Hdrsr12 losing focus

[babyschmoof]

Recently my Sony HDR-SR12 has an issue where focus is lost. It then becomes quite tough to get it to come back into focus, with the manual focus wheel. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

[budwzr]

Does it have focus peaking? That shows a thin colored outline on straight lines when in focus.

Or touch tracking? You touch the object on screen and focus locks on that target, and stays with it, even if you or the target move.

Another way is to zoom in and make manual focus. The focus will stick all the way back to wide angle.

Then there's the old standby of setting focus to infinity.

And finally, get one of those "LCD Viewfinder Loupe" gizmos. They do work well because the LCD screen is much higher resolution than the electronic viewfinder. So you can actually see the focus.

This is partly why DSLR's are so popular. Because the controls are more finer. But these HandyCams afford fast, discrete, and simple operation.

My camcorder remembers all settings when I power down, and starts the camera up again with the last settings. There's no saving to custom buttons or saving to anything.

But if your last session had totally different settings, what I do is choose a program mode to get started. Don't use "iAuto" for anything.

[babyschmoof]

According to this page, no.

http://camcorder-test.slashcam.com/compare-f169834f0234e1616a67464c56e2ca46.html

[transporterfan]

I have a Sony and like it a lot, though not this particular product.
There are two reviews here:

http://www.abesofmaine.com/abeimg/powerreviews/pwr/product-reviews/Video/Camcorders/So...er-Silver.html

The first by Dynamo Dan:

'My first negative experience with this camera was that the auto focus would stick for 5 seconds. This happened most often in low light when switching from a hard target at 10’ to a soft target at 3’. After comparing it to an older handy cam side by side, I determined the camera to be defective. I had purchased this camera at a store so I took it back and exchanged it. Now the auto focus works well and in the exact same light and location. So if you are having problems with the auto focus, first contact Sony at the web address they provide.'

The second by wBurdine:

' The Control Dial sounds like a great idea, but isn’t. the default is manual focus control. You push the button to allow manual focus then turn the knob to change the focus. Push again and it does not stay locked in that position you go back to auto focus and it will always refocus. It does, at least, always tell you the focal distance while I manual focus mode. The Control Dial can be changed to be used for other functions, don’t even think of changing it to another mode while recoding. You got to push and hold the button in, roll the knob to the desired function, push the button again to accept, the activate the function by pushing and roll the knob to where you want it. There’s just a lot of movement that will jerk the camera around. Now, here’s the biggest problem with the dial; if you have it in manual focus, change the function to another function without releasing the manual focus, your focus will never be able to refocus until you return and take it off manual focus. This one caused me about 2 hours of frustration and had me calling support trying not find out why it would not focus.'

All I can guarantee is it's one of two things 1...User error, or 2...Mechanical error.

[budwzr]

"Now, here’s the biggest problem with the dial; if you have it in manual focus, change the function to another function without releasing the manual focus, your focus will never be able to refocus until you return and take it off manual focus."
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This is not a problem. When you switch one of the controls into manual it should stick.

Those Paparazzi photographers prefocus ahead of time, put tape on the focus ring, then move the camera accordingly.

[transporterfan]

I think what the guy was trying to say is that the focus option remains locked out if you move between functions with the selector engaged. If he entered the function (mode, whatever..) in auto focus then it would stick in auto focus.
This is the hard thing about diagnosing a physical mechanism...unless we have one to hand, all answers revolve around initial supposition.

[budwzr]

If there is a delay when using autofocus, that could also be the environment. In fact, that sounds more plausible. The OP's explanation is noobish, so all options should be on the table. These consumer cameras aren't too robust.

And the devil's in the details.

That all-in-one manual knob takes some getting used to, and the manual is totally inadequate. But it does have one good function, that if you operate Iris(f-stop), Exposure(ISO), or Shutter Speed, The previous setting on the other two changes. So basically you enter into the equivalent of Av or Tv modes (semi-manual).

Also, the menu allows a default state for each item, so there could be some confusion.

The Sony warranty is sketchy too, so if it turns out to be a malfunction that's not too good.

[2Bdecided]

It is possible for the auto focus mechanism to slowly or instantly die. I've had that happen on my DSLR.

Cheers,
David.