July Photo Thread

[FST513]

I'm just going to have a stab in the dark and say it moves the focal plane forward or backwards. Either one, once you use it, you'll know how to use it.

It came out on the 1D3's, 1Ds3's, 50D, 7D, 5DmkII and the 1DIV.

So for Nikon i'm guessing its from D90 upwards? Or maybe D300.

Either way Barra, those photos are way too soft, i would look at exchaning it for another copy or just try out all the lenses they have until you are happy (would be much easier if you bought it from a camera shop).

Mat - Cactus's have lasted me a year. Hopefully your "iSHOOT" will last a while! Only misfire every now and then. Dropped them in saltwater and they still work. Until i have spare cash, they will last me. Then i'll upgrade to cybersyncs

Nice shots GoldZilla!

[ZENNON]

It came out on the 1D3's, 1Ds3's, 50D, 7D, 5DmkII and the 1DIV.

So for Nikon i'm guessing its from D90 upwards? Or maybe D300.

Yeah I always thought it was was something only the Nikon full frames had (ie D700, D3, etc)

Wonder if the D300 has it... (I would be very surprised if the D90 has it)

Anyway doesn't matter - you're right - that def doesn't look right

[ZENNON]

Kory is right about it being soft at 1.4 but that is SO soft i suspect what is happening is that it is focussed either in front or behind the piece of paper and not on the piece of paper itself

so to see if this is the case you need to take a picture of it at 45 degrees..

barraspalding you said you dont have a printer

try this instead

get a ruler (or a brick wall)

pick a specific point on the ruler (or brick wall)

and focus on that point

and take a photo (using tripod) with the lens wide open

and then see if the bit in focus is where you focussed.

[FST513]

To add onto Zennons post.

Make sure your shutter speed is above 1/focal length. To be "doubly" sure, increase it x2. So if your metering it and it suggest the following settings:

1/100th shutter speed

1.4 aperture

ISO 100

Increase this to 1/200th and bump the ISO up to accomodate for a higher shutter speed and make sure your exposure is not underexposed so it is easier to tell the results.

Use a tripod as stated by Zennon at a 45 degree angle, with the ruler in the middle of the frame. Do not shoot from a long way away, try it about 3 feet-4 feet away i think.

In short, this will rule out camera shake EVEN THOUGH it is on a tripod.

You need to eliminate all the errors and make sure its not a user error.

Also, use the Centre focal point and not "Auto" for the most accurate focus as its the largest AF point.

Although this is Nikon and i'm unfamiliar with Nikon, but i believe the lower end cameras (d40/d60) only has 3 focus points?????

As you have stated you don't have a printer, i highly recommend using a 30cm ruler (preferably wood) and focus at around 15cm.

Correct me if i'm wrong about Nikons focal points.

Post up the test images!

[ZENNON]

Think mine has 11 but used a D40x or something on the weekend and it had 3.

[barraspalding]

So would I have been better off going after a nikon lens? Nikkor 50mm 1.4 af-s.

Or am I doomed to crappy results with large aperture lenses until I upgrade to a half decent camera that can be 'tuned'?

[FST513]

I Think all Lens brands have their faults. Sigma is known in the US to have weak QC.

Unsure how it is in AUS or where we get our stock from, but Nikon would have tighter QC policies and standards within how much a lens can be within tolerances than Sigma.

I suggest sending this back and getting another one. If thats not good enough, then send it back for a refund say your not happy and who knows they might calibrate it for you for your camera. If not, buy a Nikon one if your not happy with it.

Microadjust helps this a lot, but sometimes lenses are just so far out, you can't do it without sending it back.

When you focus with a single point, is the focus in that area, or is it in front or behind?

Try the ruler test then we can determine what is wrong.

[barraspalding]

I'll take some shots tonight. Currently waiting to hear back from the camerasdirect bloke.

Curious... When u micro adjust the af, does that alter the af for the camera regardless of what lens u bolt on, or just that particular lens?

[FST513]

Cameras direct are pretty good. They have fast turn around and great customer service. Call them up if you dont here back, they have people on phones all the time who know what they are talking about.

You can do both. Either:

Microadjust for A lens.

Microadjust for EVERY lens.

The camera remembers which lens is "bolted" on and what settings you have chosen

[MaTBoY]

It only remembers the newer lenses, if your using some old school stuff it won't have a clue.

[FST513]

It only remembers the newer lenses, if your using some old school stuff it won't have a clue.

And that

[barraspalding]

I got a call back... He's of the opinion that it's ok, and that I shouldn't use or expect good results when using it at it's 'extremes'... I advised him I would conduct the 45degree angle test chart tonight and advise tomorrow.

He was happy to have the lens returned to perform some tests himself also.

[FST513]

Thats good news. The "test chart" he gave you will give seriously inaccurate results.

I would suggest sending it back to them and letting them test it out/give you another copy PENDING your 45 degree test chart samples you post up.

[barraspalding]

Thats good news. The "test chart" he gave you will give seriously inaccurate results.

I would suggest sending it back to them and letting them test it out/give you another copy PENDING your 45 degree test chart samples you post up.

i used http://focustestchart.com as you suggested.

So the results... and really I don't know if its good or not. From what I read in that http://focustestchart.com speel - its common/ok for it to be focused behind slightly... this seems more forward.

F1.4

F2.8

[FST513]

To my eyes, that is backfocusing slightly. Highly impressed actually. I thought it would be much worse from the original photos you posted earlier.

Not writing you off or bashing or anything. Shooting at wide apertures is hard to master! But once you've mastered it. ENJOY!!!!

I would be happy with that. Seeing as you can't microadjust, it seems perfectly fine too me.

Slightly backfocusing, add +1 to about +4 and it would be perfect. Extremely sharp too if this is straight out of the camera.

Great job on the focusing tests! Now get out there and start shooting more

[siddr20]

Such a cute baby:

[barraspalding]

Yeah I thought it would be worse too... Now I need to invent a new excuse cuz I'm not willing to blame myself without a fight :Op

I'll stick to 2.8 n step up as I get more comfortable

Cheers for all the help & comments... Much appreciated

[MaTBoY]

Barra, is manual focusing an issue? I used to borrow the old work lenses which are pre auto, it didn't take long to get into manual focus mode once you had a bit of practice. might be an option

[barraspalding]

I don't think manual focus would be an issue IF my camera had the focus thing... I recall an old film camera I used in high school had two half circles that would slide left or right on each other.... They'd create a perfect circle when ur focus was spot on. Do any cameras do that anymore??? Cuz I'm unsure how manual focus could be used effectively without something to indicate.

Hopefully that made sense

[MaTBoY]

What camera are you using? Focusing is on the lens. There's usually a switch to unlock it so you can move it yourself. Any camera should let you manual focus. Some cheaper ones won't auto focus, but that's not the issue.

There might be a switch on the cam body to let you use manual mode too.