MF on a dslr. Tricky or am I missing something?

[Bythesea]

Yes. For some reason though, I often found live view would be very dark when I tried my m42 lenses, and I still haven't figured out why. Quick way to get around that is to simply pop the flash up - it brightens the live view display up. When you're about to shoot, pop it down again. Works good.

Again, I don't know the 1000D and I don't know if this applies to other lenses, but on the 40D under Custom Functions is something called "Live View exposure simulation" - if this is on try turning it off. While this can be useful it can affect what you see on the screen in the way you describe.

 

[TrevorP]

I haven't any old lenses. But MF on the 5DII with EG-s focussing screen is good. Accurate diopter adjustment is critical. I actually prefer MF when using the 135L @ f2. My technique is improving all the time.

 

[benhaha85]

Blimey this went a bit crazy over the weekend!

I can't use live view, it just doesn't feel natural to me any more. I think it's just a case of practising and taking more shots than I think I need to.