Is there life after aperture block failure?

Massao wrote:

Oiche wrote:

Massao wrote:

peterpainter wrote:

Massao wrote:

peterpainter wrote:

Thanks - yes, will keep an eye out for one. I'm sure I'd survive without focus-peaking if I had to!

Focus peaking is particularly useful with a camera with tilting/articulating screen. However, focus confirmation via OVF is much more accurate (though only works with center AF point..at least on my K-30).

I'm not entirely convinced by focus confirmation through the OVF. Admittedly that is based on my use a long time ago of an F1.8 lens which has a very narrow DOF at f1.8 but the focus confirmation on my old MZ50 gave it a much wider range. More modern gear may be better, but I don't think that focus points are accurate enough for very wide apertures, although I'd be happy to be corrected here.

I guess the technology as changed a lot. This could be model-dependent issue, but in K-30 I find the focus confirmation in OVF much more reliable then focus peaking.

How can focus peaking be unreliable or not accurate? It's the users fault if you don't get it right and not the camera.

It can very well be. I've had too many failed macro shots with focus peaking--indeed, those with f/2.8 aperture which is not a forgiving setting either, so now I try to use the OVF more and more Situations like focusing on a particular part of flower...focus peaking seems to surprise me with results But in situations when my forhead gets tired, or angles that are impossible or very difficult to put an eye on OVF, I use focus peaking..but try to close down the aperture to allow for any mistake in focus accuracy:-)

f2.8 is no good for macro, very difficult to focus where you want and most importantly a severe lack of depth of field. I used f16 or so and flash units for illumination. 😉 Actually similar to landscape photography but using longer exposure to make up for the stopped down lens light throughput.

Sounds like you have a severe need for a flippy screen!!! 😀

BTW couldn't have got the shots as good without the flippy screen and magnified focus peaking, therefore using old cameras without fully articulated screens nor focus peaking would have been a handicap resulting in lesser pleasing images. These are features which you have to use first to really understand, appreciate and use them to good effect going by my own experience and I'm not the first to jump at new tech.

Certainly. It is a great option, particularly for using tele lenses. I've been enjoying focus peaking with my Soligor 400mm f/6.3. Its quite fun and easy to capture images. Putting an eye to such a tele lens is absolutely hopeless :-D. I'd be searching forsubject more often then focusing if I use OVF. Haha

On Monday I was using the 20-40 using magnified focus peaking to ensure the nearfield beach pebbles and distant island and lighthouses were both in focus and the lens was stopped down adequately to get both, manually focussing gets an exact good spot for both... As you can ascertain, using AF or other methods is not as good here.

Focus peaking does require a bit of practice before you realise how useful it is. I didn't really use it in 5-6 years of owning a K-30 and only when I got the flippy screen K-70 could I put the camera lower and needed to use focus peaking in awkward positions. It is great to look down at the screen and the electronic levels are also invaluable in this position.

BTW I even had a refconverter for my film cameras to look down into but this doesn't match the fully articulated screen in which you can magnify and focus peak any part of the frame in Liveview. Amazing when you think about it going back to the 1970s MX film camera days.

Why do people complain eh? 😁