Any tips on practicing focus pulling? at DVinfo.net

Johan Eickmeyer · November 12th, 2010, 02:33 PM

Hey Guys!

I have a Canon 60D I am using for everything, including video.

I also have a 60mm 2.8 EFS, which is proving to be a really nice lens to start with.

One important thing for me to master, is focusing at all times.

What are some good exercises to do in order to get your hand and eyes tuned to it?

Right now, I am placing object like soup bottles and cans in my home at varying distances and to the sides. I am holding the camera mounted to a tripod for a little stability. The camera alone is hard enough to keep stable, without focusing.

My first test is to hold the camera steady and focus on various objects as fast as possible with only one shot at each, not hunting back and forth. If I miss it from a long focus pull, then I try over again. I want to be able to see the distance from my camera to the object and know exactly how much to pull for sharp and quick focus.

My second test is to move the camera around a lot and try to keep objects in focus. This is proving to be the most difficult one to master, but damn does it look good when everything is moving in the frame but the one spot that is perfectly in focus and stable. This doubles as a stability test in keeping objects in frame and with good composition.

My third test is to move the camera around while snapping to different objects. One cool type of shot I have learned, but not mastered, is to snap focus to things off screen (HARD!!!) and then pan into them right as the focus hits tack sharp.

My fourth test is to get smooth focus pulls from 1:1 macro to infinity. With a 170 deg focus ring, this is tough! I have only one shot that I consider even slightly close to smooth from stop to stop.

Focus pulling is some of the most difficult hand-eye coordination I have ever done. I play a lot of twitchy video games and was pretty good at baseball. I like challenges, especially when I get a chance to prove I am better at focusing than the best AF systems.

Any thoughts on what else I should be practicing? I want to be a focusing pulling bad-ass. :)

I will post up some samples once I get better subjects to focus on, and hopefully you guys (with far more experience) will be able to help me get better. Then you can hire me! LoL.

Joel Peregrine · November 12th, 2010, 03:50 PM

Hi Johan,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johan Eickmeyer

Hey Guys!
I have a Canon 60D I am using for everything, including video.
I also have a 60mm 2.8 EFS, which is proving to be a really nice lens to start with.
One important thing for me to master, is focusing at all times.
What are some good exercises to do in order to get your hand and eyes tuned to it?

I'd go out on the driveway when my kids were skateboarding, biking, scootering, roller blading etc. and practice keeping them in focus as they'd come toward me and go away from me - I used a Canon 70-200. You learn relatively quickly how much to turn the focus barrel based on the subjects speed.

Johan Eickmeyer · November 12th, 2010, 04:10 PM

Is renting kids cheaper than buying them in the long run?

Just kidding. :)

I agree, focusing on objects that are moving, other than my camera, sounds like a good practice.

I am going to go out into a busy public place and try to do some focusing on moving subjects. At least until I get beat up for focusing on a chick's butt while the BF is looking.

Is a rotating dial ideal for focusing? Would a long lever or a linear rail hooked up to the lens work better? The focus ring now has good modulation, but hard to get quick pulls.

Sam Kanter · November 12th, 2010, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johan Eickmeyer

Hey Guys!

I have a Canon 60D I am using for everything, including video.

I also have a 60mm 2.8 EFS, which is proving to be a really nice lens to start with.

One important thing for me to master, is focusing at all times.

What are some good exercises to do in order to get your hand and eyes tuned to it?

Right now, I am placing object like soup bottles and cans in my home at varying distances and to the sides. I am holding the camera mounted to a tripod for a little stability. The camera alone is hard enough to keep stable, without focusing.

My first test is to hold the camera steady and focus on various objects as fast as possible with only one shot at each, not hunting back and forth. If I miss it from a long focus pull, then I try over again. I want to be able to see the distance from my camera to the object and know exactly how much to pull for sharp and quick focus.

My second test is to move the camera around a lot and try to keep objects in focus. This is proving to be the most difficult one to master, but damn does it look good when everything is moving in the frame but the one spot that is perfectly in focus and stable. This doubles as a stability test in keeping objects in frame and with good composition.

My third test is to move the camera around while snapping to different objects. One cool type of shot I have learned, but not mastered, is to snap focus to things off screen (HARD!!!) and then pan into them right as the focus hits tack sharp.

My fourth test is to get smooth focus pulls from 1:1 macro to infinity. With a 170 deg focus ring, this is tough! I have only one shot that I consider even slightly close to smooth from stop to stop.

Focus pulling is some of the most difficult hand-eye coordination I have ever done. I play a lot of twitchy video games and was pretty good at baseball. I like challenges, especially when I get a chance to prove I am better at focusing than the best AF systems.

Any thoughts on what else I should be practicing? I want to be a focusing pulling bad-ass. :)

I will post up some samples once I get better subjects to focus on, and hopefully you guys (with far more experience) will be able to help me get better. Then you can hire me! LoL.

Are you using separate focus puller or lens? Are you using loupe or monitor, or camera's LCD?

Johan Eickmeyer · November 12th, 2010, 06:21 PM

Lens and the swivel LCD. LCD is plenty big to see my fine focus points and is a dream.

I will be building my own focus pulling adapter if I need to change my gearing ratios for certain shots.

