I am lucky enough to have a copy of this lens, already converted by hubsand to EOS mount. It's a lovely lens but sadly my MF skills are lacking, and I use AF lenses most of the time so dont wish to replace the VF screen on my 1DsII. Can this lens have an AF confirm mod done to it after conversion? Is it worth it?
The look of the lens is stunning, but I end up with too many OOF shots to risk using it most of the time (I'm a wedding shooter BTW).
I'm in the UK, and not really looking to do the work myself, so any suggestions are very much appreciated.
Thanks all
Dec 11, 2008 at 05:17 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
Yes the auto confirm adapter can be added after. If you sent the lens to Rudy at happypageHK, I am sure he would put the chip on for you. I should warn you, however, at f/1.2 the autofocus confirm is far less than perfect, but you can do alright if you get used to at what point optimal focus occurs--the box lights up for a much longer duration than when you have optimal focus. I hope this helps.
I noticed in your profile that you have 2 1DsIIs and 2 5Ds, if you could keep just one of the these cameras with a screen for manual focus like the Ee-S on one of the 5Ds I think you would be much happier than trying to use AF confirmation. Just a thought.
Hallo Lord Fluff,
I would not recommend AF-Confirm. It is too broad, it means it shows " o.k " over a long focusway. With f1.2 there is only one chance to get the focus precisely: take the Ee-S screen (good and cheap) or, if You think its too dark, try the Katzeye-screen with micro prism (expensive and o.k.).
Mark
I noticed in your profile that you have 2 1DsIIs and 2 5Ds, if you could keep just one of the these cameras with a screen for manual focus like the Ee-S on one of the 5Ds I think you would be much happier than trying to use AF confirmation. Just a thought.
This would be the best option were it not for that I (we) use all these cameras mostly with AF lenses when shooting weddings, so it's not really a viable option. Of course, neither is Live View. I could try to focus-bracket I guess, but with portraits (what I mainly wish to use it for) that's not so easy.
It's worth knowing that the AF confirm chip doesnt work so well though (I've actually no idea how it does work in fact) as that makes me less inclined to muck about with it.
One other focussing aid you might consider is an eye piece magnifier. Several people around here like the Nikon DK-17M. You should also remember that if you use a screen like the Ee-S on the 5D, that you can still use autofocus just fine (it won't change the autofocus at all) and it only darkens the view finder a bit. Many find it works fine with autofocus lenses as long as they have a max aperture of f/2.8 or smaller. I hope this helps.
I'd assumed that if you swap focussing screens you lose the AF point indicators - is this not true? I often use the non-centre spots which would be an issue if they weren't there!
hi,
you dont loose them.
but my experience was that they where not accurate anymore.
but maybe it was with mine only.
after tried 2 differernt screens, (one ebay cheap & slr-daren) the
original is the best overall for me.
the viewfinder is realy not comparable to old analog ones, like Nikon FM3
or whatever. the tolerance for 1:1,2 is to big.
so i kicked all screens, and sticked on the orig ones.
with indicator LED's.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Reinhard Schneider
Dec 12, 2008 at 08:06 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
You definitely do not loose the AF indicators and if you stick with one of the Canon screens all you have to do is set the appropriate custom function to indicate the new screen and your autofocus and metering should function every bit as well as before. I believe the screen isn't even involved in the light path for the autofocus so it should have zero effect on autofocus. Metering can be affected by the screen, but like I said all you need to do is set the custom function and you won't even notice the change in metering. The only down side will be a slightly darker view finder.
