nifty fifty - problems focusing

TimeSlidesBy

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So I went out and purchased the Nikon nifty fifty for my D60. I've had it about a week, but I'm almost about to return it and wait for the autofocus one to come out in December. All my pictures end up slightly out of focus. This is my first manual focus lens, so maybe I just need practice. But I swear it looks in focus through the viewfinder. And I have had my eyes checked lately.

I keep playing around with it trying a bunch of different setups. First I was taking photos of my kids. All blurry. Then I tried stationary objects....blurry. I tried using a tripod. I put my 18-55mm lens autofocus lens back on and that works fine. So part of me is determined to master the nifty fifty & manual focus (and save $300). Plus I know its kind of a fundamental of photography. Any suggestions?
 
Just to double check the obvious, what were your shutter speeds? Depending on your skill and steadiness, anything below 1/60 may be dodgy.

That aside, manually focusing with modern DSLRs is not as straight forward as it was in the film days for a couple of reasons. One is that crop-body viewfinders tend to be darker, and they lack the split-prism focusing screen which let you know exactly when an image was in focus.

What I'd suggest is practice on something like a sign, or other text where it's immediately obvious if you've got it right or not. There's always the [remote] possibility you've got a faulty lens.
 
Also, are you shooting wide open? (as in f1.8?)

The depth of field at that aperture (and depending on the distance of your subject) is going to be very small, making it very difficult to manual focus accurately. Try stepping the aperture down to f4 or f5.

Additionally, the only other suggestion I can make, is that if your camera has an auto-focus confirmation noise (as in, it beeps and a red dot on the viewfinder lights when you are in focus), manual focus on the desired area until you hear that noise, then you should be good to go.

Either that, or it may be as tirediron said, your shutter speed is too slow for your hand.
 
Are you perhaps too close to your subject?
 
I'm not sure how easy it is to install a split-prism in a Nikon, but I did it with my Pentax and I love it. Manual focus is quite accurate with one of these gems and you can safely install them yourself if you have a semi-steady hand.
 
I'm not sure how easy it is to install a split-prism in a Nikon, but I did it with my Pentax and I love it. Manual focus is quite accurate with one of these gems and you can safely install them yourself if you have a semi-steady hand.

I looked into it, only out of nostalgia because I miss the appearance of the split-prism; you're right, it's not difficult, but I'm not entirely convinced that it's worthwhile unless you're doing a LOT of manual focusing.
 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I checked my shutter speed, changed the aperture to f4, and found the focus indicator. Nice clear crisp shot! I can't wait to get out and take some photos this weekend.
 

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