Manual focusing...

Hi all,

How do you guys manage to nail manual focusing - I've had a couple of goes an they're always out - any tips to share?

Ta.

Use a precision screen will certainly help.

That said, if your not requiring 2 eyelashes only in your DOF, then with a precision screen and an appropriate aperture, you should be able to get the appropriate plane of DOF most every time. If you need more precise than that, it's probably best to use something like LiveView and zoom in and verify the focus.

John_N wrote in post #12360635
Hi all,

How do you guys manage to nail manual focusing - I've had a couple of goes an they're always out - any tips to share?

Ta.

Have you adjusted the view finder clarity for your eyes?

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John_N wrote in post #12360635
Hi all,

How do you guys manage to nail manual focusing - I've had a couple of goes an they're always out - any tips to share?

Ta.

I have 500D and it is very difficult to focus manually, but still possible.
With 5Dc here is absolutely no problem to focus with same lens.

Most difficult manual focusing at both bodies is with big aperture for objects which are close. Shallow DoF.
I'm not moving focusing ring, but my body.

IMO, AF did not provide enough gain to offset the loss. Losses include constant complaints about focusing, need for lens/camera calibration or MFA, size and weight of lenses, complexity and cost of lenses, freedom by camera makers to cheap out on viewfinder brightness and screens...

Anyone who can remember how quickly and easily you could snap a MF lens into precise focus with a large, 270 degree rotating focusing collar, true zoom lenses (not varifocal lenses), full-focusing screens with a split-image rangefinder, micro-prism collar in a bright pentaprism viewfinder even on the entry-level SLRs knows what has been lost.

For some situations, the tradeoff may be worth it, but I maintain for most, not. It is pandering to those who want the device to do everything for them. JMO, and I know, out of step. But, it is my opinion.

tkerr wrote in post #12360690
Have you adjusted the view finder clarity for your eyes?

Aye, thats done - turned all the way..

I agree that being old school would have been better, but I didn't have the money back then