How to be a better manual focus photographer

[The Stigenator]

face it with the advent of AF, manual focus is now a lost artform.

Decades ago I used to use my dads old Excata camera and it was all manual focus and aperture.

I've been trying to do manual focus on my Canon DSLR but I find I am always off. The item I am trying to focus is either out of focus or something else is in focus. IS there a tip to this. The old Exacta had the split screen prism thing that would aid focusing but these new ones dont have that and i dont think we can retrofit on on my 40D, 30D or the new XS.

I am buying some cheap prime lenses (FD,M42) and I really need to get a hand on manual focus. I know the EOS camera's have a focus beep when you reach focus but I am yet to figure out why it says its in focus and I am not... ugh! help!!!!!

The sucky part is my partner does MF and has it come out correct. I am wondering if my glasses is causing an issue.

 

[iGas]

I'm not sure how with AF, because I always close down the aperture to increase depth of field when I have to use manual focus with an AF camera.

In poor lighting and critical situations the depth of field scale combine with distance scale on the lens is a good aid, however, many modern AF lenses lack the helpful scales.

 

[ElFenix]

i dont think we can retrofit on on my 40D, 30D or the new XS.

http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/item--Canon-40D-Focusing-Screen--prod_40D.html

 

[Throckmorton]

Glasses... never thought of that, probably because I've never had an SLR. Yeah, that would throw off your focusing. For one thing, even your eyes focusing differently would throw off focus right? And then, no glasses prescription is exact for your eyes, and the prescription they give you is for distance, focusing at infinity.

Wait, shouldn't your eyes always refocus to compensate for lack of focus through the lens???

 

[The Stigenator]

I think I may have a bigger problem than just wearing glasses. I do not have the natural lenses that you folks have. I had child cataracts, so those were removed in 1983 when I was 3-4 years old. I have been using glasses / contacts as my vision correction device. I am beginning to think that might be a reason for some of the lack of accuracy.

I did do some test MF on the 40D and the XS and found that the 40D is easier to focus in MF mode. Might be a slightly larger camera / view finder. The XS isnt bad but its easier for sure in the 40D.

I am going to look up those katzeyes thing.

 

[GoSharks]

I did do some test MF on the 40D and the XS and found that the 40D is easier to focus in MF mode. Might be a slightly larger camera / view finder. The XS isnt bad but its easier for sure in the 40D.

I would absolutely expect that MF on the 40D would be easier because of viewfinder differences.

 

[ronbo613]

When I use manual focus with my Canon 20D, a red focusing box will light up when the shutter button is depressed halfway if the subject is in focus.

 

[The Stigenator]

When I use manual focus with my Canon 20D, a red focusing box will light up when the shutter button is depressed halfway if the subject is in focus.

you know you are right, the box lights up when its in focus to confirm focus lock in manual mode.. its neat

 

[Throckmorton]

http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/item--Canon-40D-Focusing-Screen--prod_40D.html

What is a focusing screen? I Googled and read articles, but none of them explains what it actually is.

 

[Throckmorton]

http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/item--Canon-40D-Focusing-Screen--prod_40D.html

What is a focusing screen? I Googled and read articles, but none of them explain what it actually is.

Is it a screen that the image is projected onto, like a projector screen that you view from the back side?

 

[The Stigenator]

What is a focusing screen? I Googled and read articles, but none of them explain what it actually is.

Is it a screen that the image is projected onto, like a projector screen that you view from the back side?

the focusing screen is part of the view finder on a DSLR. The katzeye thing basically replaces teh stock / factory screen with something that allows you to aid in focusing / composing your shot.

So yes the image that is coming through the lens bouncing off the mirror and into the view finder is projected through the screen which can be replaced to aid focusing etc.

