Camera Labs

Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone could help me with my query...

Would the auto-focus work on video mode on the T3i if you use EF-S lense?

As I understand that the the T3i doesnt have autofocus on video mode, only on camera mode.

Hope someone can help me with this, as this would help me decide whether to get a Nikon 5100D or the Canon T3i.

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Thanks!

Kind regards,
Jay

No autofocus in video mode. Doesn't depend on what lens you use. You can press the autofocus button with any lens but the focus is pretty slow and may have strange effects on the exposure for that time.

But the autofocus on the D5100 isn't fast either - in most cases it's easier and faster to use manual focus with both cameras.
If you want a camera with full time autofocus on video mode you should look for a Sony with a translucent mirror.

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

To date, the auto focus on DSLR cameras are nowhere near the auto focus motors in video cameras. DLSR auto focus is pretty rubbish on some models and really horrible on others. Most of the time I just manually focus or just try again.

D5100 tends to hunt a lot and sometimes if a subject moves or the camera is moved the focus will get lost very quickly and then come back into focus as the camera gets confused. Also, on quiet shoots, I can hear the motor hunting when I play back the video on my computer lol.

In the end, what I just do is zoom in all the way manually focus on the subject, zoom back to wide, raise the f/ number and make sure I have a deep depth of feild.

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1) Olympus OM1 [Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8]
2) Pentax MZ-60 [Sigma 28-90 & 100-300]
3) Canon 7D [EF-S 15-85 & 70-200mm f/4 IS]

Leo's Flickr Page

But again: Take a look at the Sony A65 - it has autofocus in video mode and it works!

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

Getting a little off topic for the Canon forum, but AF on the Sony A65 is with the lens wide-open only, and you also lose manual control of shutter and ISO. And video clip length is limited to 29 minutes in all regions. You may also encounter overheating issues before then if you shoot with IS. And the LCD is hinged at the bottom.

Getting back to the Canon T3i, Canon's downscaling algorithm has significant moire and aliasing. And video clip length is limited to 12 minutes. (And there's no AF as noted above.)

The D5100 also has no manual control of aperture, shutter and ISO. (There's a way to preset these values and then lock exposure which works ... until you forget and lose a shot, or worse shots.) And video clips are still limited, in this case to 20 minutes. And as noted above, the AF motor is noisy.

For full manual control with quiet AF and no video clip time limit in the U.S., you need to check out Panasonic's G-series.

Full disclosure: I own a GH1 and GH2 - Mark

Ah, I didnt think of Sony. Sorry I just am not a big fan of Sony imaging products. When it comes to cameras I just automatically think of Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Olympus.... (Sigma, Leica and Vorts-something german) are the others I think of for lenses.

Im still upset Rico is trying to buy out pentax

and back on topic, if you want a video camera, my first suggestion is always get a video camera - they are pretty cheap nowadays, and handle video 100000000 times better than any DSLR out for the time being and for a fraction of the cost.

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1) Olympus OM1 [Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8]
2) Pentax MZ-60 [Sigma 28-90 & 100-300]
3) Canon 7D [EF-S 15-85 & 70-200mm f/4 IS]

Leo's Flickr Page

Voigtländer? (for those who don't live in Germany, it's spoken: "Foctlander")

Yeah, personally I like Sony's Playstation but still the cameras are getting better and better, following Konica-Minolta.

Still - cheap video cameras might handle AF better than any DSLR but the image quality...

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

There's nothing like a bit of good old hyperbole to get your point across in a discussion.

I do agree that a dedicated camcorder is generally much easier to use but recording video with a DSLR isn't like trying to put an elephant through a letter box while you're drunk and spinning on a turntable, being tickled with feathers.

I'm an amateur with video recording and my 550D did a decent job recording despite the subject moving towards and away from me. See for yourself: http://youtu.be/JK4nxaB5VxU

Depending on the subject and how you're filming, you may not be much worse off using a DSLR to film.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control