im trying hard to get good at manual focus, i find it really really difficult. I cant seem to see on the little screen on the camera if its in focus or not so i just take as many shots as i can and hope at least one turns out. any hints/tips? This shot was particularily hard as i wanted a very shallow DOF to just get the snail and the trail in.
@sarahr
I bought my first DSLR about two weeks ago,and I`m ashamed to say I only discovered the manual-focus mode a week later!....And since then I only used manual! ...it can be often tricky,especially with moving targets.I tried to shoot a falling leaf in a park,but gave up after 5 minutes haha! .....and its also difficult to see the result,when sunlight gets in your live-view screen,wich is why I allways take multiple shots of the same target,and select the best one,on my pc.
This is one of my manual-focus shots that came out ok,I guess:
.....oh,and your snail photo is flawless,plus,it allmost looks like a tilt-shift photo!
set your lens on infinity, set your aperture, then focus on your subject by moving forward/backward. Find your focus plane by moving slowly forward/backward.
it's work for me, since i always use manual focus on my macro shot...you're always welcome to visit my gallery...
The screens on the back only have so much resolution, and the 50D being quite old means that maybe it had the same screen as the 450D... only a guess mind. If so - manual focus on that screen was hard as hell. It's much easier to use the viewfinder, and then you swing around the point going in and out gradually homing in on the exact spot you want.
I think the shot looks pretty darn good- I see the snail and its trail and the rest seems pretty out of focus to me. Of course I don't know exactly what you were after, but I think you did a pretty good job. I don't have the option of using an on camera screen to view my shots (my camera doesn't have live view), so I have to use my viewfinder- which from everything I've read is the the best way to get a true reading of what your camera is seeing. I use the same method of focusing as The Steve is suggesting, and it works for me. It does take a lot of practice. I only use autofocus now if I need to take a lot of quick shots and don't have the time to manually focus between each shot.
Yeah, to second @rebcastillo77 's last bit, it's not something you pick up straight away, does take time to "train" your eye to see the focal plane clearly enough to be able to stick it where you want, but you get there with practice :)
There is an Ef-S focussing screen available that helps with MF at wide apertures. I have the version of it that goes in the 5D II, and it works great - it really helps you see the focal plane. The downside is it makes your viewfinder dark when using narrower apertures (I see it from about f/3.5). You do need to use your viewfinder though - the screen simply is not good enough unless you've zoomed your display in as far as it will go (which is really awkward).
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I bought my first DSLR about two weeks ago,and I`m ashamed to say I only discovered the manual-focus mode a week later!....And since then I only used manual! ...it can be often tricky,especially with moving targets.I tried to shoot a falling leaf in a park,but gave up after 5 minutes haha! .....and its also difficult to see the result,when sunlight gets in your live-view screen,wich is why I allways take multiple shots of the same target,and select the best one,on my pc.
This is one of my manual-focus shots that came out ok,I guess:
.....oh,and your snail photo is flawless,plus,it allmost looks like a tilt-shift photo!
it's work for me, since i always use manual focus on my macro shot...you're always welcome to visit my gallery...
hope it will help you.... :)