Focus « 360Photography

RSS

Posts Tagged ‘Focus’

Shoot now, focus later: multi-view E-mount lens patent is Sony’s latest foray in to light field photography

23 Apr

According to Sony Alpha Rumors, Sony has filed a patent for an interchangeable E-mount lens that will allow users to adjust focus after the shot has been recorded. The lens appears to contain a number of lenses arranged next to each other to record multiple individual images on the camera’s sensor that can be combined later presumably to control focus and depth-of-field.

The site doesn’t tell us where the patent information was seen so we can’t read it for ourselves, but some diagrams are provided that we are told are part of the application.

The Light L16 light field camera from Light Labs Inc

Sony investigating light field technology is nothing new, as in the past it has filed patents for a light field sensor and has a partnership to supply sensors to Light Labs Inc, the manufacturer of the Light L16 camera that was announced in 2015. The draw of the technology is obvious as it can allow multiple focal lengths to be used for full-resolution zooming and/or focus and depth-of-field selection after the event.

We have seen a few attempts at harnessing the idea in commercial camera products in the past, including the Lytro Illum, Nokia’s 9 PureView and to some extent a number of other multi-lens and multi-sensor smartphones. It is hard to tell from the available information exactly what these lenses will used for in this patented idea, and whether they will be to collect distance information or be used to expand the range of tones that can be recorded in a single shot – or both.

Either way, such a lens will need a camera with an extremely powerful processor or the ability to simply record the images for processing in software later – as with Sony’s Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode that requires images are processed in the company’s Imaging Edge desktop application.

As we have all noticed in the past though, exciting patent applications don’t always result in a product that comes to market. If genuine however this does at least demonstrate Sony is still pursuing ideas in this area.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Focusing Tips for Beginners – Ways to Achieve Spot-on Focus in Photography

06 Mar

The post Focusing Tips for Beginners – Ways to Achieve Spot-on Focus in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Focus is vital. Capturing your subject in crisp, sharp focus requires skill and practice. You need to understand the various auto-focus controls on your camera. Here are some focusing tips for beginners to help you get sharp photos more consistently.

Focusing Tips for Beginners, Thai models

There’s no fixing an out-of-focus photo

Many digital photographers like to use the various sharpening options available in software. Don’t be tempted. I have never known an out-of-focus photo to be well improved with post-production manipulations.

Sharpening in post can, however, help images that are a little soft. This is often due to lens quality rather than poor focusing. Either your photos are in focus or they are not. Focusing tips for beginners are important to understand. There is no fixing an out of focus photo with your computer.

Focusing Tips for Beginners Asian Photographer

Focus on your subject

Pick your point and focus on it. Having the wrong part of your composition in focus will not result in a good photograph. You must decide what’s in your frame that’s most important and focus on it.

Focusing tips for beginners often contain information about operating your camera better. I will include these tips here also. But first, it’s important to know what you want to focus on. This is something I prefer not to let my camera choose for me.

As you are composing your photo, be mindful of your main subject. Consider it’s depth. Is most of your subject the same distance from your camera? Or is some of it closer to you than other parts?

Photographing a bicycle that’s side on to you, most of it is about the same distance from your camera. Taking a photo of the bike as it faces the camera will mean you need to choose whereabouts on it to focus. If you focus on the back wheel, the front wheel may be out of focus.

One rule of thumb I use most of the time is, if your subject has eyes, focus on them. If one eye is closer to your camera than the other, focus on the closest one. Subjects with eyes that are out of focus rarely look good in photos.

Multi or single point auto-focus?

Digital cameras usually have various setting options for choosing your focus point. You can set your camera to only focus on a single point. Or you can set it to choose from multiple points. More advanced cameras allow you to set the area and number of focus points.

I prefer to have my camera set to single point auto-focus. This allows me to be precise and in control of what I focus on. Having your camera set to multi-point auto-focus means your camera chooses what part of your composition to focus on.

Some camera models allow you to move the single focus point to position it where you want in the frame. In other cameras, the single point for auto-focusing is central in the frame and you cannot move it. To use the single point on these cameras, you must shift your camera to focus where you want and then re-compose. I would find this frustrating. It will not always provide correct focus when you are using a very wide aperture setting.

