To Infinity...and what?

[Ricco]

I've tried to figure this out and I've finally had to ask for some help.

Almost every lens that I've come across has a relatively easy way to focus on infinity. However, on the A55 Kit lens (18-55), there isn't and I'm too much of a noob to be able to figure it out.

I've tried googling it and I'm either doing it wrong, or MY eyes our out of focus.
anyone?

anyone?
<crickets>

[auddii]

Originally Posted by Ricco

Good vid. thanks for the info.

Just from this review Sony DT 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 SAM review Says there isn't a hard stop at infinity. Not that I know what that means

[groovyone]

The kit lens is a SAM lens, so it is not gear driven. That means no hard stops. You'll have to watch for the focus point since I do not think there was a DOF scale on that lens.

[Ricco]

Ugh, as I've said, I'm a bit of a noob, but this is a bit aggravating since I also want to eventually do night sky shots and one of the requirements is to adjust to infinity.

Edit: Then again, this might give me an excuse to buy an appropriate lens anyway.....

[Todd Lambert]

You really shouldn't trust your infinity mark anyways, they're rarely, completely accurate.

If you trust your AF, you can always focus on something far away, the moon, a bright star, etc.. The best method would be to zoom in with LiveView (if you have it) and acquire infinity that way.

I've done the focus on a star, distant street light, etc.. forever and it works very well. I routinely do it throughout the night if I've moved my camera around, since you may bump the focus ring at some point and then you can shoot the rest of the night incorrectly - ugh!

[Todd Lambert]

Adding on... I do trust my Infinity mark now... as I've verified where true infinity lies on my lenses. If you're going to do a lot of night stuff, this is worth doing. Basically test your lenses during the day or in sufficient light.... see where true infinity lies and then either memorize that spot on the lens or even put a little sticker or something. On some of my lenses true infinity lies to the right of the symbol just a hair, while others are spot on the symbol, and one is just a hair before the mark.