manual focus tips?

[Buckster]

..... Canon has a 3-part video (takes about 1.5 hours to watch the whole thing) that explains how the system works in some detail.

You don't by chance have a link to that video or could point me in the right direction could you? I lobe stuff like that

Here's a quote from page 1 of this thread that has it:

Thanks for the great answers posted so far. I have also been having some difficulties manually focusing my 550d and these gave me a lot to think about.

TCampbell - do you have a link to the Canon videos you mentioned? I would love to see them but google can't seem to find them. Thanks.

EDIT: I think I've found them, here are the links in case others are looking:

Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:

 

[belial]

EDIT: I think I've found them, here are the links in case others are looking:

Part 1: YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAx86nblZ2g
Part 2: YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_F7lCvp5DI
Part 3: YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WTWiN9kLts

Thanks so much. I'm downloading them now so I can watch them without signal interruption later

 

[TCampbell]

Yes - the links Dan provided are the same videos I was referring to.

 

[Patriot]

Do anyone know how to get the beep when manual focusing on the D7000. Im having to use the little green dot that jumps around when hand holding. I dont know about anyone else but trying to watch that dot and the subject is not something my eyes like.

 

[camerateur]

thanks so much you guys!! this has given me a lot to think about. I apologize in the original post I didn't state I have a d3000,
so i am going to try to understand my focus points better, I think I have it set off to the right 1 of my 11 focus points right now..
and my diopter is set correctly, so its not an issue like that..
just hard to tell in a tiny viewfinder.

 

[enzodm]

By the way, standard focusing screens, due to their microprisms, do no reveal real depth of field over some aperture ( I found values between f/2.8 and f/4). This means that if you manually focus with a fast lens, looking only at the viewfinder, you will not recognise the finest differences in focus, because DoF is somewhat extended by the focusing screen. On the other side, more precise focusing screens work well at larger apertures but become dimmer at smaller apertures, so is easier to work in stop-down. With static subjects, the best option is to use live view with magnification.
Canon, Rebels excluded, have also Canon-branded focusing screens (I have one on my 60D, for my collection of old manual lenses).
However, as TCampbell suggests, your problem may be related in your way of using AF.

 

[belial]

Here's a quote from page 1 of this thread that has it:

Yeah. I wasn't refreshing the page enough. That's what happens when you're processing raw and reading forums at the same time.

 

[MTVision]

thanks so much you guys!! this has given me a lot to think about. I apologize in the original post I didn't state I have a d3000,
so i am going to try to understand my focus points better, I think I have it set off to the right 1 of my 11 focus points right now..
and my diopter is set correctly, so its not an issue like that..
just hard to tell in a tiny viewfinder.

It is hard with the tiny viewfinder. But you should have a green in focus indicator that will work in most cases. It would probably be all the way to the left when your looking in the viewfinder. Just make sure that your af area mode isn't set to auto because the camera will then determine where to focus.

 

[Derrel]

thanks so much you guys!! this has given me a lot to think about. I apologize in the original post I didn't state I have a d3000,
so i am going to try to understand my focus points better, I think I have it set off to the right 1 of my 11 focus points right now..
and my diopter is set correctly, so its not an issue like that..
just hard to tell in a tiny viewfinder.

The D3100's small, low-magnification, penta-mirror viewfinder is one of the tougher ones you will encounter when it comes to ascertaining manual focus accuracy. It's really not a good viewfinder...but then, they needed to keep the weight and cost down to keep the price so competitive. Making the problem difficult are lenses like the 18-55 kit zoom, with their hair-trigger manual focusing action; with the 18-55, a couple of millimeters of movement of the focusing ring can move the focusing distance 10 to 30 feet, depending on the distance...and it's VERY hard to be accurate or precise or repeatable with that kind of mechanism in the lens working against you. Then, add in the low-magnification, small, low-contrast viewfinder and...man...you're going to have issues...