The focus ring on this lens is one of the nicest ones I have used on a USM lens. I will take precision over speed any day.

Two things that help me a lot. Beer and more beer. Seems beer smooths out my motor skills a lot and I get smoother pulls. I will have to get better at a non-beer method, as that will not always be an option.

Alan Halfhill · November 14th, 2010, 12:10 AM

This helps.

If you have a 60D, you have a new option. The L-Finder. It consists of a Hoodman Hoodloupe 3.0 with a Hoodman LCD neoprene strap. Cost $75 for the Hoodloupe from Neal Photo in Montana and $10 for the Strap from Amazon. Total cost $85.

This works well. Other loupes would be too heavy for the 60D LCD in that it would swivel on its own.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/attachme...p-img_9976.jpg

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/attachme...p-img_9980.jpg

Sam Kanter · November 16th, 2010, 01:25 PM

>>If you have a 60D, you have a new option. The L-Finder. It consists of a Hoodman Hoodloupe 3.0 with a Hoodman LCD neoprene strap. Cost $75 for the Hoodloupe from Neal Photo in Montana and $10 for the Strap from Amazon.

I don't see this for $10 anywhere - more like $25. Can you point to a link?

Thanks...

November 12th, 2010, 02:33 PM	#1
Johan Eickmeyer Tourist Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Seattle WA USA Posts: 3	Any tips on practicing focus pulling? Hey Guys! I have a Canon 60D I am using for everything, including video. I also have a 60mm 2.8 EFS, which is proving to be a really nice lens to start with. One important thing for me to master, is focusing at all times. What are some good exercises to do in order to get your hand and eyes tuned to it? Right now, I am placing object like soup bottles and cans in my home at varying distances and to the sides. I am holding the camera mounted to a tripod for a little stability. The camera alone is hard enough to keep stable, without focusing. My first test is to hold the camera steady and focus on various objects as fast as possible with only one shot at each, not hunting back and forth. If I miss it from a long focus pull, then I try over again. I want to be able to see the distance from my camera to the object and know exactly how much to pull for sharp and quick focus. My second test is to move the camera around a lot and try to keep objects in focus. This is proving to be the most difficult one to master, but damn does it look good when everything is moving in the frame but the one spot that is perfectly in focus and stable. This doubles as a stability test in keeping objects in frame and with good composition. My third test is to move the camera around while snapping to different objects. One cool type of shot I have learned, but not mastered, is to snap focus to things off screen (HARD!!!) and then pan into them right as the focus hits tack sharp. My fourth test is to get smooth focus pulls from 1:1 macro to infinity. With a 170 deg focus ring, this is tough! I have only one shot that I consider even slightly close to smooth from stop to stop. Focus pulling is some of the most difficult hand-eye coordination I have ever done. I play a lot of twitchy video games and was pretty good at baseball. I like challenges, especially when I get a chance to prove I am better at focusing than the best AF systems. Any thoughts on what else I should be practicing? I want to be a focusing pulling bad-ass. :) I will post up some samples once I get better subjects to focus on, and hopefully you guys (with far more experience) will be able to help me get better. Then you can hire me! LoL.

November 14th, 2010, 12:10 AM	#6
Alan Halfhill Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Sequim, WA Posts: 127	L-Finder This helps. If you have a 60D, you have a new option. The L-Finder. It consists of a Hoodman Hoodloupe 3.0 with a Hoodman LCD neoprene strap. Cost $75 for the Hoodloupe from Neal Photo in Montana and $10 for the Strap from Amazon. Total cost $85. This works well. Other loupes would be too heavy for the 60D LCD in that it would swivel on its own. http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/attachme...p-img_9976.jpg http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/attachme...p-img_9980.jpg

November 12th, 2010, 04:10 PM	#3
Johan Eickmeyer Tourist Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Seattle WA USA Posts: 3	Is renting kids cheaper than buying them in the long run? Just kidding. :) I agree, focusing on objects that are moving, other than my camera, sounds like a good practice. I am going to go out into a busy public place and try to do some focusing on moving subjects. At least until I get beat up for focusing on a chick's butt while the BF is looking. Is a rotating dial ideal for focusing? Would a long lever or a linear rail hooked up to the lens work better? The focus ring now has good modulation, but hard to get quick pulls.

November 12th, 2010, 06:21 PM	#5
Johan Eickmeyer Tourist Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Seattle WA USA Posts: 3	Lens and the swivel LCD. LCD is plenty big to see my fine focus points and is a dream. I will be building my own focus pulling adapter if I need to change my gearing ratios for certain shots. The focus ring on this lens is one of the nicest ones I have used on a USM lens. I will take precision over speed any day. Two things that help me a lot. Beer and more beer. Seems beer smooths out my motor skills a lot and I get smoother pulls. I will have to get better at a non-beer method, as that will not always be an option.

November 16th, 2010, 01:25 PM	#7
Sam Kanter Major Player Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New York Posts: 205	>>If you have a 60D, you have a new option. The L-Finder. It consists of a Hoodman Hoodloupe 3.0 with a Hoodman LCD neoprene strap. Cost $75 for the Hoodloupe from Neal Photo in Montana and $10 for the Strap from Amazon. I don't see this for $10 anywhere - more like $25. Can you point to a link? Thanks...