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Auto focus problem

Maverick Flyer

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Joined
Feb 9, 2020
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Age
47
Location
Northern California
Images appear in focus while on the ground but immediately after takeoff they go out of focus. Auto focus is selected on takeoff. Can solve by selecting manual focus, set the distance to infinity, then return setting to auto focus. Will remain in focus for the duration of the flight. This behavior just started on my last two flights. Hoping I pushed a button somewhere? Thanks in advance.
 
AF (auto-focus) doesn't necessarily mean that "all things will now remain in focus". There are two modes of AF operation:
  • AF-S: Single. This is I think the default and quite likely what you have now. It means that when you're ready to take a photo, a half-press of the shutter-button will focus and you want to do that before a full-press (which takes the picture).
  • AF-C: Continuous. This means it will try to always be focusing on the area selected (the focus box on the screen, which you should be able to move around). While I use AF-C from time to time on my DSLR, I have found it problematic on the Mavic cameras and don't use it. It often results in soft images, probably because it's not a very smart continuous AF system.
Manual focus is entirely different. There's no focus at all with the shutter-button. See the manual for more, but I believe you have to select the area to focus on the screen and get it as you like, at which point the focus will occur and then stop. That means that the focus is probably good (with this wide-angle lens) as long as you're hovering there shooting. As soon as you start flying away, that point is no longer in focus, so you'll need to do the manual thing all over again on the next subject. I think AF-S is more convenient than that. It seems to me that full manual is for a static object shot from a static aircraft position.

There should be more in the manual on all of this.

Chris
 
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I use AFC (auto focus continuous) on my M2P all the time and it always focuses perfectly. I’ve had folks comment on the resulting video as being so sharp and clear that it looks like 3D.
 
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Thank you Chris. It sounds like I have inadvertently selected AF single ... so it's in focus when on the ground but after take off it doesn't adjust. I'll check that out! So helpful ... I really appreciate your help. Best regards, Bruce
 
I ran into the same problem the other day with my M2P. I started video recording before take off, the camera was in AFC mode. On the ground, the camera focused on the ground very close to it. Immediately after taking off, objects in view became much further away and the camera failed to change the focus accordingly. I stopped video recording and the video feed became sharp again. I believe it's because the camera is designed not to change the focus suddenly by a large amount during recording.

 
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