what is your tip when using manual focus under f2.0?

Hi.
I have pentax a 50mm 1.4 lens and am experiencing difficulties in using manual focus.
Especially, under aperture 2.0 how do you use manual focus? any special tips?
If the red focus light and the beeping sound is not working accurately, is there any function to turn it off?
I am always amazed to see how others photos are well-focused and captured and I would like to learn from you.
Thanks.

The "red focus light" does not indicate you are in focus - it only shows you where you are focusing. The green hexagon indicates focus has been achieved. This does seem to cause confusion sometimes.

When manually focusing I don't use the focusing aids at all, never did, and just visually focus using the ground glass field.

Some do find this difficult and then focusing aids come into their own. When AF becamke available though these were dropped because they can interfere with AF systems.

Live view.

Live view - perfectly focussed, but a bit awkward to use unless you're using a tripod.

Split screen focussing screen - usually, but not always, perfect focus, but convenient to use. A bit scary to install the first time you do it, a doddle after that.

There are also people grinding down Canon EE-S focus screens to size to use in Pentax cameras. Even higher scary factor

Doesn't a split screen affect the metering?

I'm pretty sure it does, especially spot metering.

Live view allows you to zoom in to check focus.

There are conflicting reports that it affects spot metering. It seems to make sense that it would! Can't say I've noticed it myself, beyond the normal occasional spot metering cockups which I get whether or not I have a split screen installed.

Split Screen - can't say I've noticed it affecting metering (I find even the standard screen is off on the K5 so I pretty much have -1/3 to -1 EV on all shots depending on the lens and situation I'm shooting in).

When manually focusing you need to be aware that there is a 'zone' of 'in-focus' when the green hexagon lights up. I've found by habit I usually focus from near to infinity and the green hexagon will come on when I enter the 'zone' - however in actuality as I enter the 'zone' the shot isn't in focus. Therefore I've now trained myself to start focussing from infinity to near and then when the green hexagon comes on it IS in focus. Obviously this matters much more with low DoF shots.

N.B. Every lens is different. The infinity to near works accurately on 90% of my lenses but with a few of them it's vice versa and actual focus is reached when entering the 'zone' from near to infinity.

I've got a Cosina f1.2 in the post so we'll see if it works at that DoF !

I have a pentax magnifying eyecup on my camera pretty much permanently, and I think that helps a bit, as I tend to focus my 50mm manually, especially when using a big aperture.

Regards

I've had this problem with my k-x, maybe partly because of the pentamirror being a little bit darker than the pentaprisms I was used to on previous cameras.
I experimented with a split image screen, not so good with slower lenses and a bit of a nusiance for macro work, but otherwise good.
I'm now back to the standard screen where I use the green hexagon in-focus indicator and find it very good.
After a recent thread on here I've been experimenting with catch in focus and finding is very useful in most situations - its a bit like an autofocus lens with your hand on the the focus ring as the motor.
Another useful bit of advice is to make sure you eye is right up to the finder (and of course the dioptre adjustment is right for you).

It does flash when the camera thinks focus has been achieved though

The standard focussing screen won't resolve DOF's shallower than about F2.0 so it's a case of using live view ( I always magnify it )

You can calibrate the AF for manual lenses ( for those cameras with AF calibration parameters ), but you'll have to dial it in manually for each lens.

Only the green hexagon indicates focus has been achieved.

Unfortunately the screens of most 'crop, sensor cameras are a bit small compared to the full frame ones of older film cameras and the professional DSLRs and quite fiddly to focus by comparison, especially given their shorter focal lengths for a given angle of view.

I don't think there are any tips, just practise until you get it right. On the old VN plate cameras I was trained on as a young a press photographer, we had a 135mm standard lens on a 9x12 plate. For a '2 yarder' as we called it,
usually a portrait, you had hardly any depth of field. But, given that these cameras had no rangefinder, you had to learn to judge it.

Getting a 'fuzzy' was beyond the pale and the senior guys would spare you no humiliation (and sharp digs in the ribs) if you got it wrong. It's surprising, even given such encouragement(!), how accurately you can judge distances to within an inch at 6 feet. But, a skill largely lost now.