Iron Bridge at night in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Using a camera where you can precisely control the single point the camera will auto-focus on, gives you control. You can move the point to the portion of the frame where you want to focus easily. This may take some practice to become quick at it, but it’s worthwhile when you want to be in control.

About the only time I use multi-point auto-focusing, is when I am tracking a moving subject that is constant. The camera will often be able to lock on and keep with a subject unless the subject is moving erratically. Accuracy when using this mode can also depend on how fast your subject is moving. Your subject will be easier to track when it’s slow-moving.

Focusing Tips for Beginners Asian photogrpaher and her camera

Continuous or single-servo auto-focus?

Choosing continuous or single-servo auto-focus is another important decision. When you choose continuous focus, your camera will always be refocusing while you have the focus button activated. With single-servo auto-focus, pressing the focus control, it will focus once and remain set on that point – even when your subject or camera moves.

Continuous-servo focusing is most useful when you have a moving subject, or you are moving with your camera. If I am using continuous-servo focus, I am often also using a multi-point setting. However, most of the time, I use single-servo focusing.

Focusing Tips for Beginners Tricycle taxis in Chiang Mai

Back button focus

By default, cameras are configured to use the shutter release button to focus. You will half depress the shutter button to focus. Some cameras allow you to turn off focusing on the shutter button and assign the focus function to another button.

Many photographers like to change the focus function to be controlled by one of the buttons on the back of the camera. Hence the name, back button focus.

Doing this allows you to focus independently from taking a photo. Assigning a button other than the shutter release to control focus, gives you more flexibility. You can focus and take photos independently when different buttons control these functions.

Back button focus can take a little getting used to, but I have found it well worthwhile because it gives me more control of my focus.

There are many situations where you might want to take a photo without refocusing, and back-button focusing allows you to do this.

Using manual focus

Another of the focusing tips for beginners is manual focusing. Some may think that manual focusing is too slow or difficult, but it’s not if you practice it.

You can become proficient in a short space of time if you commit to learning. Once you know how you will be surprised at how often manual focus skills come in handy.

Auto-focus is a wonderful technology, but it’s not always perfect. When you find your lens searching for a focus point and struggling to find one, it pays to switch over to manual if you know what you are doing.

Manually controlling your focus in low light can often be faster and more precise than your camera’s auto-focus. Learning to focus manually is also a lot cheaper than upgrading to a higher quality camera that has better auto-focus.

Portrait of a Karen man in northern Thailand

Focus technique

I hope you have found these focusing tips for beginners useful. Remember, don’t leave it all to your camera. Getting well-focused images is not all about managing your camera’s auto-focus system. You need to work on your focus techniques and know what to do when you are photographing different subjects. This is particularly important when your subject is moving.

Sometimes you’ll want to track focus. At other times you’ll want to pre-focus and wait for your subject to enter your frame. When doing macro photography, it can be useful to set your focus and then move your camera or subject forwards or back a little to fine-tune.

Practice, as always, will make you sharper, and your images too.

Do you have any other focusing tips for beginners that you’d like to share? If so, please do so in the comments.

The post Focusing Tips for Beginners – Ways to Achieve Spot-on Focus in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

Canon Europe confirms its focus is on RF, not EF lenses unless the ‘market demand[s] it’

09 Jan

Although Canon’s flagship 1DX Mark III DSLR is still on the horizon, it seems as though Canon has stopped research and development efforts for new EF lenses.

In an interview with Digital Camera World, Canon Europe pro product marketing senior manager, Richard Shepherd, said that while Canon will continue to support EF lenses, the plan is to focus on RF lenses, unless the ‘market demand[s] it.’ Below is the full quote, shared by Digital Camera World:

‘As you know, last year we launched the RF mount and EOS R system […] To date we’ve launched ten critically acclaimed lenses, and as it’s a new system we plan to continue this, launching more RF lenses while still fully supporting the EF lens system. And of course, should the market demand it, we are ready to create new EF lenses. But for now, our focus is on RF.’

While this is the first time we’ve seen detailed confirmation about Canon ceasing development of new EF lenses, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Canon’s EF mount was released 33 years ago when it replaced the FD mount in 1987. Since then, we’ve seen the rise of digital cameras, the fall of point-and-shoot cameras and now the rise of mirrorless cameras. Canon’s RF system is clearly the future for the company and as such it makes sense Canon would be more interested in investing its capital looking forward rather than behind.

