How hard is manual focusing?

[McNicks]

I have just bought a Nikon D40, and I am curious about getting a fast prime lens of some description to take shots in low light. The Nikon 50mm f/1.8 looks ideal except for one thing: it is not AF-S and will not autofocus on the D40. There seem to be other options, including a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 but they are all a lot more expensive. If I am going to fork out major amounts of money (ie. multiple hundreds of pounds) then I would probably get a 55-200 zoom lens.

So I am left wondering: how painful is manual focus? I could pick up the 50mm f/1.8 for £80 and potentially have a lot of fun with it ... unless manual focus hurts ...

[Saralonde]

Manual focusing is not that hard. In the past, film photographers always had to work that way. It's just a matter of getting used to it. Practice on the lens you already have. Check your LCD screen after a shot and also check each shot on your computer monitor. Sometimes something that looked good on your camera doesn't quite make it on your computer screen! Even if you decide you don't want to manually focus, it's still a good exercise.

Do you have a particular budget in mind? Maybe someone know of a good fast prime in that range.

[McNicks]

I suppose it would depend on how useful the lens becomes. I should have a few hundred pounds to spend over the next month or so, and I want to get a bag of some description and a spare battery. My first thought was to get a telephoto lens of some kind, either the 55-200mm or the 70-300mm VR (which would require a bit more saving) because I am used to having the huge zoom range on my Canon S3 IS.

However, I am really enjoying the more limited zoom range of the 15-55mm kit lens. Its forcing me to think about where I am standing and then using the zoom to tidy up the framing. Still, it would be a bit of a leap of faith to forget about telephoto and go for something like the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (which costs around £260 as far as I can tell).

But, yeah, any suggestions would be very helpful ...

[wulf]

Manual focusing is good and quite possible when you have a bit of time to consider your shot and perhaps even take a few test runs. On the D40 kit lens, which has relatively short travel between the two end points on the focusing ring, it is a bit harder if you need to grab shots in a hurry. However, some of that depends on the lens.

Maybe try some manual focusing with the kit lens and see how you get on?

Wulf

[McNicks]

I had a go with manual focus on my 18-55 kit lens last night, and I did not have a great deal of success. I got plenty of "good enough" shots but none (as you might expect) were tack sharp. No doubt I could get better with a bit of practice, and I am sure that the feel and the travel of the 18-55 doesn't help. Its a great wee lens but it is awfully light and plastic-y.

[inkista]

Try it again in the daytime, outside. More light makes it easier to focus, and you're also unlikely to get camera shake issues if you can increase the shutter speed.

Admittedly, it was a lot easier in the old days when SLRs expected you to focus manually, and came with split-prism focus screens. :) If you find yourself needing to manually focus a lot, you may want to look into focus screens like the Katz Eye (http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/).

[Englishteacher]

You said you want a fast lens for low light. Focusing in low light is quite a bit more difficult than in bright light. Honestly, I would save my dollars (or pounds) and purchase an auto focus. I did some lowlight work this week and would not have been able to do it without auto. The D40 is fast enough focusing to do it even if you have motion. You would want to stay away from the longer lenses because of speed if you are doing any kind of action shots. You would have to use a tripod to keep the shake to a minimum with a slower lens.

[s9am_me]

I also have a D40 and I just got the 50mm f/1.8 lens from amazon. for about a $100, I couldn't resist. Anyways, I was concerned with the manual focusing with our camera and the fact that this lens isn't AF-S. I took some manual focus shots with the kit lens and came out close to the auto focus counterpart. I took some test shots after work of my car, it looked nice and sharp. I also took pictures of myself in the mirror and for the most part it was sharp, but I did notice a fair amount of camera shake. The bokeh effect is nice on this lens. Very smooth and soft. For close objects, the manual focus gives you control on what part of the object you want in focus. At F1.8, you have to get your focus really tight. But for F2.8, it gets easier to focus and the pictures come out sharp. It still takes me at least 5-8 secs to focus a shot, but I think i'm getting the hang of it. I still want to take real world shots at parties, outside, ect to fully give it a recommendation. And also, I want to try low light situations (prime reason I bought it) and see how well i can focus.

The shots seem to look really crisp with this lens compared to the kit lens. Casual folks probably won't notice, but I can tell. If you have a D50 and above, this lens will auto focus for you. Get it!

[xhan]

on macro shots I usuallyuse manual focus but I use the multiple shot mode and if I have time I use the tripod and IR remote to eliminate blur - still doesn't always work mind!

[RDuke]

One important thing no one has mentioned that should be considered is how good is your vision.
Rodney

[bigdoggold]

manual focus is a piece of cake...especially if your subject is still or not moving to much.

I would not let having to manually focus a Nikon 50mm f1.8 stop you from getting a great lens for everyday shots.....so the answer is get the lens..point blank.


p.s. that is my next lens and I own a D40 also:)

[matthewchj]

Manual focusing would be easier if your lens has a distance window, then you can set the distance to your subject.

