I just upgraded from a 20D to a 50D and have accumulated some alternative lenses (Manual focus) since joining this forum. I really liked the 20D but when trying to focus using the 20D the pics where not that great. I bought the 50D and tried the alt lenses using the view finder and the pics were ok but still not great. However, since I started to use live view the pics came out much better and more in focus. I believe that the new 5D Mark II is going to be amazing with all its features especially the live view which will really benefit the manual focus users. Here are some pics of the kids with the Leica 100 2.8 (at 2.8)
The 5D + modified EeS + 1.2X Nikon magnifier view finder is way better than the tiny 20D viewfinder.
Congrads on your new toy.
I have been using 5D for years and never have focus issue.
One thing you forget is action shuts. It is next to impossible to shoot in liveView mode for action shots unless you use a tripod. I have tried action shots with 1Dmk3 and Xsi and I end up going back to viewfinder most of the time as the subject move out of the frame faster than you can just "point and shoot"
s23chang, Thanks for the input. I am sure your set up gets great results.
These are action shots without tripod and they came out much better than using the 50D viewfinder and I am very pleased with the results. The 5d markII will produce even better results.
That's far from action shots in my book
I would call that "snapshot" rather than action shot as your subject hardly move out of frame.
However, has long as you're happy with your tools then that's the most important thing.
ziyadj wrote:
s23chang, Thanks for the input. I am sure your set up gets great results.
These are action shots without tripod and they came out much better than using the 50D viewfinder and I am very pleased with the results. The 5d markII will produce even better results.
I shoot alternative lenses on 5D, 1DII and 40D bodies. I find that I get the best focus for stationary subjects with 40D LiveView, then 5D finder, then 1DII finder, and the 40D finder is poor. For moving subjects, the order is the same, but without 40D LiveView in the list (i.e. 5D is best). The most challenging combination for me is the Mamiya A 300/2.8 APO on 1DII for field sports, but I get more than 75% keepers, as far as focus is concerned.
Ziyadj, congrats on your new 50D upgrade!
Besides now having liveview, you must also be enjoying the newest 3 inch high res screen that my 1ds3 doesn't have.
I agree that Liveview on my 1ds3 is a great tool for helping me obtain the highest level of focus accuracy in alot of situations where I can have the time to zoom in and out with plus/minus buttons. It definitely helps in low light situations. I use it to take pictures of my dog at 1.2 using the Rokkor 58 where I want to nail the focus on just his eyes and he is usually moving all around. It is easy for me to be a just an inch off just using the viewfinder.
Obviously, some people may have better eyes and maybe don't need liveview as much, that is fine.
When it comes to sports or fast moving action where subject is rapidly changing distance from the camera, whether you use liveview or viewfinder you need to either be good at very quickly changing the manual focus ring to keep up or pre-focus on certain areas and take the picture when the subject is in that small area of focus.
It can be fun, challenging and a good way to improve your MF focus skills to use a MF lens for sports shooting but I would definitely use a AF lens with IS for sports so that my keeper rate is the highest it can be. 75% would be too low for me.
BTW, I disagree that people/kids are harder to follow than birds in flight.
I shoot a lot of Raptors and other birds in flight which are much tougher than shooting sports. They are smaller, and moving at higher rate usually than people.
I think shooting birds in flight(BIF) has improved my fast tracking/shooting skills which I then can use in shooting sports.
mawz wrote:
Try shooting kids that age, they're harder to follow than Birds in Flight. Very definitely action.
Then I'm an amazing manual focus action shooter.
C'mon, those shots? Action? I shoot this sort of stuff with manual focus all the time and never consider it action shooting. It just sounds bizarre to me.
Action to me is football or dog agility shooting. Action is something I can't shoot with manual focus very well.
Thanks Wayne for your views. Yes, zooming in definitely helps with the spot on focusing using liveview.
I totally agree that when you are shooting action sports, auto focusing is the way to go. And the new hi res screen is amazing.
Paul,
The point of this thread was to share my experience with manual focusing using liveview. For me it has been more accurate then using the 50D viewfinder. This is especially true when the target is far away (by zooming in).
When I first tried live-view on the 40D I was amazed at just how much more accurate it is than the viewfinder. The 5x and 10x magnification make a huge difference.
I notice it most on my 600mm f4 when a 2x extender is attached. Focussing manually through the viewfinder at 1200mm @ f8, with a DOF of a centimetre or so at 30 metres, is nigh-on impossible.
I don't use the 40D as much with my Contax lenses as I prefer to keep the full FOV by using the 5D, but I am really looking forward to getting a 5DII with live-view.
Not wishing to divert from the forum's raison d'etre, but how bright and easy to focus do you find the 50D's viewfinder compared to the 20D?
I noticed a big improvement going from 30D to 40D.
Ziyadj,
Glad you are enjoying the hi res screen.
Your comment about liveview helping you focus on a target far away reminded me of how I used liveview with 10x zoom capability to help me achieve accurately infinity focus when adapting my Rokkor 58 for the 1ds3. I also like to use liveview with my 14-24G Nikon to check far background and near foreground sharpness.Helps determine if I need to do some focus bracketing or not on a landscape shot.
Surprisingly, the 20D viewfinder was much better than the 50D. I found it much brighter and easier to manually focus. I may need to get a focusig screen for the 50D.
