Nikon F6 manual focusing

[Meelis]

Is this impossible to manual focus Zeiss 35mm 2.0 ZF.2 on Nikon F6 for street shooting, can you tell where the focus is from F2.0 to F5.6?

Can i focus with F2.0 but photo will be taken in F11?

 

[apoglass]

The Nikon F6 and the Zeiss 35mm f/2 ZF.2 are both superb. Although I haven't used an F6, based on experience with many earlier Nikon bodies, manual focus is indeed very possible! First, to clear up an apparent misconception, Nikon bodies always focus with the aperture fully open (in this case at f/2) and then when you make an exposure close down the aperture to a smaller size that you or the camera's metering has chosen. (If you instead actually want to focus stopped down, for example, to preview depth of field, you must be pressing the stop down button while focusing.) If you look at the rear of your lens, you'll see the little lever that the camera flips to close down the aperture only while taking the picture.

Since you seem to having difficulty manually focusing, make sure that you are using one of the interchangeable focusing screens that is to your liking. Look up "Nikon focusing screens" online and select one that is designed for manual focus, according to your preference. The standard one, the F6's "A" screen, has a central split prism, surrounded by a circle with microprisms to help make it apparent when focus has been achieved.

Decide if you are going to wear your glasses or not while doing manual focus, and make sure that the viewfinder has its variable focus adjusted for your eyes with our without glasses as you prefer, so that you are seeing the viewfinder image in sharp focus. If you have bifocals or trifocals, be consistent in which portion of the eyeglass lens you look through. You must look at the focusing screen where the image comes to a focus, not with your eyes mis-focused by looking through the screen. Use your dominant eye to focus.

With age, eyesight often deteriorates, so make sure that you have glasses with the correct prescription, correcting astigmatism if present, and have a checkup with an ophthalmologist to make sure that you are not suffering without realizing it from a serious eye problem such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, or a cataract that is making it difficult for you to see clearly.

You can make it much easier to tell if the lens is in focus by using magnification. If you need a little help, attach a mild magnifier to the viewfinder - the Nikon DK17M Magnifier Eyepiece. If you need more help, like me, instead attach a 2x flip down magnifier to use while focusing – Nikon DG-2 with Nikon DK-18 Eyepiece Adapter. A 2x flip down magnifier is what I use and likely what you need. (If you need even more magnification to see clearly, an optically superb 6x magnifying eyepiece can be used with earlier Nikon bodies that have interchangeable viewfinders, such as the DW-2 6x Magnifying Viewfinder for the Nikon F (with "Nikon" nameplate unscrewed) or F2, the DW-4 for the Nikon F3, or the DW-21 for the Nikon F4.)

You can also get the camera to assist by using the autofocus electronics while manually focusing to light up to signal when the camera thinks the scene is in focus.

One last possibility is to let the camera autofocus your manual focus lens by using a Nikon TC-16A AIS 1.6x autofocusing Teleconverter (mine cost $50 about 6 years ago). With this teleconverter, you do an approximate manual focus and then let the camera's autofocus do the final focus. Not optically perfect but works great!

 

[Pioneer]

Ditto.

I do own the Nikon F6 and find it very easy to focus with manual focus lenses.

 

[Chan Tran]

Is this impossible to manual focus Zeiss 35mm 2.0 ZF.2 on Nikon F6 for street shooting, can you tell where the focus is from F2.0 to F5.6?

Can i focus with F2.0 but photo will be taken in F11?

Normally one would focus with the maximum aperture of the lens regardless of the aperture actually used for the exposure.

 

[Meelis]

Thank you apoglass and Pioneer.
The prices of used Nikon F6 are too good not to get one. I always wanted to look through that big viewfinder of F6.
Pioneer have you been shooting with Leica rangefinder? If yes, which one you prefer?

 

[apoglass]

Meelis wrote that "The prices of used Nikon F6 are too good not to get one." At about $800-$1,000+ used, that's still a considerable cost for an F6, and many times as expensive on the used market as the earlier gorgeous professional Nikon film camera bodies. If only using manual focus, not sure if the F6 is that much better. While not quite as great as the F6, the Nikon F100 comes close at about $200 used and has been said by some to be "the deal of the century." I was very happy with aperture priority exposure and AI/AIS manual focus lenses using an EL Nikkormat from the early 1970's to the 21st century, which bodies are now practically being given away for $10-$35. (Please do tell me if I'm wrong, and convince me that I should get an F6 because it is that much improved.)

