FAQ

Welcome to ARTRA LAB! We are going to show you how to set up your camera for manual focus lenses and perform better manual focus with help to specific camera focus assistant tool of different brand respecitivity. 

For Canon EOS R Camera

To ensure optimal functionality of your Canon EOS R camera when using manual lenses, please modify specific menu settings. These settings improve performance as well as enabling seamless compatibility between the lens and camera. We strongly advise altering all four settings when utilizing manual lenses with your Canon EOS R camera.

• Custom Function: Operation/Others - Release shutter w/o lens – "ON"
• Shooting menu - MF peaking settings - turn "Peaking" to "ON". This turns on a colour overlay so you can see which areas of your image are sharp.
• Shooting menu - change Lens aberration correction to "OFF" for all settings
• Shooting menu - change Lens electronic MF to "OFF"

On the EOS R, EOS R5 and EOS R6, you can find the MF peaking and Focus Guide in AF Menu 2.

On cameras without the AF menu tab, you can find the MF peaking function in the SHOOT menu. On the EOS RP, it is on SHOOT Menu 8.

You can change the peaking level and colour

For Canon EOS M Camera

To ensure optimal functionality of your Canon EOS M camera when using manual lenses, please modify specific menu settings. These settings improve performance as well as enabling seamless compatibility between the lens and camera. We strongly advise altering all four settings when utilizing manual lenses with your Canon EOS M camera.

• Custom Function Menu C.Fn Release shutter w/o lens – "Enable"
• Display the Magnifying Frame. Tap the Magnifying Glass icon. Drag the frame over the screen to where you want maximum focus. Each time you tap the Magnifying Glass, the Zoom factor increases (1x > 5x > 10x > Reset)
• Shooting menu - change Lens aberration correction to "OFF" for all settings

Canon EOS M cameras can be used in M, Tv, Av or P modes to shoot with manual lenses. They will not work in any automatic modes as the camera can’t determine aperture from the manual lens. In Tv Mode, set ISO to Auto.

For Nikon Z Camera

The following settings should be set to enable easier use of manual lenses with Nikon Z cameras:

• Please make sure using shooting mode of P/A/S or M mode
• Custom settings menu. Peaking highlights. Select a level (1 is most precise) and colour for focus peaking highlights

• Custom settings menu. Apply settings to Live View. Turn this “ON” to see the effects of your exposure setting changes.
• Custom settings menu. Custom control assignment. AF-ON Button. Zoom on/off. High magnification. When focusing, select your focus point using the joystick. Press the AF-ON button and your Z camera display will zoom at 200% at that point in on your image. This works in the Viewfinder and on the rear LCD, with Focus peaking highlights displayed.

Manual Focus Aids   

Manual focus aids include:

1.) Just turn the ring until it's sharp in the finder or rear LCD.

2.) Manually-selected focus areas turn from red to green when in focus. (One selected zone at a time, which can be anywhere in the picture.)

3.) You can magnify the live image in the finder or rear LCD.

4.) There's a three-way null indicator (▶●◀, even when the image is zoomed) to tell you in what direction to turn the focus ring for perfect focus.

5.) Focus Peaking is at MENU > CUSTOM (pencil) > d Shooting/display > d11 focus peaking > Peaking level.

For Sony Alpha Camera

Release w/o Lens

Go into the Camera setup menu and scroll to “Enable release without lens”. Some newer Sony cameras may work in “A” or “S” mode but rarely do they provide satisfactory results. Switch to “M” mode.

• In Camera Settings menu, select “Live View Display” and choose “Setting Effect ON”
• In Camera Settings menu, select “Peaking Settings”. Select “ON” and choose a colour and level (usually Mid works best).
• In Camera Settings menu, select “Zebra Setting”. Select “ON” and choose a level between 90 and 95. You may want to fine tune this setting to your preferences.

6.) There's a rough near/far bar indication of focussed distance in the finder or LCD to let you know if you're at the right or wrong end of the focus range. Sorry, no numeric focus distance display in the finder.

For Fuji X Camera

When using manual lenses on your Fujifilm X camera, there is one menu settings you have to change:

• Shooting menu – Shoot without lens – Enable

For better performance and ease of use, you also want to change the following menu settings:

• Shooting menu – Mount Adaptor Setting. This tells your camera what focal length your lens is and records it to your EXIF data. This is handy when you’re trying to find specific images later.
• Shooting menu – MF Assist. Depending on your camera, there are a few options here to help you focus and get sharp images. Standard zooms into the image so you can see more clearly the focus spot. Digital Split Image replicates the traditional split prism from manual film cameras – line up the two halves of the image to ensure focus. Focus peak highlighting uses a colour overlay to show you what areas of your image are in focus.

For Olympus Mirrorless Camera

Please reference your camera manual:

This video will further explain and demonstrate how to make these changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmFkWuR07Rs