Focusing tips for manual wide lenses?

gustafson

Senior Member
Had to confront my old enemy - manual focusing - after acquiring a vintage manual 24 f2.8 (non Ai). Tried to take a few test shots, but was all over the place with the "green dot" focus confirmation method on my D3300, as the green dot appears over a broad range of positions of the focusing ring. Close focus on the lens is 30cm, but as the subject appears smaller and further away than normal due to the wideangle perspective, it is difficult (for me) to visually confirm sharpness even for subjects at close quarters. Besides replacing the focus screen, I'd be very interested to know if there are there any other practical hacks to nail manual focus for wide angle lenses. Thanks in advance!


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Look into Hyperfocal distance. I shot with a 14mm lens on my D750 and I would set the focus before I started shooting in the building I was working in and then never touched the focus after that. Now your 28mm lens is a lot longer that my 14mm especially since it is on a DX body.

In looking at the DX and a 24mm lens if you set the lens to F11 and focus at 9 feet then everything from 4.5 feet to infinity will be in focus. Now at F5.6 you would have to focus at 17.5 feet and then everything from 8.6 feet to infinity would be in focus.

so it all depends on what you are shooting and the light levels. I used a iPhone app to get the numbers. If is called "Digital Dof" handy little tool
 

gustafson

Senior Member
Look into Hyperfocal distance. I shot with a 14mm lens on my D750 and I would set the focus before I started shooting in the building I was working in and then never touched the focus after that. Now your 28mm lens is a lot longer that my 14mm especially since it is on a DX body.

In looking at the DX and a 24mm lens if you set the lens to F11 and focus at 9 feet then everything from 4.5 feet to infinity will be in focus. Now at F5.6 you would have to focus at 17.5 feet and then everything from 8.6 feet to infinity would be in focus.

so it all depends on what you are shooting and the light levels. I used a iPhone app to get the numbers. If is called "Digital Dof" handy little tool

Fascinating! I have heard the term "hyperfocal distance" but have no clue what it means. Got some bedtime reading ahead me of me, thanks for the pointer!


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STM

Senior Member
Because the depth of field on a 24mm lens is pretty deep, it will make focusing using the rangefinder dicey. Hyperfocal distance is a useful term and a good idea. On a 24mm, setting the hyperfocal distance for say around f/8 will probably put everything from about 5-6 feet to infinity in focus.
 

gustafson

Senior Member
Because the depth of field on a 24mm lens is pretty deep, it will make focusing using the rangefinder dicey. Hyperfocal distance is a useful term and a good idea. On a 24mm, setting the hyperfocal distance for say around f/8 will probably put everything from about 5-6 feet to infinity in focus.

Thanks for the pointer! I'm in awe of stalwarts like you and @dkuykendall and other Nikonites who are so knowledgeable and willing to patiently explain things to a newbie! Makes it a pleasure to be on this forum!


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STM

Senior Member
Thanks for the pointer! I'm in awe of stalwarts like you and @dkuykendall and other Nikonites who are so knowledgeable and willing to patiently explain things to a newbie! Makes it a pleasure to be on this forum!


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And ALL of my lenses are MF AI and AIS so I have become quite adept at focusing manually out of necessity.
 

atleo

Senior Member
I'm pretty weak at manual focus. Every now and then I can get a good macro shot. But little else. I'm impressed.


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Bob Blaylock

Senior Member
Had to confront my old enemy - manual focusing - after acquiring a vintage manual 24 f2.8 (non Ai). Tried to take a few test shots, but was all over the place with the "green dot" focus confirmation method on my D3300, as the green dot appears over a broad range of positions of the focusing ring. Close focus on the lens is 30cm, but as the subject appears smaller and further away than normal due to the wideangle perspective, it is difficult (for me) to visually confirm sharpness even for subjects at close quarters. Besides replacing the focus screen, I'd be very interested to know if there are there any other practical hacks to nail manual focus for wide angle lenses. Thanks in advance!

If you're going to use manual-focus lenses, then you really need to seriously consider replacing the focus screen. I assume that the D3300 came with the same screen that my D3200 had, stock, and it's useless for manual focusing.
 

gustafson

Senior Member
If you're going to use manual-focus lenses, then you really need to seriously consider replacing the focus screen. I assume that the D3300 came with the same screen that my D3200 had, stock, and it's useless for manual focusing.

Good point! I do have a Bresson screen in my D3300, but looks like I wasn't using the right technique for wideangles what I was trying to accomplish. Using f8-f-11 and focusing about 10 feet out (based on the hyperfocal distance, as advised by @dkuykendall and @STM and @singlerosa) worked a charm to get the area beyond 10 feet in focus. Doubt I'd have been able to figure that out on my own, as its so counterintuitive!


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