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Comment by El Dingo posted on k10 d focus at 17/09/2009 - 13:41
I was going to make another sharp and witty reply to this thread. Now then, what was it...
Comment by El Dingo posted on Losing the plot? at 09/09/2009 - 19:19
Sadly, I don't seem to get wiser either
And I'm no God
I was definitely wiser in my thirties...
There really is a 'grey thing' going on, but for some reason it started at my chin and is now working it's way up. Like a kind of Photoshop gradient, with brown at the top and grey at the bottom.
And I'm no God
I was definitely wiser in my thirties...
There really is a 'grey thing' going on, but for some reason it started at my chin and is now working it's way up. Like a kind of Photoshop gradient, with brown at the top and grey at the bottom.
Comment by El Dingo posted on Losing the plot? at 08/09/2009 - 21:40
johnriley wrote:
The red indicator only shows where the camera is focusing. It's the green hexagon that indicates focus has been found. And our own eyes of course.
John, you (and Steve) are right. I just tried it and now realise that I'm doing a 'self check' with my eyes.The red indicator only shows where the camera is focusing. It's the green hexagon that indicates focus has been found. And our own eyes of course.
(Note to self - double check before posting. :idea
Comment by El Dingo posted on K10 focus check at 08/09/2009 - 13:05
Yes, agreed. I wouldn't buy another A 2.8.
Comment by El Dingo posted on Pentax 135mm Lens at 08/09/2009 - 12:10
I have the A 2.8 version, and don't really recommend it. You have to work hard to get good results - it can be lacking contrast in particular. I found it to be a reasonably good lens for stage events, where you can't get physically quite close enough to the action, and where the background is dark. IMHO the lens is sharp enough, however, and is easy to focus.
Comment by El Dingo posted on Pentax 135mm Lens at 07/09/2009 - 21:30
stevejcoe wrote:
I used spot focus for my tests and for all AF adjustments.
Regards - Steve
When spot focussing (centre point in this case) the red indicator can also be used to confirm focus.El Dingo wrote:
Focus confirmation is shown by the green hexagon. The red indicator is the focus point being used.MattMatic wrote:
Just a point when doing AF adjustments: you should always move the lens waaaay out of focus before getting the camera to AF I normally shift to infinity before AF-ing on the test target.
The 50/1.4 can be a pain to adjust anyway. It's field isn't flat, and I've found a combination of test target at f/1.4 plus some portrait tests to get the right balance. I've normally found the test target adjustment produces a measure of FF, so somewhere in between is usually good - slightly BF seemed to produce sharper portraits for me. Just a thought
Matt
Really good point this - to avoid focus backlash I adjusted back from infinity manually, stopping at focus confirmation point (red indicator), and IMHO this gets more consistent results than relying on the AF system (with AF lenses).Just a point when doing AF adjustments: you should always move the lens waaaay out of focus before getting the camera to AF I normally shift to infinity before AF-ing on the test target.
The 50/1.4 can be a pain to adjust anyway. It's field isn't flat, and I've found a combination of test target at f/1.4 plus some portrait tests to get the right balance. I've normally found the test target adjustment produces a measure of FF, so somewhere in between is usually good - slightly BF seemed to produce sharper portraits for me. Just a thought
Matt
I used spot focus for my tests and for all AF adjustments.
Regards - Steve
Comment by El Dingo posted on K10 focus check at 07/09/2009 - 21:17
ChrisA, just to confirm, I had a cable remote plugged in (not a Pentax one, but I don't think that would make any difference?) and the SR was still on. (I just tested it again to make sure!).
Comment by El Dingo posted on K10 focus check at 07/09/2009 - 15:31
MattMatic wrote:
Just a point when doing AF adjustments: you should always move the lens waaaay out of focus before getting the camera to AF I normally shift to infinity before AF-ing on the test target.
The 50/1.4 can be a pain to adjust anyway. It's field isn't flat, and I've found a combination of test target at f/1.4 plus some portrait tests to get the right balance. I've normally found the test target adjustment produces a measure of FF, so somewhere in between is usually good - slightly BF seemed to produce sharper portraits for me. Just a thought
Matt
Really good point this - to avoid focus backlash I adjusted back from infinity manually, stopping at focus confirmation point (red indicator), and IMHO this gets more consistent results than relying on the AF system (with AF lenses).Just a point when doing AF adjustments: you should always move the lens waaaay out of focus before getting the camera to AF I normally shift to infinity before AF-ing on the test target.
The 50/1.4 can be a pain to adjust anyway. It's field isn't flat, and I've found a combination of test target at f/1.4 plus some portrait tests to get the right balance. I've normally found the test target adjustment produces a measure of FF, so somewhere in between is usually good - slightly BF seemed to produce sharper portraits for me. Just a thought
Matt
Comment by El Dingo posted on K10 focus check at 03/09/2009 - 10:56
ChrisA wrote:
[quote="El Dingo"]It is important to switch the SR to off when on a tripod (now I'm not suggesting for one minute...:blush - I wonder if this could affect the results if SR was left on? I suppose it depends on how the SR moves the sensor...:
El Dingo wrote:
There's definitely variability in the equipment and in the process (tripod position, distance, ambient temperature, dust in the lens mount, etc.).
Not sure what you're getting at with this point, sorry.There's definitely variability in the equipment and in the process (tripod position, distance, ambient temperature, dust in the lens mount, etc.).
[quote="El Dingo"]It is important to switch the SR to off when on a tripod (now I'm not suggesting for one minute...:blush - I wonder if this could affect the results if SR was left on? I suppose it depends on how the SR moves the sensor...:
ChrisA wrote:
It was all on a tripod, 2s delay, green hexagon focus confirmation
SR is off with all the remote and delayed modes, regardless of the position of the SR switch, so I can't see how SR is at all relevant here.[/quote]Yes, SR is off with 2 sec. delay set, but SR stays on with cable remote without 2 sec. delay (as I found out when I tried this procedure the first time!).It was all on a tripod, 2s delay, green hexagon focus confirmation
Edit: The 2 sec. delay didn't make any difference to my results in the focussing test (solid tripod I guess :wink. However, I found that the 2 sec. delay is essential in any astro photography.
Comment by El Dingo posted on K10 focus check at 03/09/2009 - 10:51
I've resisted buying a split prism screen, partly because of the price, but partly because of the effect that these are reported to have on metering (and I have enough trouble with that already!).
This raises another question, though. When setting up to take star trails, or a very dark scene, using bulb mode, it's very difficult to confirm focus. On some of my lenses, infinity doesn't mean infinity, but somewhere beyond! (In other words, if I set the lens manually to infinity, I get OOF results, especially with telephoto lenses.) Any ideas?