Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
08-09-2011, 11:40 PM - 1 Like   #76
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
lammie200's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: San Francisco
Photos: Albums
Posts: 1,033
I like...

I like the Pentax magnifier. Seems to be good optics and the extended eyecup makes it easier to keep my nose off the screen. I may eventually get a split screen, but I like to think that my eyes aren't too bad as of yet.

I am just getting into MF'ing recently but I am finding that there are a few different techniques that work for varying conditions. One example is the catch in focus tool. It is sometimes difficult to stop turning the focusing ring when AF kicks in. Hence the pic can be slightly out of focus especially with a slower shutter speed. I think that CIF is really meant for moving targets that you can anticipate a pre-focus point for and wait until the subject passes into focus. That said, I have gotten some decent results just using CIF while turning the focus ring and having the shutter trigger automatically.

Following someone else's direction, it is sometimes helpful to trigger fully MF'ing, and maybe just use the AFindicator to help with fine tuning only.

I do enjoy MF'ing much more than AF'ing. Cheap old mint glass, manual settings - what more could you ask for? (100% success, I guess. Not going to happen for me anyway.)

08-10-2011, 06:35 AM   #77
Veteran Member
RioRico's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Limbo, California
Posts: 11,263
QuoteOriginally posted by lammie200 Quote
I am just getting into MF'ing recently but I am finding that there are a few different techniques that work for varying conditions.
Yes, as I think I mentioned 'way back there somewhere, I use several techniques, not depending on just one.

* Catch-in-focus -- such a wonderful tool!
* Focus confirmation -- wait for the green shield
* Split-screen -- useful in adequate light
* Zone focusing -- hyperfocus for DOF
* Measure the distance -- or pace it off
* Cheat -- use an AF lens when necessary
* Really cheat -- use a laser rangefinder

All these are part of the basic rule of photography: Do whatever it takes to get the picture! (OK, I confess that I don't have a laser rangefinder. Yet.)
08-11-2011, 06:40 AM   #78
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Melbourne
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 3,386
QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
Measure the distance -- or pace it off
I had problems at first, but now that I have mastered the art of walking on water I can get a sharp shot from across the lake.
And you think I am kidding, don't you!

Greetings
08-11-2011, 07:06 AM   #79
Veteran Member
RioRico's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Limbo, California
Posts: 11,263
QuoteOriginally posted by Schraubstock Quote
I had problems at first, but now that I have mastered the art of walking on water I can get a sharp shot from across the lake.
And you think I am kidding, don't you!
Got some Jesus Feet, eh?

08-11-2011, 07:50 AM   #80
Veteran Member
Clicker's Avatar

Join Date: May 2008
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 3,241
I don't think it's a matter of being "afraid" of MF but more akin to "hey it's 2011 not 1960" similar to missing viewfinders in M43s and P&Ss or EVF vs OVF
08-11-2011, 08:23 AM - 1 Like   #81
Veteran Member
RioRico's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Limbo, California
Posts: 11,263
QuoteOriginally posted by Clicker Quote
I don't think it's a matter of being "afraid" of MF but more akin to "hey it's 2011 not 1960" similar to missing viewfinders in M43s and P&Ss or EVF vs OVF
And I just think of all the generations of toggers who survived and flourished before AF was invented. How did they MANAGE?!?!? Answer: Those not using a manual P&S (box camera, slow lens, etc) just had to practice a little -- or a lot, with view cams.

How about before metering? I read of one pioneer who used his cat as a light meter. Catseye irises are slits? Short exposure. Irises half-open? Long exposure. Wide open? Not enough light to shoot. This was back before the Sunny-16 rule, eh?

I grew up with older technologies. Manual or no focus; handheld or no metering; learn to judge distance, light; read the fine print on film cartons. Angst over manual focusing... strikes me as over-wrought. Has the whole world gone wussie? Yow!

