How to manually focus

MrsBrightside

MrsBrightside

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Lesley
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I recently bought a Canon FD 50 mm F/1.8 Lens and an adaptor for it to fit my 450d anyway I understand can only manually focus it but how the devil do I do it? lol im new to all this and haven't had my camera very long so as easy as possible to understand lol
 
what are you focusing? and the distance between the lens and the subject. The lens have minimum focus distance, you maybe trying to focus something that is too close for the lens to focus.
 
As far as I know using FD lenses on Eos bodies isn't easy and requires the adapter to have built in optics.

Does your adapter have optics in it or is it just a lump of metal/plastic?

Might be worth Googling "Using FD lenses on Eos bodies" or Googling your specific body and lens combination.

PS. I think I read somewhere that if your adapter hasn't got optics in it it will only focus on close things and will not focus to infinity.
 
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woof woof said:
using FD lenses on Eos bodies isn't easy and requires the adapter to have built in optics.

Does your adapter have optics in it or is it just a lump of metal/plastic?


if your adapter hasn't got optics in it it will only focus on close things and will not focus to infinity.
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This.
 
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Unbelievably Canon FD lenses are about the worst choice in old lenses to put on an EOS body. As above they require an adaptor with optics (ruining the quality instantly) and then may not work well. screw mount lenses, PK mount, even Nikon mount are all happier compromises.

As far as focussing manually with a 450d goes, I know some people treat it as 'fun' but for me it's an exercise in futility. Buy an old AE1 or A1 to go with your lens, and an EF 50mm or Sigma 50mm 1.4 to explore the focal length properly on your 450d.

Digital SLR's are designed from the ground up as AF machines, it's possible to fit MF lenses, but there's no actual focussing aids like on an MF camera. The viewfinder is far too small, dark and unwelcoming.
To see what I mean, you need to mount the lens onto a camera designed for it.:thumbs:
 
Oh I'm gutted lol as basically the adaptor just makes the lens fit from what I can see the guy I bought it off said that I would work but I would have to adjust manually!? I was going to buy a nifty from here but had a bill come in yesterday and I really want to play with one now!! :( boo hiss
 
Maybe you can get your money back?

Worst case... if you can't someone with a CSC might buy the lens off you.
 
Well, you have choices...

Stick the lens on ebay and the adapter in the bin.
Sell the lens in the classified here, someone with a CSC may want it, probably will want it.
Put it in a drawer for now just in case you buy something it'll work on in the future.
 
FWIW, I use a glassless adapter occasionally with my 5D and an FD 50mm f/3.5 for macro that I bought for about £50. That's where it comes in useful as infinity focus is irrelevant.
 
j37r said:
Lesley, before giving up, take a look at this thread I was involved in on another forum a few years ago.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1092664

I have used FD lenses on a 350D since 2007 and have never been disapointed by the results.

John:)
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It's nice to read you can get some great results but how lol I'm just getting blurs at best lol x
 
Phil V said:
Digital SLR's are designed from the ground up as AF machines, it's possible to fit MF lenses, but there's no actual focussing aids like on an MF camera. The viewfinder is far too small, dark and unwelcoming.
To see what I mean, you need to mount the lens onto a camera designed for it.:thumbs:
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Don't know about Canon, but my Nikons (D3000 and D5100) have a focus indicator in the viewfinder display. So you can focus manually but the camera will still recognise good focus (in the same way, I guess, as it does when autofocusing) and alert you by lighting up the indicator.
 
First you need to have an adapter just like this one, mine is made by Hoya.

Fit the adapter to the camera first, make sure the switch is set to L, fit the lens to the adapter, then move the switch to A, your now ready to go.

The 50mm F1.8 being a manual lens means you have to set the aperture yourself, the focusing ring has distances on it measured in feet and metres to help judge how far away your subject is. example, say you want to photograph a tree about 30 feet away, rotate the focusing ring until 30 lines up with orange line on top of the lens, look through the viewfinder and rotate the focusing ring slightly in either direction until the tree is sharp in the frame.

John:)
 
ghoti said:
Don't know about Canon, but my Nikons (D3000 and D5100) have a focus indicator in the viewfinder display. So you can focus manually but the camera will still recognise good focus (in the same way, I guess, as it does when autofocusing) and alert you by lighting up the indicator.
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At least with Canon bodies, you need a chipped adapter for this to work with manual focus lenses.
 
Musicman said:
At least with Canon bodies, you need a chipped adapter for this to work with manual focus lenses.
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It works fine with my old AS-D 50mm, which will not auto-focus on either of those cameras.
The D5100 indicator will even tell you if you're too near or too far.
 
Lesley you do need the one with the glass element to achieve infinity focus, the one you have is only for close up work.

Alan I do not find much in the way of quality loss using this set-up, these two pics will give you some idea of what I can get, they were both taken from the same spot on the river Arun at Arundel. the general view was taken with the Canon 50mm F1.8 FD, the close up was taken with the Canon 300mm F5.6 FD.

IMG_1943_1.jpg


IMG_1941_1.jpg





John:)
 
j37r said:
Alan I do not find much in the way of quality loss using this set-up...
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Great stuff.

If I hadn't bought a Minolta lens recently a 50mm FD would have been on a very short list of possible buys for me for my MFT.
 
I guess that's a lesson learnt to read what im buying!! Also not to rush in and to ask first! Lol


j37r said:
Lesley you do need the one with the glass element to achieve infinity focus, the one you have is only for close up work.

Alan I do not find much in the way of quality loss using this set-up, these two pics will give you some idea of what I can get, they were both taken from the same spot on the river Arun at Arundel. the general view was taken with the Canon 50mm F1.8 FD, the close up was taken with the Canon 300mm F5.6 FD.

John:)
Click to expand...
 
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