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02-08-2012, 02:26 PM   #1
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Critical Focusing Tip

Being as I only use M lenses and have to focus manually, I was not always getting things as sharp as I knew they could be. I wear glasses and still don't have as sharp of vision as I would like , especially if the point of focus is small. I tried using live view but it wasn't that much better than the viewfinder and sometimes worse. So I started using a 4X and sometimes a 7X loupe on the live view screen. The camera is on a tripod and I'm not trying to catch a bird in flight, so for stationary subjects this works great! Thought I would pass this along to those (or anyone for that matter) that maybe having this type of problem.
Maybe this should have gone in techniques?

02-08-2012, 02:44 PM   #2
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I am not questioning your findings and experiences - just curious as I wear glasses too:

Don't you find liveview at 10X magnification useful? I don't use it all the time but - as one example - for astrophotograhy I find it very efficient.
02-08-2012, 02:53 PM   #3
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Have you tried the Pentax O-ME53 magnifying eyepiece?
'Magnifying eyepiece for Pentax digital SLR cameras. It features 1.2x magnification and clip-on mount.'

It's often more easy to use than relying on LV, I've found, especially if the subject is moving or the ambient light is too bright and washes out the LV display.
02-08-2012, 03:02 PM   #4
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I use LV a lot for stationary studio work, especially in macro mode. It is the best way to get precise focus. A split focus screen with micro prisms helps to get focus close enough, but LV nails it, especially with slow lenses on long extensions. 6X on LV is my limit most of the times, beyond that the image gets a bit blurry. I use an HDTV 20" screen to view the image so I do not need to wear glasses or magnifiers.

02-08-2012, 03:06 PM   #5
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good if it works for you.
My eyesight isn't good already too, so I use another trick for handheld manual focusing, especially on macro shoots or with fast wide open lenses with narrow DOF.
First I focus to the point I estimate as the best/sharpest (which isn't always there ), then I lean a bit backwords and shoot , the forward a bit, shoot again, another slight move forward, shoot, and one or two more. It works like a focus bracketing of some sorts
In most cases one of the frames is sharp enough.
Try it
02-08-2012, 03:12 PM   #6
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Whenever I'm on a tripod, I automatically go into remote shutter and Live view manual focusing mode. No matter what the situation!
02-08-2012, 03:39 PM   #7
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Speaking about focus tips and in line with demp10's suggestions above:

Did you know that you cóuld use a video grabber (the kind of cable used to digitize analogue video tapes) to have live view on a PC.

Here shown with a small netbook that makes a handy "field" set-up:

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02-08-2012, 04:09 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Stone G. Quote
Speaking about focus tips and in line with demp10's suggestions above:

Did you know that you cóuld use a video grabber (the kind of cable used to digitize analogue video tapes) to have live view on a PC.

Here shown with a small netbook that makes a handy "field" set-up:
Very nice setup. I assume that you are using the composite video output and not the HDMI from the camera. I prefer the HDMI to get 1920 x 1080 output and not the 640 x 480 on analog, especially to review the images afterwords.
02-08-2012, 04:17 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by demp10 Quote
Very nice setup. I assume that you are using the composite video output and not the HDMI from the camera. I prefer the HDMI to get 1920 x 1080 output and not the 640 x 480 on analog, especially to review the images afterwords.
You are right. I have yet to find a way (if there is one) to input the HDMI signal into an ordinary PC. In stead of the video grabber I can use a USB PCTV device, but again, only for composite video.

Any suggestions?
02-08-2012, 04:47 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Stone G. Quote
You are right. I have yet to find a way (if there is one) to input the HDMI signal into an ordinary PC. In stead of the video grabber I can use a USB PCTV device, but again, only for composite video.

Any suggestions?
There are a few DVI to USB frame grabbers like this one DVI2USB Solo | DVI frame grabbers | Products | Epiphan Systems but at $700 is way too expensive just to feed live video from your camera.

Getting a full 1080 HDTV is probably the cheapest and most practical solution in the studio. There are small field monitors 7" in diameter that attach on the hot shoe, run on batteries and have HDMI input, but their native resolution is the same as the LCD in the camera, so little advantage there. They are very useful though when shooting video.
02-15-2012, 10:27 AM - 1 Like   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by demp10 Quote
There are a few DVI to USB frame grabbers like this one DVI2USB Solo | DVI frame grabbers | Products | Epiphan Systems but at $700 is way too expensive just to feed live video from your camera.

Getting a full 1080 HDTV is probably the cheapest and most practical solution in the studio. There are small field monitors 7" in diameter that attach on the hot shoe, run on batteries and have HDMI input, but their native resolution is the same as the LCD in the camera, so little advantage there. They are very useful though when shooting video.
Black Magic Design has a product line for HDMI capture. I haven't looked at it too closely, but,



Blackmagic Design: Intensity

The Intensity Pro (PCIe card) and Intensity Shuttle (USB 3) are $199, might be worthwhile.
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