THE NIKON D60 IS KILLING ME!

[bigboi3]

i had a d60, bought on impulse without researching. i sold it and got a d80.

 

[DScience]

ahhh! so frustrated. i finally decided on the 50mm f/1.8 lens for my nikon, as my first lens [besides the kit one...]
oh wait. AF. not AF-S. no auto-focus?!?
does anyone have this lens for the nikon d60? how is it manually focusing? i don't know if i can handle it! and if i can't, i don't even know where to look now! HELP!

Unfortunately this is one of the downsides to the entry level Nikons, they lack AF motors in their bodies so the most affordable lenses don't autofocus.

Hopefully things work out for ya, I'm sure with practice you can master the art of manual focus.

Yea, but some would sacrifice convenience for image quality

 

[RJohnston]

When I began in 1937 there was not such thing as auto focus. Never had any problems, even though we had to GUESS at the distance. Had only three distance settings if I remember right.

Once you use a manual lens for 6-8 weeks, you will feel like you have been manually focusing all you life. So it really does not matter what it may be like the first day. It will become habit.

If you have a setting for Manual on your Kit lens, you could use it for a few weeks and then decide if it works for you. Setting it manually works best for me on the lenses I have. If you use auto focus, focus, then move the camera it goes off and you have to do it all over. On Manual focus, you can set it, stop and talk with some one, then shoot when ready and it is still in focus.

 

[AduNeButt]

I too own a D60 and I tend to always manual focus..I feel like I have more control over the picture rather than allowing the lens to guess at what I'm wanting to have in focus. Sporting events and action photography may be harder to shoot without auto-focus, but for ordinary still object photography, manual focusing is not hard at all and I actually prefer it.

 

[inTempus]

I too own a D60 and I tend to always manual focus..I feel like I have more control over the picture rather than allowing the lens to guess at what I'm wanting to have in focus. Sporting events and action photography may be harder to shoot without auto-focus, but for ordinary still object photography, manual focusing is not hard at all and I actually prefer it.

If you know how to use your camera, it won't be "guessing" what you want to focus on. If you can't pick the exact point your camera autofocuses on and if it can't nail that focus, you should send it in for service. That, or read the manual.

 

[KmH]

Actually, the Nikon D60 has built-in manual focusing aids.

Though the 50mm f/1.8D doesn't have a focus motor, it is still a CPU lens and delivers distance and focus information to the camera. Actually, focus detection resides in the camera body, not the lens.

So, the focus indicator in the viewfinder works letting you know you have indeed achieved focus. You just need to position the focus point in the viewfinder on the point of focus you want to use. You can use any of the viewfinder focus points.

The camera also has a 'Rangefinder' mode when the exposure mode is set to 'Manual', see page 116 of your Nikon D60 Users Manual.

You may want to read through your users manual a few more times to discover ALL the features your camera has to offer.

 

[AduNeButt]

I too own a D60 and I tend to always manual focus..I feel like I have more control over the picture rather than allowing the lens to guess at what I'm wanting to have in focus. Sporting events and action photography may be harder to shoot without auto-focus, but for ordinary still object photography, manual focusing is not hard at all and I actually prefer it.

If you know how to use your camera, it won't be "guessing" what you want to focus on. If you can't pick the exact point your camera autofocuses on and if it can't nail that focus, you should send it in for service. That, or read the manual.

The D60 only has 3 AF sensors, so it really limits the exact areas you can focus on in a certain frame.

 

[inTempus]

The D60 only has 3 AF sensors, so it really limits the exact areas you can focus on in a certain frame.

That doesn't matter. I use one AF point 99% of the time. If I'm doing studio/fashion/art work, I have just one AF point selected of the 9 I have to work with.

That's what I mean by locking focus and recomposing. You pick a single AF point, then put it on the eyes of the model. Hold down the shutter button half way so that the camera locks focus. Now recompose the shot and once you have things framed the way you want them, press the shutter the rest of the way. Poof, perfect focus on the eyes and a great picture.

 

[Barros VeeDub]

i only read the first few posts, but just to let you know, i used my friends 50mm f1.4, and it auto focused. it was a nikkor lens. worked amazingly.


BUT!!! i found myself manually focus alot more to learn/play with its DOF.

 

[Baaaark]

Does the D60 tell you when its in focus? The problem isn't that it can't tell when it is in focus and when it is not, it just doesn't have a motor to drive it.

Right?

 

[NateS]

i only read the first few posts, but just to let you know, i used my friends 50mm f1.4, and it auto focused. it was a nikkor lens. worked amazingly.


BUT!!! i found myself manually focus alot more to learn its DOF.

50mm f1.4 is a completely different lens and the one with AF-S costs about 4 times the amount as a 50mm f1.8. If he goes that route he might as well just get the 35mm f1.8 for only twice the cost of the 50mm f1.8 (actually less than that).

 

[Village Idiot]

Mmmmmm. Should have went with that XSI all the Canon fanbois were recommending.

 

[Baaaark]

The old guys (and girls) on here will give you crap for fearing manual focus. But for someone like me, it was on most every camera by the time I was about 3, so manual is not something we grew up with (just like they didn't have to use a Kodak Brownie).

I say you get it. Its cheap, and manual focus really isn't that bad. Especially when you don't have to worry about zoom also. its one-dimensional, and really easy to tell when you're in focus or when you're not. These companies spend LOTS of money to make your job (or hobby) as a photographer as easy as possible. I think once you start to focus stuff on your own, you'll think, "I can't believe I made a big deal about this!"

 

[itznfb]

Does the D60 tell you when its in focus?

yes

 

[Baaaark]

Does the D60 tell you when its in focus?

yes

So all you have to do is twist the focus until the camera says "there you go," and you're done!

You don't even have to think or make judgment calls!