Suggested feature for improving focus bracketing

[shawl]

From the practicing I've done using focus bracketing, and what's in various videos on the topic, determining the number of brackets and in particular the focus increment, is to be determined by trial and error. Not a very efficient way to do things IMO. I'd like to suggest that Canon provide another method, in which one focuses on the near point (select it) and the far point (select it), and the camera then determine the focus increment and the number of captures needed, to obtain a properly focused image, accounting of course for the chosen aperture.

[LeeP]

I have never had the occasion to use focus bracketing, BUT what you suggest is something clever that we kind of expect from Canon. It will be interesting if someone tells us its a ninja trick buried in the menus.

I remember when Canon first did eye-sensing autofocus (i.e. to focus on what the eye is looking at) and thinking it was very clever.

For your sake, I hope the ears of the engineers hear your suggestion.

[p4pictures]

Already focus bracketing has "some intelligence" in its current setup.

Firstly the focus increment adjustment is not an "absolute" adjustment, since the camera increments the lens differently depending on the aperture, zoom setting, focal length. This means the increment is less if you shoot at f/2.8 than if you shoot at f/8 - the amount of focus change will be different even with the same increment amount in the menu. 

Secondly your idea makes a lot of sense, but what is the determinant of the "far point" of the subject? Currently if the lens reaches infinity the sequence is stopped even if the camera has not taken the selected number of images. The camera is programmed not to take an additional 100 shots all the same at infinity if only the first 50 out of 150 are actually at different focus distance. I can see the idea to be able to set an end point before infinity, and that would be a nice feature upgrade in my view. 

[shawl]

Thanks for this useful reply. Even though I get what you’re saying in the first paragraph, it is still a black box that requires trial and error.

as to the far point: I’m thinking you can focus on that, be it the farthest point on an object being photographed or something at infinity if that’s the situation. While the user would not know any of the details of the algorithm being used, I’m thinking my suggestion would work easier for most of us than the way it currently is.