Focus peaking

yaeld

Regular
Location
Monte Vista, CO
Name
Yael DeFaye
I'm looking to get a mirrorless in a month and I would like to use old manual lens with it. So the feature of focus peaking sounds more than interesting.

How well does it work? Can I use it for wildlife? Can I focus feast with it?

Which camera allows this feature? I know Fuji, Sony and the gx7 do it. Who else?

I always shoot in raw and like the rendering of the Sony and Fuji.

Thank you for your help!



Sent from my Nexus 7 using SeriousCompacts mobile app
 
Yes, you can use the focus peaking to shoot wildlife. I only have cat shots also as it is a challenge but there are bird shooters w/ nex in our sister forum:
talknex.com

Sony is the first company to introduce it. I think initially it was used in the video cameras. Now most mirrorless manufactures have the focus peaking eg even Leica M has it. Ricoh gxr has it, but it is no more produced. Olympus e-p5/e-m1 have it also. If you are shooting birds, 2x factor of m43 might be better. If you are using for normal lengths, then 1.5x factor works better esp on the wider end of lenses.

I'm looking to get a mirrorless in a month and I would like to use old manual lens with it. So the feature of focus peaking sounds more than interesting.

How well does it work? Can I use it for wildlife? Can I focus feast with it?

Which camera allows this feature? I know Fuji, Sony and the gx7 do it. Who else?

I always shoot in raw and like the rendering of the Sony and Fuji.

Thank you for your help!



Sent from my Nexus 7 using SeriousCompacts mobile app
 
Fuji's do it also (I have Fuji) and at times it's better than Fuji's autofocus, lol.

But Sony's peaking implementation is much better than Fuji's.
 
Best peaking for me was the GXR, but it is now a little long in the tooth. Don't forget the "clarity" of the peaking effect is reliant upon the speed of the glass; I can manually focus my f1.5 Sonnar with ease, but struggle with an f4 Olympus tele.

Sent from another Galaxy
 
I'll have about $1000 once I sell my current camera, so the EM1 and P5 from Olympus are not possible for me. I can get the GX7 or EX1 but I'll be more interested in getting the NEX 6 with several manual lens like the Nikon 300mm f4.5, the Nikon 100mm f4 or the Vivitar 90mm f2.5. I already have some cheaper Pentax lens like the 28mm f2.8 and 50mm f2.

John Griggs, you are saying the Sony it the nest implementation of the focus peaking?
 
I'll have about $1000 once I sell my current camera, so the EM1 and P5 from Olympus are not possible for me. I can get the GX7 or EX1 but I'll be more interested in getting the NEX 6 with several manual lens like the Nikon 300mm f4.5, the Nikon 100mm f4 or the Vivitar 90mm f2.5. I already have some cheaper Pentax lens like the 28mm f2.8 and 50mm f2.

John Griggs, you are saying the Sony it the nest implementation of the focus peaking?

I had some early NEX cameras (NEX 3 and a NEX 5) and did not like the cameras overall -- but I did think the focus peaking was excellent. I wish the Fuji had, for example, the ability to show the peaking in different color like the Sony did. Also, on my X-E1, I find the peaking very hard to distinguish in the viewfinder... but then again the Sony's had no viewfinder, lol.

So, yes, compared to the Fuji I do think Sony's peaking is best, but I like the Fuji cameras better for the image quality and handling. No camera is perfect, lol.
 
What didn't you like on the nex?
What do you prefer on the Fuji?

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The old NEX were over simplified. The new ones like the NEX-6 and NEX-7 and so forth have some more direct controls, but the old ones didn't. I'm an old photographer who likes more direct control of the camera.

Micro four thirds had some great options for cameras with good control, but I was always having to trade off to get lens/body compatibility (like the purple blob problem etc.) and still have lots of controls. I finally at a friends urging tried out a Fuji system.

I like the handling of the Fuji's overall (The X-M1 is a bit of an exception but the images are still great) with the aperture ring, dedicated shutter speed and dedicated exposure compensation dials. In addition, the Fuji's are the first cameras I feel like I could shoot them in JPG without fussing with the camera a lot.

