more

Photographer: Canon 1D Mark III autofocus still needs work

Hardware and firmware fixes have improved the autofocus performance of Canon's new EOS-1D Mark III camera, but it's still not up to the level of its predecessor, the photographer who first uncovered the issues in June said Monday.

Canon is offering some customers free adjustments to a mirror in the higher-end SLR and advising all customers to install updated firmware. The former improved the $4,500 camera's ability to focus on moving subjects in warm or hot conditions, and the latter helped when it's bright out, said photographer and consultant Rob Galbraith in a blog posting Monday. … Read more

Canon updates 1D Mark III firmware

Shortly after Canon announced a hardware fix for autofocus problems affecting some of its high-end EOS-1D Mark III cameras, the leading SLR maker also has added a software fix.

Version 1.1.3 of the Camera's firmware "improves autofocus tracking" when shooting outdoors in bright environments or when shooting low-contrast subjects, Canon said. In addition, the firmware can speed the process of writing images to high-speed SD memory cards.

Canon's biggest rival for single-lens reflex cameras, Nikon, also released some new firmware for its brand new D3 and D300 models that endows them with the color … Read more

Canon gives guidance on 1D Mark III AF issues

This afternoon Canon posted a service notice on its website for owners of the company's 1D Mark III digital SLR. If you haven't been following the saga of the camera's autofocus problems, Canon admitted a couple of weeks ago that some of that model's units have a problem with the submirror, a small mirror that sits behind the main mirror and helps to divert light to the AF system. As a result, they can end up with inaccurate focus and/or inaccurate focus tracking in AI-Servo AF and continuous shooting modes. The problems are supposedly more … Read more

Canon U.K. retailers to send back EOS-1D Mark III cameras

Correction 9:00 a.m. PDT Wednesday: The original version of this article misstated the camera's megapixels. The Canon EOS-1D Mark III has 10.1 megapixels.

Canon U.K. has asked its retailers to return any unsold EOS-1D Mark III cameras for a fix, according to reports Tuesday.

Canon U.S.A. says that it has no plans to issue a formal recall, but will address the autofocus issue soon.

"We can confirm that Canon U.S.A., Inc. has not suspended shipments of the EOS-1D Mark III camera, and we can also confirm that we have no … Read more

Canon has fix for high-end SLR autofocus

An adjustment to one mirror should fix an autofocus problem that has tarnished the debut of Canon's high-end EOS-1D Mark III camera, the company said Thursday.

"We're pretty confident this countermeasure will resolve the issue completely," said Chuck Westfall, a Canon spokesman and tech guru. "It feels nice to have a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel and know it's not another oncoming train."

The $4,500 camera, geared chiefly for photojournalists who can appreciate features such as its 10.5-frame-per-second shooting ability, had won accolades for most of … Read more