SX70 Auto Focus Issue in Highly Reflective Light Situation
I am the user who has been posting periodic reviews of the new Canon SX70 of photographs taken of birds in the Boreal forest. Up until this point, I have been very pleased with my new camera, particularly how it now performs in low light compared to the SX60 it replaced.
However, two days ago I discovered an auto focusing issue which appears to happen in very bright light situations. In my case, while photographing a Snowy Owl, even though I had good light (extremely light clouds with reflective light off newly fallen snow). I was using Aperture Priority with the sun pretty much behind me. My ISO was set at 100, and the camera picked a 1/1500 shutter speed. I noticed that I was having difficulty getting a focus lock. At first I thought the issue was white on white (Snowy Owl on fresh snow). I did manage to get some good photos, but also a lot of garbage shots.
Later in the afternoon I visited a Bobcat den I have been watching. Once again I started to have focus lock issues (aperture priority once again). The combination of new snow, and a reflective shed wall was fooling my camera. This time I wondered if that was the case, switched to full manual ... halved the shutter speed and kept the ISO at 100 and the aperture as low as possible. Immediately my auto focus problem was solved.
I now suspect that in any highly reflective high light situation I will need to make certain I am in full manual mode ... no big deal for me, but for the more casual user it could ruin a lot of images (i.e. they will rarely use, if ever, manual mode). I expect in the summer while out on any of Minnesota's 15,000 lakes the problem will reoccur. One again, for me it will be a non issue as I am now prepared.
If you want to see my Snowy Owl and Bobcat photographs, follow this link:
https://www.365daysofbirds.com/2019/01/24/rabbits-beware-snowy-and-fluffy-are-looking-for-you/
If you want to see all my SX70 reviews, follow this link:
https://www.365daysofbirds.com/2018/12/19/canon-sx70-review-snowy-owls-spruce-grouse/