Unscientific poll - Manual focus on a DSLR

kshapero

kshapero

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Which DSLR handles manual focus the best? As in ease of use, accuracy, etc.? I ask this in reference to using legacy manual focus lenses not manual focus on auto focus lenses.;)
 
Nikon's D1-D3 with the appropriate screen, by a fair margin - the integration of Nikon mount manual focus lenses is sleek and near perfect. But due to register size, they'll only take Nikon mount lenses.

Which is where Canon gets into play - EF is quite short register so that most 35mm mounts can be adapted to DX format Canons. However everything has to be done at working aperture, so you are pretty much stuck with either wide open or slow tripod work - EVIL cameras don't have that issue, and the NEX has grabbed quite a big slice off the "manual focus adaptations on APS-C" segment. FF Canons still hold their own, being the only FF camera that will take foreign manual focus lenses, but they are a bit more restrictive than their DX cousins in that there are less adaptations that can clear their mirror.
 
Probably the 1dsIII or the a900 - biggest VF's as far as I can remember. D700 and 5d are do-able if they've got the right screens in them!
 
fdigital said:
if they've got the right screens in them!
Click to expand...
Gavin, that's the huge caveat for me. I need all the focus aids I can get. Perhaps that's why I like RFs so much. For manual focus I've always found RFs much more precise (with all the usual disclaimers about calibration etcetera). Probably a personal thing, but very real for me when contemplating manual focus.

...Mike
 
mfunnell said:
Gavin, that's the huge caveat for me. I need all the focus aids I can get. Perhaps that's why I like RFs so much. For manual focus I've always found RFs much more precise (with all the usual disclaimers about calibration etcetera). Probably a personal thing, but very real for me when contemplating manual focus.

...Mike
Click to expand...

RF's are definitely more precise for MF than DSLR's. Best thing I've found is to have a chipped lens - like a Zeiss ZE with the native electronic connection, and to hold the AF-ON button on the back of the camera whilst focusing so that the AF points light up on the focusing screen when the subject comes into focus. This worked really well with my zeiss 35mm f2.
 
Makes no difference if you manual focus AF lenses or use MF lenses to the camera. I can only speak for the D700 and can say, for me, with the focusing screen it came with it is not ideal for manual focus. It is doable especially if you use the AF confirmation dot. I am guessing that none of the issue AF focusing screens on most all manufacturers cameras are any different. You can get after market focusing screens made to more easily accommodate manual focusing. Katzeye is one such supplier of these.

Bob
 
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I always had a problem with MF lenses on DSLR's, however I have not tried any newer ones. I do however love using MF lenses on my GF1. Not a DSLR, but the zoomed in MF aid is fantastic for getting precise focus.
 
I use a an Eos 5Dii. At this time I have one Ef lens a 50mm plastic fantastic. Adapting lenses to eos is easy and very rewarding. Take Leica R for example. I pit the adapter in the camera and leave it there. Now the 5Dii is esentially an R mount camera. The adapter has a programable chip on it to communicate with the camera. I can program exif data if I want. The chip allows full function of the metering and af modes. Set an AF point and the little light will blip at that point when you have focus. Workflow using a lens in "stop down" mode is simple. I set the camera to Av 95% of the time, focus wide open, stop down as I want for selective focus quickly after focus, shoot. It is a very natural and smooth way to work. For me there is seldom need for AF. I shoot Portraits, product, and some events with the DSLR. Having use of my old Contax, Zuiko, Leica R and, M42 glass is why I use Canon. With that short register It can mount many different makes with a few simple adapters.
 
BTW I have the high contrast screen from Canon installed ($35). On my old 5D classic I had a Contax RTS screen with microprism installed. Sold that last year to a RFF member here. The new high contrast screen for the eos full frame cameras is genius enough at this point.
 
I've had good luck with my legacy Zuiko glass on an Olympus E-1 dslr.

I'm especially loving my OMZ 300/4.5 on this camera.

I do find I have a bit of a problem trying to focus quickly on moving targets (ex: birds) with any of the longer lenses - the 100/2.8 comes to mind here.

With the 50s, it's a snap.
 
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KatzEye....

