*sigh*... Manually focusing 50mm on D40

[EdBickfordCPA]

I have a D60 and went through the same thing with the focusing. I have had very similar results and it is very difficult to get the focusing down on this lens. I tried using it with a close up filter and although the focus looks very sharp on some flowers when looked at on the computer it isn't there. Keep shooting. t gets better.

[brownrecluse]

did you understand what I meant by boxing?
Steps: 1. Eyeball focus on something sharp like glasses or mic; this will be wrong if depth of field is really thin but it's just a starting point 2. hold continuous for 2-3 shots then hair adjust focus for the next 2-3 burst 3. you need high speed SD cards or you'll have buffer lag; all memory is not created equally, but continuous RAW shooting is the way to go 4. closing aperture to higher stop helps; at f1.8 nose might be in focus while eyes are not; however I shoot almost exclusively at f1.8 and love my results after 6 mo. of practice.

[acierman2006]

trust me ...i have had mine 1 year ...a 50mm prime lens ...practice ..practice ...practice ..its all i can say ..its a great lens ...im gonna get a few more primes in the next year ..i love it ...ya the focus is a b.i.t.c.h ...but once you figure out how to use the f stop ...and you can use your iso with it ...its a triange setting ...hard to explain for me ...ya i am french so words are hard to think of sometimes ...but trust me ..if i can do it ..anyone can ...im an amature ...so go for it ...have fun with it ...and dont be afraid of it ...prime lenses are awsome ...trust me ..good luck and enjoy... all the comments you got are good ..so read them slow..and learn ...see ya

[wulf]

Also, don't forget that a lot of the "sharp" photos you see have had some post-processing applied. I don't have any references to hand but I recall reading that DSLRs tend to shoot a bit "soft" but the images work very well with some sharpening. In contrast, many point and shoot cameras seem to produce crisper images but do so with in-camera sharpening (narrowing your post-processing options).

Wulf

[jocelynaz]

I just read on a similar post the other day (poster had issues with her 50mm 1.4) that some focusing issues may have to do with "focus shift". Below is the link to the thread I read and also the link to an article on focus shift that was provided.

This totally helped me because, like you, I too was having some focus issues with my 50mm 1.8. I thought I was focusing on the eyes, but then the shot turned out with the mouth in focus. Errrr. But the focus shift issue explains it all to me! So, HTH!

Need serious help with my new lens!

http://diglloyd.com/diglloyd/free/FocusShift/index.html

[KimberleyPhotography]

Originally Posted by brownrecluse

did you understand what I meant by boxing?
Steps:
1. Eyeball focus on something sharp like glasses or mic; this will be wrong if depth of field is really thin but it's just a starting point
2. hold continuous for 2-3 shots then hair adjust focus for the next 2-3 burst
3. you need high speed SD cards or you'll have buffer lag; all memory is not created equally, but continuous RAW shooting is the way to go
4. closing aperture to higher stop helps; at f1.8 nose might be in focus while eyes are not; however I shoot almost exclusively at f1.8 and love my results after 6 mo. of practice.

Thanks, I will try this method.

About the RAW shooting, why would this impact on the sharpness of the photo? Is it because the JPEG compression will loose some of the detail resulting in a less crips photo?

Wulf - yes I do know that some of the really sharp pics you see out there in internet land have been photoshoped but sometimes you will see one SOOC that looks insanely sharp but perhaps that is just 1 out of 1000 pics and it was luck. You never know!

[wulf]

If you want to get lucky with your pictures, take lots and lots of them and be prepared to throw most away. I am sure that one of the factors that allows DSLR users to generally take better images than P&S users is that it is easier to fire off more shots (certainly works for me)!

Wulf

[data_b]

Hi Kimberly, I know EXACTLY how you feel. I am new to all of this. After a lot of research, i too bought a 50mm lens. I spent the next 3 months ONLY shooting with it. I think I have shot close to 1000 pics and finally feel like I have control over it. As a graphic artist, I shoot product with in my job duties and this little lens has come through for me many times.
I am no where a professional, but have had professional results (a couple times).
My suggestion, is to shoot, shoot, shoot... you will have control in no time.

Brian