Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Learning
Photography Q&A
Focussing on infinity in the dark with continuous autofocus lens rings
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="okulo" data-source="post: 499761" data-attributes="member: 40687"><p>I think that the folk who have made this kind of suggestion can't have lenses with continuous focus rings because the suggestion would only work if a) the focus ring was never turned past either of the soft stops and b) autofocus was NEVER used again.</p><p></p><p>Once the focus ring has been turned past a soft stop (on my 18-300mm, there is approximately 190º between them), any mark made will no longer line up with the lens's internal focus mechanism.</p><p></p><p>And if you ever use autofocus again - even just touch it - the same will happen because whilst the internal focus mechanism moves, the focus ring does not. For this reason, any suggestion which involves taping the focus ring is also invalid.</p><p></p><p>These limitations/problems are the reason I posted my experience and workaround. I don't want to appear rude but I can't keep responding the same point over and over again.</p><p></p><p>If you have an autofocus lens with continuous focus ring, try out your suggestion and then point your camera at a <strong>nearby</strong> object and autofocus. Observe if the focus ring turns as the camera focusses. If it does, then it does not have the problem which I was trying to overcome; if it doesn't, align the markers you have made and unless you have got very lucky on autofocus roulette, the camera will not be focussed on whatever it was you used as a marker reference. Maybe some (especially non-Nikon) lenses have different mechanisms with non-continuous focussing and hard stops. My observations were specific to the 18-300mm f3.5-6.3 and lenses with the same kind of mechanism and not a general 'how to focus on infinity in the dark' guide; see the thread title.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="okulo, post: 499761, member: 40687"] I think that the folk who have made this kind of suggestion can't have lenses with continuous focus rings because the suggestion would only work if a) the focus ring was never turned past either of the soft stops and b) autofocus was NEVER used again. Once the focus ring has been turned past a soft stop (on my 18-300mm, there is approximately 190º between them), any mark made will no longer line up with the lens's internal focus mechanism. And if you ever use autofocus again - even just touch it - the same will happen because whilst the internal focus mechanism moves, the focus ring does not. For this reason, any suggestion which involves taping the focus ring is also invalid. These limitations/problems are the reason I posted my experience and workaround. I don't want to appear rude but I can't keep responding the same point over and over again. If you have an autofocus lens with continuous focus ring, try out your suggestion and then point your camera at a [B]nearby[/B] object and autofocus. Observe if the focus ring turns as the camera focusses. If it does, then it does not have the problem which I was trying to overcome; if it doesn't, align the markers you have made and unless you have got very lucky on autofocus roulette, the camera will not be focussed on whatever it was you used as a marker reference. Maybe some (especially non-Nikon) lenses have different mechanisms with non-continuous focussing and hard stops. My observations were specific to the 18-300mm f3.5-6.3 and lenses with the same kind of mechanism and not a general 'how to focus on infinity in the dark' guide; see the thread title. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Learning
Photography Q&A
Focussing on infinity in the dark with continuous autofocus lens rings
Top