 

[EIngerson]

I'm not trying to sound snide or hateful, so please don't take my post that way. The camera you have has a nice enough auto focus system and shouldn't give you any issues focusing on your subject. If your camera is focusing on something other than your intended subject, 99 times out of 100 I would say you're allowing it to. For instance, many people try to shoot moving subjects on one shot vice AI servo. Another possibility is you're using Auto focus instead of manually selecting the focal point you want to use.

If you just prefer to use manual focus to use manual focus so be it. It has it's uses, but it is not practical for every situation. Either way you go, have fun and enjoy your photography.

Eric

 

[DanPower]

does installing a focus screen still allow the option of using the camera's autofocus?

Yes although an aftermarket focus screen quite often kills the focus point confirmation in the view finder (usually a little red dot over the active focus point. The autofocus feature doesn't rely on the focus screen so nothing else is affected

It didn't kill anything on my 5DMKII, nor have I heard of it killing that feature on any other bodies. Do you have a link or something to further information on that?

I've been reading up on focus screens since I found this thread, and I spotted this on the Katzeye website under Grid Lines and Crop Guides:

Canon® 400D/450D AF Rectangles
The standard KatzEye™ focusing screens for the Canon 400D and 450D do not include the rectangles which mark the locations of the AF points. If you want the AF rectangles, please select this option when you add your screen to the cart. This pattern is only available on the Canon 400D (Rebel XTi) and Canon 450D (Rebel XSi) cameras, and as noted in the product description, addition of this option will still not allow the AF points to illuminate.

I don't really know anything about this but I just thought I'd share that finding. I have no idea whether it affects other models, but according to the Katzeye website you lose your AF illumination on the 400D and 450D.

EDIT: after another look at that page it also appears you lose the illuminating function on the 350D and the 1000D.

EDIT 2: I had a quick look at some other models, according to the Katzeye website the 550/600D also will not illuminate, the 10D and 20D will not, but the 7D will. Maybe there is a difference in the models but my quick peek at the site tells me anything below a 7D loses it's AF point illumination. Unfortunately the 7D is the highest model Canon they list so there's no more info after that.

Anyways as I said I don't really know anything about this stuff, that's just information I found on the Katzeye site. Moral here I guess is to do your homework before buying stuff!

 

[Buckster]

Yes although an aftermarket focus screen quite often kills the focus point confirmation in the view finder (usually a little red dot over the active focus point. The autofocus feature doesn't rely on the focus screen so nothing else is affected

It didn't kill anything on my 5DMKII, nor have I heard of it killing that feature on any other bodies. Do you have a link or something to further information on that?

I've been reading up on focus screens since I found this thread, and I spotted this on the Katzeye website under Grid Lines and Crop Guides:

Canon® 400D/450D AF Rectangles
The standard KatzEye™ focusing screens for the Canon 400D and 450D do not include the rectangles which mark the locations of the AF points. If you want the AF rectangles, please select this option when you add your screen to the cart. This pattern is only available on the Canon 400D (Rebel XTi) and Canon 450D (Rebel XSi) cameras, and as noted in the product description, addition of this option will still not allow the AF points to illuminate.

I don't really know anything about this but I just thought I'd share that finding. I have no idea whether it affects other models, but according to the Katzeye website you lose your AF illumination on the 400D and 450D.

EDIT: after another look at that page it also appears you lose the illuminating function on the 350D and the 1000D.

EDIT 2: I had a quick look at some other models, according to the Katzeye website the 550/600D also will not illuminate, the 10D and 20D will not, but the 7D will. Maybe there is a difference in the models but my quick peek at the site tells me anything below a 7D loses it's AF point illumination. Unfortunately the 7D is the highest model Canon they list so there's no more info after that.

Anyways as I said I don't really know anything about this stuff, that's just information I found on the Katzeye site. Moral here I guess is to do your homework before buying stuff!

You're misreading it. You don't lose the illumination which is built into the camera itself, but you lose the little square black targets to use for figuring out where the AF is going to be working, which are printed onto the screen (or not, in the cases you're citing).

This becomes very clear the first time you change out a focusing screen and see what's on it. There's nothing electronic about it. It's just a little flat piece of plastic with etching and drawings on it that show the grid and/or AF point targets. The actual AF action, including the illumination, is coming from and controlled elsewhere, and it couldn't care less what piece of plastic is up there in the focusing screen slot.