As of October 12, 2017, Canon said it had surpassed production of more than 130 million EF-series interchangeable lenses—just shy of four million per year since the mount’s inception. The number has inevitably gone up by millions since and you can count on it continuing to rise for many years to come, even long after production has stopped.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Why Your Extension Tube Won’t Focus (With Fixes)

20 Nov

You want to take a lovely photo of the delicate swirls of a seashell. The only problem is…you can’t figure out why your extension tube won’t focus. Macro photography takes you into the beautiful and enticing world of the minuscule. A dewdrop hanging from the end of a calla lily, an insect drinking nectar from a flower, the brilliant sparkle Continue Reading

The post Why Your Extension Tube Won’t Focus (With Fixes) appeared first on Photodoto.

Photodoto

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

Diversify Your Gear Options With Old, Manual Focus Lenses

16 Oct

The post Diversify Your Gear Options With Old, Manual Focus Lenses appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Photographers like to talk about gear. Discussion about the latest and greatest camera equipment is common. That’s fine to focus on if you think you can improve your photography, or if you like talking about new shiny things. And you have the money to satisfy your desires.

Taken using a 55mm Micro-NIKKOR-P manufactured in about 1970 © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Photographers who can’t afford to keep upgrading their gear tend not to talk about it so much. It can become depressing. Some of them also understand that purchasing the latest camera gear may do very little to improve their photography. Sometimes using older gear invokes more creativity.

What is it about old, manual focus lenses?

I’ve been taking photos for a long time. It was years before I had a camera capable of autofocus, let alone any autofocus lenses. I had to learn the old fashioned way.

This was my first camera and lens – a Nikkormat FTN with a 50mm f/1.4 attached. I continued to use this lens for 27 years until it finally was not in focus all the time. I think it’s worn out; the glass elements are slopping around inside.

Taken with my phone © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Manual focusing is not so difficult. It’s like learning to drive a manual shift car. It takes some practice. Once you can, you never forget how. You may get a little rusty if you haven’t done it for a while, but before long, you’ll be driving along and not thinking about it.

Old lenses were built more solidly and feel different in use. Because of their build quality, they can last longer. Many of them are as sharp, if not sharper, than modern lenses.

Take a look back at some of the famous photographers of the last century. Photographers including Sebastião Salgado, Don McCullin, Henri Cartier-Bresson and others did not rely on modern autofocus lenses.

Taken using my Nikkormat FTN and 50mm lens. Scanned from a slide. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Using manual focus lenses can help you improve your photography

You have to slow down and think more about what you are doing while using a manual lens. Well, initially, you do. After some practice, you’ll find manual focusing comes pretty naturally.

So much attention in photography is on doing things fast. Manual focus has a bad rap because it’s slower than autofocus. I don’t perceive that this always has to be a negative thing.

Slowing down can help you see more and to think more about what you are doing. Using a manual focus lens can encourage you to become more engrossed in your photography. Without relying on autofocus technology, you have to use alternative means of capturing the photos you want.

Taken using a manual focus 20mm. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Creative thinking becomes more to the fore when you do not have autofocus lenses to use. You must consider more carefully what you want to focus on. This is never a bad thing to master.

Learning to prefocus so your subject will be sharp when it’s time to take the photo is a great skill to have. With a manual focus lens, this becomes less optional.

Any of these methods, when practiced enough, will become second nature. You’ll find yourself using them no matter what lens you have on your camera.

20mm Nikon Lens © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Diversifying your lens options doesn’t have to be expensive

Old lenses are available secondhand almost everywhere at reasonable prices. If you have a new camera with a kit lens and want to add another lens or two, consider buying used.

Picking up an older 50mm lens will not set you back as much as a brand new lens. Depending on what brand camera you have, you may also need to purchase an adapter. This will allow you to mount older lenses to your digital camera. Nikon users have the advantage here.

I was able to keep using my original lens on each camera I upgraded to because Nikon never changed the lens mount. Any older Nikon lens will attach to every Nikon camera. Some very old lenses may lose some metering functionality but otherwise, work very well. Some may also need slight modification.

Adapters are available for just about every camera and lens combination. Once you’ve bought your first old manual focus lens, it may pay to stick to buying the same brand. That way you can use the same adapter.

