Manual Focus with the NEX 6

[Bryan]

Looking at some of these recent posts by Ed and John about possibly unsharp images and the vagaries of auto focus, I am wondering why more people don't  make use of the excellent EVF on the NEX to focus manually?

 

I guess that I am a control freak where cameras are concerned, but I don't trust auto focus. I've had too many instances where a shot has been ruined by the camera choosing to home in on the wrong part of the image leaving the key elements not quite sharp enough. I recall one time where I was asked to take some photos of a vintage motorcycle, and took great care to use a tripod etc. The bike filled most of the frame, so I, foolishly as it turned out, relied on the auto focus. The camera happily focused on the background, leaving the bike just not quite critically sharp. There have been other occasions....

 

Using my Canon 5DII, where, in my opinion, the viewfinder is not good enough for manual focus, I generally employ centre spot auto focus and lock the focus using the back button, but with the NEX 6 my standard procedure is manual focus.

 

David Kilpatrick recently suggested that it was unfair to compare the results from a vintage manually focused lens with that of modern auto focused glass, because manual focus will generally provide a sharper result, irrespective of the lens.

 

OK, for sports and action shots, there is a strong case for auto focus, but the great majority of my stock work does not involve action, and, even when it does, manually pre-focusing often yields the best result.

 

On the debit side, I do lose some shots due to not being able to respond quickly enough, but so far, fingers and toes firmly crossed, I've stayed out of jail.

[John Mitchell]

Bryan, I've experimented a bit with manual focus with the NEX-6, and I'm just not very good at it, even though I used manual focus SLRs for about 25 years. It seems that I've lost the touch. Also, my eyesight isn't nearly as good as it used to be, plus I foolishly sold my manual focus lenses a couple of years ago thinking that I would never need them again. I did keep one manual lens, though, a nifty 45 mm Minolta "pancake" lens from the late 70's, and I have to admit that it is noticeably sharper corner-to-corner than my Sony e-mount lenses. Nice rich colour balance as well. Minolta was good at that. 

[Bryan]

I also have deteriorating eyesight John, and have to use reading specs. In fact I use bifocals that allow me to read close up and also use a computer monitor comfortably. I find that, with the dioptre correction properly set on the NEX, and with 10x magnification available, focusing is not a problem. However I will concede that lenses that were designed for manual focus are much more user friendly than modern auto focus zoom glass in this respect, having wonderfully smooth and precise mechanisms without any detectable float.You can still pick up good old manual focus glass for a song, particularly the standard 50mm lenses that were fitted to every camera at one time, and that were very good value new. Similarly many 28mm lenses are cheap.

 

Before people caught on your could pick up a Zeiss Flektogon 35mm f2.4 for peanuts, but the market knows the value of these now and they are priced accordingly. I use mine for close up work.

 

Confess to a certain jealousy regarding your 45mm Minolta, but I've enough old glass to see me out.

 

While whining about modern lenses, I am not impressed with the build quality of the Sigma 19mm. I find that the fit of the bayonet lens hood, and that of the lens mount to a standard rear cap, are both far too slack, resulting in my occasionally dropping these bits and pieces when I pick up the lens. I've tried wedging the lens hood on with a piece of bog paper, and that works for a while. Meanwhile my screw mount lens hoods and aged lenses remain firmly attached to one another. 

[Ed Rooney]

Yours is a good point, Bryan. I will see how I do with manual focus out on the street later today. I'll try the RX10 first, and maybe tomorrow, the NEX-6. 

 

My eyesight has changed 4 times in the last 20 years, so I'm not sure I can use manual focusing. We'll see. When I use one of the auto-focus settings I focus in two stages, pushing the release button down halfway, then adjusting the frame, then taking the picture. 

 

And, Bryan -- loosing shots occasionally is routine. 

[ReeRay]

Both the camera sets I use have focus peaking and 10x magnification which makes manual focus a dream. Even as a 68 year spectacle wearer I can nail f1.4 every time, which is something the AF can't boast.

[John Mitchell]

Bryan, the one lens that really regret selling was the 28 mm. It would probably have made a very good "standard lens" for my NEX cameras. As you say, though, I can no doubt find a replacement for a song. I'm still an admitted zoom addict, though, but I can of course practice my manual focusing skills with them as well.

 

Regarding lens build quality, those old pieces of glass were definitely beautifully made. Nevertheless, modern plastic fantastic lenses are tougher that they look. I used a totally plastic, even the lens mount, Tamron zoom for years. I carried it around Latin America on various forms of transportation and never had any problems. I sold this lens recently, and it was still working fine. The plastic Tamron felt like a total piece of junk in the hand, but it was really very durable. Looks can be deceiving sometimes.

[Bryan]

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with MF Ed.

 

I have contrast detect set to minimum ReeRay, as I find that otherwise it sometimes detects false positives, while on other occasions the coloured sections detract from the composition. I guess that I should experiment with different settings for various levels of image contrast. It is reassuring to see the red outline on the bit you need to be sharp.

 

Yes, despite its flimsy construction, the 19mm Sigma is optically OK (not stellar) John, better than the kit zoom, but it certainly irritates me when the lens hood drops off when you are about to use it. 

[John Mitchell]

 

"... but it certainly irritates me when the lens hood drops off when you are about to use it."

