Manual focus lens ?

[justa1972]

Hello

I'm considering buying the Samyang 12mm manual lens for my Fuji XT-10.

I've never owned a manual only lens before though so have doubts how I would get on with it.

Are there any useful tips for how to use this lens or should I stick with an auto lens ?

Thanks

 

[Kodiak Qc]

•
Even if the lens is manual, the viewfinder should confirm acquired focus.
The great advantage for you in a wide angle lens is when used at +/- ƒ8,
the margin for error is very very thing and rarely bearing consequences.

 

[Mr Perceptive]

Justin, the 12mm (and 8mm) Samyangs are really easy to use on the Fuji's, you have some manual focus aids in the camera, but for landscape shots, you can effectively set to f8, then set focus to just before infinity, and just about everything will be sharp front to back of the picture. You can check this in the EVF and on the rear screen. Obviously if you want to get creative you will may have to focus more, but it really is straightforward.

Your biggest issue will come with composition, as 12mm really is quite wide, and you'll have to scan round very carefully all the outside parts of the image, to make sure that you don't have anything unwanted in the image (my experience is that this is harder than you think!)

 

[BacktotheFuji]

It's a very sharp lens and really useful given it's size and max aperture. My only grumble is that it's hard to focus accurately wide open, indoors in a darker environment with an EVF without using the magnifier (I was shooting an abandoned building with it a few weeks back). Outside it's fab.

 

[justa1972]

Justin, the 12mm (and 8mm) Samyangs are really easy to use on the Fuji's, you have some manual focus aids in the camera, but for landscape shots, you can effectively set to f8, then set focus to just before infinity, and just about everything will be sharp front to back of the picture. You can check this in the EVF and on the rear screen. Obviously if you want to get creative you will may have to focus more, but it really is straightforward.

Your biggest issue will come with composition, as 12mm really is quite wide, and you'll have to scan round very carefully all the outside parts of the image, to make sure that you don't have anything unwanted in the image (my experience is that this is harder than you think!)

Erm how do you focus the lens to just before infinity ?

 

[Mr Perceptive]

On the focus ring dial you have a distance measurement 0.2, 0.24, 0.3 0.5, 1, infinity. If you move the dial all the way round to infinity some nearby objects, very close, may be out of focus, but if you set it close to infinity, these will probably be in focus, as well as everything else. Read up on hpyerfocal distance, for an explanation. (it won't work at all apertures)