Focussing question on mirroless cameras

Lloyd709

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Are there any mirroless cameras (with an electronic viewfinder) available that allow you to zoom in to the point you are focussing on to allow to accurately focus manually? I don't mean an actual lens zoom but just an electronic blow up of the point of focus. I imagine there could be a hot key that zooms straight in and then out again when you de-press it. Apologies if this is well known but I've tried googling things like 'zoom focussing electron viewfinder' and can't find anything. If it's not available hopefully it will be soon be!

Many thanks
 
I think the term you mean is focus peaking.

My knowledge of MILC's is limited to the Fuji X cameras and some if not all of that range do it.

I would be reasonably confident that the Sony NEX (or Alpha e mount as they are rapidly becoming known as) will also.

Other posters will be able to confirm other systems
 
The Panasonic Lumix G series of cameras have focus peaking, which is an enlarged area that appears in the view of the subject to make focusing manually more accurate. I believe all G series cameras have that feature. I generally use autofocus, but when I do manual focus I find focus peaking to be a great feature.
 
AFAIK all the MILCs lets you hit a button for a magnified view of the focus area.

My Sony NEX F3 does.

Some models also support focus peaking which can be a help sometimes.
 
Thanks - lots to go on. I didn't know it was called focus peeking. I'm still not exactly sure that this is what I'm after though - I just want an enlarged area corresponding ideally to a focus point that I select that I can see through the electronic viewfinder. I guess the next step is to go into a store and try a few of the cameras out that you have suggested.

Thanks again
 
Just to clarify, focus peaking is unrelated to focus magnification...it's a separate and different system to aid manual focusing.

Focus magnification is present on every camera with an electronic viewfinder that I've ever seen or heard of - I'd be surprised if it was not available on an EVF camera. This is the function you're asking about - the ability to 'zoom in' or magnify the view (not the actual focal length) when trying to manually focus, so that you can look at one small, tiny area of the scene and fine-tune the focus. Most EVF cameras have at least a simple form of this, whereby it will magnify the view in the center of the frame, often in at least 2 stages of magnification (such as 7x and 14x). Some of the more advanced versions will allow you to move around the EVF and zoom in on any specific point you choose...and using the 4-way arrow keys you can move the magnified area around the scene to where you want. Touch-screen versions of these cameras can also display this on the LCD and often allow you to magnify at the point you touch.

Focus peaking is a form of manual focus aid which uses colored fringing to highlight the contrast edges within the frame that are most in focus. Peaking is often used as a tool for 'fast focusing' as opposed to slow, detailed, fine-tune focusing - because it provides a clear visual aid as to where your focusing, you can dial it in quickly, on the fly, handheld, and shoot. Using magnified view to fine-tune focus for maximum accuracy will usually be for someone taking landscape, macro, etc with tripod and plenty of time to get the focus right. Most cameras that offer Focus Peaking can also do magnification WITH peaking, allowing you to blend the two functions together for even more versatility. Some peaking systems allow the peaking color to be changed, and allow you to change the intensity and strength of the peaking indications.
 
I think all of them do this.
Only tried Sony and Olympus though.
This is not focus peaking though. Just ignore the trolls.
 
Are there any mirroless cameras (with an electronic viewfinder) available that allow you to zoom in to the point you are focussing on to allow to accurately focus manually? I don't mean an actual lens zoom but just an electronic blow up of the point of focus.
I think all of them do that. Some even can be set up to do that automatically (with native lenses with electronic contacts) - you touch focus ring, magnified view appears.
 
Are there any mirroless cameras (with an electronic viewfinder) available that allow you to zoom in to the point you are focussing on to allow to accurately focus manually? I don't mean an actual lens zoom but just an electronic blow up of the point of focus. I imagine there could be a hot key that zooms straight in and then out again when you de-press it. Apologies if this is well known but I've tried googling things like 'zoom focussing electron viewfinder' and can't find anything. If it's not available hopefully it will be soon be!
On the NEX-5N, you can simply tap the LCD screen at the point where you want to focus. Not all Sony mirrorless have touch screens, but they all allow you to magnify a small part of the image for critical focus.

This extends to the electronic viewfinder in those cameras that have one, such as the NEX-6 and 7, the A7 and the new A6000.

You navigate around by pressing the four sides of the wheel.
 
The Panasonic Lumix G series of cameras have focus peaking, which is an enlarged area that appears in the view of the subject to make focusing manually more accurate. I believe all G series cameras have that feature. I generally use autofocus, but when I do manual focus I find focus peaking to be a great feature.
Focus peaking is not an enlarged area. It is bright lines (yellow or some other colour) which appear along vertical edges that are in focus. It is extremely useful and it can be combined with enlargement.

I don't know whether the G series have peaking, but from what you say they do have enlargement.
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