Manual Focus - anybody use it frequently?

Grainbelt · January 13, 2009

I'm currently on a 'slow down, use primes, manual everything' kick. Not entirely sure why, perhaps brain freeze from the Saskatchewan winter.

I'm purchasing an old Pentax film camera to find out what film is like (yes, I'm young) and my DSLR can use all these ancient lenses in manual mode, with manual focusing (Pentax is cool like that).

Curious what the experienced digital shooters have to say about manual focus, whether it is a burden or a blessing, and how often you use it on your autofocus cameras.

Any techniques or strategies to ensure accuracy would be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks!
--Mike

Brendan · January 13, 2009

I have a manual focus lens, but use it mainly for macro work, where you want to focus manually anyway. In this sense, a MF lens is much better, since you can do finer adjustments.

But for general use, I also agree that it's nice to slow down a bit and focus/expose manually. The big challenge is focusing manually for moving targets. If your depth of field is thin, this can even mean accounting for your own movement. Another big challenge is making sure you can really see what you're focusing on. DSLR viewfinders aren't the greatest for MF, but you can make it work.

Edit: Here is one example of a photograph taken with a manual focus lens: http://brendancox.smugmug.com/gallery/6988630_p3cga#449061849_BWnru

—Brendan

Cygnus Studios · January 13, 2009

Grainbelt wrote:

I'm purchasing an old Pentax film camera to find out what film is like (yes, I'm young) and my DSLR can use all these ancient lenses in manual mode, with manual focusing (Pentax is cool like that).

Nikon is cool like that too

I use manual focus almost 100% of the time for "work" purposes, and never for fun shoots. It is a great skill to learn.

pathfinder · January 13, 2009

Focusing manually was a lot easier 25 years ago with film SLRs ( like your Pentax film camera ) because they built the pentaprism to be brighter, and the ground glass came with a split image range finder and a Fresnel circle, that one no longer routinely finds in modern AF based DSLRs. The lenses tended t obe faster back then than today also. (The Canon 24-105 f4 IS L is a great lens, and I use it all the time, but 25 years ago, most folks would not consider an f4 lens as their go to lens. Too slow to focus easily manually.)

You can change the ground glass in the pro level Nikon and Canon DSLRs to include a split image rangefinder, but they don't come that way off the shelf.

I am not certain what the Pentax DSLRs offer in the way of replaceable ground glasses.

You may find that manual focus with a 'modern' DSLR is harder to do than it was with the film SLRs. The viewfinder of an old Olympus OM-2 is far brighter than most modern DSLRs, except for the top of the line Canon or Nikon pro bodies.

You never saw shots of birds in flight before the advent of good, fast AF system. Try to find good, sharp film image of birds in flight. They are few and far between. I'm just saying.......

Cygnus studios - I looked at your bird shots, how many of those were manual focus? I dig antelope shots also. I have a few of deer and antelope of my own.

ajroahkni · January 14, 2009

I love my Pentax SMC-A 50/f1.7

Just forget about trying to manual focus at the f1.7 stop. Things are beautifully clear at f8 and theres some reasonable depth of focus.

jeffmeyers · January 14, 2009

It depends. I'll flip to manual focus if I need to. But most of the time I can trust my AF on my Nikon D300. It really does work well. But for macros, I almost always switch to manual.

Cygnus Studios · January 14, 2009

pathfinder wrote:

Cygnus studios - I looked at your bird shots, how many of those were manual focus? I dig antelope shots also. I have a few of deer and antelope of my own.

I have not tried to focus manually for my fun shots yet. I do product photography for my day job, and all other photography for fun.

Art Scott · January 14, 2009

Grainbelt wrote:

I'm currently on a 'slow down, use primes, manual everything' kick. Not entirely sure why, perhaps brain freeze from the Saskatchewan winter.

I'm purchasing an old Pentax film camera to find out what film is like (yes, I'm young) and my DSLR can use all these ancient lenses in manual mode, with manual focusing (Pentax is cool like that).

