Focus Checking Software?

SamirD

I do a lot of panning shots, and focus is so critical in these. I don't have pro equipment so I'm usually using f8 and then manually focusing just in front of my subject. Depending on if I get the pan right or not, I have a crisp image.

The problem is that with the shutter lags and non-optical viewfinder of ancient high-end consumer cameras from 5 years ago, it's hard to get a perfect shot every time. So I have to zoom in and check each shot to see if they are in sharp focus.

So while I was processing a gallery of 600+ images, I thought to myself there's got to be a software that can batch check for focus issues on an image. So my question is--is there? :dunno

Any feedback appreciated. :thumb

pathfinder

I am not aware of software to check the focus in images. How would a piece of software know precisely where you want the focus point to be in an image?

I do not understand your comment about a non-optical viewfinder on a 20D, which is the camera listed in your profile.

Have you tried AI servo mode in your high frame rate mode on your 20D?

rsquared

I'm with pathfinder, I don't think software could do this automatically, but Lightroom makes the job really quick if you let it... (Lightroom is a godsend for managing a huge number of photos)

1. Generate 1:1 previews for all images before you do anything. This will help the pictures load much faster.

2. Turn on caps lock. This tells LR to move to the next photo as soon as you rate or flag the current one.

3. Press E to go to single photo mode

4. Press Shift+Tab to get rid of all 4 panels (left, right, top, bottom)

5. Press T to get rid of the bar at the bottom (Remember to press T when you're done to get it back)

6. Press F twice to go to full screen mode

7. Zoom into the first photo at 100%. Move the photo so you get the best view of the critical areas of the photo showing. (I know when I do panning shots, most photos are composed very similarly and so you shouldn't have to move this much)

8. Now use your preferred flagging method (P for Pick, X for reject, U for undecided; or rate using the 1-5 keys) and as soon as you hit any of those keys, it moves to the next photo. You should be able to rate most photos within 3-5 seconds. For 600 photos that's still less than an hour.

9. If you've got a second monitor (e.g. laptop connected to a monitor) turn on the second monitor mode. Instead of zooming in on the first monitor, set the second monitor to "Live" mode and click to zoom in there (Shift+Alt+Z brings you right into live zoom mode). Now wherever you move your mouse over the image on the first monitor, the image on the second monitor moves along with it at full zoom. Make sure you're right in front of monitor 2. One hand on the mouse, the other on the number keys, and any mouse movement will pan the image in front of you. Plus you've got the other monitor to glance at to see the un-zoomed image.

ziggy53

If you're running Windows, "FastStone" Image Viewer comes up in viewer-sort mode and double-left-mouse clicking on the first image brings up full-screen viewer mode with a 100 percent loupe. To check an area for focus just position the loupe over the area to check and left-click-hold. FastStone handles many/most RAW files too.

Using the mouse scroll wheel advances or recalls images, or there is a filmstrip at the top of the screen.

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If you have 2 similar images in JPG, a larger file size generally indicates a sharper overall image as blurred/OOF images tend to compress more highly in JPG files.

SamirD

pathfinder wrote: »

I am not aware of software to check the focus in images. How would a piece of software know precisely where you want the focus point to be in an image?

It would actually be an algorithm similar to how cameras do 'face detection'. One approach would be to find the most focused spot in the image and if it isn't sharp based on edge detection algorithms, then it's out of focus.

pathfinder wrote: »

I do not understand your comment about a non-optical viewfinder on a 20D, which is the camera listed in your profile.

Have you tried AI servo mode in your high frame rate mode on your 20D?

I don't have a Canon 20D, I have an Olympus e-20n. It does have a optical viewfinder, but after 60k photos, the camera is now toast. It broke a few months back. The shutter curtain broke in a closed position.

SamirD

rsquared wrote: »

I'm with pathfinder, I don't think software could do this automatically, but Lightroom makes the job really quick if you let it...

ziggy53 wrote: »

If you're running Windows, "FastStone" Image Viewer comes up in viewer-sort mode and double-left-mouse clicking on the first image brings up full-screen viewer mode with a 100 percent loupe.

I appreciate the recommendations on software that makes the job easier, but I was looking for a fully automated batch operation that can quickly pull out all oof images. I can't be the only one to have ever thought of this.

BinaryFx

My old Nikon has a feature titled "BSS" or Best Shot Selector which will select the sharpest frame in a burst while automatically deleting those that are not as sharp.

That being said, I am not aware of software available for this outside of the camera.


Stephen Marsh

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/
http://prepression.blogspot.com/

SamirD

BinaryFx wrote: »

My old Nikon has a feature titled "BSS" or Best Shot Selector which will select the sharpest frame in a burst while automatically deleting those that are not as sharp.

Interesting. So the software algorithms already exist. This is a first step. Thank you!