Better focus assist tools

[Curtis boggs]

Not sure where to post feature requests so I'll try here.

Focus assist tools on Red ( Epic-W ) really could use some help.
Run & gun hand held stuff w no focus puller has got to be a fairly difficult situation.
But bright sunny days outside and trying to see the monitor and then trying to see the focus peaking or focus assist tools are damn near impossible.

The focus peaking just does that white edge deal it's hard to see, really need some form of color to it like a strong RED.

Please Red?

 

[Robert Gustafsson]

Not sure where to post feature requests so I'll try here.

Focus assist tools on Red ( Epic-W ) really could use some help.
Run & gun hand held stuff w no focus puller has got to be a fairly difficult situation.
But bright sunny days outside and trying to see the monitor and then trying to see the focus peaking or focus assist tools are damn near impossible.

The focus peaking just does that white edge deal it's hard to see, really need some form of color to it like a strong RED.

Please Red?

+1 for focus peaking in color! It would also be great to be able to adjust the strength of the peaking/outlines.
Been praying for color peaking (not black and white) for a couple of years now but I doubt it will ever happen...

 

[Mar van de Sande]

I thought i was looking over the option but there isn't a color focus assist.....

 

[Matthew Quinn]

there is an option called "edge" which is nice.

but honestly this is where tools like SmallHD/Atamos monitors, and range finders come into play for focus pullers.

 

[Hugh Scully]

I use a 3rd party EVF with FA in red if I have to pull focus myself outside. I can frame outside with a monitor and a hood but without that EVF I don't think I could pull focus myself outside in daylight. The diopter is also helpful for my aging eyes.

This is also where the sidekick is so valuable. The downside of this setup is that you forfiet some RED's helpful exposure tools. You get what's on the display, histogram and traffic lights and most EVFs have waveforms and false color but they're not as good as the gio scope.

I'd go for a RED EVF with focus in RED and swap out this third party one but I agree that the "white" edge is not as helpful as color for nailing focus by yourself.

 

[David Battistella]

You can also adjust LCD monitor sharpness and dial it in to something that really lets you see what is sharpest in the frame.

David

 

[Stacey Spears]

I use edge myself. It's the best sharpness tool I have seen, on any camera. I do miss the orange / red outline from the Red One days though.

When Mark teaches Reducation, he mentions that edge is done in Bayer space. Only trouble with edge is 1:1. Does not seem to work well when magnified.

Curtis, have you tried Edge?

 

[Björn Benckert]

The 7 inch is not the best in sunny weathers. Goes pitch black quite early and it´s difficult to see if it´s on or not while my iPhone is showing a clear picture.

 

[Curtis boggs]

I use edge myself. It's the best sharpness tool I have seen, on any camera. I do miss the orange / red outline from the Red One daysthough.

When Mark teaches Reducation, he mentions that edge is done in Bayer space. Only trouble with edge is 1:1. Does not seem to work well when magnified.

Curtis, have you tried Edge?

I used edge constantly but it's hard to see in a bright scene being shot outside. It REALLY needs some color added to it!

Shot some beachwear stuff yesterday and missed a few great shots because they are soft.
I can easily pull focus hand held myself IF, .. IF I could see it. But Red monitor w hood is fairly useless in bright sunshine, ..
Red EVF I don't have any better luck with.

Edge focus in Red would be totally awesome !!!

***However, I really open to ideas if anyone here has something I should try.***

Spent many years shooting stills, travel and fashion / swimwear in the Caribbean, never a focus issue
and I was mostly shooting medium format with no auto focus.

Cheers,

Curtis

 

[Björn Benckert]

I used edge constantly but it's hard to see in a bright scene being shot outside. It REALLY needs some color added to it!

Shot some beachwear stuff yesterday and missed a few great shots because they are soft.
I can easily pull focus hand held myself IF, .. IF I could see it. But Red monitor w hood is fairly useless in bright sunshine, ..
Red EVF I don't have any better luck with.

Edge focus in Red would be totally awesome !!!

***However, I really open to ideas if anyone here has something I should try.***

Spent many years shooting stills, travel and fashion / swimwear in the Caribbean, never a focus issue
and I was mostly shooting medium format with no auto focus.

Cheers,

Curtis

Only way to go is a lupe or dress up like a bedouin wrapped in black cloth. The toughest one I had was in the alps with blistering sunshine. I think we got ND 32 and still had to stop down to f12 or such. The smallest light leak just made the monitors look like they where turned off. But To me the 5" works better in such scenario than the 7", the 7" has more glare in the screen and feels some what lower nits.

Low cost, large no touch super bright screen with some cool focusing features would be awesome.