Taken with a 105mm manual focus lens manufactured around 1973 © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Manual focus lens structure and build are much less complicated than autofocus lenses. The higher quality older lenses are sturdy and robust. There are three main things to look out for in second-hand lenses:

Indications that they have been dropped or otherwise mistreated. Dings and heavy scratches on a lens are not a good sign.
Fungus in the lens is another thing to watch for. Dirt on the outside is easy enough to clean off. A lens with fungus on the outside or any of the inner lens elements can be expensive to clean and may well be damaged beyond repair.
Thirdly, the focusing ring can become stiff and hard to turn, particularly if the lens has not been used for a long time. You can repair it, but repairs can become expensive, depending on where you live.

Taken using a manual focus 85mm. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

I picked up a bag of camera gear at a general household auction years ago. In it was a Nikon FM2 body with an MD4 motor drive. I knew I could sell the drive for $ 400. The camera had a 135mm lens on it with so much mold you couldn’t see through it. That was worthless. Also in the bag was a 55mm micro Nikkor in lovely condition.

I bought the lot for $ 250, then sold the camera and motor drive and kept the lens. I made around $ 350 on the deal, plus I got to keep the lens, which I still love using. If you know what you are buying you can be lucky enough to end up with another lens and it not cost anything.

Taken using a 55mm Micro-NIKKOR-P manufactured in about 1970 © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Main drawback of older lenses

Build quality and glass are not often a problem in good-quality older lenses. Coatings of lenses have improved over time. Modern lenses have coatings developed for use with digital cameras.

Chromatic aberration, also known as purple fringing, is more prevalent in old lenses. This is because the lens coatings are different. However, post-processing software can often fix the problem pretty well.

Lack of sharpness at wide apertures can sometimes be an issue with older lenses. Avoiding using the widest aperture setting can often alleviate this problem.

Conclusion

Diversifying your gear options with older manual focus lenses is worth considering. If you’re a student on a budget (or anyone else on a budget!), picking up a second-hand lens or two will help you in a number of ways:

You’ll be saving money
You will have to learn to use manual focus
Second-hand lenses keep their resale value more than new lenses
Working more slowly will help your photograph in other ways too

When looking to buy older lenses, it’s best to do your research carefully first. There’s no point buying a lens that won’t work with your model of camera. Get on the internet and specifically search for the camera and lens you want to combine. If it can be done, someone has likely blogged about it or posted a video to Youtube already.

Do you use old, manual focus lenses? What is your experience with them? Share your experiences and images with us in the comments!

The post Diversify Your Gear Options With Old, Manual Focus Lenses appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

DPReview TV: The return of Canon’s eye-controlled focus?

19 Sep

Back in the film days Canon had ‘eye-controlled’ focus that let you set an AF point just by looking at it, and a recent patent suggests Canon is still interested in this technology. Chris and Jordan consider what a modern eye-controlled AF system might mean to photographers.

Want to read more about Canon’s eye-controlled focus system? Check out our Throwback Thursday article that looks back at this unique feature.

Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week.

Introduction
The Canon EOS 3
Eye-controlled AF
Eye-controlled AF challenges
How a new eye-controlled AF system could work
Selecting faces and eyes
Do we need updated eye-controlled AF?

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Sigma halts production of Pentax K mount lenses to put its focus on mirrorless

10 Sep

Independent lens manufacturer Sigma has announced that it will no longer offer lenses for Pentax K-mount cameras. The announcement was made on the Facebook page of Sigma Czech Republic, stating that because of dwindling numbers of Pentax users and company has decided to stop producing Pentax mount lenses. Instead, the post says, Sigma plans to focus more on developing and supporting mirrorless systems, which it believes are ‘the future.’

The post on the Sigma-foto CZ Facebook page, with Facebook’s translation

The move will be a blow to Pentax users and will leave them with almost no support for AF lenses from third-party manufacturers as Tamron appears to have practically dropped the mount as well. Pentax itself offers about 14 lenses for its full-frame K1 and K1II cameras, but a much wider collection for the APS-C sensor cameras.

