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Canon EF and RF Lenses – All Autofocus Motors

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Re: Canon EF and RF Lenses – All Autofocus Motors

#111

Post by samplatt »

DidYaWipe wrote: post #64

Really interesting work. I have been aggravated by (and bellyaching about) the ridiculous lack of a way to control the focusing motors in these lenses directly when shooting video, using a follow-focus wheel. Video shooters are still strapping janky gear-tooth strips onto these lenses, and then bolting bulky mechanical follow-focus mechanisms on the OUTSIDE of lenses that have focusing motors already built in. I can…

A side project I've been neglecting is controlling autofocus on Sony Alpha cameras (specifically the A7ii and A7iii which I have) for the purpose of focus-stacking: shooting a few dozen shots with minimal-step focal differences and blending them all in photoshop later.

It took me a while to find the API; Sony made one then pretty much scrubbed it from the internet and has ignored my emails asking for one :-)

But even with the API, achieving results are tricky. Whether or not the focus motor steps properly seems to be based on how busy the camera is at the time... I'm trying various combinations of [shoot] - [sleep] - [step the focus] - [sleep] - [shoot] but the exactly which of these steps actually succeeds just seems so damn random.

Re: Canon EF and RF Lenses – All Autofocus Motors

#112

Post by omoikane »

MartijnBraam wrote: post #20

I've always wanted to know how the various autofocus systems worked. This page is incredible. I wish there was another one with the Nikon autofocus systems since that's what I actually have. I still have several lenses with autofocus that don't have an AF motor in it at all, the motor is in the camera body instead there's a tiny screw on the lens mount that transfers the motor rotation to the autofocus parts in the l…

Nikon's lenses seem to follow a similar timeline, with different names:

Wave motor = AF-S (1998)

Stepper motor = AF-P (2016)

Voice coil motor = SSVCM (2022)

https://imaging.nikon.com/imaging/lineup/lens/glossary/

Re: Canon EF and RF Lenses – All Autofocus Motors

#113

Post by tjr »

dingaling wrote: post #95

I used to have to manually focus to take photos of my dog. The apparent noise from the early Ring USM AF in the 85mm/1.8 lens drove him mad and he would run out of the room. We did initially wonder if it was some psychological effect of pointing a camera at him, but one night I hid behind a curtain and used the AF motor and he still shot out of the room. Subsequent USM AF motors were silent to him and he was then con…

My dog also developed an aversion to cameras, and I wondered if it was the USM focusing. That might have been what started it, but she still doesn't like any cameras at all, USM or not.

Re: Canon EF and RF Lenses – All Autofocus Motors

#114

Post by DidYaWipe »

samplatt wrote: post #111
DidYaWipe wrote: post #64

Really interesting work. I have been aggravated by (and bellyaching about) the ridiculous lack of a way to control the focusing motors in these lenses directly when shooting video, using a follow-focus wheel. Video shooters are still strapping janky gear-tooth strips onto these lenses, and then bolting bulky mechanical follow-focus mechanisms on the OUTSIDE of lenses that have focusing motors already built in. I can…

A side project I've been neglecting is controlling autofocus on Sony Alpha cameras (specifically the A7ii and A7iii which I have) for the purpose of focus-stacking: shooting a few dozen shots with minimal-step focal differences and blending them all in photoshop later. It took me a while to find the API; Sony made one then pretty much scrubbed it from the internet and has ignored my emails asking for one :-) But even…

BlackMagic does some pretty innovative stuff. They offered an Arduino add-on board that could communicate with and control their cameras over SDI, including access to the Canon EF mount and its commands.

Somebody did in fact create a control board with a knob to control lens focus through this thing. It can be done. The manufacturers just refuse to do it.

Re: Canon EF and RF Lenses – All Autofocus Motors

#115

Post by porphyra »

post_break wrote: post #105

Canon is dead to me after they forced 3rd parties to stop all RF lenses. I bought the last AF lens by Viltrox and it's fantastic. I regret getting an RF body after they threatened them, and now only allow 3rd parties on their crop sensor bodies. Fuji, Sony, Leica, Nikon, all allow 3rd party lenses. I switched to Fuji and won't go back.

