p.2 #1 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
philber wrote:
Michael, the camera focuses well below the light level required for focusing by eye. So, ignore focus points all you want, there comes a level of darkness when that's all you're gonna have. And that space is now not only doable, but easy with 5D III, whereas I could touch it with 5D II.
Yes, I can see plenty of cases where this would be very useful. But when I have sufficient light to see for myself, I like being able to trust the focus accuracy of the EE-s screen in my 5D (to focus anywhere). Am I understanding you right when you say I do not find that the standard VF screen makes it any harder to focus than my 5DII's EG-S.
that this means you would trust the viewfinder to accurately focus fast lenses (e.g. f1.2-2) by eye without relying on focus confirm (when light permits)? Or do you just mean it's not harder for slower lenses, or coupled with reliance on focus confirm?
p.2 #3 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
thrice wrote:
Manually focusing off-centre with a good screen would still be quicker than slowly manually focusing until you hear/see the blip then recomposing, or manually selecting an off-centre focus point prior to focusing the shot.
And recomposing after focus is unreliable with shallow DOF. Relying on focus 'points' is a big FAIL for me.
p.2 #5 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
Phillipe, are you saying that the range that you can turn the focus ring and the chipped adapter still reports good focus has been reduced with the 5d3?
I understand the improved AF system in the 5d3 can detect focus better in low light compared to the 5d2, something the ! series always did better anyway.
Achieving best focus using the focus beep of chipped adapter was never accurate enough so I would use LV.
p.2 #6 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
Philippe, I'm not sure I understood you correctly, but the game changer is that you can get focus confirm instead of not getting it at all?
I don't understand because getting focus confirm has never been issue, but the issue is that the focus confirm is useless is the issue. For example if my subject is 5m distance there are two issues:
a) camera confirms target to be in focus +-25cm from target (when one would need to focus ~5cm to not notice that photo is not front- or backfocused)
b) the focus confirm can show the +-25cm confirmation 20-30 cm different place each time (or depending are you focusing from close to far or far to close)
[with Canon lenses you are most probably OK with this huge "tolerance" but Zeiss lenses tend to have quite large differences in contrast inside the "mathematically acceptable DOF" and require the user to place the focus to correct place and not just inside DOF for best results]
So has Canon increased the focus accuracy of the focus confirmation light? That combined with Nikon like arrow indication "which way to focus" might be considered as game changer. However if focus accuracy (the "area" during which the green light is lit) is kept same focus confirm is still useless for anything else than 6" by 4" prints or less than 1000px webthumbnails.
p.2 #8 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
I have had my new 5D3 for six days and shot over 100 images with my 5 ZE lenses
My previous camera was a 1DS3. The focus confirmation on the 5D3 is great. much more accurate than the 1DS3. You can also use the center focus point as confirmation too. Not just the green dot. I have calibrated each lens with the microadjust first which is critical.
I dont have a problem with the focusing screen. If the light is poor I switch to focus confirmation.
I go into AF select and turn off all the focus points. When the image is in focus the centre point appears. Better than the green dot at the bottom of the viewfinder.
After I shot 100 images yesterday near wide open, I was very impressed and happy with the out come
After reading Lloyd Chamber's review I was worried but not anymore.
L4 will be out at the end of the week so that should help.
p.2 #9 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
Well, I don't anything to add to what Bob says, and I find myself in good company indeed in finding that the 5D III VF is definitely "good enough" for proper MF. Thank you for this "focus confirmation", Bob!
Guys, you see, focus confirmation with 5D III means that all focus posts on FM get confirmed by another member
p.2 #11 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
Wayne, Samuli, AF confirm is now much more accurate and consistent than it was, and operates accurately even in much lower light. I can now get accurate focus confirm even with my ZE 85 wide open at MFD, where DOF is least, in a room so dark that the Auto ISO selects 12.800. Obviously, what applies to very dark environments also holds for others not so dark....
p.2 #12 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
Im finding that the duration that the confirmation light stays on while focusing with the 5D3 is considerably shorter than my 1DS3. With the 1 series I could achieve focus and turn the ring a little further and the focus confirmation would say on.
Also when I calibrate with micro adjust I always set the calibration to the point when the light first comes on when focusing from near to far for all my ZE lenses.
p.2 #13 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
Finally, this means that the AF features are better than the manual focusing screen from Canon which in dim light was useless...
Thank you Philber, Magiclight and Bob for your very unequivocal answers!
I am ordering one of these today. Time to go FF! I'll jump the 5D2 after these posts.
Clever tip from Dave, to micro adjust from the same direction, near to far seems logical to me.
p.2 #14 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
magiclight wrote:
I go into AF select and turn off all the focus points. When the image is in focus the centre point appears. Better than the green dot at the bottom of the viewfinder.
Interesting -- so the AF points are not engraved and permanenently visible?
Never mind; just read on dpr that they are displayed through a translucent LCD.
p.2 #15 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
Great that the 5DIII doesn't disappoint you Philippe!
However, I'm not convinced yet.
An accurate focus confirmation is great, but it's not the way I like shooting my ZE lenses.
I just like SEEING what's in focus (impossible with stock focus screen), instead of turning the focus ring until a light blinks.
No hassle with selecting AF points and you see focus all over the frame.
p.2 #16 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
Jochen, I do not share the view that the stock screen makes it impossible to see what is in focus or not and to focus this way. Neither does Bob (rjigoleez), apparently. Have you tried a 5D III?
p.2 #17 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
philber wrote:
Jochen, I do not share the view that the stock screen makes it impossible to see what is in focus or not and to focus this way. Neither does Bob (rjigoleez), apparently. Have you tried a 5D III?
I have not tried one yet, but your and Bobs comments refer to the more accurate AF confirmation.
The stock focus screen is for F2.8 (or was it even F4?) lenses to keep it bright enough.
p.2 #18 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
Jochen, that is not how I read Bob's statement, but he will have to comment on that. As for me, focusing through the stock screen seems easy enough, without using the focus confirm. I tried with ZE 25, 50P and 85P, all wide open and at MFD, which, AFAIAC is the hardest focus to achieve with a given lens. But what works for me might not work for others....
p.2 #19 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
I tend to agree with Philippe that the focus screen does not seem to be an issue. To Jochenb's point, I will admit, I have to play a bit more myself and try to simply focus strictly by sight. But I can tell you that I have not had an issue seeing through the screen that I can't tell when an image is in focus. It has more to do with my eyesight in the viewfinder so I 'rely' on AF confirmation more than what I see. I will investigate a bit further and report back.
p.2 #20 · 5D III for alt and MF lenses: a game changer!
philber wrote:
Jochen, that is not how I read Bob's statement, but he will have to comment on that. As for me, focusing through the stock screen seems easy enough, without using the focus confirm. I tried with ZE 25, 50P and 85P, all wide open and at MFD, which, AFAIAC is the hardest focus to achieve with a given lens. But what works for me might not work for others....
To me focussing a lens through the viewfinder at MFD is actually the easiest, because of the very thin DOF which makes the focusplane very well visible.
But it's like you say, a personal thing. Whatever works.
I understand that good focus confirmation is a godsend for many people.
