James Ballard Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Hey folks, I'm shooting a music video on an SR3 soon with some superspeeds. I had a look through the viewfinder the other day, wide open at t 1.3 and I 'seemed' to be able to pick the focus fairly accurately. I don't want to eyeball the whole shoot however and get back soft rushes. Has anyone judged focus by eye and been ok? Or should I always be measuring? By the way, I'm not going to be shooting the clip at t1.3! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Stephen Williams Posted November 10, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted November 10, 2013 Hey folks, I'm shooting a music video on an SR3 soon with some superspeeds. I had a look through the viewfinder the other day, wide open at t 1.3 and I 'seemed' to be able to pick the focus fairly accurately. I don't want to eyeball the whole shoot however and get back soft rushes. Has anyone judged focus by eye and been ok? Or should I always be measuring? By the way, I'm not going to be shooting the clip at t1.3! Cheers! If the FDD is correct eye focusing will be fine, you may have a problem with very wide angle lenses so be careful with wides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ong Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Hi, Even though I had never used an SR3. personally you probably still want to measure it just in case the camera does not have a ground glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Ballard Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 (edited) If the FDD is correct eye focusing will be fine, you may have a problem with very wide angle lenses so be careful with wides. What's the FDD? Thanks! Edited November 10, 2013 by James Ballard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted November 10, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted November 10, 2013 FFD, Flange Focal Distance. E.g. that the camera is in spec, and the lenses are in spec. I've focused by eye and I've focused by measuring. Normally measurement is a bit better; but there certainly isn't anything wrong with by eye either as i've had to do many times. Super speeds soften considerable at 1.3, normally I don't like to go below 2.8 on 'em which'll give you a bit more DoF anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Ballard Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 Nice, thanks Adrian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Gladstone Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 The old trick for when you're having trouble focusing by eye is to take the top off a maglight and focus on the pinpoint of light. (If you're going to do this next to an actor's eye to focus on their face, warn them first so they can close their eyes. It's super bright.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Stephen Williams Posted November 13, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted November 13, 2013 Hi, Even though I had never used an SR3. personally you probably still want to measure it just in case the camera does not have a ground glass. A camera without a ground glass :D. Thats the reason you do a camera check out, you won't be able to frame the camera either without a GG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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