Continuous display on macro lens

[BryanW]

My apologies up front if this is a silly question but I can find no explanation for this elsewhere.
I have just bought an Olympus 35mm 1:3.5 macro lens. Initial impressions are good. However, in live view there appears what I call the seven segment "cross hair" on permanent display. I have not set this to appear (to my knowledge) and swopping the lens for any of my others results in the display disappearing. Is it supposed to be there all the time? Can it be turned off if I want to , and if so how? It is not particularly annoying and no doubt is useful but I cannot find anything that refers to the phenomenon.
Thanks in anticipation.

Bryan

[Daveart]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

Hi Bryan, which camera are you using, I presume its 4/3rds, and have you entered into macro mode in the sceens mode as this might give out some thing like this when using a macro lens. Not used a macro lens before on 4/3rds body but might be worth investigateing. other than that it does seem strange behavior.

Dave

[BryanW]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

Thanks for your response Dave,

Sorry I should have made it clear. Yes it is a four-thirds camera - an Olympus E-620. I have tried it on all settings, including macro and "the problem" appears on them all. There is the usual display of all the background settings and then after a few seconds that clears to just leave the cross hairs. This is not the case with any of my other three lenses which clear away entirely.

Bryan

[Homer Simpson]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

Bryan
Not sure how far away you are, but you are welcome to try this lens on my cameras to identify where the problem lies

........ I also own a big hammer

[IainMacD]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

It might be worth trying pressing the INFO button to see if the display changes

[Phill D]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

Or if you want to try another 35mm macro out on your camera then I have one.

[Imageryone]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

If you turn the camera to " Live View", do the crosshairs disappear?

[BryanW]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

Thanks for all the replies. Yes I have tried the "i" button and this toggles through all the various options but in each case the feature remains.
Calling it "cross hairs" may have misled you. It is the seven segment feature (five horizontal, three vertical with the one in the middle shared and surrounded by a circle) which is known I believe as the AF target area). This appears (permanently I believe) in all views using the viewfinder but whereas it disappears when switching to live view with all other lenses, it remains in live view with the macro lens.
Thanks to those who have offered to try it out on their cameras but I am not sure that it is worth it - even to try out the delights of Loogyboroogy!
Will a factory reset be an idea or too risky?

Bryan

[Ross the fiddler]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

I believe this is because this lens is not Contrast Focus (live view) optimised (like your 14-42 & 40-150 lenses) & will only show you Phase Detect AF targets. What this means, when using Live View, the actual focussing does not occur until after you have fully pressed the shutter button as it cannot focus with a half press like you can using the view finder. This means, for accurate focussing, if the target moves while using Live View, then it may not focus on the intended target area.

[BryanW]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

Thanks Ross,

That makes (sort of!) perfect sense and I believe you have sorted it. It is strange that the Olympus literature does not mention this (that I am aware of) and it does not seem to have arisen on here before.
I am now better informed. Thank you.

Bryan

[Imageryone]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

AF Live view on the E3 works the same, you have to remember to hold very steady until after the shutter fires.

[Chevvyf1]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

The 35 is a brilliant lens have much fun with capturing all your favourite images in GREAT detail

[Ian]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

The 35mm Macro is not a special lens with regards to the way AF works. The AF setup should be the same regardless of what lens is fitted. I suspect there is something else at work here. I routine procedure for lens issues is to gently clean all the lens mount contacts (on the lens and the camera body).

On the E-620 you will see all 7 AF points in the viewfinder all the time but are you saying that they are lit up all the time?

Ian

[Ian]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

I believe this is because this lens is not Contrast Focus (live view) optimised (like your 14-42 & 40-150 lenses) & will only show you Phase Detect AF targets. What this means, when using Live View, the actual focussing does not occur until after you have fully pressed the shutter button as it cannot focus with a half press like you can using the view finder. This means, for accurate focussing, if the target moves while using Live View, then it may not focus on the intended target area.

Not sure this is entirely correct. While the 35mm is not live view optimised it simply means that it will be slower to focus in live view mode. It's the camera body that determines the exact focusing sequence and an E-620 is fully live view focus capable with any Four Thirds AF lens. Older bodies (E-410/510 and earlier, including the E-3) could not live view focus at all so the cameras had to deploy the mirror to focus (freezing live view).

Ian

[Ross the fiddler]

Re: Continuous display on macro lens

Initial impressions are good. However, in live view there appears what I call the seven segment "cross hair" on permanent display.
Bryan

On the E-620 you will see all 7 AF points in the viewfinder all the time but are you saying that they are lit up all the time?

Ian

He was actually referring to when using Live View.

Not sure this is entirely correct. While the 35mm is not live view optimised it simply means that it will be slower to focus in live view mode. It's the camera body that determines the exact focusing sequence and an E-620 is fully live view focus capable with any Four Thirds AF lens. Older bodies (E-410/510 and earlier, including the E-3) could not live view focus at all so the cameras had to deploy the mirror to focus (freezing live view).

Ian

And for the benefit of Bryon, the details for Live View shooting on the E620 is on page 36 of the E620 manual.
Here is the note at the bottom:-

* For the latest information about Olympus lenses compatible with Imager AF, visit the Olympus website.
When you are using a lens that is not compatible with [IMAGER AF], [HYBRID AF] will be selected
automatically.

The 35mm lens is one of those lenses that uses the Hybrid AF (I just tried my 35mm lens on my E30 to compare with the 14-54 II that is optimised for Live View, Imager AF) & what he is seeing is the AF Sensor focus points being displayed in Live View (on his E620) & there is some delay in taking the shot because there is another focussing step (after the initial contrast AF step) that uses the AF Sensor & that's why I don't (didn't) like to use this lens hand held in Live View on the E30 (or E520) because of possible movement of the target or camera & the focus point shifting. If the subject & camera are static, then it it works fine. This lens is also very good at taking document photos & also set up on a tripod to photograph a whiteboard for hand drawn 'Slomation' sequences (but best set with MF, which is how my daughter used it for one of her projects).

This 35mm macro lens also works quite nicely on the E-M5 as well, albeit a little slow in focussing.