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My favorite lens (so far) - the EF 135mm f/2L USM

Started Jan 25, 2016 | User reviews thread
Al Downie Senior Member • Posts: 1,407
Re: My favorite lens (so far) - the EF 135mm f/2L USM
1

M H S wrote:

Al, don't you find this gets in the way of proper composition, which is part of the point (and the fun) of shooting primes?

I go back and forth between center point plus crop vs. Side point vs. Focus and recompose (which doesn't work well with these shallow dof situations).

Hiya,

I do have to use the closest-possible AF point when working with the 50L wide open (and avoid some situations entirely), but with the 135L I find I can get away with the centre-AF point. My normal 135 routine is:

- Glance through the finder to make sure I'm in the right ballpark
- Quickly put the centre-AF point on the part I want to focus on, and hit the back-focus button once
- Swing back to my composed view and shoot (if average metering is appropriate).

It's a natural method for me because I spent years using manual focusing on a microprism dot/split-image screen. I completely accept that I'm stuck in the past in that respect, but it does work for me. I wouldn't steer someone away from any alternative method, but Jonathan had complained about the 6D's lack of AF points preventing him from working the way he wanted.

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