I am having trouble focusing my manual lenses. Even with focus peaking. It seems too broad to me. What specific techniques work for you?
Jim
Magnified view is the only way to go. It can be done fast too. Two presses of c1, focus, half press of shutter release, compose, shoot. Repeat if necessary
edwardkaraa wrote:
Magnified view is the only way to go. It can be done fast too. Two presses of c1, focus, half press of shutter release, compose, shoot. Repeat if necessary
Absolutely! I reprogrammed mine to AEL since that is where my thumb naturally rests. Its an automatic 2 presses (occasionally 3) and I have focus assured.
Thanks guys. And what level and color do you like to keep peaking set at? And Live View Setting Effect On or Off?
And . . .how about in low light, low contrast situations? This is where the real trouble is. In these situations, I see the noise rise so high, it's hard to get any sense of sharpness.
after so many years, I never thought of having to pay so much attention to avoid blur, never happened with Nex 5/5r, I may have lost the habit of using the viewfinder and I have to get used to ... happens to any of you?
designet wrote:
Thanks guys. And what level and color do you like to keep peaking set at? And Live View Setting Effect On or Off?
And . . .how about in low light, low contrast situations? This is where the real trouble is. In these situations, I see the noise rise so high, it's hard to get any sense of sharpness.
Jim
Low light high noise is not ideal but there is usually some bright or higher contrast spot to focus on. I'm currently using High and Red on my settings.
designet wrote:
Thanks guys. And what level and color do you like to keep peaking set at? And Live View Setting Effect On or Off?
And . . .how about in low light, low contrast situations? This is where the real trouble is. In these situations, I see the noise rise so high, it's hard to get any sense of sharpness.
Jim
I set the focus peaking level on mine at medium and red. For the focus peaking option you have to rake the lens back and forth a little to get the feel for the maximum focus. I agree with the other guys, use the magnified view for the best way of getting tack sharp focus. I set the magnified view time to "No Limit" and as soon as you hover your finger on the shutter button it would go back to the normal view anyway.
I set mine to on for Liveview Display. That setting is more for low light and low contrast conditions you described. It should be fine. Try it.
designet wrote:
Thanks guys. And what level and color do you like to keep peaking set at? And Live View Setting Effect On or Off?
And . . .how about in low light, low contrast situations? This is where the real trouble is. In these situations, I see the noise rise so high, it's hard to get any sense of sharpness.
Jim
I quit on focus peaking, it's too inaccurate and by the time you finish focusing, magnified view actually is faster. So peaking is off on my camera.
AGeoJO wrote:
I set the focus peaking level on mine at medium and red. For the focus peaking option you have to rake the lens back and forth a little to get the feel for the maximum focus. I agree with the other guys, use the magnified view for the best way of getting tack sharp focus. I set the magnified view time to "No Limit" and as soon as you hover your finger on the shutter button it would go back to the normal view anyway.
I set mine to on for Liveview Display. That setting is more for low light and low contrast conditions you described. It should be fine. Try it....Show more →
Ok, everybody . . . expect quantum leap in nailing focus with these tips. I'm gonna get my eyeglass prescription updated. That might help, too!
If you're a raw only shooter, set sharpening to +3. Obviously this does not affect the raw file, but it allows you to see the area of sharp focus in the EVF without using magnified view or focus peaking.
designet wrote:
Ok, everybody . . . expect quantum leap in nailing focus with these tips. I'm gonna get my eyeglass prescription updated. That might help, too!
I do it differently. With fast lenses and reasonably close objects I use peeking high, color yellow and sharpness +3 (I shoot RAW). I dont like recomposing on closish objects due to movement of the thin focal plane a fast lens brings. A slight off focus can be made look good in web res but I strive for better than that and usually want a main subject off center.
The peeking effect you'll want to exploit with a manual lens is visible 9:33 into the linked video. With practice you'll learn how to exploit the peeking patterns repeatedly moving through nose/eyes/hair/ear with swift and quickly decelerating back- and forward turns of the focus ring. I find it very rewarding.
?t=9m30s
wfrank wrote:
I dont like recomposing on closish objects due to movement of the thin focal plane a fast lens brings. A slight off focus can be made look good in web res but I strive for better than that and usually want a main subject off center.
Wilhelm, you don't have to stick to only the center AF point when using the magnifying feature. You can put it exactly to the spot where you want to focus on without recomposing.
slightly out of subject. One thing that bugs me with the a7r is the mf/af button. On the nex-7 it was possible to set it as a toggle, one hit mf, one hit af. On the a7r I cannot seem to find a way to set that - to get mf, must keep the button pressed down while focusing. Am I missing something ?
Nicolas M wrote:
slightly out of subject. One thing that bugs me with the a7r is the mf/af button. On the nex-7 it was possible to set it as a toggle, one hit mf, one hit af. On the a7r I cannot seem to find a way to set that - to get mf, must keep the button pressed down while focusing. Am I missing something ?
In the menu, choose "AF/MF Ctrl Toggle" instead for the AF/MF button.