 

[corkyg]

My 5D's focusing screen is changeable. There are several choices - one being a split image center circle. I am using one with a set of fine grid lines - enables better framing. Canon screens can also be used in other EOS DSLRs. This little video illustrates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szFOsQ4pGWo

Some of the finest screens are custom made by Haoda.

http://haodascreen.com/Canon5D.aspx

 

[nboy22]

I installed magic lantern on my t2i's memory card. Some benefits for focusing include focus dots and a Picture-in-Picture focus screen. The focus dots are thrown over everything that is in focus, I've used it a few times and it seems to work fairly well. The other thing that is cool is the PIP focus screen. It's basically like when you hit the focus assist once or twice, you'll see the temporary screen come up where you can then pull you focus. This PIP mode stays on your screen though, so it's not temporary. This is with a t2i, but I'm not sure if they have made magic lantern for anything other than the t2i and the 5d.

 

[CptObvious]

I have a manual focus lens (Samyang 85mm f/1.4) and this would be my order of preference:

1. Electronic rangefinder - I use this 95% of the time - the meter tells me which direction to focus and by how much. Not sure if this is a Nikon-only feature. Downside is that it doesn't work in full-manual mode.

2. Live view + digital zoom - the most precise but the most time-consuming.

3. Focus confirmation dot/beep - works in full-manual mode, but requires a bit of hunting.

4. Focusing screen - I don't have one, but might consider it if I buy more manual focus lenses. Downside is the cost ($100+ for a Katzeye).

At 85mm and f/1.4 there's no way I could eye it perfectly consistently. With the rangefinder I can get good focus in a few seconds.

 

[ElFenix]

What is a focusing screen? I Googled and read articles, but none of them explain what it actually is.

Is it a screen that the image is projected onto, like a projector screen that you view from the back side?

there were various focusing aids eventually built into the viewfinder of manual focus SLRs. a common one is the split prism

there are also microprism screens, which is basically the same thing but lots of them across the viewfinder. they interfere when not in focus and disappear when in focus. often both microprisms and split prisms were combined in circular patterns.

 

[ronbo613]

the box lights up when its in focus to confirm focus lock in manual mode.. its neat

Yep, I use manual focus quite a bit, especially with fast moving subjects. Sometimes I'll use the AF to focus on a spot, then turn it off, the camera will stay focused on that spot until you change it.
Manual focus, manual exposure; the photographer should run the show, not the camera.

 

[AkumaX]

2. Live view + digital zoom - the most precise but the most time-consuming.

works great in all the recent DSLR's

 

[virtuamike]

For manual focus, you must trust your eyes and what you see. Wouldn't put as much faith in focus indicators. As for different focusing screens, dslr viewfinders are already dim compared to old film bodies (try one, very easy to see the difference). Had a katzeye in my D2x, helpful in bright conditions but useless in studio or for the majority of the stuff I shot. Really need to see for yourself, but you gotta be able to see.

 

[yottabit]

Make sure your viewfinder is properly adjusted to you! I run into this issue when my fiancee and I switch off her camera.

Also it's a Rebel XS and it really depends on what you are focusing on- Sometimes it will never give you that focus *beep* so you need to use your best judgement. Especially when the object you are trying to focus on makes up a very small portion of the total screen area (for instance the other day I was trying to focus on some flower pistles for a macro shot)

 

[spikespiegal]

Exactly what type of manual focusing are we talking about?

I shot sports for the local metral paper back in the early 90's, and with pro class film SLRs and a good focus screen I could track a running back or basketball forward with a 180mm (Nikon) or 200mm (Canon) 2.8 wide open just as well as any modern AF system. I could even follow kids with my RB67.

Fast forward today's miniscule APS-C, and even full frame sensors simply don't have viewfinders and focus screens optimized for human manual focus. In order to make the screen bright the smaller screens can't magnify the focus plane as well. The assumption is AF will work and you want the brightest view as possible for framing. Just a trade-off. A few months ago I was comparing a buddy's 5D2 to my old FE-2 with matte screen, and peering into the 5D2 was like looking into into one of those low end film Rebels compared to my FE-2. We basically didn't need AF back then because the viewfinders on professional SLRs were that good.

If you're talking about stationary focus, or just wanting to be good enough in MF to select something in the viewfinder and KNOW it's in focus then the tips above should work. I do a lot of high end macro work lately, and often I find myself using narrow depth of field's that render AF worthless and require me to turn it off because it's not predictable enough. Unfortunately, I don't find live view much help either. My 60D's finder is good enough so I can zero in on a single pollen through the viewfinder and nail it, but if it comes to a moving target forget it.

