calling all toggers with dodgy hands

it didn't come across as anything other than helpful to be honest, and at least you took the time to type it all out constructively. well done.

and i really hope MM finds a solution or starts employing AF ASAP !!!! :)

photography should be happy pursuit, not a frustrating one.

night night all :)
 
wrx_dazza said:
it didn't come across as anything other than helpful to be honest, and at least you took the time to type it all out constructively. well done.

and i really hope MM finds a solution or starts employing AF ASAP !!!! :)

photography should be happy pursuit, not a frustrating one.

night night all :)
Click to expand...

:thumbs: I agree. Night night Daren



Ohh, just one thing Nat - film... cant do much about the darkroom [I found it smelly and over rated tbh] but, bearing in mind there are still some very good and professional labs that could help with the developing side, how about getting hold of a film camera with a motorised wind on? Yes, I know, letting someone else do the developing takes away some of your involvement, but not a reason to miss out altogether perhaps? :shrug:
 
TBH I tried film photography and part of the reason that I prefer digital is partly because I can see stuff instantly. When I was shooting with film (even years ago with a point & shoot) I didn't have the patience. I did a little bit of film at college, which I enjoyed, but someone else developed it for me (cause I couldn't) and it took some of it away. Overall digital is more accessible, feeds my impatientness :lol: and I can play around with things afterwards. I assume most people are the same, but as soon as I finish shooting I usually upload to a PC (or if I'm out, as soon as I get home). If I could do stuff in a dark room and manage the processing, I'd love to try it again but more and have a proper play with it, but TBH ATM it's just not worth the hassle.
 
Fair enough. I did darkroom stuff years ago, as part of a C&G course and if I am very honest, hated it! Then digital came along and like you, it fed my natural 'want it now' impatience. Its only been in the last year or so that I have actually gone back to using film again, mainly due to finding several old cameras in my OH's junk room and then being given/loaned even more of them. Suddenly I love film again, but I am not looking through rose tinted specs here, I understand that I enjoy it because I don't HAVE to use it. Nor do I have to poke around in the dark, mess around with chemicals, and generally put myself out to enjoy it. More than anything, I love the fact some old but much loved cameras are enjoying a new lease of life with a new generation and I think that whats gets me shooting film. It has also worked wonders for making me think much more about my digital stuff, I take much fewer shots now than I did, a natural progression anyway, but I genuinely think that using film has been a catalyst in that department.

I will shut up, I am waffling :lol:
 
Oh Yv, waffle away hun ;)

I think I'm at that stage in learning now where I look at what I want to capture, pretty much know roughly what settings I want and away we go, but that doesn't stop me taking several with similar settings. With film, because you can't see what you're shooting on an LCD screen, you have to have confidence in your theory, whereas digital, you don't really need the confidence, - the camera will show you if it's a bit off. Don't get me wrong I did okish with film, but I'm not sure that I'd like the limitations of "you have 24 shots and you won't know what it looks like til you develop them, so - good luck!" Of course, it's a fantastic way to learn - jumping in the deep end ;)
 
If you're having trouble moving it just a bit then you need to attach a lever of some sort, the filter wrench idea is a good one, I've got quite bad arthritis in both hands and to be honest I just use AF, using focus points on my cameras I can control exactly where I want the focus points to be so there's little advantage to me manual focus
 
A friend got a 5Dmk2 and had autofocus issues when filming video, so in true heath robinson style we knocked up an adjustable velcro loop with a 1" long plastic bar screwed to it. Adjustable to fit all lenses, soft side doesn't damage the lens but grips great.

That's still working one year on.
 
I can understand your frustration most people that have replied have a choice wether to use af or manual whilst you are being forced to use something you dont want to
none of use like to admit we cant do something and will try our hardest to overcome it
I hope that one of the suggestions helps you find a way to use manual
 
I'm going to try and understand this, and not bite at the assumption that you think if you use AF then you may as well use a point and shoot. You aren't a photographer unless you are totally manual.
I'm sorry to say but good photographers can get great shots, I mean really great shots on basic point and shoots too. It's the artistic flair. The composition. How they see things out the box.

