E300 - setting manual focus to infinity?

Blizz · Feb 14, 2006

Hi folk,

I have looked via the search function but can't find anything to help thus far. I'm an aussie that loves weather and forecasting. In more recent times, weather photography has led me to buy an E300.

Question: I used to set my point and shoot to infinity in manual focus when shooting CB clouds (storms). How do I set the E300 to infinity with the kit 14-45mm lense?

Cheers,

Blizz
Blackheath Weather: storms and snow forecasting, snow photos and more.
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~bmstorms/welcome.htm

OzRay · Feb 14, 2006

Got menu/tool2 (at bottom), scroll to reset lens and make sure it's on. This always resets the lens to infinity and if you turn on the camera, it's set to infinity by default. Set you camera to manual focus, so that the lens does not change setting when pressing the shutter for exposure.

Cheers

Ray
--
http://www.australianimage.com.au

Blizz · Feb 14, 2006

Thanks mate

Couldn't quite follow the wording in the manual but now I understand.

Cheers.

Blizz
PS: BTW, I like your site and some of the shots there are nice indeed.

Moshe Ronen · Feb 15, 2006

OzRay said:
Got menu/tool2 (at bottom), scroll to reset lens and make sure it's
on. This always resets the lens to infinity and if you turn on the
camera, it's set to infinity by default. Set you camera to manual
focus, so that the lens does not change setting when pressing the
shutter for exposure.

Cheers

Ray

I'm not sure that's correct. The lens doesn't have a definite infinity setting. Infinity is set by closing the loop with the control system. If it had a definite point it could also have a mechanical stop, which it doesn't.

I focused manually on a far-away subject. The green indicator light went on. Switched off, and then back on. Aimed at the same point and the green light did not come on. I re-focused manually, and it did.

I think the 'Reset to infinity' is just nominal, so you are approximately at infinity when you switch on..

Moshe

Louis_Dobson · Feb 15, 2006

I thought the reset just set the lens to the shortest phsyical length for storage, which is not alway infinity?

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OzRay · Feb 15, 2006

The 14-54mm resets to infinity (or a close approximation), as do the other lenses, so I assume the 14-45mm is much the same.

If you want the lens to be at infinity and are shooting weather patterns, then this, and stopping down, should be more than enough.

You will more than likely be well within the hyperfocal distance anyway, so any marginal differences are completely academic.

So stop farting around and trying to split hairs.

Cheers

Ray

--
http://www.australianimage.com.au

obie1 · Feb 15, 2006

The infinity focus issue has been addressed a couple of times in this forum.
See thread:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=11610946

With the 14-45, particularly at the lower end of its range, the problem would be less acute because of the greater DOF. That was OzRay's point. At longer focal lengths it would not be safe to assume that Oly's "put the lens in storage mode" setting was a true infinity focus.

If you have difficulty doing an autofocus on the clouds, autofocus on some more distinct distant object and then set the camera to MF (manual focus).

Do not turn the focus ring; the previous autofocus setting will not be changed when you depress the shutter release.

--
There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is the true method.

Tim the Grey · Feb 15, 2006

Remembering that modern zooms are VARIFOCAL lenses, so therefore do not hold focus when zooming...

ALWAYS focus at the focal length for the shot.

Or buy primes!

Tim
--
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Chromatic Aberration · Feb 15, 2006

I hate the idea of Varifocal lenses, but I have learned to live with them.

Back when i sterted learning about video cameras in my middle school's TV studio, I was taught to zoom all the way in, set the focus and then zoom out to compose the shot...

This practice was ingrained in me...but now i must un-learn it...

Tim the Grey said:
Remembering that modern zooms are VARIFOCAL lenses, so therefore do
not hold focus when zooming...

ALWAYS focus at the focal length for the shot.

Or buy primes!

Tim
--
http://catmangler.smugmug.com/

--

Life is like a roll of TOILET PAPER; the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.

Barry Stewart · Feb 15, 2006

Chromatic Aberration said:
Back when i sterted learning about video cameras in my middle
school's TV studio, I was taught to zoom all the way in, set the
focus and then zoom out to compose the shot...

I recall a similar video experience too... and wonder why photo lenses can't be built the same way. Perhaps someone with a deep understanding of lenses can explain.
--
Barry

Equipment in profile.

Mark Thornton · Feb 15, 2006

Photo lenses can (and have been) built that way but no doubt there are compromises (cost, distortion) involved.

BorisK1 · Feb 15, 2006

As others have mentioned, you could use the "set to infinity" option. However, this focuses the lens slightly past infinity, so depending on the aperture, you might not get the maximum sharpness.

To get the maximum sharpness, I would suggest to turn off the "set to infinity" option, use the autofocus mechanism to confirm that the lens is set to infinity, then switch to manual focus and use great care to avoid bumping the focusing ring.

Or, do some trial shots to determine how far you need to back off from the far end to get the best sharpness.

Hope this helps!

Boris

Mark Thornton · Feb 15, 2006

OzRay said:
The 14-54mm resets to infinity (or a close approximation), as do
the other lenses, so I assume the 14-45mm is much the same.

Unlike the 14-54, the 14-45 doesn't have a distance scale and is also much cheaper. I haven't checked the 14-45, but the 40-150 focusses well past infinity such that the moon is noticably out of focus.

Hokuto · Feb 15, 2006

(i.e., a lens like the 14-45 without a distance scale) would be to adjust it to infinity during the daytime under good lighting, and when I was sure it was in focus, make a small mark on the barrel so I'd know where to reset it after dark.

--
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BorisK1 · Feb 15, 2006

Hokuto said:
(i.e., a lens like the 14-45 without a distance scale) would be to
adjust it to infinity during the daytime under good lighting, and
when I was sure it was in focus, make a small mark on the barrel so
I'd know where to reset it after dark.

How does this technique work with DZ focus-by-wire lenses, where there's no fixed position of the focusing ring? I mean, what do you align against that mark on the barrel?

Boris

Hokuto · Feb 15, 2006

Excellent question Boris LOL. I dunno. I just assumed it would be possible, but you may be right--maybe it's not! (I don't have the lens in question, and haven't tried it, so I was just thinking off the cuff there . . .)

--
'And only the stump, or fishy part of him remained'

http://www2.gol.com/users/nhavens
A Contemplative Companion to Fujino Township

Amfibi · Feb 15, 2006

Just a sidenote that you can (at least in E500) set the Manual Focus so that pressing the AEL button will do autofocusing. So there's no need to focus and then switch focus mode.

--
Petri

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