Am I missing something on how to focus a non-afs lens

[lynweber]

So I need a nifty fifty but can't afford the price tag of the AF-S verison which I need for my camera. So I tried to see on my other lenses if I could manually focus them. I can't seem to get the picture in focus at all so I think I must be doing something wrong. Here is what I know about how I set my camera

I left it in AUTO mode and turned the switch on my 55-200 AF-S lens to manual mode I tried and tried turning the barrel of the lens until it would focus but it just wouldnt.

Is there something I should have set on my camera to get the photo in focus? I thought I would try before I buy to see if I can even accomplish it first.

Please forgive me if this is something simple and stupid but I know I can always find the answer here.
Thanks!

[Dennismc]

Only turn the focus ring a tiny bit at a time. Once you start to see the image coming into focus, keep your eye on the focus assist light in the view finder, it will be your best friend when just starting out using MF.

When manual focusing, it is very small movements of the ring that you need, less then a 1/8in I have found, and even then sometimes that is to much.

I would not use auto for this. When I started with my nifty, I left camera in Ap mode, didnt want the camera doing more then what was needed.

Just keep trying and it will get easier. Also make sure you are turning the focusing ring and not the zoom barrel. The focus ring is on the far end of the lens and is a small ring.

[OsmosisStudios]

Manually focusing with digital SLRs is rather tricky, though some have no trouble.

When you were trying out with your 55-200, were you turning the ZOOM ring or the FOCUS ring? The focus ring is right up at the front near the front element of the lens.

[lynweber]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Manually focusing with digital SLRs is rather tricky, though some have no trouble.

When you were trying out with your 55-200, were you turning the ZOOM ring or the FOCUS ring? The focus ring is right up at the front near the front element of the lens.

I was turning the zoom ring didnt happen to notice another ring I'll look today and see if this helps could explain a lot. I'll let you know. thanks!

[lynweber]

Originally Posted by Dennismc

Only turn the focus ring a tiny bit at a time. Once you start to see the image coming into focus, keep your eye on the focus assist light in the view finder, it will be your best friend when just starting out using MF.

When manual focusing, it is very small movements of the ring that you need, less then a 1/8in I have found, and even then sometimes that is to much.

I would not use auto for this. When I started with my nifty, I left camera in Ap mode, didnt want the camera doing more then what was needed.

Just keep trying and it will get easier. Also make sure you are turning the focusing ring and not the zoom barrel. The focus ring is on the far end of the lens and is a small ring.

I will try in AP mode and see if that also makes it easier. Stupid question do all lenses have the focus ring? I guess I never really noticed it much. I will so excited if i get this mastered it will save me money in the long run.

[wulf]

I would think that most, if not all lenses do have a focusing ring (the funky lens baby series where you focus by bending a tube between different parts of the lens not withstanding!). However, ease of use will vary. The focus ring on the 18-55mm kit lens that comes with the D40 is very fiddly to use. On the other hand, the rings on my two manual prime lenses are a pleasure.

I don't know what the ring on your 55-200mm lens is like but suspect it may be similar to the 18-55mm lens I have, in which case don't let it put you off manual focusing!

Wulf

[lynweber]

Originally Posted by wulf

I would think that most, if not all lenses do have a focusing ring


I don't know what the ring on your 55-200mm lens is like but suspect it may be similar to the 18-55mm lens I have, in which case don't let it put you off manual focusing!

Wulf

I feel really stupid not knowing which ring to turn but hey I know now I cant wait to get home and try it again. I really hope i get the hang of it because then i get a few more lens this week.

[dcclark]

Try to turn anything that will turn on the lens. Do it while looking through the viewfinder. If your image zooms -- that was the zoom ring. If it blurrs without zooming (or barely zooming), it's probably the focus ring.

The 18-55 focuses by turning the very frontmost part of the lens. That's only normal on the cheapest lenses. Most lenses have a separate, dedicated zoom ring elsewhere on the lens. The 55-200 focuses also by turning the front ring, but it's a little different feel than the 18-55.

[lynweber]

So I found the focus ring and it is seemingly easy to get into focus. I was happily surprised. So with that mystery down are there things I need to know about shooting in manual focus mode? I dont see where my D5000 tells me its in focus like some of you mentioned about a little dot showing up?

Thanks

[dcclark]

Originally Posted by lynweber

So I found the focus ring and it is seemingly easy to get into focus. I was happily surprised. So with that mystery down are there things I need to know about shooting in manual focus mode? I dont see where my D5000 tells me its in focus like some of you mentioned about a little dot showing up?

While I don't have a D5000, I'm pretty sure that it should be the same as other lower-end Nikons (D40/x, D60, D3000, D80, D90). The "focus confirmation dot" is a small green dot which appears in the far left of the viewfinder, all the way left of the other things at the bottom (such as the aperture/shutter speed indicator, exposure indicator, etc.). It only shows up if you're right in focus, so it can be hard to see if you're turning the focus ring too fast. Try going back to autofocus, focusing on something, and look for the dot -- then you'll know where it is.

I do know that some of the newer Nikons turn the exposure bar (the thing that looks like <..|..|..0..|..|..> in the middle of the viewfinder) into a focus indicator, so that when you turn the focus ring, the bar indicates how far away from perfect focus you are. You want the bar to be perfectly centered at 0. But, I'm also fairly certain that that's just a setting, and you may or may not have it in that mode already.

By the way, check out Nikon's new(ish) 35mm f/1.8 AF-S lens. It's very cheap (similar in price to the non-AF-S 50mm) and will autofocus.