 

[Sirius Glass]

I too agree that the Nikon F-100 is much better bang for the buck and a whole light lighter to carry.

 

[Meelis]

F100 sounds like create idea. I recall the price used to be around 1850 $, what a price drop.

 

[apoglass]

Since you mentioned "I always wanted to look through that big viewfinder ... " and "street shooting," you might also enjoy a reasonably light weight and quiet (leaf shutter) 6 x 6 twin lens reflex Rolleiflex with a neck strap and a beautiful Maxwell Precision Optics focussing screen. Looking down at a waist level finder is often perceived as less threatening than at eyelevel, and the image quality of medium format film (due to the larger size) is even better than 35mm. The medium format 6 x 6 single lens reflex Hasselblad 203FE also has stunningly gorgeous large viewfinders, the ability to use a 45 degree prism with a 2x flip down magnifier, and offers interchangeable lenses, such as the wonderful Zeiss 110mm f/2, but is louder (mirror and focal plane shutter) and is seriously heavy for street shooting, unless you are very athletic. The Rolleiflex E2 model or later allows interchangeable viewfinders, and there is a German Baier fototechnik adapter that allows Hasselblad V series viewfinders to be mounted on interchangeable viewfinder Rolleiflex TLR cameras, but with the additional weight. For magnification, another possibility is the Hasselblad Chimney Adjusting 3x Magnifying Hood 52096.

 

[etn]

I too agree that the Nikon F-100 is much better bang for the buck and a whole light lighter to carry.

And it uses AA batteries... which is certainly an advantage to some (me included).

 

[Huss]

Ditto.

I do own the Nikon F6 and find it very easy to focus with manual focus lenses.

I also own the F6, and also happen to use it with the Zeiss F.2 35mm lens. It is the best SLR that i have used for manual focus. Better than any of my other Nikons or Minoltas, the screen is that good. The fact that it also has a very good AF system is a bonus.
It has a much better focus screen than my F100, so if you want a manual focus camera I would get a traditional Nikon like a F2/F3 etc. Or if you want the best, the F6. The F6 is about $700-$800 used which is expensive, but much cheaper than a Leica M6 and the Zeiss Ikon ZM to put it in perspective.
The F100 is the killer deal if you are on a budget (mine was $125) but not that good for MF lenses unless you don't mind using the electronic focus confirmation indicator.

 

[benjiboy]

For street shooting the Nikon F6 is heavy, cumbersome, noisy and not to mention painful if your subject takes offence at being photographed and sticks it " where the sun don't shine "

 

[Huss]

For street shooting the Nikon F6 is heavy, cumbersome, noisy and not to mention painful if your subject takes offence at being photographed and sticks it " where the sun don't shine "

Heavy? I guess but it never bothers me. Cumbersome? Nope. Not at all. Everything is in exactly the right place and you can lock and hold meter readings for as many shots as you want. Noisy? It's the quietest SLR that I have.
Painful shoved up yer bum? I don't think anyone looking at an F6 would consider that. Now if you were carrying a small smooth and sleek looking camera, that had that suppositorial shape -like an Olympus Stylus/Mju - then maybe you should worry..
;p

 

[Les Sarile]

I always wanted to look through that big viewfinder of F6.

You will have to look elsewhere as the F6 - and for that matter all autofocus cameras, all have tiny viewfinders as they greatly rely on AF.

I suppose one can get used to anything but using a viewfinder magnifier - flip or otherwise, cannot be great for handheld focusing.

 

[Huss]

You will have to look elsewhere as the F6 - and for that matter all autofocus cameras, all have tiny viewfinders as they greatly rely on AF.

I suppose one can get used to anything but using a viewfinder magnifier - flip or otherwise, cannot be great for handheld focusing.

Au contraire, the DK-17M magnifier that screws into the eyepiece on the F6 makes it most excellent for handheld focusing. W/O it the vf is a little smaller than my FE-2. W/it the vf is bigger than my FE-2.

 

[Les Sarile]

Au contraire, the DK-17M magnifier that screws into the eyepiece on the F6 makes it most excellent for handheld focusing. W/O it the vf is a little smaller than my FE-2. W/it the vf is bigger than my FE-2.

For full disclosure, I only ever used the Canon EOS line of AF cameras and the DK-17M magnifies the F6 viewfinder by 20%. So that is originally 0.74X + 0.148X = 0.888X total magnification which is not unreasonable but still a tiny viewfinder by comparison to the Pentax MX which has a 0.97X magnification. And the MX happens to be the smallest fully manual SLR which makes it a far better option.