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Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 APO-Distagon
(prototype)

Focusing Tips for Extracting Peak Performance

The exceptional wide-open contrast of the 55/1.4 APO-Distagon makes focusing a joy relative to other normal lenses, but that is not to say it is easy, since the nuances of best focus cannot be seen by eye through a DSLR optical viewfinder*.

In terms of technical excellence, one can think about focus from two related perspectives:

Either way, it’s all about raising the odds of extracting peak lens performance.

* DSLR optical viewfinders have become more and more unfriendly for manual focus because of focusing screens optimized for autofocus and brightness; focus nuances at f/1.4 and f/2 are lost. As of late 2013, both Canon and Nikon have abandoned even the option of alternative focusing screens for their respective high-resolution cameras. The only viable solution for high-res digital is to abandon optical viewfinders and move to built-in high resolution EVF designs, which inherently support magnified Live View.

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Variants LabStandard, MoreDistantFocus.20MicronsCloserToLens, CloserFocus.20MicronsFartherFromLens available in full article

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