Mirrorless cameras are a bit of a buzzword at the moment. At one time, any serious photographer or hobbyist would get a DSLR – but now mirrorless cameras increasingly offer the same image quality, versatility and features in a smaller, lighter body. The difference between mirrorless cameras (also called ‘compact system cameras – CSCs’) and […]
Contrast AF
A relatively simple autofocus system that measures the contrast around the edges of objects and then adjusts the focus to see if the contrast goes up or down. When the contrast is highest the subject is in focus. Contrast AF is accurate because it uses the image being captured by the sensor itself, but because it uses trial and error it’s not as fast as phase detection autofocus, the system used by digital SLRs and an increasing number of mirrorless compact system cameras (CSCs).
Autofocus basics explained
Just about all digital cameras have autofocus systems, and while there’s a wide range of different autofocus (AF) technologies, the basic principles of how autofocus works is the same across all of them and boils down to two things: AF modes and AF points. AF mode: WHEN the camera focuses If you’re taking one picture […]