[Nass]

I was just thinking, AF is a great boon. What I don't really get is its design/usability. You see a red thing in the viewfinder which tells you the camera is trying to find focus. Then the confirmation is a green hex down the bottom - which forces the user's eye away from the image.

I don't get why it hasn't been designed so that when it's trying to find focus it's red BUT when it's found it the same red thing goes green (or yellow, maybe user-configurable?). Wouldn't that be much better for usability (ie no need to take eye away from image) or am I just nuts?

[Lowell Goudge]

I think you mis understand the viewfinder information.

The camera has multiple focusing targets, and the red indication in the view finder is telling you which one is selected, this can change between user selected, spot or auto. In the case of auto more than one can light.

the green hexigon is confirmation, but you can also select AF-S which locks shutter with focus confirmation

You can also program the camera to beep when focused, eliminating the need to look at the green dot.

Most times, with AF, you don't need any of these just shoot. BUT in complicated scenes, or where you wish to set focus lock, having the additional information is useful, just as it is with manual focus lenses.

[falconeye]

Wouldn't that be much better for usability (ie no need to take eye away from image) or am I just nuts?

You are correct.

In order to avoid a second color (hardware), they could have made the corners illuminate while searching and solid edges when confirmed (like target locked).

I can only hope that the beep can be trusted at least

[Nass]

Hmmmmmm - yes I turned the beep off, and I was aware about the red thing showing the af point, but I was also under the impression that the red thing shows when AF is "not ready yet/calculating"

[Nass]

In order to avoid a second color (hardware), they could have made the corners illuminate while searching and solid edges when confirmed (like target locked).

Yes that's what I was thinking, probably a colour/hardware cost factor or something? I turned the beep back on though

I really need to do some better homework on this though before I open my big mouth because there are both open red things (ie red square like letter o) and solid ones (like full stop)

[pxpaulx]

Yes that's what I was thinking, probably a colour/hardware cost factor or something? I turned the beep back on though

I really need to do some better homework on this though before I open my big mouth because there are both open red things (ie red square like letter o) and solid ones (like full stop)

This isn't a bad idea - I think maybe they could have the open squares for the 'focusing' time, followed by a small red dot in the middle of the squares when focus is acquired. If it were a different color, this would probably require an additional screen with additional LEDs.

[heliphoto]

Train yourself to see the green hexagon in your peripheral vision - you may not be able to notice it's a hexagon, but, the presence / absence, and more importantly, the sudden appearance of a large green blob is readily noticable in your peripheral. The same can be done to "see" the green stabilization hand icon appear in the viewfinder - you can't see the shape without moving your eye, but you can note the arrival of a new green icon in the bottom right corner (in my K20d) indicating your SR is ready to rock.

[Clem Nichols]

What about using shake reduction when taking photos of fast moving events when AF-C is being used? It seems to me that in such situations where a fast shutter speed is of necessity being used anyway that the use of shake reduction might actually be detrimental because the shutter could very easily be opened before the SR mechanism has settled down, resulting in a blurred image. Thoughts/comments?

CN