EF500 f4.5 L MF?

Having got my hands on one of the above I am in discussion with the dealer as to why I cannot MF? He says I need to have the camera attached and switched on for MF to work. Since I do not have it with me at work I will check here first. Is that possible? Pretty sure i did try it but I am doubting myself now, especially as there is an MF speed switch which may mean it used USM to MF??

I've hired an EF500 and it manually focused perfectly well. Of course it has to have the camera on it (why ever would you not?) and set to MF, just like most of Canons AF lenses. If its left in normal AF mode, it will MF, but as soon as the shutter release is pressed it will try and refocus.

I found I needed to prefocus just like the old days, because the lens would hunt a lot and I had to use the front ring to drag it back into some semblance of focus reality constantly. I did miss a lot of shots that weekend!

Lowner wrote in post #10821689
I've hired an EF500 and it manually focused perfectly well. Of course it has to have the camera on it (why ever would you not?) and set to MF, just like most of Canons AF lenses. If its left in normal AF mode, it will MF, but as soon as the shutter release is pressed it will try and refocus.

I found I needed to prefocus just like the old days, because the lens would hunt a lot and I had to use the front ring to drag it back into some semblance of focus reality constantly. I did miss a lot of shots that weekend!

None of my other lenses require a camera to be attached in order for the focus ring to change focus...I would not want to of course but my question is : does the body have to be attached and switched on in order for MF to work?

Do you mean should the focus ring turn? Then yes, it should.

I mean. Will the lens manaual focus if it does not recieve power from the battery? I am talking f4.5 version, not the IS f4 version. I read somewhere the MF is "dampened"....does make me wonder if it is USM controlled.

Sorry, I may be misleading you then. I hired the f/4. I missed the .5 bit!

Never mind, I will be testing it thoroughly again tonight. Cheers any road.

From reading the Canon 7D book by Mr. Busch, it appears that there are 2 kinds of full-time manual focus. One needs power for manual, the other does not. AFAIK, the newer lenses are the latter kind.

"Manual" focus on the older f 4.5 lens is motor controlled. Turning the manual focus ring simply tells the focus motor how far to move the lens elements. You have to have power to the lens, ie. attached to a camera, for the "manual" focus to work.

oldsquaw wrote in post #10823816
"Manual" focus on the older f 4.5 lens is motor controlled. Turning the manual focus ring simply tells the focus motor how far to move the lens elements. You have to have power to the lens, ie. attached to a camera, for the "manual" focus to work.

Is the correct answer. Having now changed my battery, 5D just sucks juice, and tried again it seem I have to set the lens to MF and have the camera switched on. I searched for ages on reviews and no one mentioned this. It is actually quite cool because you can slowdown and speed up the MF sensitivity. But no full time AF/MF

You can still do full time AF/MF. Just leave it in AF, press the shutter/focus button half way to start the auofocus,then turn the manual ring, and it will go manual, until you re-press the shutter/focus button.

johnny_boy wrote in post #10824287
You can still do full time AF/MF. Just leave it in AF, press the shutter/focus button half way to start the auofocus,then turn the manual ring, and it will go manual, until you re-press the shutter/focus button.

Ahahhhhh.....

This is the "fly by wire" AF that all the doom speakers are talking about when they say that you can't get it repaired by Canon for this lens, the older 400mm f/2.8 and of course the Holy Grail 200mm f/1.8 among others.

Interestingly, "fly by wire" is now back, in the latest generation 300mm & 400mm f/2.8
It is the video feature being added to the modern DSLR that is bringing this back....

The MF speed can be adjusted on that lens. I had mine set in the middle.