john_raymond Posted March 14, 2002 Share Posted March 14, 2002 I have picked a 600mm EOS USM f4 lens. I have no instructions and have searched for the answer to no avail. What are the differences between the three choices on the focusing lever? It has the 15 to ininity etc.. There must be or one would think leave it on the range that covers the closest to infinity. I am shooting it with an EOS-3. Any other "tricks of the trade" with this combination? I am not new to photography, as I have shot with other big/manual glass and Olympus gear since the 70's, but finally sprang for the auto-focus gear. Thanks in adavance. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony_sidwell Posted March 14, 2002 Share Posted March 14, 2002 You don't list the three options (and I don't own that lens, more's the pity!) so I can only give the following example. I own the 70-200 f4L. It has two focussing options, 1.2m-infinity and 3m-infinity. Note that 1.2m is the close focus limit for this lens. If I am shooting all sorts of different subjects at different distances, I leave it on 1.2-inf. However, if I know that my subjects are going to be more than 3m away, I can flick the switch and get (slightly) faster autofocus as the system does not have to bother with objects in the 1.2-3m range. Applying this to your lens, I imagine that there is an option from the close focus limit of the lens to infinity. You could use this all the time, or if your subjects are further away, change to another option to get faster AF, especially if subjects are moving. As I said, I don't own the lens so may well be wrong. But that's how the options work for my situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl smith Posted March 14, 2002 Share Posted March 14, 2002 If you want help here, you need to list what the differences are for those of us who don't have the lens. However, based on most common lenses, they have two options, full range, or a certain distance to infinity. As was stated, this can help increase AF speed some at the longer ranges. This probably is even more useful for the large lens you've got. Try posting what the three options. I'm assuming theres full range, closest to a certain point, and that certain point to infinity for focus range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_seery Posted March 14, 2002 Share Posted March 14, 2002 Hello John, congrats on a great piece of glass. The above two posts hit it right on as far as the switch for the focusing range. The switch that has a 1-2-3 setting is for the manual focusing speed. On #1 you will have to turn the manual ring a great distance to change the focus a little and on #3 a little movement will change the focus greatly. I always keep mine on #3, always. The new IS Super-tele lenses do not offer this MF speed setting. The two areas in which the new lenses can't touch the old are smooth MF and a smooth tripod collar (with the exception of the 500IS which is very smooth). You also have the focus preset button which is great. Make sure to keep the glass in the drop-in gel filter holder in the rear as this is part of the optical formula. I replaced all my ST drop-in gels with the drop-in screw holder with 48mm 81A's in place. Hard to find but worth it. The 600/4 is not as warm as the 400/2.8, closer to the 300/2.8. Enjoy and happy shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_kennedy Posted March 15, 2002 Share Posted March 15, 2002 Are you referring to the switch that is something like 5m-inf, 15m-inf, and 5m-15m? If so, the reason you have the choice is to avoid the camera having to drive the focus mechanism over such a long range when the AF is having trouble locking. FWIW, I prefer to leave it at the 15m-inf (or whatever) setting unless the subject gets particularly close, then I switch to the 5m-inf (or whatever) setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob stewart jacksonville Posted March 21, 2002 Share Posted March 21, 2002 John, I have this lens. There are three focus ranges 6m to inninity, 6m to 15m, and 15m to infinity. The second two are designed to limit the range the autofocus runs through to speed up autofocus. If you know your subject is going to be beyond 15m set it to 15m to infinity and it will focus faster, likewise if you know its between 6-15m set it in that range. If you can't get it to focus inside of 15m, or beyond 15m, remember to check this setting, you may have it in the wrong position. As a default I leave it in the full range 6m to infinity and only switch when a particular situation dictates. A related feature is the preset button, which allows you to immediately return to a fixed focus distance. Focus on a point, hit the preset button. Now anytime (that the camera remains on) you twist the ring on the lens the focus returns to that preset distance. I haven't found this too useful for bird photography. Probably more useful doing sports where you can better predict the exact spot something is going to happen. I bought mine used also, so I've been through your learning curve, email me if you have other questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethanmeleg Posted March 23, 2002 Share Posted March 23, 2002 John,I have the same fantastic lens, and would be happy to send you a photocopy of the manual that comes with it. Email me your mailing address and I'll send it out asap. Cheers - Ethan - info@ethanmeleg.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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