No, it's not like I walked ten miles to school every day through blizzards and droughts, AND I LIKED IT! -- none of that. (I just walked or skateboarded or biked 1.5 miles through suburbia, listening to a portable radio and reading SciFi.) I don't advocate a return to Ye Goode Olde Dayse (which never existed). I just think that photographing without all the latest techie assists Ain't No Big Thang. It's nice to have those techie assists. It's also good to know how to function without them. It's like, texting is fine, but learn to write too, eh?

[/me loads a cart of Fuji Superia 400 into my 1934 Kodak Retina 1 folder and goes snark-hunting]
08-11-2011, 08:43 AM   #82
Veteran Member
sany's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Dubai, UAE
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 448
QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
.... It's nice to have those techie assists. It's also good to know how to function without them. It's like, texting is fine, but learn to write too, eh?

[/me loads a cart of Fuji Superia 400 into my 1934 Kodak Retina 1 folder and goes snark-hunting]

+1, that's exactly always ringing in my head from the day I started using DSLR or even the p-n-shoot. I keep asking myself, particularly with all the new technologies and tools to assist anyone taking a picture, what am I doing that others can't do? If anyone can use a DSLR in this age then how do I stand different? If it is all about composition - anyone with an inclination towards artistry is just enough to get that right. If that is the case what happens to the so many pro photographers and their works (mostly from film eras)? Like RioRico mentioned with the absence of new tools - I still cant imagine how much patience they had those days to perfect the skill.
With all these questions howling in my mind - I finally decided I will learn the techniques of/from the older photographers - then I can say that I know something that the 'anyone' can shoot kinda photographers don't know as they totally are at the mercy of the camera.Most of my threads here all echo only this.

Having said all that - I am still a newcomer to this field and apologies if I had overstated anything.

08-11-2011, 08:57 AM   #83
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
TER-OR's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Dundee, IL
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 6,699
I'll play the 45-yr old codger. I remember using my father's full-manual Minolta to take pictures for high school yearbook and newsletters. Theater pictures, spotlight on the kids in an otherwise dark theater. My father must have been a good teacher, because my photos worked - sure some were blurred badly, but enough worked to get published. No pictures of me on stage, though, apparently I was the only photographer to get usable theater pictures...

I remember it being pretty easy to meter and set exposure with the dials and rings. Avoiding blur from camera shake was the big problem at those shutter speeds, so eventually I resigned myself to using a tripod and getting most shots during dress rehearsals. Not always, though, I still shot a lot hand-held. Oh yeah, 800 ISO film, IIRC. That was fun.

I had a chance to look at his old lenses and look them up online, they're well-regarded 50 and 35mm plus some average zooms and a 135mm.
08-12-2011, 12:55 AM   #84
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Melbourne
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 3,386
Hi
I am afraid we are all going off topic. But while we are at it, this is what I used for reading exposure settings. Anybody remember these? It still works.

Greetings

Last edited by Schraubstock; 10-31-2011 at 07:14 AM.
08-12-2011, 01:20 AM   #85
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
baro-nite's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: North Carolina, USA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 5,294
QuoteOriginally posted by TER-OR Quote
I'll play the 45-yr old codger. I remember using my father's full-manual Minolta ...
Ha! If we started a codgers' club we'd probably need a new forum.

Name:  _IGP4465-2.jpg
Views: 242
Size:  13.9 KB

Obligatory on-topic content: I do a fair bit of macro hence manual focusing. But I love AF when appropriate. It's helpful to understand the basics, if nothing else to make you really think about the effects of different settings, lenses, etc., rather than never going beyond superzooms and green mode, but I certainly don't want to go back to the old gear.
08-12-2011, 03:36 AM   #86
Veteran Member
RioRico's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Limbo, California
Posts: 11,263
QuoteOriginally posted by Schraubstock Quote
But while we are at it, this is what I used for reading exposure settings. Anybody remember these? It still works.
Yup. Mine are a little analog Sekonic Auto-Lumi and a big digital Minolta Auto III(n).

QuoteOriginally posted by baro-nite Quote
Ha! If we started a codgers' club we'd probably need a new forum.
Only qualified codgers need apply. Preset your AARP membership card, please.

