[jeantarrou]

So I'm still pretty dissatisfied with my manual focusing results and I'd like to ask you all for some suggestions/recommendations/techniques that maybe I haven't tried or thought of yet?

As a background, I've been using manual lenses for almost 2 years now so there's no lack of practice, I've also installed a Pentax magnifier eyecup (the O-ME53 with a 1.18x magnification) and an EC-A focusing screen Focusing Screen .

I'm wondering if an eyecup with a greater magnification might help?

I don't LOVE the EC-A screen, it's better than the stock one but I think I'd prefer and maybe get better results with split-image screen?

Unfortunately (I say this because it adds to the challenge) my "subjects" are almost exclusively my young children, often running, jumping, rolling around, laughing, crying, screaming, playing (you get the point) and frequently I'm juggling the low light fast moving subject conundrum. Maybe this is another area I could reconsider my technique, but the "solution" so far is shooting mostly wide-open, which obviously really narrows my DOF. I have tried varying combinations of higher ISO with a more stopped-down aperture and that has of course widened my DOF but it's a relative improvement because I'm also often snapping pics of my girls when they're <10' away from me.

Thinking out loud here, I rarely attach my flash, could this help?

Lastly, the visual and audible focus notifications on my K30 are not accurate, with center focus selected the camera is sounding when my focus subject is clearly (no pun intended!) not in focus. My question here, would dialing in the in camera AF fine adjustment correct this particular issue?

Thanks in advance for any input!

[aslyfox]

I am interested in any thoughts as well, I am very near sighted although corrected with eyeglasses.

However, I must wear no line bifocals - progressive lenses

Progressive Lenses or No-Line Bifocals Correct Farsightedness


which basically means that depending on the part of the lens of my glasses, up, down, or middle, my eyes are focusing through there can be a minor change in clarity

so please folks "focus" on helping us out

[pschlute]

My advice would be first properly calibrate the autofocus system of your camera (if it has that facility) with the lens in question. This will enable you to use the green hexagon tool as a focussing aid.

After having done this look at using "catch in focus"...google for a better explanation than i can give here.

Now to the real question...using your own eyeballs. Very difficult if you have ageing eyes like myself, and made even worse if you are using APS-C sensor as the image is smaller and darker than the 35mm viewfinder i grew up with. The split/ prism is a dual focus aid that was the standard on cameras before autofocus became the norm. If you can get one for your camera this is the way to go if you want accurate manual focussing.

[hcc]

There are a few tricks, like Catch in focus (CIF) and Liveview magnification.

Personally, I saw major improvements in my own technique when I started to use MF lenses. MF lenses have a much longer focus ring throw, enabling a much finer focus adjustment than most AF lenses. (Some of the best MF lenses like the CZ and VL [IMO] have a very nice focus ring.) This makes a lot of differences, in my case in terms of the percentage of keepers.

Another technique is pre-focusing. That is, you focus (MF) the lens about the area where your want to shoot and you fine-tuned when the subject pass in front of you about that location. This works well in sport. Personally, I tend to use the distance metering on the focus ring. That is, for each lens, I check the distance range on the focus ring against a measuring tape first. Later I know where to set the focus ring when I want to focus at 5 m or 7 m from where I stands. I found this technique very worthwhile shooting volley-ball, because the players tend to be playing in relatively limited area and it is easy IMHO to pre-focus using the distance indication on the focus ring.

My five cents.... hoping that it may help.

[Bengan]

I've also installed a Pentax magnifier eyecup (the O-ME53 with a 1.18x magnification) and an EC-A focusing screen Focusing Screen ...


I don't LOVE the EC-A screen, it's better than the stock one but I think I'd prefer and maybe get better results with split-image screen?

After installing one of these cut down focusing screens you probably will have to exchange the shim behind the screen for a thinner one. The cut down Canon and Nikon screens are slightly thicker than the original. When I did this in my APS-C bodies I ended up with 0,20 - 0,25 mm shims for accurate manual focus. The original is 0,40 mm.
I bought a shim kit (0,1 - 0,5 mm thickness) directly from the Richo/Pentax representative. My advice is, don't use the plastic ones you got from FocusinScreen.com. The ones from Richo/Pentax are metal.


When it comes to screen type, that's a matter of taste. Personally I prefer the plane S-type screen. To be honest, I don't think that a split image screen helps much when it comes to moving targets.

[robgski]

atch in focus (CIF)

I started to use MF lenses. MF lenses have a much longer focus ring throw, enabling a much finer focus adjustment than most AF lenses.

I use Manual Focus lens with the CIF enabled, it definitely improves my abilities with manual focus. Also, depending on your subject, and the lens you use, pre focusing and zone focusing is a great idea as HCC as mentioned above. Again, CIF will not allow a picture to be taken until the object is in focus so it is good for pre-focusing as well. Zone focusing works best when you have an f/stop that allow for greater depth of field, as opposed to razor thin DOF with one object in focus and everything is is blurry/bokeh. Just yesterday I was using a DA 55-300 zoom, and I was amazed at how different the results were between f5.6, f6.3, and f7.1.

As always, the best thing to do is pick one lens that you know very well, and experiment on your manual focus technique with that lens until you nail it down accurately. Once you get used to what proper focues looks like with one lens, it becomes easoer to move to other lenses.