 

[DanPower]

Buckster, as I said I'm new to all this, I'm just pasting information I've found.... and you may well be right in that I'm misreading it... *but*.... this seems pretty clear to me:

Canon® 400D/450D AF Rectangles

The standard KatzEye™ focusing screens for the Canon 400D and 450D do not include the rectangles which mark the locations of the AF points. If you want the AF rectangles, please select this option when you add your screen to the cart. This pattern is only available on the Canon 400D (Rebel XTi) and Canon 450D (Rebel XSi) cameras, and as noted in the product description, addition of this option will still not allow the AF points to illuminate.

Also at Canon 550D 600D T2i T3i Focusing Screen it says:

If you want the AF area rectangles, please be sure to select the appropriate option below when adding the screen to your cart. Please be aware though, that even with the rectangles marked, the red dots will still not light. All other viewfinder information displays function as intended.

I guess actual practical implementation might differ, maybe they say that *just in case* the dots don't light? Also I imagine different brands of focus screens might differ as well. But according to the Katzeye website, you lose the red dots on every model of focus screen they make except the 7D...

 

[Buckster]

Buckster, as I said I'm new to all this, I'm just pasting information I've found.... and you may well be right in that I'm misreading it... *but*.... this seems pretty clear to me:

Canon® 400D/450D AF Rectangles

The standard KatzEye™ focusing screens for the Canon 400D and 450D do not include the rectangles which mark the locations of the AF points. If you want the AF rectangles, please select this option when you add your screen to the cart. This pattern is only available on the Canon 400D (Rebel XTi) and Canon 450D (Rebel XSi) cameras, and as noted in the product description, addition of this option will still not allow the AF points to illuminate.

Also at Canon 550D 600D T2i T3i Focusing Screen it says:

If you want the AF area rectangles, please be sure to select the appropriate option below when adding the screen to your cart. Please be aware though, that even with the rectangles marked, the red dots will still not light. All other viewfinder information displays function as intended.

I stand corrected. Must be something special in that regard about those particular camera models and the way the focusing screen interacts with them. Can't say it makes any sense to me. I'd love to compare the original screen with the replacement to see if there's something about the shape that's different and that might press or not press something in the focusing screen slot that activates/deactivates the AF illumination.

At least it confirmed that the AF itself still functions normally, including a green dot/chirp when focus is achieved.

Come to think of it though, it would probably be irritating as all getout to have the center AF illuminate in the middle of your split prism, so it's probably a good thing for those types of focusing screens that it doesn't.

 

[DanPower]

I'd love to compare the original screen with the replacement to see if there's something about the shape that's different and that might press or not press something in the focusing screen slot that activates/deactivates the AF illumination.

End facts, begin complete and utter speculation........ I'm new to photography, but mechanics and electronics I'm pretty comfy with. I don't reckon it's a mechanical issue (e.g. the shape of the screen or a tab on the side of it or something)... if so, Katzeye would have quite easily figured out how to get it to work and they wouldn't have this problem. My guess is that the AF illuminating lights are very very very low power and are introduced before the focusing screen, the light is enough to show up in the viewfinder but since that light source is so close to our eye the actual energy required to illuminate the point would be three fifths of #$%! all.... maybe due to the matte surface of the Katzeye the tiny itty bit of light is diffused enough that we can't see it, so simply by design the replacement screen just isn't capable of transferring that light to us? As I said, pure speculation... I'm more than likely wrong, but that's just my quick guess....

That being said, I'm now extremely curious to know why the 7D (and on your account the 5D) work while the x0D and below don't. There must be a difference in the system, maybe the light to illuminate the points in the 7D+ is introduced after the screen? I don't know, as I said I've got my speculating hat on now I'm sure someone who knows the really intimate workings of these cameras could tell us in a few words.

But this is good news for me, I was bummed when I read about the dots not working but I envision a 7D in the next couple of years so it's nice to know I can have the best of both worlds there