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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Is my lens too good or is focus peaking? - Everything is sharp (?!) | |
Focus peaking is like every other focusing tool -- it has strengths and weaknesses, and understanding how it works will help you get the most from it.
I think it is important to understand that focus peaking is not precise. It isn't even about focus. Rather, it indicates areas that have strong edge contrast. So, if you take it outside and point the camera toward trees in direct midday sun, all of those hard edges will be "peaked" even when quite out of focus; but, if you try to focus on a soft object in soft light, you'll only get a faint glimmer of peaking when the focus plane passes through the subject.
For my use, focus peaking -- at least the early Sony implementations that I've used -- is great for quick work, such as when checking whether a hyperfocal setting is sane, but is just distracting when working slowly and trying to focus precisely. I'd like to see focus peaking with variable strength (e.g., no more than 5% of pixels on the display are peaked) and/or with a heat map (e.g., orange for somewhat hard edges, red for hard edges, and white for very hard edges). Mostly, though, while I shared your enthusiasm when I first started using it, I found myself reverting to magnification to verify focus for most of my shooting. But then, my subjects and output may vary considerably from yours, so by all means continue to use it if it works for you.
Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Jon
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