One of the lenses Sigma still offers in the Pentax K mount. Most of the company’s newer lenses have not been made available for Pentax users

Sigma’s move away from the Pentax K mount has been confirmed by Sigma Imaging UK. For more information on Sigma see its website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Meike adds Canon RF, Nikon Z mount options to its manual focus 85mm F2.8 macro lens

16 Aug

Hong Kong-based company Meike has launched new Canon RF and Nikon Z mount options for its full-frame 85mm F2.8 macro lens. The lens — which is currently available in Sony E, Fuji X, MFT, Canon EF and Nikon F mount systems — is a manual macro lens with an F2.8 to F22 aperture, 55mm filter size, 0 to 1.5x magnification, and 25cm (9in) minimum focusing distance.

The lens is constructed of 11 elements in 8 groups and comes in at just 500g (1.1bs). Like its previous full-frame counterparts, the is features an all-metal body alongside three manual adjustment rings for focus, macro focus, and aperture.

The 85mm F2.8 macro lens for Nikon Z and Canon RF is currently listed on the Meike website. No pricing information is available for these two new models, but the current versions currently retail for $ 269.99.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Instagram is officially testing hiding like-counts to put focus on content

03 May

If you’ve ever listened in to a conversation among a bunch of keen Instagram users you’ll have noticed that the discussion tends to circle a lot more around likes and follower numbers than the actual images and content that is being posted.

It looks like Instagram has identified this focus on stats as a problem and it was recently revealed that the company is considering hiding the like count on images and other content.

Instagram is testing hiding like count from audiences,

as stated in the app: “We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get” pic.twitter.com/MN7woHowVN

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 18, 2019

Now a field-test has been launched with users in Canada who won’t be able to see like numbers on the photos of accounts they are following during the next several days. You can still see the likes on your own content, though.

At its F8 developer conference Instagram parent company Facebook confirmed that it is considering a roll-out to its entire platform. In the affected accounts a message is displayed to make users aware of the test.

‘We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get. During this test, only you will be able to see the total number of likes on your posts.’

The fact that Instagram likes are an important currency in the social media influencer industry has likely contributed to the obsession with the metric and resulted in people trying to cheat the system and followers being offered for payment.

Instagram’s attempts to keep those kind of activities under control and put the focus back on content can only be a good thing but if the latest test will be expanded to all users will likely depend on the reaction of the users in Canada.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Moment Pro Camera app gets focus peaking, zebra striping and more

02 May

App and mobile lens maker Moment has launched a substantial update to its Pro Camera app for Android and iOS devices.

Both the Android and iOS versions now come with Focus Peaking and the new Zebra Stripes feature. Just like on standalone-cameras with the same features, sharp edges will be highlighted in the preview image when focusing manually. Additionally over or underexposed areas in the preview image are indicated using an overlaid stripe pattern.

The Android app has received a few additional goodies and now comes with Split Focus and Exposure. This offers better control over challenging lighting situations by allowing you to set exposure and focus points to different areas of the scene.

A new live RGB Histogram helps dialing in color, balance, and exposure when shooting video and you can now capture both a RAW and JPG image at the same time. Moment says this also speeds up the image preview in Raw mode.

Other improvements include a redesign of the camera roll and improved support for OnePlus devices as well as the Samsung Galaxy S10.

In terms of pricing the iOS app has been changed from a ‘freemium’ model to a paid download and will set you back $ 5.99 in the App Store. The Android version remains a paid download and is $ 3.99 on Google Play.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

360Photography

Posts Tagged ‘Focus’

Shoot now, focus later: multi-view E-mount lens patent is Sony’s latest foray in to light field photography

Focusing Tips for Beginners – Ways to Achieve Spot-on Focus in Photography

There’s no fixing an out-of-focus photo

Focus on your subject

Multi or single point auto-focus?

Continuous or single-servo auto-focus?

Back button focus

Using manual focus

Focus technique

Canon Europe confirms its focus is on RF, not EF lenses unless the ‘market demand[s] it’

Why Your Extension Tube Won’t Focus (With Fixes)

Diversify Your Gear Options With Old, Manual Focus Lenses

What is it about old, manual focus lenses?

Using manual focus lenses can help you improve your photography

Diversifying your lens options doesn’t have to be expensive

Main drawback of older lenses

Conclusion

DPReview TV: The return of Canon’s eye-controlled focus?

Sigma halts production of Pentax K mount lenses to put its focus on mirrorless

Meike adds Canon RF, Nikon Z mount options to its manual focus 85mm F2.8 macro lens

Instagram is officially testing hiding like-counts to put focus on content

Moment Pro Camera app gets focus peaking, zebra striping and more

Pages

Archives

Categories