Is manual focusing very hard ?

[Nikon79]

Im using a non motor body D60, now considering to buy a prime lens 50 1.8D but i understand that this lens doesnt have built in motor.. hence requiring manual focus

my question is, is manual focusing very hard to do? i have tried it on my kit lens when i use mf, it looks ok in the camera viewfinder but when i enlarge it on my pc.. it turns out quite blur, i assume this is out of focus issue..

is there anyway tat i can improve my manual focus? coz i find the tiny view finder very hard to gauge.. it may looks sharp there, but when i blow it up big on my pc... it is actually out of focus

pls help :sweat:

 

[ortega]

you can use the focus indicator to see if the camera "see" it as focused.

it look like this "•" in your viewfinder

 

[2evans]

Is the shutter speed fast enough to prevent hand shake?

 

[Nikon79]

yes, shutter speed is fast enough

ortega, i tried looking at the black dot when manual focusing and i realised its not tat easy!
the black dot keep flickering and doesnt appear permanently despite i tried to re-focus many many times
:sweat:

 

[huggable]

MF takes a while to master, especially if you're from the AF era. At least you don't have to be bothered about metering, as the camera will take care of it.

Is your subject moving? The green dot confirmation also depends on the coverage of the AF sensor. You can move the focus back and forth, once it hits the green dot again, just fire off.

 

[redmonsoon]

Usual trick is to zoom in close to focus, then pull back to desired focal length, of course if prime lens then cant do that.

 

[2evans]

Maybe try focusing with the camera mounted on a tripod so you reduce a lot of movement?

 

[All Blue]

you can use the split focusing screen to add to better focusing. i'm using mf lens now. a mf lens on dslr is something a dslr not intentionally designed for. so there's a certain hit rate. even with the "•" on, you can still turn focus ring abit. that's where the oof comes about. so i usually shoot a few frames within the "•" range.
do explore with objects at home to find out more with the focusing.

 

[Draken413o]

you have to keep very steady. also if the subject moves it will cause the black dot to go off.

 

[luna_sea83]

There is the Rangefinder mode on the D60, it makes MF much easier

 

[flowerpot]

shoot more macro and ur manual focusing will improve...

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

Usual trick is to zoom in close to focus, then pull back to desired focal length, of course if prime lens then cant do that.

I used to think that would work, but that doesn't, based on my experience.
Changing the focal length seems to affect the focus.
Have you tried this technique?

 

[ortega]

yes, shutter speed is fast enough

ortega, i tried looking at the black dot when manual focusing and i realised its not tat easy!
the black dot keep flickering and doesnt appear permanently despite i tried to re-focus many many times
:sweat:

use a tripod, camera don't move, subject don't move
only focus can move