Fuji is a mystery lately and raises a question for me: is X-Trans really special or does Fuji just have the best digital signal processing algorithms? The X-A1 is a wildcard in that game and the game is ongoing. Regardless, the X-Trans Fuji lineup gives me a look for my shots and files which should make better large prints IMO.

Nothing much wrong with NEX objectively -- but camera preferences are by nature subjective and that's my take.
 
John,

I like direct controls too, reason I was aiming at the Nex 6 in the Sony system.

Regarding Fuji, I have been looking the XA1 and I'm sure you are right, they have a great digital signal processing algorithm. I would love a Fuji like the XE1 but I wish I could try one before getting it just so I can test the AF on it. There is lots of comments about the AF but I would like to compare it to my Nikon D90.
The XE1 will cost more but the lens is a lot better than the Sony 16-50.

I have been thinking about m43 and there is always something that disagree with me, nothing about the pictures themselves, just the cameras. I don't know what it is... I guess just personal preference.
 
John,

I like direct controls too, reason I was aiming at the Nex 6 in the Sony system.

Regarding Fuji, I have been looking the XA1 and I'm sure you are right, they have a great digital signal processing algorithm. I would love a Fuji like the XE1 but I wish I could try one before getting it just so I can test the AF on it. There is lots of comments about the AF but I would like to compare it to my Nikon D90.
The XE1 will cost more but the lens is a lot better than the Sony 16-50.

I have been thinking about m43 and there is always something that disagree with me, nothing about the pictures themselves, just the cameras. I don't know what it is... I guess just personal preference.

I think if you want to wait, the X-E2 might be the way to go. It should have phase detect autofocus and the EXR II processor which makes the camera perform better -- or something does anyway. Both the X-M1 and the X100S feel faster in special situations than the X-E1 -- but on single shot-to-shot it's not noticeable.

Really like my X-E1. You can rent one also for three days I think for like $50 or something from LenRentals or somebody like that I think. I'm also thinking that if the X-E2 does well the X-E1 will start to slide in price making it a better value.

Generally, your D90 will be a higher performer in focus speed in many situations -- but not all. I shot D7000's a couple of years ago and I can deal with the current autofocus systems of Fuji and others because I don't shoot sports. But I will tell you the truth: Fuji is about the slowest performer in mirrorless cameras these days. It's not a huge difference most of the time, but it's there. I can live with it and Fuji has improved it over time so who knows what's next. Overall, I love the way they designed these cameras -- even the dinky X-M1 and that surprised me about that one, lol.
 
I'll wait for the XE2 anyway since I won't have the money until November.
Does the XM1 have the phase detect AF? Can you easily control the aperture, shutter and ISO on it as well as the XE1?
 
I know the JPG OOC are awesome, which could be the first time I'l shoot jpeg om a camera of that price. But that isn't an issue, I've always shoot RAW and processed my own image.
 
I'll wait for the XE2 anyway since I won't have the money until November.
Does the XM1 have the phase detect AF? Can you easily control the aperture, shutter and ISO on it as well as the XE1?

The control wheels -- and there are two on the X-M1 -- are fine. All my lenses are XF lenses with aperture rings and I haven't used the XC lenses but since the wheels are there it should be easy.

No, the X-M1 and X-A1 don't have phase detect. So far, only the X100S has that. I believe that the X-E2 is supposed to have it.

The X-M1 has some programmability and the "Fn" button near the shutter can be programmed for ISO (and many use it that way) or the "Q menu" makes ISO adjustment fast. However, on the X-M1 you set up auto ISO parameters separately in the main menu. You can select auto ISO from the Q, but just whatever you've programmed. By programmed I mean the settings for maximum ISO you will allow in auto, and the minimum shutter speed you'll allow.
 
I'll see what the XE2 will be like and at what price then I'll see how it goes. I'm still looking at the nex6 or a Fuji.

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