DLSR Manual Focus

[alexecho]

I own a Canon AE-1 and a Sony Cybershot DSC-P93, and am looking to upgrade to either the Canon 350D or the comparable Nikon.

My question is how these things focus. I know they have auto-focus, and a manual setting too. When you want to manually focus, is it just like focusing an old SLR, or is it like a digital compact with settings hidden in the menu? What do you see when you look through the viewfinder? Basically I want to know how easy manual focus is, because I hate the idea of the camera doing that for me!

With shutter speed and aperture settings do you get options for fully automatic, shutter speed priority, aperture priority and fully manual?

Finally, the lenses from the old SLRs don't fit the DSLRs, right? Or do they fit but kill the features?

 

[Lesjordans]

The focusing on the D-SLR (canon) is at the end of the lens, you just turn it round and ta-da!, you get Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority and Full Manual, + others like Flash-off mode, macro etc, and AFAIK using old lenses kills the autofocus features

 

[ThomThomsk]

On my 10d (now sold) I found manual focus to be very easy. No split screen or anything, just a plain ground glass type of view through the lens, but what was useful was that the auto focus indication also worked when doing manual focus, so I'd get the little bleeping sound when the camera thought I had it right. Not sure if that would have worked with old lenses.

 

[Unimaxium]

To switch between manual focus and autofocus you just switch a switch on the lens. To manually focus is just like on any SLR -- you turn the focusing ring. The camera has points in the viewfinder that flash red whenever something under one of those points is in focus, so there is no split-screen.

 

[Jeff Canes]

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Finally, the lenses from the old SLRs don't fit the DSLRs, right? Or do they fit but kill the features?

Your old Canon FD lens will not mount directly to the EOS bodies. You need a FD lens to EOS body adapter. Like this

 

[Digital Matt]

If you buy better lenses, USM, with full time manual focus, you can leave the lens in auto focus mode, and manual focus anytime you want. I find manual focus with a DSLR a bit more difficult than with a film SLR, because the viewfinder is smaller and darker.

 

[DocFrankenstein]

Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority and Full Manual

Wrong. No shutter priority.

If you go with CANON, you can't use your FD lenses because they won't focus on infinity.

But you can mount a bunch on M42, K-bayonet, T and Nikon lenses on your canon body. What you'll see is exacty what you'd see with a manual SLR, except there's no focusing aids and they viewfinder is dim and small. It's really hard to focus precisely.

For a bit less than 100 bucks you can buy a split screen viewfinder from haoda fu and "cat's eye". You'll be able to focus precisely and shoot in Tv and manual no problem.

You'll have to stop down the lens manually

You can get a special third party chip for canon from germany which tricks your body into thinking that there's a canon's lens on it, and you get focus confirmation when you've rotated the ring to get the "correct" focus.

Or you can shell out 3 grand for a 5D and put a Canon's split screen which wouldn't affect metering at all.

With nikon you can kinda use old lenses, but you can't meter in some modes on some bodies with some kinds of lenses. I'm not a nikon so that just confuses me.

Hope this helps.