Shooting on the 13 ProMax through screens - How

[dk001]

Have run into this a couple of times and have yet to find an easy method.

Scene: Looking out my bedroom window and saw a Red Tailed Hawk sitting in the roof of the pool cabana. Whipped up my trusty 13PM, opened Camera, proceeded to take a few quick snaps. Found that AF focusses on the window screen.

Turned off AF and tried to manually focus on the raptor. Even in manual, the screen majorly interfered with the photo. If I stood back a few feet, no problem in manual. If I was within a couple of feet or closer, ugh.

Is there an easy method to shoot through an object like a window screen or screen door?

Thanks in advance.

 

[wilberforce]

Very easy with a large-sensor camera and long focal length lens, difficult with a small sensor and short focal length lens, like on an iPhone. With the former, the screen will disappear.

You say you "tried to manually focus" but on the regular iPhone Camera app that is not possible (afaik) - you can only control where in the field of view it AFs, and you can lock focus (by a long press).
It is not clear to me if your issue is inability to focus on the bird, or that the screen shows up in the photo (like a blurred grid). The latter is pretty much unavoidable on a small sensor camera.

If the issue is inability to control focus, you need to use a camera app that has true manual focusing with focus peaking. I use the Lightroom app, but there are others like Halide. You then have a slider to manually rack focus from foreground to background.
A workaround with the Camera app will be to "focus and recompose." This means AF lock (long press) on any object that is about the same distance, then, while keeping AF locked, take a picture through the screen. Unfortunately with the Camera app, both AF and AE (exposure) are locked at the same time, so you may need to manually adjust the exposure (slide up and down on the screen).
By the time you do all that, the bird has flown away.

 

[dk001]

Very easy with a large-sensor camera and long focal length lens, difficult with a small sensor and short focal length lens, like on an iPhone. With the former, the screen will disappear.

You say you "tried to manually focus" but on the regular iPhone Camera app that is not possible (afaik) - you can only control where in the field of view it AFs, and you can lock focus (by a long press).
It is not clear to me if your issue is inability to focus on the bird, or that the screen shows up in the photo (like a blurred grid). The latter is pretty much unavoidable on a small sensor camera.

If the issue is inability to control focus, you need to use a camera app that has true manual focusing with focus peaking. I use the Lightroom app, but there are others like Halide. You then have a slider to manually rack focus from foreground to background.
A workaround with the Camera app will be to "focus and recompose." This means AF lock (long press) on any object that is about the same distance, then, while keeping AF locked, take a picture through the screen. Unfortunately with the Camera app, both AF and AE (exposure) are locked at the same time, so you may need to manually adjust the exposure (slide up and down on the screen).
By the time you do all that, the bird has flown away.

It’s both.
Camera you cannot manual focus but you can on Halide.
Either (Camera) the screen becomes the focus or Halide manual focus turns the screen into a blurry mess that really detracts.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Shooting through a screen is just going to compromise the quality of the result, regardless of the camera. The best lenses available have well-machined optics to get a tack sharp result, and a window screen is really going to negate that. That said, long telephoto focal lengths can lessen the effect of the screen because they move the focal plane way past the screen, and the iPhone camera array simply doesn’t have a long enough focal length camera module available to do so.

 

[kenoh]

Have run into this a couple of times and have yet to find an easy method.

Scene: Looking out my bedroom window and saw a Red Tailed Hawk sitting in the roof of the pool cabana. Whipped up my trusty 13PM, opened Camera, proceeded to take a few quick snaps. Found that AF focusses on the window screen.

Turned off AF and tried to manually focus on the raptor. Even in manual, the screen majorly interfered with the photo. If I stood back a few feet, no problem in manual. If I was within a couple of feet or closer, ugh.

Is there an easy method to shoot through an object like a window screen or screen door?

Thanks in advance.

lol... This started off awesome thank you for the laugh..... complete first world problem spoiler... looking out my bedroom and seeing a hawk on the pool cabana roof... brilliant! 😂

AF typically picks up the closest thing I am afraid and if the screen has enough contract for the AF, then it is going to get confused. Option is to focus manually or get a better angle where the screen isnt picked up.