Problems with Focus Peak, Magic Zoom, and SharpContrast in the 600D

Started by vtrandal, August 02, 2012, 05:44:45 PM

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vtrandal

I have read through the FAQ, looked over the current posts, and searched for solutions to problems I am having with some Magic Lantern manual focus features. But I have not found any posts that address the manual focus features I am having problems with (Focus Peak, Magic Zoom, and SharpContrast) on my Canon T3i (600D). So I will describe the problems in reference to how they should work according to the Magic Lantern v2.3 User Guide.

Problem: The User Guide regarding Focus Peak says "High-contrast lines will be marked by blinking dots showing which part of the image is in focus." In my case on my Canon T3i (600D) lots of blinking dots do appear around high-contrast lines as I adjust the manual focus ring on the lens, but the dots appear only briefly and then most of them disappear leaving a relatively small number of blinking dots around high-contrast lines. I've tried adjusting Focus Peak settings in the Overlay menu, but I have not found settings that make the Focus Peak feature consistently mark high-contrast lines with lots of blinking dots that persist around the portion of the image that is in fact in focus after I have stopped adjusting the manual focus on the lens.

Problem: The User Guide regarding Magic Zoom says "Displays a zoom box for focus assist ... When ML believes you have achieved perfect focus, Magic Zoom will display a focus confirmation (customizable)." I use Magic Zoom in the Zoom In (+) trigger mode with "Green Bars" as focus confirmation. In my case on my Canon T3i (600D) focus confirmation (Green Bars) often illuminates at the top and bottom of the zoom window when the portion of the image being focused on is *not* actually in focus. And when the Green Bars do appear when "perfect" focus is achieved they often appear only briefly and then disappear even if my hand is not touching the focus ring on the lens and the portion of the image in the Magic Zoom window is in fact still in focus.

Problem: The User Guide regarding "Increase SharpContrast" says "when zoom is active, sharpness and contrast are maximized. Increased sharpness works somewhat like focus peaking." This is the most important Magic Lantern focus feature to me. It's enabled by selecting "Increase SharpContrast" in "LiveView zoom settings" of the Prefs menu. This feature has worked only once for me - and it was AMAZING! Specifically, after enabling it, I'm sure I pressed Zoom In (+) and I thought the Magic Zoom window popped up and I could see Focus Peak like behavior occurring within the zoom window (with magnification) as I adjusted the manual focus ring on the lens. But now no matter what I try I can't get any Focus Peak like activity when zoom is active either through pressing Zoom In (+) or by holding the shutter button halfway down.

If anyone cares to comment on how I may be misusing any of these features and how I might use them correctly I would be very grateful. Shortly here I will begin to split these problems into separate posts so anyone who is interested can focus on a specific problem. And for any problem that remains unresolved I will open a bug report as appropriate.

Thanks!

kihlbahkt

Hi vtrandal,
I quickly tested a couple of these on my 600D using v2.3ML - all settings and focus are manual.
Focus Peak in LV and I have no complaints about dot display along high contrast, in-focus areas. set to yellow dots. Tested with "increase SharpContrast" ON and OFF

Magic Zoom - My MZ setup is FOCUS+ZRec with green bar confirm - I did see a few instances of green bar confirmation just prior to sharpest focus. I stopped focusing at green bar confirm and then I was able to pull a better focus by doing 10x zoom and continue until sharpest focus achieved. I am testing in low light conditions in my house which may be a factor. I will do some tests in full sunlight. Most of the time at green bar confirm, the subject was in sharp focus.

Regarding green bar confirm staying green. In my setup, Magic Zoom disappears after focus operation.

At no point in my testing did I see Focus Peak dots within the Magic Zoom window. Is that actually supposed to happen? In fact, focus peaking dots disappear from LV when MZ is displayed during my testing.

Those are my results with a 600D.

EDIT:
Did more green bar confirm tests in sunlight. Green bar confirm may display prior to sharpest focus. 

