5D MKIII users, how do you deal with MF lenses?

I tried a couple of my ZE lenses on a 5D3 in the local shop - they were keen that I'd take one off their hands and I had half an hour to kill. Short version - they had stock and I left it on the counter.

It was a brief test but I wasn't particularly impressed by my ability to focus through the vf. I normally use live view anyway but they've placed the magnify button in a stupid place. The low ISO has very similar noise and similar banding and the LCD has changed size so that my Zacuto Loupe doesn't fit either.

All told, I'd rather spend $3k on a 15mm ZE lens than retire my Mk II. I may even buy a second Mk II and just leave it in its box... that decision will be made when I see what Canon offers to compete with the 800E.

btw... I've spoken to a couple of Canon Pro dealers. According to them, the only thing stopping wide scale desertion to Nikon is the (lack of) 800E availability. I expect Canon will have a landscape camera sooner rather than later.

melcat wrote in post #14439130
1. Do you have back-button AF set? I suspect these guys don't use AF at all, so it's OK for them to leave AF set to shutter half-press. AF confirm is hardly a convenient replacement for the Eg-S otherwise.

2. Do you use the Zeiss lenses which have focus shift? Because, on my 1DS Mark III, AF confirm does not work with DoF pressed.

Some answers -
1. I usually have my cameras configured to BBF but since I use live view to focus mf lenses, it doesn't make any difference.

2. In a word, no. I don't use the ZE 50/1.4 or ZE 85/1.4. Most of the others have negligible focus shift. That said, under live view, focus shift is completely irrelevant - the camera stops the lens down while you're focusing so it's wysiwyg.

The green dot is nowhere near accurate enough to judge critical focus. The 1DS3 lcd is a bit coarse to nail focus accurately but it's not too bad if you put a 3x loupe on it.

Wow, if I have fast ZEs & a MKiii with Eg-S focus screen I am dreaming.

I have 5Dc with Ee-S focus screen. I have fast M42 Takumars.

If I buy MKiii later, I can install Eg-S screen, use the same lenses no problem, I think. Seems reasonable.

Personally, I discovered for myself that AF chip and beep focusing aids ultimately distracted me from looking critically at the viewfinder. I got lazy because I was using the viewfinder only for rough framing, barely glancing at fine details, turn the focus ring, "beep" and click. So I stopped using the focus aids some years ago. I spend significant time just looking through the viewfinder, especially after a lens change, to get used to how the camera sees -- the view through the viewfinder. AF or not, the view through the viewfinder is what the photo will be. There are benefits had getting good at looking through it...

http://www.focusingscr​een.com/work/7den.htm

it's only a matter of time before a 5d3 focusing screen comes out by a third party. Switching it out takes more care then the 5d2, but it's not impossible. Just remember to use gloves.

Many people suggest to use Live View, but did you ever try to use live view for street photography or when you photograph something moving?

Livie View is a super tool for Landscape photographers, but they do not need f/1.4

It is the biggest drawback about the screen... I'm tempted to think about saving up more and just jumping over the 5d3 and getting the 1Dx but that's probably overkill for me...

FWIW, on a tripod, I love using live view with the 5D3. Even given how Canon screwed things up by changing the zoom controls, live view on the 5D3 is great. My 5D2 stays home.

Sure I do like the matte focus screen on my 5D2 a lot, but, honestly, I don't really have a problem adapting to the 5D3.

Lens I've tried include the 85L, 35L, and TS-E 24 II.

OTOH, if you got a 5D2 and don't need better AF, I can't see why you would upgrade to the 5D3. Unless you really want better audio recording with your video or higher burst rate --- but, I'm personally not interested in that.

noisejammer wrote in post #14443526
Some answers -

Just to be clear, the claim being made over at Fred Miranda was that the AF in the 5D Mark III had been improved so much that AF confirm was an adequate replacement for the Eg-S of the Mark II. Live view was not the method they were using.

melcat wrote in post #14444411
Just to be clear, the claim being made over at Fred Miranda was that the AF in the 5D Mark III had been improved so much that AF confirm was an adequate replacement for the Eg-S of the Mark II. Live view was not the method they were using.

I would want to hear it officially from Zeiss. With MKII AF confirm was a disaster, never accurate and Zeiss officially were saying not to use it. I am tempted to write to Zeiss and ask.

melanopsin wrote in post #14443746
If I buy MKiii later, I can install Eg-S screen...

Nope.

I shoot a lot of zeiss glass, plus a couple of TSE lenses on the 5dii and III. The focus confirmation is much much more accurate in the 5diii than it was on the ii with the egs screen installed. I have a much higher percentage of keepers now than I ever did with the mkii. Some people don't want to use focus confirmation and reply of their own MK 1 eyeball. I find the focus confirmation is usually a lot more accurate than my eyeball ever was, much more so than within 5d3. For any critical landscape work, etc, I use live view, that takes away any doubt of course.

LiveView isn't the issue here I think. (LiveView kicks ass and I use it ALL the time)

It's an issue for those who either MF or have MF only lenses which shoot in fast fashion, hand held and can't easily use LiveView instead.

For those cases, the screen is the only solution.

I will say that I really enjoy the larger viewfinder, and without the EG-S screen installed, it's much brighter (I normally shoot with nothing but fast glass) which is nice especially at night. Since you don't normally handhold and MF at night, I rather enjoy the brighter viewfinder and don't miss the EF-S screen very much.

However, I think I will miss it when I am shooting things during the day and shooting at larger apertures.

Lastly, I thought I hated the zoom controls on the 5D3 too... but since I moved the preview button to the Set button and set it up to zoom at full size on one click, it's freakin' awesome! I don't miss the 5D2 method at all anymore and in fact, it's seems very archaic to me now.

timnosenzo wrote in post #14444618
Nope.

Huh? Why not? It has already been established in this thread that although the MKiii focus screen is not as easily switchable as MKii and Classic, it can be done with relative ease.

light_pilgrim wrote in post #14444041
Many people suggest to use Live View, but did you ever try to use live view for street photography or when you photograph something moving?

Livie View is a super tool for Landscape photographers, but they do not need f/1.4

I use live view all the time - whether it's hand held or tripod mounted. I have mounted a Zacuto 3x loupe to the LCD and it works like a dream. I find judging focus is dead easy - to to point where I can detect myself swaying through a couple of millmetres as I look at the scene. Yes, it does look weird to some... but it's less weird than a Hasselblad.

On the other comments - I'm pleased to learn that the green dot sensor is more effective - maybe that's related to the improved autofocus capability. I was aware that the zoom button could be re-assigned and I'm glad it works for some. It seems that Canon heard the protestations and are going to allow it to be reassigned back to the usual place in a soon-to-be-released firmware update.

On the whole though, I don't need autofocus or high frame rates (have 1D4 for that.) I would like more resolution, deeper dynamic range and lower noise. And that, quite sadly, is not something the camera actually offers.

melanopsin wrote in post #14446724
Huh? Why not? It has already been established in this thread that although the MKiii focus screen is not as easily switchable as MKii and Classic, it can be done with relative ease.

Yes, it may be possible to switch them with relative ease however the Ee-S will not necessarily fit the 5D3. Brightscreen has different part numbers for the 5D, 5D2 and 5D3 models - this suggests they are not interchangeable.