[s9am_me]

So i tried out the 50mm f/1.8 lens today at church during our fathers day celebration. Our church used to be an old gym, so the lighting isn't all that great. But I managed shooting at an average of 1/40 sec @ f/2.8. To my surprise, most of my shots (i'd say 80%) were in good focus. Some blurriness were only due to camera shake or the subjects moving fast. I couldn've opened up the aperature more but it was hard focusing with anything lower that f/2.2. It just takes practice getting the focus right and quick. I felt I grabbed shots just as fast as the auto focus would've. The portraits I took look great with a nice amount of bokeh. I say get it, at this price, your D40 is just begging you.

[ELAY]

I just took delivery of a used f1.8 50 AF-D for my D40 (ebay).

The manual focussing is surprisingly easy. I was practicing (in anticipation of the new arrival) on my kit lens, and I actually find it easier on the 50.

Here's a shot from the first series I took after opening the box. Sharp, even at 1/15.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67761809@N00/590344402/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1124/590344402_239c674053.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="New lens003" /></a>



The red bokeh to the left of the box is from sparkly stuff glued on a homemade pencil holder. I gather that purists prefer round, but I kind of like the polygons.

So I say don't let the lack of autofocus keep you from mounting a prime on your D40. (Although, given that I have now made the purchase, I expect next week there will be an announcement from Nikon previewing their new, inexpensive AF-S prime.)

EL

[s9am_me]

Clean shot EL! How much did you get the lens for?

I think manual focusing is a lot more fun too. Gives you more control of what part of the image you want in focus. I took this picture at church last Sunday with the "nifty fifty"

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1027/579116917_c384470ca0.jpg

[ELAY]

$76 US. In the box (obviously) with a UV filter and caps. Seemed about right given the way the auctions were going.

I would guess six or seven years old (China make; they were made in Japan after 2002); in terrific shape.

Hey, shouldn't that guy in your photo be bowing his head or something?

EL

[s9am_me]

wow good price. I got mines for $115 brand new. Another $10 for a UV filter. Good deal.

yeah, he did.. I took the pic the second before he bowed his head. I got my focus pretty quick too. and lucked out I caught him looking up still before everyone else. I guess when your into the "heat of the battle" (photography wise), manual focusing becomes 2nd nature. Using the kit lens the other day was rather boring.. lol

[ELAY]

If I could have got a new lens for that price I probably would have -- they're about $165CDN up here, with tax you're past $180.

Having lots of fun with the lens today -- glad I bought it.

EL

[velvet4269]

I'm still learning the tricks of manual focusing, although I'm finding the more I do it, the more 1) I get better at it, 2) the more I'm learning my own limitations (ie, low-light & shade situations), and 3) the more I'm realizing that my normally-funky eyesight is going to be a slight problem.

It's a WORLD of difference over my poor little Kodak DC4800, with which I was constantly lamenting the lack of manual focus.

Nothing that can't be compensated for, with time & practice, I'm sure :)

One thing I've noticed, just from playing with some digital SLR's in a large-chain Reatiler today: While I do like the Olympus' set-back-from-the-end-of-the-lens style manual focus (less of a chance of putting fingers on the lens, easier to play with, possibly better for larger hands), they seem to be very limited in the actual focus itself (could just be a limitation on the lens; I was playing with the E-500 ... which is the camera I'm getting). I picked up a Canon (not sure exact model) and hated the fact that I couldn't find the manual focus right away, and then, it was so small even my small fingers couldn't get a grip on it to twist. The Nikon D40X was the best of the 3 in terms of "finite finageling" for the best focus, and was easier to use than the Canon, but was still too close to the glass of the lens for my comfort.

I'm also making the guess that all the floor models used the low-end lenses for each brand - should have paid more attention to that, really.

Anyone with multiple cameras notice something similar between lenses? Is this something that's just dependant on specific brand of lens?

[wulf]

The construction of the lens can make a big difference in ease of manually focussing. I can do it on the kit 18-55mm that came with my D40 but the focus ring is small and a small turn makes a big adjustment (difficult for fine tuning); the E series 50mm I picked up last month has a larger focus ring with a better grip and greater ease of small adjustments.

Especially when the depth of field is small (so the plane that will be really sharp can be tiny) it is sometimes easier to fine tune the focus by moving the camera forward or back a little and also to remember to take several shots with minor focal adjustments allowing the best result to be selected later.

Getting focus in exactly the right place can make all the difference - for example, I love that picture s9am_me posted; taken with a deeper depth of field or the focus in a different place, it would be a very different and probably weaker result.

Wulf

[trelaflip]

i feel the auto focusing does a pretty darn good job. im always in auto focus since I know it will do a better job then my crappy eye sight will.

how ever some situations where auto doesn't work and my crappy eye sight will do a better job. just comes down to knowing when its needed and not needed.

also be careful when shooting wide open at f1.8. You easily loose detail and your focus has to be dead on.

[velvet4269]

Yeah, most of my stuff these days tends to be around f/8.0 or higher - mostly because it's nature shots. The last time I went out, I used nothing but manual focus, and played with everything from f/8.0 - f/22.0 (which is as high as that particular lens will go). I did manage to get a couple of good, manual focus shots - one at f/11 and one at f/22 - but I was having the dickens of a time focusing on small things (like bugs), and occasionally, my focus wouldn't be where I thought it was :(

Again, more practice and patience :)