A few years back my college programed one of those infra red motion things for X box so it could hold a focus plane in a dotted 3d model of the live feed. Imagine red with their canon and nikon lens data, if they could feed such picutre to a seperate screen. Basically a screen that is fixed at the same plane as the sensor whee you see a 3D representation of the scene infront of the camera and that you slide a 3D plane trough by dragging your finger up and down.... The Kinect sensor could sit on the corners of such screen or be detachable and sit on camera and screen could be of camera. For real it would not need to be high definition at all as it´s just a dot 3d field so transition could be over blue tooth even.

I find it strange that these things dont allready exist.

 

[Mike Finegan]

That would be a dream

 

[Curtis boggs]

I did get one of the lupes made for the 5" screen but it does not focus so I cant use it, .. I wear glasses.

heck with the tech we have these days a little flashlight sized laser range finder with distance display would be easy enouth to do

 

[Stacey Spears]

I used edge constantly but it's hard to see in a bright scene being shot outside. It REALLY needs some color added to it!

Shot some beachwear stuff yesterday and missed a few great shots because they are soft.
I can easily pull focus hand held myself IF, .. IF I could see it. But Red monitor w hood is fairly useless in bright sunshine, ..
Red EVF I don't have any better luck with.

Edge focus in Red would be totally awesome !!!

***However, I really open to ideas if anyone here has something I should try.***

Spent many years shooting stills, travel and fashion / swimwear in the Caribbean, never a focus issue
and I was mostly shooting medium format with no auto focus.

Cheers,

Curtis

I use the Grid 7.0 for both total black out and magnification. As you point out, does not focus, so won't work if you wear glasses.

 

[Stacey Spears]

Only way to go is a lupe or dress up like a bedouin wrapped in black cloth. The toughest one I had was in the alps with blistering sunshine. I think we got ND 32 and still had to stop down to f12 or such. The smallest light leak just made the monitors look like they where turned off. But To me the 5" works better in such scenario than the 7", the 7" has more glare in the screen and feels some what lower nits.

Low cost, large no touch super bright screen with some cool focusing features would be awesome.


A few years back my college programed one of those infra red motion things for X box so it could hold a focus plane in a dotted 3d model of the live feed. Imagine red with their canon and nikon lens data, if they could feed such picutre to a seperate screen. Basically a screen that is fixed at the same plane as the sensor whee you see a 3D representation of the scene infront of the camera and that you slide a 3D plane trough by dragging your finger up and down.... The Kinect sensor could sit on the corners of such screen or be detachable and sit on camera and screen could be of camera. For real it would not need to be high definition at all as it´s just a dot 3d field so transition could be over blue tooth even.

I find it strange that these things dont allready exist.

I have wanted to do something like this using Hololens.

 

[Stacey Spears]

I did get one of the lupes made for the 5" screen but it does not focus so I cant use it, .. I wear glasses.

heck with the tech we have these days a little flashlight sized laser range finder with distance display would be easy enouth to do

I have the Redrock Micro Halo Solo on order, which should do something like this. I want to use it for doc interviews on VV. Get right eye in focus and lock it. Then as the subject moves forward and back, focus moves with them. No idea if it will work, but I have on order.

 

[Curtis boggs]

I use the Grid 7.0 for both total black out and magnification. As you point out, does not focus, so won't work if you wear glasses.

Yes i have a Grid 5" but it doesn't focus so totally useless for me.
Had no idea it didn't focus when i ordered.

I rented the newest Red EVF to test, see if that helps.

Curtis

 

[jorden guth]

I don't quite understand why colour focus peaking is not available on the REDs, but is on most other cameras. Is there a downside to this type of focus peaking, is it a technical limitation of RED, or is it just preference thing to not include it natively on RED cameras?

 

[Robert Gustafsson]

I don't quite understand why colour focus peaking is not available on the REDs, but is on most other cameras. Is there a downside to this type of focus peaking, is it a technical limitation of RED, or is it just preference thing to not include it natively on RED cameras?

Yeah, it's weird but I doubt it's a technical limitation, heck if you can shoot 8K and have a black and white focus assist (even in magnification) it must be possible to have focus peaking in red. Maybe most shooters have dedicated ACs with external monitors but for run and gun work and smaller crews I think it would be a great addition being able to use the RED monitors and pull focus with colored peaking.

 

[jorden guth]

has anyone from RED commented on the why they don't include it?

Is there a downside to the color focus peaking that I'm just not aware of?

 

[Jonathan Grevsen]

I use a couple of different setups with external monitors. Like adding a 5" monitor next to the RED Touch and having it zoomed in constantly for critical focus.