Manual Focussing

MindofMel

MindofMel

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I have a nikon D300 and I recently purchased a 135mm f2.8 AI

I am having problems really nailing the focusing. It is always just off being tack sharp. I can get it amazingly sharp when at home and 5 minutes to focus on a stationery object but when out and about and I just want a semi-quick headshot etc - the results are never as pleasing.

I have seen people talking about programming the focus in camera? and adjusting screws?

Is there any advice/youtube/books on manual focusing that I could use to improve technique maybe?
 
Try using a higher F stop to increase your available depth of field ;)
 
sometimes shooting at Fstops that low you can end up with some of the face OOF...

e.g. you focus on the eyes, but the nose and if the head is slightly turned the other eye and cheek will be out of focus because of such a shallow DOF, can take alot of practise to get the focus spot on with a wide aperture...

another option is to use an Fstop of 5(ish) and move the subject further from the wall/background or camera in closer...
 
I read on here somewhere when manual focusing with a narrow dof to fire off a few shots and just tweak the focus in between each shot. You could also try working out your rough dof first to know how much room you have for errors.
 
Another possibility would be to replace the standard focusing screen with one containing a split image prism. That would help you focus accurately and a quick google shows that they're available.
 
Islander said:
Another possibility would be to replace the standard focusing screen with one containing a split image prism. That would help you focus accurately and a quick google shows that they're available.
Click to expand...

sorry tony, I've heard about these - but I am not actually sure what makes them good? is what you see through the viewfinder brighter?
 
It has a round prism in the very centre that splits the viewfinder image when it's out of focus. When the focus is correct the image comes together. It should give a slightly brighter image too.

Have a look here
 
Islander said:
It has a round prism in the very centre that splits the viewfinder image when it's out of focus. When the focus is correct the image comes together. It should give a slightly brighter image too.

Have a look here
Click to expand...


thanks for that!

no 'real-world' tips / techniques?
 
Islander said:
Another possibility would be to replace the standard focusing screen with one containing a split image prism. That would help you focus accurately and a quick google shows that they're available.
Click to expand...

I've got an old 'Zenit 11' 35mm sat in front of me that i used to use 25 years ago that has a similar focus system...2 rings that are fuzzy until fully focused, blimey...might get a film for it lol....

...off topic it has a helios-44m-4 f/2 lens on it....anybody know if that is usable on a 500d ?
 
'Microprism' focusing....i wilkipedia'd it lol

BigRuss said:
I've got an old 'Zenit 11' 35mm sat in front of me that i used to use 25 years ago that has a similar focus system...2 rings that are fuzzy until fully focused, blimey...might get a film for it lol....

...off topic it has a helios-44m-4 f/2 lens on it....anybody know if that is usable on a 500d ?
Click to expand...
 
Manual focusing a crop format DSLR is always tricky. The viewfinders are small and dim, and the focusing screen not best suited to manual focus - very different to an old film SLR. Full frame is better, but their standard focusing screens are not optimised for manual focusing either.

Can't you get a different focusing screen for the D300? Check the handbook. There are probably some third party ones available, too.

Basically, DSLRs are designed for auto-focus.
 
MindofMel said:
thanks for that!

no 'real-world' tips / techniques?
Click to expand...

Real world tips.....

- Make sure the AF is properly calibrated for your combination of body and lens. If that's off then so are all bets;
- Do all you can to make sure neither the camera nor the subject moves between locking focus and taking the shot.
- If you or the subject is moving then pick the right AF mode. You may need to use continuous focusing rather than single shot.
- If you are shooting with very shallow DOF then you may find that focus/recompose is not the right technique to use. Select an AF point (yes, one) that is best positioned in the viewfinder to suit your composition, and make sure it is over an area in the subject/scene of good contrast. Focus on the eye, not the cheek, for example.
- Make sure you are not confusing shake/blur for poor focus. I'm not saying that you are, but some people do confuse the three.
- Practice.

EDIT : Oh, the above applies to AF. If you are trying to focus manually because you can't rely on AF then the above may help you out. If you prefer to focus manually then note comments by others that modern crop cameras are not well designed for such use, at least without replacement of the focusing screen.
 
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tdodd said:
Real world tips.....

- Make sure the AF is properly calibrated for your combination of body and lens. If that's off then so are all bets;
- Do all you can to make sure neither the camera nor the subject moves between locking focus and taking the shot.
- If you or the subject is moving then pick the right AF mode. You may need to use continuous focusing rather than single shot.
- If you are shooting with very shallow DOF then you may find that focus/recompose is not the right technique to use. Select an AF point (yes, one) that is best positioned in the viewfinder to suit your composition, and make sure it is over an area in the subject/scene of good contrast. Focus on the eye, not the cheek, for example.
- Make sure you are not confusing shake/blur for poor focus. I'm not saying that you are, but some people do confuse the three.
- Practice.

EDIT : Oh, the above applies to AF. If you are trying to focus manually because you can't rely on AF then the above may help you out. If you prefer to focus manually then note comments by others that modern crop cameras are not well designed for such use, at least without replacement of the focusing screen.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great advice. I prefer AF but the lure of dead cheap fast glass that people like uncle ken go mad over has got to me. Might aswell try out MF with some of these older lenses.

Will have a search around on how to calibrate my d300 AF.
 
MindofMel said:
I have a nikon D300 and I recently purchased a 135mm f2.8 AI

I am having problems really nailing the focusing. It is always just off being tack sharp. I can get it amazingly sharp when at home and 5 minutes to focus on a stationery object but when out and about and I just want a semi-quick headshot etc - the results are never as pleasing.

I have seen people talking about programming the focus in camera? and adjusting screws?

Is there any advice/youtube/books on manual focusing that I could use to improve technique maybe?
Click to expand...

I suspect you may need to use the AF fine tuning of this lens to ensure perfect focusing, this can be found in the 'Setup Menu' select 'AF fine tune' and then shoot some images and change the settings between shots until you get consistent results.

You need to use a high contrast subject to perform the tests, and use a tripod to ensure results are not compromised by your technique, also you should use a minimum distance of 50x the focal length which for this lens would be 6.75 mtrs.
 
Not sure if this is going to be much help, but I have just got a 50mm F1.7 manual focus lens. I have been having all sorts of problems nailing focus at f1.7-f2.8 so what I have started doing is putting the camera in continuous shooting mode and manually 'bracketing' the shots but taking 2-3 shots at very slightly different focus'. Usually one of the shots is good.
 
Hi all.

I have a d5000, and I purchassed a Katseye split focus screen for this. Its wonderful in my opinion. 90% of my manual focused shots are A1. it even showed that my kit lens was ever so slightly out. they arent cheap, but ebay do them from about £20.
 
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