[Dartmoor Dave]

This will seem counterintuitive, but the method I use with manual focus is simply not to try too hard -- and I shoot manual focus pretty much exclusively.

It's all too easy to end up racking the focus ring back-and-forth and starting to doubt your own eyes, and then you haven't got a chance with any kind of a moving subject. Train yourself to use the whole focusing screen rather than just the centre spot, and when the image pops into focus force yourself to stop trying to fine tune things unnecessarily. Your eyes are naturally very good at telling whether things are in focus or not, so try to make focusing an instinctive thing and trust your instincts.

[AquaDome]

When focusing manually, I keep turning the focus ring from unfocused through focused to unfocused, then back again through sharp focus to unfocused again, noting where the center sharpness is, then turn the focus ring back that amount. Many years of tuning single-sideband radios has given me this habit, but it works well for me.

[luftfluss]

Is there a reason you are not using an AF lens?

[aslyfox]

Is there a reason you are not using an AF lens?

personally, I have been told and have learned that auto focus doesn't always work well with macro

[photoptimist]

Fast children in dim light is a nightmare for an AF system. The AF system has a shutter time, too, which grows longer and longer as the light gets dimmer and dimmer. In dim light, by the time the AF system has gathered enough light to measure and confirm the focus, the kids have moved on. It doesn't help that the human brain takes it's own sweet time to hear the focus confirmation beep, decide to push the button, and actually get the finger to move.

But, if you spend enough time with a particular lens, you'll develop the right muscle memory reflexes to instinctively pull the focus as the subject moves closer and further. Fortunately, digital photographs are almost free so the cost of practicing is quite low.

Good luck!

[stevebrot]

I'm wondering if an eyecup with a greater magnification might help?

Probably not

I don't LOVE the EC-A screen, it's better than the stock one but I think I'd prefer and maybe get better results with split-image screen?

You might. The EC-A has a microprism center and features somewhat less focus precision than a split image. That being said, I would not expect better results with your choice of subject.

my "subjects" are almost exclusively my young children, often running, jumping, rolling around, laughing, crying, screaming, playing (you get the point...

A fast AF system may be your best bet, either that or video. Yes, people did successfully do child photography with manual focus gear, but don't expect consistent success unless you have staged things to encourage them to slow down and stay where you want them at a location where you can pre-focus and capture the moment. Examples:

• If they are playing tag, the photo is at "home/base"
• Puzzles and coloring books are a good thing. With the task taking their attention, they will ignore you.
• For wild play, blur may be a good thing There is no way you are going to purposefully attain focus.
• Stopping down makes things easier. Flash and/or higher ISO makes narrower apertures possible. If inside, bounced flash or a diffuser are very useful. Traditional press photographers routinely worked at f/8 with the lens (wide-normal) prefocussed to about 8'...basically a fixed focus approach.

Technique aside, there is one other consideration...How are your results with non-moving objects? Is your screen properly shimmed to the camera with the same results using magnified live view as you get with the viewfinder focus?


Steve

[luftfluss]

personally, I have been told and have learned that auto focus doesn't always work well with macro

What kind of subject matter for your macro? I both AF and MF with macro photos. Basically I just work it until I get it right.

re: Progressive lenses, I just recently had to switch from single-vision glasses to bifocals. I chose bifocals because 1) they were $150 cheaper and 2) I wanted definitive demarcation between "far" and "near" for exactly the reason you cited - I don't want to deal with the changes among far/middle/near.

Here's a MF macro, Tamron 70-300 @ 200mm + Raynox DCR-150. Breezy day, just kept trying until I nailed it.

[Just1MoreDave]

I don't think of the split-prism as a speed focusing aid, more of a precision aid. My guess is that the S-type screens are best for speed. That's because you aren't constantly trying to place the fairly small focus aid over your subject, instead you should see your true depth of field in the whole frame. I would try not looking at the microprisms in the center of the Ec-A screen - look at the field around them instead. The field won't be as precise as an S-type screen for fast lenses but it might be a faster way.

Lenses will make a big difference. I have a Cosina 55/1.2 and the transition between in-focus or not is harder to see. My DA*55/1.4 takes a while to wake up and autofocus, but I can manually focus it very quickly, because it is so much sharper wide open. The Cosina has a lot of coma and I think that's the difference. Good coatings help too by increasing contrast.

[luftfluss]

Fast children in dim light is a nightmare for an AF system. The AF system has a shutter time, too, which grows longer and longer as the light gets dimmer and dimmer. In dim light, by the time the AF system has gathered enough light to measure and confirm the focus, the kids have moved on. It doesn't help that the human brain takes it's own sweet time to hear the focus confirmation beep, decide to push the button, and actually get the finger to move.

But, if you spend enough time with a particular lens, you'll develop the right muscle memory reflexes to instinctively pull the focus as the subject moves closer and further. Fortunately, digital photographs are almost free so the cost of practicing is quite low.

Good luck!

Depending how low the light is, a lens like the DA35 2.4 AF's pretty quickly, thanks in part to the short focus throw.

Most of my photos of moving subjects are wildlife, and mostly with MF lenses. I've found that the most important aspect of nailing focus is prediction.