 

I guess there's always the super glue and chisel solution.

 

[Ed Rooney]

Anyone remember the clip-on lens hood for the original Nikkor 105mm f/2.5? I lost four of those and had a dozen more near misses. Nikon finally redesigned that optical wonder with a periscope hood. I still have both versions here somewhere.

[Betty LaRue]

So far, the Fuji is nailing focus.  With one caveat.  When I shot the baby pictures, they were closeup and even though the focus box was on the eye, sometimes it missed.  But that 3 month old child was head bobbing constantly, looking up and down and what-ever...so I can't blame the AF. I may have had the eye in focus and as my finger came down on the shutter, she put her nose there. 

 

I know this, there is no way I could have manually focused on her.  I would have gotten no shots at all.  So it kind of was the spray and pray shoot.

 

Betty

[Bryan]

Yes Betty, the one time that I pick auto focus is when I try to photograph the grandkids, and, like you say, you need to take plenty of shots to get any decent keepers.

 

Re lens hoods, I have an early Pentax clip on hood, rectangular in form, that I am lucky to still retain. On one occasion I was shooting from the top of the Tour Montparnasse in Paris when the thing came off, and fell, fortunately, only to the floor immediately below. A surly but helpful member of staff allowed me access to that area and it was retrieved. 

 

Rather than weld the hood onto the Sigma 19mm, I may try to buy a screw on hood, but it's a funny thread size, if I remember correctly.

[Allan Bell]

Teaching not eggs suck am I.

 

When going in close with Fuji I have one eye (so to speak) on the focus box outline and if it is green take shot, if red image not in focus do not shoot, move back a bit till box is green.

 

Always having to check f stop in v/f now too.  Instance yesterday while out shooting at steam rally found I was inadvertently moving the f stop ring somehow and drastically resetting it from what I had originally set it to.

 

The auto focus setting on the Fuji seems OK to me. Did have a scare a couple of weeks ago with the X-T1 but after controlled trials with all my lenses found it to be OK.

 

Sorry seem to have gone off post.

 

Allan

[John Mitchell]

Yes Betty, the one time that I pick auto focus is when I try to photograph the grandkids, and, like you say, you need to take plenty of shots to get any decent keepers.

 

Re lens hoods, I have an early Pentax clip on hood, rectangular in form, that I am lucky to still retain. On one occasion I was shooting from the top of the Tour Montparnasse in Paris when the thing came off, and fell, fortunately, only to the floor immediately below. A surly but helpful member of staff allowed me access to that area and it was retrieved. 

 

Rather than weld the hood onto the Sigma 19mm, I may try to buy a screw on hood, but it's a funny thread size, if I remember correctly.

 

Perhaps they still make those screw-on, collapsible rubber lens hoods. I used to use them on some of my manual focus lenses. Don't know how effective they really were, but they offered decent protection.

[Dyn Llun]

I have never owned an autofocus camera and I have very bad eyesight. (Severe keratoconus, cornea transplant next) and I can manage ok. Admittedly most of my 'serious' work is on 10" x 8' and ​I don't need a loupe for that except in very dim light in a forest or suchlike. For most other work I have always used Leicas and have also managed those fine. I have been using them for over 50 years so I'm getting the hang of it by now! 

 

Of course I don't have grandkids to chase around, come to that I never had kids to chase with a camera either so maybe it's easier for me!

[Bryan]

 

 

 

Rather than weld the hood onto the Sigma 19mm, I may try to buy a screw on hood, but it's a funny thread size, if I remember correctly.

 

Perhaps they still make those screw-on, collapsible rubber lens hoods. I used to use them on some of my manual focus lenses. Don't know how effective they really were, but they offered decent protection.

 

 

I have used the collapsible screw on hoods and they are fine when they are new, but rubber fatigue, or whatever causes them to fail, always sets in and you end up with a two piece lens hood. I have one on my desk in front of me now, and it has a length of Gaffer tape around a split, gives the kit a nice used look I guess.

 

The ancient but reliable screw on metal hoods are the answer. Cheap as chips from Ebay China and good quality. 

[Bryan]

I have never owned an autofocus camera and I have very bad eyesight. (Severe keratoconus, cornea transplant next) and I can manage ok. Admittedly most of my 'serious' work is on 10" x 8' and ​I don't need a loupe for that except in very dim light in a forest or suchlike. For most other work I have always used Leicas and have also managed those fine. I have been using them for over 50 years so I'm getting the hang of it by now! 

 

Of course I don't have grandkids to chase around, come to that I never had kids to chase with a camera either so maybe it's easier for me!

 

Always lusted after a Leica, but could never justify the spend. My wife has suggested that I buy one, but, being intrinsically parsimonious, I just can't bring myself to pay that much for a camera. Have considered buying some used Leica glass, which I am sure is excellent, but again the price......

 

The split image viewfinders fitted to pre auto focus SLRs were lovely to work with, those on the Pentax MX and Olympus OM1 are superb.

 

Reverting to manual focus lenses, I have rediscovered the simple pleasure of dialing in the distance. Using a 28mm lens as standard on the NEX 6 (42mm equivalent), you don't need to focus at all (except for close ups), just dial in the hyperfocal distance and shoot for wall to wall sharpness - it's a bit like using a (rather expensive) box camera.