QuoteQuote:
I do a fair bit of macro hence manual focusing. But I love AF when appropriate. It's helpful to understand the basics, if nothing else to make you really think about the effects of different settings, lenses, etc., rather than never going beyond superzooms and green mode but I certainly don't want to go back to the old gear.
And you raise two points: Yes, we need to know how to use manual techniques, to know how to maintain control over the image -- outsmart the camera if we can. And no, most of us wouldn't want to be limited to non-auto-assist cameras. I still hate that Graflex...

Knowing how non-automatic photography works, links us to the traditions of photography. We can also study the history of photography, see how its been done, see how the constraints of technology lead to creativity. It's one thing to shoot with a 16-45 in Green mode. It's quite another to use a K or M prime in M mode, taking actual meter readings and adjusting them for the circumstances, being aware of what actually produces the image.

But no Luddism. Chimping shots is infinitely preferable to waiting for processing and printing to see what we have. It's all about AWARENESS -- of the history of technology and technique; of how to exploit those to make the images we want; of blending the generations of tech; of ways of seeing the world. Each lens is a different window, allowing/forcing us to see differently; manual control modulates that window, opens it in unique ways. That's why I shoot: to SEE.
08-12-2011, 06:42 PM   #87
Junior Member
mekitties's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: toronto
Photos: Albums
Posts: 31
QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
How about before metering? I read of one pioneer who used his cat as a light meter. Catseye irises are slits? Short exposure. Irises half-open? Long exposure. Wide open? Not enough light to shoot. This was back before the Sunny-16 rule, eh?
I think we should put cats to work and use them for metering... cat-o-meters
08-13-2011, 03:31 AM   #88
Veteran Member
RioRico's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Limbo, California
Posts: 11,263
QuoteOriginally posted by mekitties Quote
I think we should put cats to work and use them for metering... cat-o-meters
Oh, they're already 'helpful' with digital PP -- get off the keyboard!!!

Back in the day (like 1980) I built my first digital microcomputer, a HeathKit H8-H14-H19 system -- a kit, soldered together from piles of components and raw circuit boards. Had a cat who closely observed the work. Just once did he try to assist with the soldering. Yes, the smell of burnt cat fur lingered awhile... (He leapt onto the hot iron and quickly leapt off again, you-betcha.)

A more recent cat was also very helpful photographically, always testing filters and lenses and other gear to ensure that they obeyed the laws of gravity. Clunk. At least she didn't try to help me focus. Much.
08-13-2011, 09:37 AM   #89
Junior Member
mekitties's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: toronto
Photos: Albums
Posts: 31
oh dear! lol.
08-16-2011, 04:10 AM   #90
Veteran Member




Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1,889
QuoteOriginally posted by Clicker Quote
I don't think it's a matter of being "afraid" of MF but more akin to "hey it's 2011 not 1960" similar to missing viewfinders in M43s and P&Ss or EVF vs OVF
It's funny, manual focus, manual aperture and settings, optical (through the lens) viewfinder, these are all reasons I wanted, and subsequently bought a DSLR. It seems such a terrible waste to not at least be proficient with these things if one's camera can do them, and I actually find MF to be enjoyable.

Half the reason I went with Pentax for it was the availability of cheap old manual lenses.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
af, camera, catch-in-focus, ease, focus, lens, lenses, love, mf, pentax help, photography
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
10 Reasons why manual focus primes are better than those new auto focus zoom lenses JoepLX3 Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 188 07-25-2012 03:28 PM
Focus Ring on DA 35 macro makes a clicking noise; manual focus ... this normal? eadrian75 Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 2 04-12-2011 12:51 AM
Confirm my understand of metering w/ manual lenses focus hyperfocal focus DeadJohn Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 4 03-25-2011 12:31 PM
K100D Super - Focus point locked to center in Manual Focus ? JGabr Pentax DSLR Discussion 2 01-25-2010 09:41 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:29 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top