KatzEye....

Two of my Olympus DSLR cameras were switched to KatzEye screens with split prism focusing. One had the Opti-brite treatment.

This is the web site. They have installation service available.

http://katzeyeoptics.com/

Both of the camera's worked great with manual focus lenses, particularly in a focus wide open and stop down mode. Aperture Priority setting for exposure.

Lars.
 
An additional aspect of the D300/D700/D3 MF procedure involves the triangles on either side of the focus confirmation dot. They look like something like this:

< o >

Before focus is locked one of the triangles lights up to tell you which way to turn the focus barrel. Even if you can't make the green dot stay lit, you can adjust the focus so arrows flash back and forth. It is hard to get the green light to work with the Nikkor 105/2.5 AI lens, but the arrow method works well.

When it is appropriate to focus and recompose, I tend to use the center focus point as it seems more robust under low contrast and low light conditions.

Another technique is to set up a custom menu for MF. In the custom menu you set up the shutter to fire only when the green focus dot indicates lock. You hold the shutter down and focus the lens. When the green light goes on the shutter fires.

Finally manual focus always works well in live view. With live view on you just zoom in to the area where focus is important. Then you carefully adjust the focus barrel. Of course this is most practical when the camera is on a tripod.
 
I learned to focus manually fairly well using a D90, which has a horribly small viewfinder. Honestly, any sort of FF camera with a large viewfinder is easy to focus after using the crop body.
 
My only 'real' digital camera ever is a Pentax K5. It isn't full-frame of course, but the screen can happily focus f2.8 manual lenses - with or without a focus confirmation light/beep. The Pentax-A lenses are fully auto-diaphragm (the 28mm is very handy, 40mm equivalent) while Pentax-M mounts are stopdown metering, via the green-button thingy.

Bizarrely (and usefully) it can also mount non-AI Nikkors directly. I've only tried the 50/1.4, as that is what I have, but supposedly various ancient lenses will work. Note that this is with manual aperture and not turned so far as the lens-release catch 'click'.
 
willie_901 said:
An additional aspect of the D300/D700/D3 MF procedure involves the triangles on either side of the focus confirmation dot. They look like something like this:

< o >

Before focus is locked one of the triangles lights up to tell you which way to turn the focus barrel. Even if you can't make the green dot stay lit, you can adjust the focus so arrows flash back and forth. It is hard to get the green light to work with the Nikkor 105/2.5 AI lens, but the arrow method works well.
Click to expand...

Only one small detail to be aware of and that is not all Nikon mount lenses focus in the same direction as Nikkors do and the arrows would indicate false direction.

Bob
 
fdigital said:
Probably the 1dsIII or the a900 - biggest VF's as far as I can remember. D700 and 5d are do-able if they've got the right screens in them!
Click to expand...


Considering the environment I use my D700 in I expected to have to consider a different screen ... but so far I haven't felt the need for it! I probably lose no more shots through missed focus than I did with my M8.

What sort of screens are we talking here Gavin?
 
Yeah, Pentax manual focus lenses work fine on the latest cameras. My ancient Pentax ME 50mm f/1.7 and 135mm f/3.5 from the late 1970s are great lenses with the silky-smooth focus rings we are familiar with on Leica. Achieving focus is indicated by a beep and little light in the viewfinder.

More amazing is the fact that manual aperture lenses work and meter just fine, which is way cool. (On newer models you have to "un-prohibit using aperture ring", then you're copasetic).

Pentax has a lot going for it: weather resistance & build quality, single-mode buttons (rather than deep menu sets), general design, handling & haptics, small size, and the multi-multi-use "green button". For manual aperture lenses, manually set aperture on the lens and ISO on the camera, then hit the green button to meter the scene and set shutter speed.
 
Okay–I'll be a total outlier. The new Sony A55, the one with the translucent mirror and the evf viewfinder. Why? Because the focus point turns red when the image is in focus. I hate manual focusing dslrs, but this was downright easy. Much easier than using the Nikon arrow/dot system, because you don't need to shift your gaze away from what you're shooting with the Sony.

And the camera is tiny... I mean really small and light, and it's far and away the best EVF I've used or seen.
 
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