I can't help but feel that your problem means that you cant use AF, because you don't have the control. You can't focus, keep the button semi depressed, then recompose and fire.. Because you hands wont allow it. So you have to use manual focus.
 
have a look at this, might just do the job for you :)
 
Now you will see why i use AF if mine are bad with YV and one of my best friends.....

easier than a boot up the bum
 
Dad was in a similar situation and he was an obstinate b****r too! He had an essential tremor in both hands which made manual focussing all but impossible but he kept on trying until he realised that AF made a far better job of it than his wobbly hands could. As a retired pro, he also felt that relying on AF was a cop out but when he realised that it actually worked and worked well, he was a convert.

One problem you might be having is that AF lenses are not really designed to be MFed - the amount of turn needed to travel from infinity to close focus is far less than on an older MF lens. If your camera supports them, try some older MF lenses and see if the greater arc needed for any adjustment makes the difference.
 
MagicMynx said:
Once I put it on autofocus, the machine is doing some of the work, - and for all there's a time and place for that, I don't like using it, it takes something away, it's doing something for me instead of me doing it myself.
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TBH Nattelie, this sounds more like a personal mission for independence rather than habitual working - and I understand that. I still disagree that it's taking something away though. Throughout the whole process, your decision making will be the same, YOU will decide EVERYTHING and just at the last moment, the motor in the lens adjusts the focus instead of you turning the ring - which is the bit that you're having trouble with - :bang::bang:
 
I've got to agree with the people that recommend using AF. It is so not a cop out. It is not giving up creative control and it does not turn a DSLR into a bridge or P&S.

I usually (99%+) shoot with spot metering and manual exposure. I pick my subject, my perspective, my composition, my focal length, the time of day, the lighting, the aperture, shutter speed and ISO. I choose the decisive moment to release the shutter. I decide whether to use a filter or not. I decide whether to use flash, where to position it (them), where to point it (them) and and how much flash to use. Regarding AF, I pick the AF point that I wish the camera to use and then I tell it to focus there. I am in control. I get to choose everything. Very simply, the camera is able to AF more quickly and with greater precision than I can, manually.

The only time I use manual focus is when using a tripod, and then I will engage Live View and 10X zoom on the screen to ensure precise focus is achieved. Actually, even then, I'll most likely use Live AF within Live View. That is not something that can be done easily through the viewfinder with most modern DSLRs, with slow zoom lenses and focus screens simply not designed to facilitate manual focus.

You may still prefer to use manual focus, but don't ignore the advice people are giving you. AF is not evil. Used properly, it is a very useful tool. It does not reduce creativity or control at all. What it does do is get you well focused shots, when used properly. Surely that's better than struggling with manual focus and becoming frustrated by the difficulty. Remember, the camera you have is not designed to facilitate manual focus through the viewfinder. Why make life hard for yourself?
 
I used to use only MF - but I was shooting with a film blad, with a big old viewfinder, so it's easy to get perfectly sharp images.

However, when I moved over to digital I had 'issues' about autofocus. I prefered manual, felt I had more control over my final image. To an extent that is still true...however:

Modern digital cameras are just not designed to be used properly in MF - sure, for some things it WILL be the only way to go...but tbh, the optics through the viewfinder are just not big enough, clear enough, to enable me to MF, I just couldnt see clearly enough to know if I was sharp or not, so I had to move over to AF. With modern AF, there are many many possibilities so you don't even have to recompose. You can have your camera all set up manually, but using AF.

The focussing barrel on a Hasselblad lens takes a lot of twist to go 'through sharp' IYSWIM. On a dslr, it's next to nothing. It just isn't made to MF most subjects.
 
Live with it (answer to OP). I have 2 fingers on my left hand that are stuck slightly bent. I can move them a little but they remain 90% fixed. The palm side of them are uber sensitive to touch and they don't wrap around a lens very well. If I work the wrist too much (waits for it) the tendons become painful and cramped. Auto focus is the way but there is the odd occasion when manual is required and its just a suck it up and do your job ordeal.

Anyway, most if not all dSLR's are built around auto focus. Manual can be troublesome, especially on a cropped body.
 