It seems that your problem is trying to use Magic Zoom and Focus Peak at the same time. As stated in my last post, Focus Peak dots are not displayed when magic zoom window is being displayed. In your setup (+) zoom, MZ is displayed until you hit the button again. You should have focus peak dots when MZ is not displayed.

600D x2

vtrandal

Quote from: kihlbahkt on August 02, 2012, 09:52:19 PM
Did more green bar confirm tests in sunlight. Green bar confirm may display prior to sharpest focus. 
...
It seems that your problem is trying to use Magic Zoom and Focus Peak at the same time. As stated in my last post, Focus Peak dots are not displayed when magic zoom window is being displayed. In your setup (+) zoom, MZ is displayed until you hit the button again. You should have focus peak dots when MZ is not displayed.

Thanks kihlbahkt for your detailed reply and the indoor and outdoor tests! I want to get the most out of everything you looked into. Since I mainly shoot landscapes with a fixed focal length lens, I will attempt to do this by outlining my manual focus process for landscapes.

(By the way I use old m42 Pentax screw mount manual focus lenses with an adapter that contains no corrective optics - the Canon 600D dimensions accommodate the m42 register requirements for achieving infinity focus without a corrective optic in the adapter. Also, I don't believe I observed any difference in the problems I am describing here when I was using my Canon 18-55mm kit lens, but I will confirm that.)

A couple quick comments first:
1. Yes, Green bar confirm may indeed display prior to sharpest focus. So then I am inclined to use x10 magnification to check it.
2. As for there being a problem using Magic Zoom (MZ) and Focus Peak (FP) at the same time, they are two separate features which I have enabled in Magic Lantern (ML) at the same time. I just want to be clear there's no problem there.

Now, my manual focus process: Initially I don't have MZ window open, and I rely on FP for red dots on high contrast lines. Then I open MZ window with x3 magnification and continue focus watching for Green Bar confirm (and yes, FP is momentarily inactive with MZ open). Then I use ML feature to zoom by pressing shutter button halfway and continue manual focus at x10 magnification as needed for various landscape details.

I suspect my manual focus process is revealing some problems in ML:
1. FP red dots often peak then become fewer when I stop adjusting focus. (But you do not observe this behavior, correct?)
2. Green bar confirm in MZ seems somewhat random. (Instead, you see Green Bar confirm sometimes before sharpest focus, correct?)
3. Regardless of "Increase SharpContrast" setting I no longer see increased sharpness "somewhat like focus peaking" (per the User Guide) anywhere - not in LiveView, or FP, or MZ, or x5 or x10 magnification. (I am not sure I understand what you observed in this case. Can you comment more on this?)

I hope all that makes sense and that you would please comment further - particularly on the questions I've asked above.

Thanks!

vtrandal

kihlbahkt and others,

I'm eagerly awaiting anyone else generous enough to comment on Magic Lantern manual focusing issues that I am experiencing.

In the next day or so I think I am going to go ahead and split this up into two or three separate issues after I confirm these are indeed issues that also occur with my Canon 18-55mm kit lens. I want to rule out the possibility that the m42 screw mount lenses are causing problems with Magic Lantern manual focus features mentioned in the title.

Thanks all!

kihlbahkt

vtrandal
Quote1. FP red dots often peak then become fewer when I stop adjusting focus. (But you do not observe this behavior, correct?)
2. Green bar confirm in MZ seems somewhat random. (Instead, you see Green Bar confirm sometimes before sharpest focus, correct?)
3. Regardless of "Increase SharpContrast" setting I no longer see increased sharpness "somewhat like focus peaking" (per the User Guide) anywhere - not in LiveView, or FP, or MZ, or x5 or x10 magnification. (I am not sure I understand what you observed in this case. Can you comment more on this?)

1. FP dots do not seem to decrease in qty when I stop focusing.
2. Green bar can display when subject is not in sharpest focus. Did not experience "random" green bar display.
3. I tested Focus Peak with "increase SharpContrast" setting both ON and OFF and saw no significant difference when using FP.

I have no other observations to report on for "Increase SharpContrast" setting and how it would modify LiveView. Maybe someone else can comment on that setting.

600D x2