It is a little sad honestly how Canon has now been surpassed by Sony in both sensor technology and lens optical quality and yet they double down on forcing people to use their expensive lenses. I miss the old days when EF mount was the lingua franca of autofocus mounts with a thriving ecosystem of lenses from Sigma, Tamron, and the like. Even now some of the Sigma Art lenses for SLR mounts, like the 40mm and 105mm f/1.4, are peerless in terms of image quality.

Re: Canon EF and RF Lenses – All Autofocus Motors

#116

Post by borlox »

post_break wrote: post #105

Canon is dead to me after they forced 3rd parties to stop all RF lenses. I bought the last AF lens by Viltrox and it's fantastic. I regret getting an RF body after they threatened them, and now only allow 3rd parties on their crop sensor bodies. Fuji, Sony, Leica, Nikon, all allow 3rd party lenses. I switched to Fuji and won't go back.

Exactly why I just bought a Nikon.

Re: Canon EF and RF Lenses – All Autofocus Motors

#117

Post by samplatt »

DidYaWipe wrote: post #114
samplatt wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A side project I've been neglecting is controlling autofocus on Sony Alpha cameras (specifically the A7ii and A7iii which I have) for the purpose of focus-stacking: shooting a few dozen shots with minimal-step focal differences and blending them all in photoshop later. It took me a while to find the API; Sony made one then pretty much scrubbed it from the internet and has ignored my emails asking for one :-) But even…

BlackMagic does some pretty innovative stuff. They offered an Arduino add-on board that could communicate with and control their cameras over SDI, including access to the Canon EF mount and its commands. Somebody did in fact create a control board with a knob to control lens focus through this thing. It can be done. The manufacturers just refuse to do it.

Focus-stacking is a feature on (iirc) the A9 level cameras, which are 5x the price, so it's hardly surprising that they want to lock it down.

Re: Canon EF and RF Lenses – All Autofocus Motors

#118

Post by Daneel_ »

post_break wrote: post #105

Canon is dead to me after they forced 3rd parties to stop all RF lenses. I bought the last AF lens by Viltrox and it's fantastic. I regret getting an RF body after they threatened them, and now only allow 3rd parties on their crop sensor bodies. Fuji, Sony, Leica, Nikon, all allow 3rd party lenses. I switched to Fuji and won't go back.

Wait, what? That’s horrific! I love my range of lenses for my long-suffering 5d3. I wouldn’t have bought it if the only options were the canon lenses. How disappointing to hear.

Re: Canon EF and RF Lenses – All Autofocus Motors

#119

Post by roflmaostc »

porphyra wrote: post #115
post_break wrote: post #105

Canon is dead to me after they forced 3rd parties to stop all RF lenses. I bought the last AF lens by Viltrox and it's fantastic. I regret getting an RF body after they threatened them, and now only allow 3rd parties on their crop sensor bodies. Fuji, Sony, Leica, Nikon, all allow 3rd party lenses. I switched to Fuji and won't go back.

It is a little sad honestly how Canon has now been surpassed by Sony in both sensor technology and lens optical quality and yet they double down on forcing people to use their expensive lenses. I miss the old days when EF mount was the lingua franca of autofocus mounts with a thriving ecosystem of lenses from Sigma, Tamron, and the like. Even now some of the Sigma Art lenses for SLR mounts, like the 40mm and 105mm f/…

Yes, Sigma ART lenses are insane for that price. Also, they look very elegant compare to plastic Canon lenses.

I was hoping for the new Sigma BF camera, simple and elegant. Unfortunately no Bluetooth, which is a deal breaker for me.

Re: Canon EF and RF Lenses – All Autofocus Motors

#120

Post by lambdasquirrel »

tjr wrote: post #113
dingaling wrote: post #95

I used to have to manually focus to take photos of my dog. The apparent noise from the early Ring USM AF in the 85mm/1.8 lens drove him mad and he would run out of the room. We did initially wonder if it was some psychological effect of pointing a camera at him, but one night I hid behind a curtain and used the AF motor and he still shot out of the room. Subsequent USM AF motors were silent to him and he was then con…

My dog also developed an aversion to cameras, and I wondered if it was the USM focusing. That might have been what started it, but she still doesn't like any cameras at all, USM or not.

Maybe the mechanical/EFCS shutter?

Some animals just know and some like being the center of such attention. Others just don’t.

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