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How to use Nikon's defocus 105 and 135/2


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I recently bought a used defocus lens (135/2). It came with no

manual. Is use of the defocus control very simple? The setting is in

f/stops. Throw the maximum blur to the rear or front of the subject,

depending on which effect you want? Match the f stop? (That wouldn't

make sense, when shooting wide open, one wouldn't use defocus?)

Finally, what is the expected optimal use of the lens? To be

able to use a smaller aperture for depth of field on a head shot, but

still have the background focus blown out?

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You (may) have to focus manually when you practice with the defocus settings. The 135mm at f2 does not have a great deal of depth-of-field,

and if you set the defocus to match at f2, the background will do different things...depending on the elements behind your subject. Candles and Christmas lights add 'areas' of light. A grey or white background will remain plain. You need to run a test roll with the various settings and see which result makes your day....

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I have the 135, but rarely use the DC feature (It's a good sharp fast mid - tele for available light work). When I got mine used, I asked this question on another board and got this answer:<p>

<i>Here's what the manual says:

<p>

============================================================

<p>

While pushing the DC ring lock release button, rotate the DC ring toward

the R (rear) side to blur the background, or towared the F (front) side

to blur the foreground. To effectively blur background or foreground

images, turn the DC ring so the f-number on the DC ring (aligned to the

DC ring index) is same as the aperture in use. Turning the ring beyond

the aperture in use lets you create a soft-focus effect.

<p>

Defocus control should always be performed before focusing. If you

rotate the DC ring after focusing, or during focus lock in autofocus

photography, your subject will be out of focus.

<p>

With the DC ring at either the F or R side, the distance scale may not

show the correct distance.

<p>

The effect of defocus image control depends on subject conditions such

as subject-to-background distance, subject-to-foreground distance, etc.

<p>

Image blur cannont be verified through the viewfinder. To obtain the

desired effect, take a series of shots with the DC ring at various

settings.

<p>

============================================================

</i><p>

The few times I have played with DC, I have used 'Rear' (because that's how I shoot, I rarely include out-of-focus elements in the foreground). I set the DC ring to a number equal to or smaller than the f-stop in use (i.e., if I'm shooting at f4, the DC ring will be at 2, 2.8, or 4). The closer the two settings are, the more out of focus the background is. If you set the DC higher than the shooting aperture, you achieve a soft focus effect on the subject.

<p>

You definitely want to play with it and find combinations of DC that work for you before shooting something important with it.

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