Do Commercial Cameras Have Autofocus?

gil1 · Jul 27, 2015

I'm a homebrew guy, but some commercial camera companies have given me cameras to test over the years. I don't really use them because the image quality is comparatively poor, but I've been playing around with an HCO they gave me just because it has cellular capability. I've taken several thousand pics. with it but have never had a single photo in focus. I didn't complain because it was a freebie, and they post that camera on their website as a demo. Yesterday, I finally told the guy I would send the camera back because it didn't focus.

He told me none of HCO cameras have Autofocus. They all focus at 3-5 feet, and if your subject is outside that zone, the pics. are blurry. No wonder you can barely even see the animal at 10 feet! He said that almost all commercial cameras lack Autofocus. I just assumed commercial cam pics. image quality was so poor because they use cheap Chinese parts from the same manufacturers. Turns out, they just don't even use functions that make a camera a camera - focus!

So is this true? Do the other commercial cam companies not have Autofocus? I am blown away by this! How could I have missed the obvious?

catman529 · Jul 28, 2015

I don't really know. Wouldn't surprise me if none of them do have autofocus. Ones I've used were focused at a normal range that deer usually pass by the camera, a few yards away. Close ups are blurry and I've had some night pics that are blurry especially from one camera.

For the purpose they serve (a device to monitor your wild game) it's not much an issue. For the crazy cool and professional pics you get, I can see why autofocus would be so important.

Sent from the talk of tap

Andy S. · Jul 28, 2015

I am not aware of a trail camera that offers true auto focus like you speak of, and like so many are used to with point-and-shoot cameras. With that said, the Reconyx has fixed focus that is dead on at 25', but it also takes "focus samples" as 12.5' and 37.5' respectively. With the aid of software and other configurations, it gives you a frame where most objects between 5' and 40' are in focus, or at least in focus enough that the end user is satisfied. You can special order Reconyx "Pro" and "Security" models for specialized use, like focusing and taking pictures at 3' less, or 75' and beyond.

TheLBLman · Jul 28, 2015

I'd say Andy has the best answer for you Gil.

But here's a few more thoughts as to why "autofocus" is generally not available on most cams.

1) At the distances most trail cam users are tying to get their pics, autofocus becomes of little value because at about 25 feet and beyond, there becomes so -little difference in image clarity, say, if the cam is pre-focused at about 25 to 35 feet.

2) Autofocus can slow down trigger speed. For many users, faster trigger speed is more important than autofocus.

3) Autofocus is just something else to add cost, and something else to malfunction.

Thus, most commercial manufactures have opted to keep costs lower, trigger speeds higher, while focusing more on other features.
If your primary purpose is very close-up wildlife photography, imo, homebrews are the only way to go.

There are some manufacturers (beside Reconyx) offering select models with a closer pre-set focus (not autofocus, but maybe focused at 3 feet). These are popular for use over bird feeders, although the image quality is generally not as good as a "real" camera you could configure in a homebrew. Speaking of which, even when I use homebrews set up very close to a particular target, I usually set mine on a fixed focus (such as a few feet) rather than auto-focus. Sometimes autofocus will focus on infinity instead of a very close subject.