IMHO, never had much use for split prisms. A good, rough matte screen worked better and was less distracting. However, as I said above, the more you make a matte screen sensitive to focus errors the darker it is. Or, you have to increase the exit pupil size which causes other issues. Using faster lenses does help though.

 

[Paladin3]

I started out shooting for a newspaper with Canon FD equipment: F1n, T90, 24/2.8, 35/2, 50/1.8, 135/2, 200/2.8 300/4 and 300/2.8. Later went to Nikon: FM2, F3, 24/2.8, 28/2.8, 35/2, 50/1.8, 105/2.5, 180/2.8, 300/4, 300/2.8, 400/2.8...all manual focus. I had a Canon FD 20-35/3.5L zoom that I thought was murder to focus with in low light, but by today's standards f3.5 is a fast lens.

We would send the new lenses to the shop and have the focus mechanisms worked on so they would be loose, fast and easy to turn. We'd also have brighter, matte focusing screens put in all our cameras. It really helped when shooting night and indoor sports in low light with the lenses wide open. My Canon 135/2 was my favorite low light lens, with the focus ring turning like it was set in butter. I also had a tiny 300/4 I loved the focus action on.

But like any other talent, some shooters just found it harder to track fast moving subjects, especially as we got older. At 28, during basketball season, I found myself missing a lot of shots and went in to get my eyes checked. I started wearing glasses and it was all downhill from there.

When we got our first Nikon AF 80-200/2.8 with a fast AF motor we put it on an F100 film body and I was blown away shooting a pole vaulter coming right at me. I motored half a roll and they were all in focus at f4. I was stunned.

Trying to achieve any level of accurate MF with today's prosumer digital camera with their crappy viewfinders and slow, variable aperture kit lenses must suck ass.

 

[RobDickinson]

Probably coevred but the standard focus screens in dSLR's only show around f4 or f5.6 DOF, they wont show anything shallower, they are optimised for brightness.

Change the focus screen if you want to manual focus. Your slow lenses will look darker.

 

[spikespiegal]

My Canon 135/2 was my favorite low light lens

Had the Nikon version, which I don't think was as good as the Canon (the Nikon had lots of CA and it was really only good for B&W work). However, you could focus on an eyelash at 100feet and it was incredibly bright.

My biggest gripe wasn't having to use slow lenses, and by 'slow' I mean anything slower than F2.8. It was being assigned to rural HS football games where they hadn't upgraded the stadium lighting since WWII and you were tempted to pull your car up and flip on the high beams so you only had to push Tri-X to 6400

The 180mm Nikon and 200mm Canon were the work horses for HS sports and were the all around best lenses. We had a couple 300mm F2.8s circulating, but the veterans tended to grab those for higher profile sporting events. The 85mm 1.8 was popular as well.

I was the only guy with a 135mm F2, and for that I was punished to shoot night football surrounded by cow pastures and corn fields The veterans on staff were smart enough to avoid the events with crappy lighting. This was right about the time the 80-200 F2.8s hit the scene, but the first gen version of these lenses weren't quite as good as their legendary prime cousins at the long end and I saw few pros using them. Now they are a standard lens.

Yeah, with a matte grid screen in my F3 or FE-2 manual focus was easy-sleazy, and no FF digital is even worthy of comment in this respect. Modern AF is incredibly good though and there are only rare expections it doesn't work.

The Nikon FM-2 and FE-2 were mechanical marvels. Everybody touts Leica, but those two Nikon machines did it right. Shutter/mirror inertia dampening was a significant improvement over the F3 and the Canon's, and for tele or or hand held work it made a big difference. If your battery died - so what. You flipped to mechanical and kept firing.

 

[ElFenix]

A few months ago I was comparing a buddy's 5D2 to my old FE-2 with matte screen, and peering into the 5D2 was like looking into into one of those low end film Rebels compared to my FE-2. We basically didn't need AF back then because the viewfinders on professional SLRs were that good.

well, part of that is that the AF system uses 1/3 of the light going through the lens. so you're already down 2/3 of a stop getting to the finder.