MF Techniques and tips

  • Thread starter Deleted member 27989
  • Start date
D

Deleted member 27989

Guest
I've got a few MF lenses including a few absolute Nikon classics like the one I used for my Forest Fairy entry in the competition this month. I really enjoy MF and gives some great satisfaction when you nail it, but ....

I find I am rather slow at focussing, are there any tips or techniques that can be shared to aid focussing more quickly.

PS. I need to get my D7000 manual out as apparently it has focus indicators that I haven't noticed yet :facepalm: But I must admit I've been more focused (pardon the pun) on the subject sharpness rather than the viewfinder indicators.
 
You know the focus screen on your viewfinder will only show a maximum of about f4 DOF?

And that manual focus with faster lenses will be tricky at best, unpossible at worst, right?
 
No I actually didn't know that. But is that an issue? I mean if your main subject is in focus it is in focus? Or am I missing something and are you saying it doesn't show anything over f/4 as that doesn't seem correct. I can definitely focus using viewfinder with my f/2.5.

And yes with a larger aperture it is definitely harder as the plane is getting smaller, but that is why I was asking for tips on how to get it done quicker.

I'm using the see saw technique, found the indicators now but it seems to back focus LOL might have to do an AF tune on an MF lens to get the indicators to work LOL
 
Thats exactly what I mean. focus screens vary but typicaly SLR's have bright viewfinders for slow lenses.

These do not show realistic DOF for fast lenses. You can make a guess by approximation but as you have found this gets trickier with faster lenses.

Thats why you can buy replacement focus screens like cast eye. These show the real DOF at the cost of brightness for slower lenses.
 
Cheers will look into that and also pay more attention to the AF assist the camera offers.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom