Sony a6000 and 50mm 1.8 question

[adam_mclarsson]

Hi guys,

 

I recently bought a Sony a6000 + 50mm 1.8 and being

more familiar to the Canon system I was unaware there

was no auto/manual focus switch on the lens.

 

Accidentally, while in auto mode I twisted the focus ring

manually in confusion. It made me think. Is this lens

designed to be used in such a way? There is nothing

online to tell me whether this is the case or not.

 

I know the camera has DMF but the lens is open to

manually move while in auto mode too if kept in a bag.

 

It's been bugging me all night, whether I have damaged

the lens or not.

 

Thank you!

[david_smith110]

<p>Adam, I don't use AF lenses on any of my Sony's, but I am pretty sure you can customize one of the buttons to switch between MF and AF.</p>

[adam_mclarsson]

Hi David,

 

That is DMF? It still focuses so I presume that means

nothing is wrong?

 

I called up Sony support and they just said you can auto

focus and manual focus afterwards to adjust for

accuracy of need be.

[david_smith110]

<p>I'm so sorry Adam, but I truly am not familiar with DMF and how it operates on Sony cameras. I only use old film lenses on my Sony bodies and I have a button set up to zoom in for critical focus as I need.</p>

[CharlesBecker-Toronto]

<p>Highly unlikely you did any damage to the lens. To focus manually, go to the Camera Settings Menu and scroll down to Focus Mode and select MF (manual focus).<br>

I have the a6000 and love it but the menus can be a little overwhelming.<br>

Happy shooting! cb :-)</p>

[CharlesBecker-Toronto]

<p>me again-the instruction 'manual' that comes with the camera is rather skimpy to say the least; suggest that you download this pdf and keep it for future reference. I find it helpful to refer to it now and then.</p>

<p>http://download.sony-europe.com/pub/manuals/consumer/ILCE6000_HG_EN.pdf</p>

[george_entenman]

<p>While evaluating an A6000, I managed to train one of the C buttons to switch to MF mode so that I could use the focus ring. </p>

[CharlesBecker-Toronto]

<p>Good post George! I should have mentioned in my first post that I did that as well! cb</p>

[mark_amos]

<p>Adam, I have a 5n, and even though the menu doesn't look the same as the menu in the a6000, I think the function is essentially the same. Yes, DMF means you can autofocus the lens, but at any time you can move the focus ring to activate a magnified view in the EVF so you can see if you are focused exactly where you want to be. If the camera is switched in the off position in your bag, moving the ring accidentally does nothing. It is focus by wire. The ring communicates to the camera to move the lens elements. The ring doesn't actually physically move the lens elements when the camera is off. <br>

All you need to really know is nothing you did could damage the lens, but you should know that using DMF is a great feature that isn't possible with some of the other camera options of other brands, and it is worth using. I only use manual focus if I want to manually focus on something in the distance and then wait for something else to happen like enter the field of view, but it is good to be able to do that sometimes also.</p>