How to disable lens "focus reset" on M6 Mark II?

[photomxp0]

My setup is an M6 Mark II with EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM lens.
The camera is on a tripod pointed at a window bird feeder.
Camera focus switch on the back is set to [MF].

I manually set the focus precisely on the feeder. Video/Photo recording start and stop is done via wireless remote.

The issue is, when I power off the camera for the day, the camera "resets" the lens focus, even though it is set to MF. And at power-on, there is also some focus movement by the camera. This messes up the focus I had set, so I have to repeat the process again.

I've looked through the menus, tried setting "Retract lens on power off = Disable" (even though it doesn't apply to this lens), and tried using the Focus Mode=MF menu items instead of the switch. None work.

Is there any way to stop this? MF should mean MF in my viewpoint, but Canon doesn't seem to honor this.

 

[Ricardo_Fon]

My M5 does the same thing. It's really annoying. I hope there's a solution for you because I've been thinking of upgrading, but am actually curious about whether this can be fixed.

 

[Aanomalous deutan]

I believe the sleep modes prevent this from happening, so that's another way - just set very conservative power saving options and the battery life shouldn't be much less than if you were to fully power down.

 

[Sittatunga]

One of the Custom menus has this function on my EOS R. Disable the function and you should be OK.

 

[photomxp0]

I believe the sleep modes prevent this from happening, so that's another way - just set very conservative power saving options and the battery life shouldn't be much less than if you were to fully power down.

I can appreciate workarounds, but this would just delay the inevitable, since Canon doesn't allow USB-C battery charging while the camera is powered On.

 

[photomxp0]

One of the Custom menus has this function on my EOS R. Disable the function and you should be OK.

Would you mind looking at the menu option name when get a chance? Maybe it's present on EOS R only?

Also, does it work for STM lenses?

 

[Sittatunga]

One of the Custom menus has this function on my EOS R. Disable the function and you should be OK.

Would you mind looking at the menu option name when get a chance? Maybe it's present on EOS R only?

Also, does it work for STM lenses?

That's what it's called. It's in C.Fn5:Others on the EOS R, C.FnII:Others on the M100. When it's ON it tracks the lens back to near infinity when the camera switches off. That happens with every AF lens, whether it's in AF or MF. I don't have an M6ii to check the menu.

 

[photomxp0]

That's what it's called. It's in C.Fn5:Others on the EOS R, C.FnII:Others on the M100. When it's ON it tracks the lens back to near infinity when the camera switches off. That happens with every AF lens, whether it's in AF or MF. I don't have an M6ii to check the menu.

"Retract lens on power off" is the setting I mentioned in the OP:
On the M6 Mark II, it is C.Fn III [5]

It does not stop the lens from resetting when the camera is turned off.

 

[Sittatunga]

That's what it's called. It's in C.Fn5:Others on the EOS R, C.FnII:Others on the M100. When it's ON it tracks the lens back to near infinity when the camera switches off. That happens with every AF lens, whether it's in AF or MF. I don't have an M6ii to check the menu.

"Retract lens on power off" is the setting I mentioned in the OP:
On the M6 Mark II, it is C.Fn III [5]

It does not stop the lens from resetting when the camera is turned off.

Sorry, I'd missed thay on my first reading of the I. It's not a problem with the EOS R and not something I'd noticed with the M100 as I generally use manual focus lenses for that sorry of thing and check the focus every hour or so anyway.

 

[nnowak]

Barring any software solutions, this hack may work for you.

Set your focus and your aperture where you want them, and then set a shutter speed of several seconds. Take a photo and quickly remove the lens before the exposure ends. The focus and aperture will now be stuck at your desired setting, and they will only reset with a complete electrical connection to your M6 II.

To block the electrical connection, you can tape over the electrical contacts and fully reattach the lens, or just don't completely mount the lens to the locked position. You will also need to go into the custom functions and enable "release shutter without lens". In effect, you are turning your 32mm into a "dumb" manual focus lens.

Long term, you may want to consider purchasing a true manual focus lens, or an EF lens with a physical AF/MF switch.

 

[photomxp0]

Barring any software solutions, this hack may work for you.

Set your focus and your aperture where you want them, and then set a shutter speed of several seconds. Take a photo and quickly remove the lens before the exposure ends. The focus and aperture will now be stuck at your desired setting, and they will only reset with a complete electrical connection to your M6 II.

To block the electrical connection, you can tape over the electrical contacts and fully reattach the lens, or just don't completely mount the lens to the locked position. You will also need to go into the custom functions and enable "release shutter without lens". In effect, you are turning your 32mm into a "dumb" manual focus lens.

I hadn't thought about taping over comm pins. I do have that release shutter setting enabled as I play around with a variety of non-Canon mount film lenses as well.
The EFLens.com website has some details:

Loading…

www.eflens.com

Long term, you may want to consider purchasing a true manual focus lens, or an EF lens with a physical AF/MF switch.

Sure, using another lens would be an option. For that matter, I could use a different camera altogether, but the goal was to find out if there was a setting to override this behavior. It doesn't seem like there will be.

Maybe in 5-10 years, Magic Lantern will support the M6 Mark II

 

[thunder storm]

I had the same problem with the adapted EF 50mm stm on my M50 when shooting trains on a tripod.

My conclusion: simply go with lenses without focusing by wire, just the good old mechanically coupled focus rings and true MF-AF switch.

 

[R2D2]

My setup is an M6 Mark II with EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM lens.
The camera is on a tripod pointed at a window bird feeder.
Camera focus switch on the back is set to [MF].

I manually set the focus precisely on the feeder. Video/Photo recording start and stop is done via wireless remote.

The issue is, when I power off the camera for the day, the camera "resets" the lens focus, even though it is set to MF. And at power-on, there is also some focus movement by the camera. This messes up the focus I had set, so I have to repeat the process again.

I've looked through the menus, tried setting "Retract lens on power off = Disable" (even though it doesn't apply to this lens), and tried using the Focus Mode=MF menu items instead of the switch. None work.

Is there any way to stop this? MF should mean MF in my viewpoint, but Canon doesn't seem to honor this.

My M6ii and EF-M 18-150 or EF-M 15-45 don't change focus when they go to sleep or wake up, and they don't change focus when powered down or powered up. Focus is always where it was left last (EF-M 32mm does change focus).

I have the AF/MF switch set to "AF." "Retract Lens on Power Off" is set to "Disable." And my focus is set to the back "AF Button" (focus is removed from the Shutter Button).

Do you have a different lens to try? Best of luck!

R2

--
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/galleries

 

[thunder storm]

That's the kind of detailed info you'll find on this forum only.

 

[photomxp0]

Thanks for the comments and ideas. This is the only EF-M lens I currently have, but there are other lenses I can use. For example, the EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM does not suffer this issue.

Verdict is that there are no menu settings or camera buttons/switches that will prevent the EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM lens focus from changing when the camera powers off/on.

Maybe it's a bug. I might contact Canon and see where that goes.
PS: tested with latest fw v1.1.1