Focusing a D700 beyond its 51 focus points

<p>I would like to be able to focus more quickly and reliably on things that are not near the center of the frame, and when LiveView is not an option (no tripod, taking pictures of people who don't want to wait for me to push the little buttons to move the magnified focus aid to the right spot, for example).<br>

For lenses 50mm and longer, I'm usually pretty happy with using the center focus point and then recomposing. But if I do that with 28mm and 35mm f/2 lenses, I can see (later) that the focus plane ends up behind the intended subject (just as you would expect). I can move the selected focus point as close as possible to the intended focus point, and then recompose, and that's better, but it still involves tediously moving the focus point around.<br>

So I would most like to just focus by judging the sharpness of the subject on the finder screen. With the 35 f/2 this works pretty well, but it's harder with the 28. Is a Katz Eye screen for a D700 enough better than a normal D700 screen to make it worth trying? Again, I don't care about the split image in the center -- I'm happy enough with using the camera's focus aid when the AF sensor location is convenient. I'm just interested in how well I can judge sharpness on the rest of the screen.<br>

Thanks,<br />John</p>

<p>There is a lever beside the lens, labeled "M, S, C". Set it to "M". There is also a thin ring near the front of the lens with a knurled band, called a "focusing ring". Turn that ring until the image appears sharp through the viewfinder.</p>

<p>The trick is to turn past the point of maximum sharpness, then back again. Nothing ever looks sharp on a ground glass, just unsharp and less unsharp.</p>

<p>You can use autofocus with the "focus and recompose" method. The focal plane doesn't shift that much if you are 5' away or more. You can also use multiple point focusing. The camera will select the most appropriate focusing point from the group selected. It's slower than the single point method, but faster than manual focusing. Manual focusing is the best option with a tripod or for closeups.</p>

<p>Thanks, Edward. I should be more careful with my question. Each of the lenses I'm concerned with here has a wide knurled band (the band on the 35 is quite wide indeed), instead of a thin one. And the lenses override the "M, S, C" setting so that it's always "M".<br>

Maybe the tip about turning past the maximum sharpness and then going back will help.<br>

I guess the more concise question is, "Is it notably easier to judge focus in the field of a Katz Eye D700 screen than with a normal D700 screen?"</p>

<p>I have the Katz Eye on my D700 because I like the split screen. However that is not your question, and I can not easily answer your question because I can not A B between the Kats Eye and the original screen, but with that said, I do not believe that the Katz Eye is that much better for your purposes.</p>

<p>In order to avoid moving from focus point to focus point manually, select Closest Subject Priority.</p>

<p>Compose the photo with your subject at the farthest focus point in the direction of the frame toward where you want to place them. Press the shutter release halfway (of the AF-L/AE-L button), recompose slightly, and shoot.</p>

<p>The Katz Eye screen has only one focusing point (the split prism), which compounds your problem of needing an off-axis focusing method. Furthermore, the split prism is not very effective. A plain grid screen is preferable.</p>

<p>The viewing screen is a compromise between brightness and focusing accuracy. The more matte the screen, the better imaging plane it provides. Since most cameras are auto-focusing, bright screens offer better viewing. Nonetheless you can focus on the OEM screen, and the absence of a split-prism and microprism areas makes that task easier. I grew up with manual focus cameras, and the overshoot-return method is highly effective, but only about 1/3rd as fast as auto focus, even with an experienced hand. Whenever possible (the F and F3), I exchanged the rangefinder screen for a plain grid.</p>

<p>John, I've been using the "Auto Area" AF setting to let the camera pic the focus points. As I set up the shot and engage the AF I can see if it has chosen the point(s) I want to use, and if so, I take the shot. If not, I reset. I never cared much for the split-image focus screens when I was burning film. In fact I removed those screens in my SLRs and focused manually on the glass in the "in-out-middle" method described by others.<br>

I was fighting the auto focus on my 24-120 kit lens that came in the D700 box (insisting that All Nikon Glass would do the job), but have improved the pictures by treating it as a manual focus lens and focusing on the glass as in days-of-old. Seems the lens' inherent softness was increased by the AF system.<br>

Now if Nikon would just bring the 24-70 down to about a pound, I might just have to jump. |;-}}</p>

<p> The widest aperture on every 1.4, 1.8, f2, 2.8, ect. is never the optimal aperture for ANY of those lenses. - Why would you want to use them?? You'll get a better exposed picture with greater contrast and focus at f4 or. even better f5.6 and not have to worry about your main subject being out of focus when you "recompose."<br>

And honestly, with as much automation that these new cameras provide, how much easier do you want it to be for you??<br>

You can always lower the amount of focusing areas to make your thumb focus area selections more limited.....Or wait for the new model to come out with eye tracking technology that taps into your intelect and intuitively predicts where you want the focus to be..</p>

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<p>"The widest aperture on every 1.4, 1.8, f2, 2.8, ect. is never the optimal aperture for ANY of those lenses. - Why would you want to use them??"</p>

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<p>Ever do any handheld available light photography? Photojournalism or documentary photography? Or just want greater creative control? If so, you've already answered your own question.</p>

<p>Wow, Demetrius! Why didn't I think of that?<br>

Why, indeed, would I go out of my way to buy a 28mm f/2.0 lens, when I'll get a better picture with less worry at f/5.6? Clearly I would be much better off if I just got any of the several slow zooms that include 28mm.<br>

Yes, I realize that lenses do better in many ways when you stop them down a bit. If time, and some camera support, then LiveView solves the problem. If there's light, and time, and I don't want to isolate something by using f/2 for limited depth of field, then I can stop down. I'm not a professional photographer, and I'm new to using a digital SLR, but I do understand lenses.<br>

When I put the 28mm f/2 lens on an FM2, it does seem to me that I can judge focus on the ground glass -- not the split image -- better than I can on the D700. Not a lot better, but a little better. I also notice that on the FM2, I can see the finder darken a little when I use DOF preview to stop down from f/2.0 to f/2.8. On the D700, I don't notice any change until stopping down to f/4. I guess I'll just learn to work with it that way.<br>

Thank you Phil Evans for suggesting that a Katz Eye screen might not help much.<br>

Thanks also to those who suggested closest focus priority and wide area autofocus options. This doesn't help any with manual focus lenses, but I did try it with an 85mm AF lens, and it's pretty cool. I had not bothered to read much about the autofocus options for the D700, since most of my lenses are not AF.<br>

I'm now joining the few folks who are eager for Nikon to offer some new fast wide small lenses.</p>

<p>John,<br>

 

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<p> <em>On the D700, I don't notice any change until stopping down to f/4. I guess I'll just learn to work with it that way.</em><br>

 

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<p>Interesting - the only negative thing I have to say about the D700 concerns depth-of-field. I find it very hard to judge through the viewfinder, unlike my F80 or (eek!) Canon A-1. I've only had the body a couple of weeks but the depth-of-field of some shots really had me going. The sample below is one I could have sworn was fully in focus throughout when I shot it.<br>

 

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<p>Modern Nikkor lenses don't have as much information on their barrels for stuff like setting up on a hyperfocal distance (or infra-red, for that matter) as the old [Canon FD] ones, but with a digital body at that price I would expect to be ahead of the game without being forced to do this the old-fashioned way.</p>

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