Useless manual focus ring

[Ian Henderson]

Am I missing something in the manual? Is it possible to reset/recalibrate the manual focus ring?

On my A1, in M mode, the minutest movements on the ring cause the focus to jump from 0.1m to 5m to infinity. My DOP and I have been using the A1 on a couple of shoots and it is basically pretty much impossible to focus pull with any kind of accuracy whatsoever. Literally a couple of millimetres on the ring cover the entire focus range.

I tried another unit in the shop, and it was pretty much the same. This is a serious flaw to my mind - are other people here having the same problem?

[Alex Leith]

When you're wide the focus ring shifts through the focus range much more rapidly than when you're zoomed in.

I've found it somewhat annoying, but not a critical flaw.

[Bill Pryor]

You can go into your menu and change the focus ring settings so it acts normally. The default is, as you noticed, ridiculous. It's in the Camera Setup, second page, it's called "F SPEED PSET. Change it from high to low and you'll be a happy camper.

[Lloyd Coleman]

I think the "F SPEED PSET" is used when you want the camera to return to a preset focus distance and controls how fast it returns to the preset. If you want to change the sensitivity of the focus ring in manual focus you need to go to the "CUSTOMIZE" menu and set custom function 03 (focus ring control) to "slow".

[Bill Pryor]

OOps, I think you're right about that. I just grabbed the camera and looked at the menu too quickly. It's been some months since I changed it, and it was set to slow, so I assumed that was it. Thanks for the correction. To quote the politicians, "Mistakes were made...." Notice how they never say "I" made a mistake--it's always "mistakes were made," thus leaving the implication of no responsibility. Well, dammit, *I* made a mistake. Thanks for fixing it.

[Ian Henderson]

Thanks, Lloyd. Went in to the customize menu for the first time, and that's solved my problem! Much happier.

[Alex Leith]

Although that also seems to make the zoom speed when zoomed in "incredibly" slow...

[Piotr Wozniacki]

Originally Posted by Alex Leith

Although that also seems to make the zoom speed when zoomed in "incredibly" slow...

Absolutely - that's why you have the choice of settings. You cannot have all at the same time:)

[Alex Leith]

Originally Posted by Piotr Wozniacki

Absolutely - that's why you have the choice of settings. You cannot have all at the same time:)

Sure, but why not the option to have the focus ring turn proportionally to the change in focal distance regardless of the zoom setting?

For most cameras the manual focus does not rack through the focus faster at the wide end? Certainly that doesn't happen on still camera lenses.

[Piotr Wozniacki]

Originally Posted by Alex Leith

Sure, but why not the option to have the focus ring turn proportionally to the change in focal distance regardless of the zoom setting?

For most cameras the manual focus does not rack through the focus faster at the wide end? Certainly that doesn't happen on still camera lenses.

It sure does in the A1 and in Sony V1 - so much so, in fact, that I wish there was a button for the sensitivity vs speed selection: slower at wide, faster at tele!