MagicMynx said:
what do you do when you just can't do it? When you can't turn the focus ring properly and keep missing the focus? I don't want to put it on auto, auto isn't the answer. So what do you do?
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wrap some gaffa tape round the focussing ring..that is with something attached like a piece of wood to act as a lever
or a tight fitting muff in grippable material?
 
my first reaction was "silly mare why doesn't she use AF like the rest of us mortals"

my second (more considered) reaction is - ok someone has posed a problem, how do we fix it?
I'd go along with the cable tie idea, but leave the tail attached
or better still get a short piece of dowel, drill a hole in the end, thread cable tie round lens and through hole
that way when you tighten it you have a lens with a big stick poking out the side
the longer you make the stick, the less effect that small movements will have
it does mean you have to move the stick further to attain focus
but I'm guessing that is an acceptable compromise?

plan C says do the same but using velcro
that way you have the same device that you can use on any lens

good luck
do let us know if you find something that works (for you!)
 
how about a piece of polystyrene lagging taped on

got a lot in my garage after the condensate pipe on the boiler froze
 
Going over old ground here and I realise it isn't going to help, but.......... To me AF is a tool to be embraced. With modern cameras AF is usually pretty much spot on. You still have the freedom of adjusting the rest of your cameras settings manually to your hearts content if you wish, and you can still choose focus points or use focus lock to focus on whatever part of the frame you like. If you want to get really purist you could say that photos should be captured on film and processed in a lab, and exposures should be calculated in the mind, not in the camera, but I can see you have a digital camera, and i bet you use the in camera metering system, and I bet you use aperture and shutter priority modes, etc, etc............ Why not give in and let AF just be another tool in your digital SLR's arsenal!
 
If the problem is that you struggle with the motor control to move the focus ring small amounts (which is what it sounds like, rather than actually gripping the ring), how about attaching some kind of sponge material to the ring, or perhaps holding a piece of spongy material between your hand and the focus ring? I can't say I've ever tried it, probably won't work! but maybe it would effectively 'dampen' the movements.
 
cant belive this hasnt been said:

it sounds like you are using the kit lens this was designed to AF the ability to MF is an after thought. as such a small adjustment makes a big difference. in contrast i was playing with a bronica last night, I'm sure you would have had no trouble MFing the lens on that it was smooth precise and required a lot of movement before things went out of focus.

as a compromise you can get an M42 adaptor (cheap) and old school M42 manual focus lens Lens (cheap), these were made to manual focus and thus do a better job of it, plus the old primes are sharp as.

Old cameras also had a split prism focus screen, that also made life easier, some people retrofit them.

but yeah, you also need to change your mindset and reread the manual, my camera must have 100 different ways of auto-focusing with all the combination's, i think of them as semi automatic ;)
 
I'm not sure about the Sony A350 camera that you have Nat, but can you not select a specific focus point even when using auto focus?

If you can, it may be the answer. There's nothing intrinsically bad about AF, it's just another tool.

cheers
 
B3R said:
cant belive this hasnt been said:

it sounds like you are using the kit lens this was designed to AF the ability to MF is an after thought. as such a small adjustment makes a big difference. in contrast i was playing with a bronica last night, I'm sure you would have had no trouble MFing the lens on that it was smooth precise and required a lot of movement before things went out of focus.

as a compromise you can get an M42 adaptor (cheap) and old school M42 manual focus lens Lens (cheap), these were made to manual focus and thus do a better job of it, plus the old primes are sharp as.

Old cameras also had a split prism focus screen, that also made life easier, some people retrofit them.

but yeah, you also need to change your mindset and reread the manual, my camera must have 100 different ways of auto-focusing with all the combination's, i think of them as semi automatic ;)
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I do tend to use the kit lens alot but recently I've been using my sigma 50mm prime most of the time (just cause I've been doing alot of macro and close ups really)
 
i know what you mean nattalie, i had the same trouble with my 18-70mm kit lens. you have to use the front element to focus and its awkward. if it was me i'd get a new lens that has a proper focussing ring.
 
tdodd said:
How about this - http://vimeo.com/4270555. It might put into pictures (video) what others have been suggesting in words.
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That looks like a really good idea, depends a lot on how wide the focus ring is though, could also be done with one of the plastic hose clips, superglue the rod on.



Dave.
 
tdodd said:
How about this - http://vimeo.com/4270555. It might put into pictures (video) what others have been suggesting in words.
Click to expand...

exactly like the one we made for my friend, only using velcro

Byker28i said:
A friend got a 5Dmk2 and had autofocus issues when filming video, so in true heath robinson style we knocked up an adjustable velcro loop with a 1" long plastic bar screwed to it. Adjustable to fit all lenses, soft side doesn't damage the lens but grips great.

That's still working one year on.
Click to expand...
 
MagicMynx said:
Thanks guys

I've used AF a couple of times since, but still going to get something to help me turn the focus ring, I really dislike AF TBH
Click to expand...

that pipe insulation will work...tape it on in segments...
 
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