olympus sx-50 autofocus (1 Viewer)

I have an Olympus SX-50 but have never been able to work out how to control the position of the focusing square. Is anyone able to point me in the right direction ?

SX-50 is a Canon name, not Olympus. Olympus do an SX - the Omniscan SX but it isn't a camera and costs considerably more than any commercially available camera that they have produced.
Can you confirm that it has Olympus printed on it?

occasional said:

I have an Olympus SX-50 but have never been able to work out how to control the position of the focusing square. Is anyone able to point me in the right direction ?

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Ah the Canon SX50! (thanks Iveljay )

Press the small button above the FuncSet control wheel. You can then change the position of the focus square with the direction buttons. It's page 134 or 135 in the manual.

Apologies. It is an Olympus SP100. SX50 is presumably the Canon equivalent.

The Olympus SP100 was designed with a slightly different set of requirements to the Canon SX50.

It had some benefits including a top mounted optical dot sight, better resolution sensor and a higher resolution evf, the Canon had different benefits compared to the Olympus.

However the only viewfinder adjustment on the SP100, other than the dioptre adjustment lies with the dot sight. This allows the illuminated dot to synchronise with fixed evf centre focus point. Accordingly the focussing point in the evf and rear screen is fixed.

The handling of off centre focus points is covered on pages 84 and 34 in the manual - link attached.

http://www.olympusamerica.com/files/oima_cckb/SP-100_MANUAL_ENGLISH.PDF

Personally on most cameras I come across, I half press the shutter release on the target and then recompose maintainig pressure on the release - however I have never handled this model so cannot guarantee that it works that way - most do.

I hope this helps.

Thanks, Iveljay.

Unfortunately those instructions are meaningless to a novice like myself.

When I use the camera the focusing square appears to move around 9 different positions at random. Presumably there is a mechanism by which the movement of the square can be controlled, but this does not appear in the instructions.

There is no means of you controlling the focussing square other than the three settings mentioned on page 47 of the manual.

It is clear that your camera is set to Face/iESP mode - which is probably the default as the camera decides for you what to focus on - it is the simplest mode for most beginners, but the camera is deciding on where to position the focus frame - it is the mode intended by many manufacturers to make life easier for novices.

Following the steps described in the manual you can set the AF mode to Spot which will anchor it firmly in the centre of the viewfinder.

The third mode AF Tracking functions precisely as described on page 47, for this class of camera it is probably designed to work on larger, slower moving objects such as children rather than birds.

Cameras such as the Olympus Stylus1 are equipped with a means of moving the focus target manually as you describe - the SP100 is not so equipped. In your position I would set the target to Spot which is effectively the only other option open to you.

Many thanks for the clear and comprehensive reply.

Next question. What is the basic difference between P mode and AUTO mode ?

Program Mode lets the camera decide what shutter speed and lens aperture will give you a correctly exposed shot - it takes no consideration of whether you are shooting a still life or a racing greyhound. You will have to s set a higher ISO speed manually yourself and the camera will then hopefully set a faster shutter speed or the dog will be blurred.

I/Auto Mode is the same, but will take even more control away from the user as explained on page 92 of the manual, including the focussing mode we started with or a higher ISO .

Some manufacturers build intelligence into the camera and will change how the camera works in this type of setting, i.e. automatically setting it into close up mode if needed. Exactly what this camera will do other than operate at standard settings is unclear.

For many people getting the hang of photography it is better to use the SCN mode - P24 in the manual where setting the camera to Sport in the options you would be given will get over the greyhound problem etc. It is possible that this camera will try and select the correct SCN mode itself in I/Auto, however, Olympus do not state this anywhere - so we do not know.

Hope this helps.

Thanks again.