My Favorite Go To Focusing Techniques. There’s nothing worse than thinking you nailed a killer shot only to get home and find out that you actually screwed up the focus. In contrast to many other kinds of photographic mistakes there’s absolutely nothing you can do in post to fix a focusing error. Therefore it’s absolutely critical that you achieve good focus in the field.
Over the past 10 years of shooting nature photos I found myself gravitating toward a few techniques that help me achieve excellent focus with a minimum of effort on my part. Manual Focus Techniques As a photographer who is interested primarily in landscapes I use manual focus more often than not because I find that it gives me better and more accurate results than autofocus. Here’s what I do to achieve sharp focus every single time. Hyperfocal “Set It and Forget It” If you use a wide-angle lens much of the time you can use the hyperfocal set-it-and-forget-it method. Different subject matter but all essentially the same photo Far Field Focus Near Focus. Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review | Sans Mirror | Thom Hogan. Extremely Fast Manual Focus via Focus Peaking With The Sony A7ii. Extremely Fast Manual Focus via Focus Peaking With The Sony A7ii. Where to Focus in Landscape Photography. Where should I focus when taking a Landscape Shot?
When shooting a typical landscape image it is normal to attempt to keep as much of the image in focus as possible. This means selecting a small Aperture (remember the larger the number the smaller the actual Aperture) to ensure that you end up with a large depth of field. This will ensure that parts of the image that are both close and far away from you have a good chance of being somewhat in focus. But at what point in the shot should you actually focus the image? I suspect that many digital camera owners would set the focal point as the middle of the shot – or even at the horizon – however it might not actually be the ideal place to focus your camera.
I chatted this week with a landscape photographer who shared this tip: ‘Focus in the lower half of the image – at around the ‘thirdway’ point.’ However I’ve found it to be a useful ‘rule’ to know and to start with when shooting landscapes. Further Reading: Landscape Photography Tips. Simple Tip for Getting Tack Sharp, In Focus Landscape Photos Every Time. Manual Focus Tools: MF Assist and Peaking Levels on Sony Cameras.
REAL Real World Review: Sony Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA Lens. I’ll start my review of the Sony Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA Lens with a review of lens reviews. I hate them. Too many ‘reviewers’ get a $1,000 lens and take the following pictures: 1) Cat in the living room. 2) Leaf or flower in the backyard. 3) Brick wall down at the local Target. 4) City skyline in awful light. 5) Landscape in awful light. Then, they add a list of specs, copy the MTF charts from the manufacturer’s site, and they declare it a review. That’s garbage. But I don’t want to just complain. And I want people to read this Sony 55mm f/1.8 review and try to outdo me.
That’s the American way! Put on some coffee. This is going to be a VERY long review and there are a ton of images in it, all shot in real-world street photography situations. Is the Sony 55mm good for portraits? Is it sharp wide open? Does it have beautiful bokeh? Is that Zeiss 3D and microcontrast stuff real? Introducing the Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA Lens Let’s go through the specs on this bad boy: 2) I like the kit lens.
Re: How do you manual focus on A7x and A7ii ?: Sony Alpha Full Frame E-mount Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review. Re: How do you manual focus on A7x and A7ii ? I have the A7R. Here is what I do. If I am using the FE35 I can trust the AF to focus accurately and often better than I can if the light is dim. I set the center OK button for magnification. So it is an easy matter to press it once for the rectangle and twice to enlarge. I set the focus peaking on yellow and high. For general shooting I use focus peaking and after a while, with experience, I can estimate the right focus. I use peaking for stacked macro work and I get good results. With the FE 35 in manual focus mode the image magnifies when you turn the focus ring.
Re: How do you manual focus on A7x and A7ii ?: Sony Alpha Full Frame E-mount Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review. Re: How do you manual focus on A7x and A7ii ? QKK wrote:Dear dpreview fella,With focus peaking and magnification, A7 series supports a lot for MF. It makes MF on A7 series more joyful and excitement.
After couple months with A7ii, I used MF 80% of times and try to be used to the camera. But still, there is a struggle I met, slowness. I missed a lot of moments because my action is too slow. I also set the AF/MF button to focus assist, so I can use either to do the job depending on how I'm shooting, set peaking to low and yellow(in my case) as that won't have the peaking get in the way. Next is the lens, some work better with peaking than others, they bring up the peaking in a narrow band when the lens is wide open, I can't say enough how much this helps in placing the plane of focus where I want it.
The 2 lenses off the top of my head that work the best are my Canon FD SSC 35/2.8 Tilt/Shift and my Topcor R 135/3.5. Re: How do you manual focus on A7x and A7ii ?: Sony Alpha Full Frame E-mount Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review. Back Button Focus Explained - What Is It & Why You Need It! 44 essential digital camera tips and tricks: Page 2. You can do exactly the same with your DSLR, so you know precisely where its strengths and weaknesses lie. This isn't about looking for perfect shots - just experimenting with your kit to understand it better, or trying out new techniques that you can employ at a later date. Digital Camera Tips: 08 Don't skimp on a tripod A good tripod is worth its weight in gold, so don't be tempted by budget options.
Pay £20 and it won't last you long, or do its job properly. Dig deep for a decent tripod and it will give you many years of service, making it a sensible long-term investment (read these essential 4 tips for sharper shots when using a tripod). Digital Camera Tips: 09 Hand-held or tripod mounted? The simple act of setting up your camera on a tripod will slow you down, and this can be enough to make you concentrate a little harder on what it is you're photographing and what you hope to achieve. SEE MORE: Camera shake - the ultimate cheat sheet for using tripods, monopods and shooting handheld.