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Manual Focus Lenses Forum

Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.

Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.
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How to take a sharpest Picture with Manual Lens.???
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:36 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:36 pm
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Chris, truth is in the between.

I mean, you're right, and this is also why the pros usually shot rolls and rolls of film for an assignment and then the real work was staring at the positives on the lightboard with the loupe to choose the best ones.

Then technology brought us AF first and digital cameras after.

Ok, I have a bunch of AF lenses, also some good Nikkors, but no way they focus finely right as I could do now that I practiced through the use of MF lenses.

And about digital cameras with the incredible dark and small viewfinder of the crop models using liveview is something unavoidable.

When I take an old SRL with me I feel like in focus paradise watching through its viewfinder. Also the new 5DmkII isn't as good as an old Nikon FE.


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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:18 pm
Post subject: AF confirm adapter
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:18 pm
Post subject: AF confirm adapter
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Pioneer,

I was having the same problem with my EOS 10D and a Takumar 50mm lens. It was annoying because most of the time I was trying to capture my 18 month old son, and getting about one out of twenty photos in focus. Then I got an AF confirm M42/EOS adapter, and hey presto! its up to about a fifty percent success rate for photos of quickly moving targets, and pretty much AOK all of the time for stationary targets. .


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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:29 pm
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:29 pm
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scottyea wrote:
Pioneer,

I was having the same problem with my EOS 10D and a Takumar 50mm lens. It was annoying because most of the time I was trying to capture my 18 month old son, and getting about one out of twenty photos in focus. Then I got an AF confirm M42/EOS adapter, and hey presto! its up to about a fifty percent success rate for photos of quickly moving targets, and pretty much AOK all of the time for stationary targets. .


Huh. I've been assuming -- in ignorance, perhaps? -- that the focus confirmation adapters worked only with AF lenses from other manufacturers -- like AF Nikkors or AF Pentax-K lenses. But I see you've got one for M42 with focus confirmation. Now, that can be useful.

Of all the sellers of adapters with focus confirmation (on eBay, for example), which one do you recommend?

Best,
Michael


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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:32 pm
Post subject: Re: AF confirm adapter
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:32 pm
Post subject: Re: AF confirm adapter
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cooltouch wrote:
scottyea wrote:
Pioneer,

I was having the same problem with my EOS 10D and a Takumar 50mm lens. It was annoying because most of the time I was trying to capture my 18 month old son, and getting about one out of twenty photos in focus. Then I got an AF confirm M42/EOS adapter, and hey presto! its up to about a fifty percent success rate for photos of quickly moving targets, and pretty much AOK all of the time for stationary targets. .


Huh. I've been assuming -- in ignorance, perhaps? -- that the focus confirmation adapters worked only with AF lenses from other manufacturers -- like AF Nikkors or AF Pentax-K lenses. But I see you've got one for M42 with focus confirmation. Now, that can be useful.

Of all the sellers of adapters with focus confirmation (on eBay, for example), which one do you recommend?

Best,
Michael

Our member hk300 in pm.


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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:12 am
Post subject: Best place to but a AF adapter
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:12 am
Post subject: Best place to but a AF adapter
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First recommendation would definitely have to be :

Very Happyhttp://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/MFlenses__W0QQ_armrsZ1Very Happy if you're in or near Europe

or 2nd,

http://myworld.ebay.com.au/ericcc1006/ in HK.


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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:37 am
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:37 am
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Focusing manual lenses on a dSLR is difficult!
Focus confirmation on a dSLR is not very precise ( it is not on my Pentax and according to reports from users of other cameras this seems to hold truth for them as well )
so better believe your eyes and use all the help you can get! namely:

- a viewfinder magnifier
- a split focus screen ( or plain ground-glass focusing screen as suggested by cooltouch )
and then practise..

( all suggestions to avoid camera shake, to use live view or an analog camera made for MF lenses are of course very valid points.
I only refer to how the OP can get best help to focus a manual lens on the camera he is using )


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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:56 am
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:56 am
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My hit rate with MF lenses went considerably higher now that I have a DSLR with Live View. More precise focusing is not possible as Live View and the actual picture taking are performed on the same sensor. A big plus is also that in Live View the exposure is much more accurate than on the focusing screen.
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