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Manual focusing for Rokinon 12mm on Sony a6000
Apr 20, 2016 18:02:55 #
Hi folks, I'm new to the forum so please be kind. I am traveling to Europe with a Sony a6000, anticipate taking lots of landscape and architecture photos. I have a Sony SEL 35 f1.8 lens that I love as well as 2 kit lenses (16-50mm and 55-210 mm), all of which have auto focus. I just bought the Rokinon 12mm which is strictly manual. Does anyone have any tips on achieving sharp focus easily with this lens? Yes, I have read the manual and activated any and all aids that Sony has built into the camera. Any tips greatly appreciated. Thanks
Apr 20, 2016 18:51:54 #
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awMz9SzmAV0 May be this can help you.
Gilly wrote:
Hi folks, I'm new to the forum so please be kind. ... (show quote)
Apr 21, 2016 05:09:26 #
set it at f 8.0 and you'll have all the depth of field you'll ever need.
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Apr 21, 2016 06:04:19 #
Gilly wrote:
Hi folks, I'm new to the forum so please be kind. ... (show quote)
There should be no problem getting sharp focus with a 12 mm lens. There is so much DOF that you can almost get away with just pointing and shoot.
At 15' f8 the DOF is about 2' to infinity.
Beside I believe the A6000 has focus peeking away.
Apr 21, 2016 08:42:38 #
Gilly wrote:
Hi folks, I'm new to the forum so please be kind. ... (show quote)
Be sure to learn how to use the focus magnifier and use it with the 12mm lens. I don't have the 12mm, but I do have the 14mm Rokinon and with normal magnification, it is difficult to actually tell if you are in focus. But by magnifying, you have a much better shot at getting it right.
I like to assign the focus magnifier to the C2 button. Once you press the button, you get a box on the screen representing where the focus will be looking at. Then press the enter button, and the image will expand. If you want more magnification, press enter again.
A third press will take you back to normal view. But it is not necessary to return to normal view. You can hit the button to take a picture at any of these settings and it returns to normal and takes the picture.
Apr 21, 2016 09:48:48 #
sirlensalot
Loc: Arizona
Read manual. Set up"Focus Peaking" along with the "Focus Magnifier" which can be assigned to one of several buttons. Your good to go.
Apr 21, 2016 12:08:07 #
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Apr 21, 2016 12:10:33 #
Thanks, it does have focus peaking, zebra lines, zooms and magnifying, putting it all together is what I'm fumbling through. Appreciate your help.
Apr 21, 2016 12:15:25 #
This is really helpful, I've got the zoom assigned appropriately, I like the way you explained it, hadn't realized quite how it worked. Another question for you, I watched a video where someone recommended starting in Manual, getting the focus right and then switching to Aperture Priority. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this method. Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.
Apr 21, 2016 13:25:44 #
sirlensalot
Loc: Arizona
Several ways to do it. Advise experimenting before trip to find out which method suits you for what you will be shooting. Landscapes? f/8 - set it and forget it.
If you are shooting in bright light, would probably leave in f/8 and adjust shutter to a faster speed. Low light - open aperture - slow shutter, maybe raise ISO. With focus peaking and magnifier, it can be a lot of fun shooting manual.
If you are shooting in bright light, would probably leave in f/8 and adjust shutter to a faster speed. Low light - open aperture - slow shutter, maybe raise ISO. With focus peaking and magnifier, it can be a lot of fun shooting manual.
Apr 21, 2016 15:07:25 #
Thanks so much for your suggestions, f8 seems to be the most popular recommendation and I remember reading that it's the 'sweet spot'. Will put some practice in this weekend and try and have fun while I'm doing it. Thanks again for the tips.
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Apr 21, 2016 21:23:31 #
Does that camera have the focus peaking feature that my A 65 has? As you focus manually the areas in focus will kind of light up. Very helpful
Apr 22, 2016 01:57:41 #
Gilly wrote:
This is really helpful, I've got the zoom assigned appropriately, I like the way you explained it, hadn't realized quite how it worked. Another question for you, I watched a video where someone recommended starting in Manual, getting the focus right and then switching to Aperture Priority. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this method. Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.
I can't imaging any advantage starting in manual and then switching to aperture priority. I stay in Aperture Priority and turn the aperture ring to full open position for focusing and then stop down to the setting I want.
As mentioned before, I use the focus magnifier. And I also use Focus peaking. But there is a big difference using Focus Peaking at f1.4 vs using it at f8. At f1.4, the focus point is very sharp and it is easy to tell where the best focus point is. At f8, you can roll the focus back and forth quite a ways and not discern where is the best point.
Depending upon what I am shooting, I may change the focus peaking color, or even turn it off. For instance, for focusing on stars, I like it off and I use the focus magnifier only and adjust a faint star for max brightness and minimum diameter. Focus peaking hides that from me and is not quite as accurate as the method I like to use.
Apr 22, 2016 07:58:35 #
This is really helpful, thanks for taking the time to explain it so thoroughly, especially the way focus peaking changes as you stop down. Hope to get around to shooting stars one day, will be much better equipped to do so thanks to your tips. 🌌
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