Curious what the experienced digital shooters have to say about manual focus, whether it is a burden or a blessing, and how often you use it on your autofocus cameras.

Any techniques or strategies to ensure accuracy would be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks!
--Mike

I use manual focus all the time on my DSLR's (2- KM 7D's) but hardly every on my KM A2, as it has an EVF and there is severe lag time forthe electrons to catch up.........

As I said I constantly use it because I am very seldom focusing where the focus points are, and for me it is faster than trying to hold the focus lock with my thumb and get the composition the way i want it after I focus on my off center subject......
To ensure proper focus everytime....I make sure my viewfinder is clean and the diopter is properly adjusted for my eyes....and I use very gentle and smooth motion to focus........................

System · January 15, 2009

manual focus
the main issue with manual focus on modern "AF" lens is the length of the ring (don t know the english word sorry); i mean on a MF lens you have to turn 3/4 or more to go from the closest to the infinite.
on AF lens you just turn 1/4 or less.
the focusing is not precise at all. (but the AF motor is really fast)
(just have a look at macro lens , you turn a lot... a lot and yes that's precise)

I aggree with the fact that the viewfinders of AF bodies are not suited for manual focus (not bright, not splitted and so on)

globally, AF bodies/lens are not designed to manual focus (use the right tools for the right thing)
I aggree too that taking a speedy target qith a manual focus is hard.... (btw a bird is often taken with a tele locked on the infinite... that is a bad example). but shooters used to pre-focus (i.e in sport shootings)

and .... i never used AF anymore (my brain might be definitely freezed

)

pathfinder · January 15, 2009

respawn wrote:

.... i never used AF anymore (my brain might be definitely freezed)

never use or used??

If I get your drift, you agreed with all my points and still use manual focus all the time, and I am cool with that!.:D

As for shooting BIFs with your tele focus on infinity, for me that guarantees blurred birds

System · January 15, 2009

pathfinder wrote:

never use or used??

If I get your drift, you agreed with all my points and still use manual focus all the time, and I am cool with that!.:D

As for shooting BIFs with your tele focus on infinity, for me that guarantees blurred birds

"never use" anymore

Actually i use a bessa and a kiev 88 ( no digital )... so manual manual and manual (hey man look at my muscles

)

but i shot this summer some BIF with my d200 / sigma 70-200/2.8 on manual focus (the lens has an issue with the AF). I was stuck at the infinite and at F4 or F5.6 (just to have some DOF). it was sharp I swear

Miguel Delinquento · January 19, 2009

Though I’ve owned Pentax DSLRs and many new lenses for the past four years, I still favor manual focus. It just seems more accurate. The shorter throws on new, “digital” lenses force your movements to be more precise, but I don’t mind dealing with it.

A couple of my special lenses—a Voigtlander 125mm macro and a M42 Mamiya 60mm macro preset—are manual focus. I obtain a lot of satisfaction handling them. It’s all part of the good stuff about photography to me.

The nice thing about the newest wave of Pentax lenses is the “Quick-Shift” feature that allows you to manually override focus without having to deal with switches or buttons. Though my Tamron doesn’t have a Quick-Shift-like feature, if I press the lens release button, I can then manually focus on the fly.

If you find yourself getting into manual focus for the longer term, consider purchasing a replacement viewfinder screen that has a split-screen and a microprism. This makes a significant difference in macro shooting.
You can go cheap—for three years I’ve been using a $23 screen—or pricier. A Katz Eye also has optical brightening and a higher cost. But I hear it is quite nice. Any of these is fairly to install on a Pentax DSLR.

M

pathfinder · January 19, 2009

I own four prime optics that are entirely manual focus, so I don't want folks to assume that I am incapable of using manual focus lenses.

Many of my landscape shots from Utah last fall were done with a 24 T&S or a Zeiss 21mm, both are manual focus only. Check the exif data to find out.

Manual Focus - anybody use it frequently?

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