A couple of Christmas shots

[SouthernDonkey]

of my grandkids. I took them using a vintage Takumar prime 55mm f/1.8 with an adaptor on my Canon EOS 60D.
I'm having trouble getting the focus sharp at times, even shooting in live mode zoomed in. I stop down a stop or two, and this does help, but does anyone have any experience with off brand, non auto focus lenses, and some pointers on how to get better focus with them? I may post a new thread totally about that. These two shots turned out really god I thought. But it's totally a "take a hundred to get one just right" kind of ordeal. I LOVE the look when I get it tack sharp, and the bokeh of these old heavy lenses is wonderful.
Here's two:

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[Mira]

1. I can imagine that you dug through a few

to find these two flawless photographs.
I'm glad you described how you did it. I live and learn and try to absorb this information. They are both candidates for Hallmark.

[justiceischeap]

2. I just learned today that my camera beeps at me when focus is achieved

I'd been having trouble with one of my lenses and one or two of the fine folks in this group stated it was a good lens. I wasn't convinced. Then I figured out that it beeps, irritated my cats with 100 photos testing out the lens and lo and behold, pretty darn sharp images. I also have a green dot that shows up in the viewfinder but I don't know if that works with old manual lenses.

[Blue_In_AK]

3. These are very sweet.

Great shots.

[SouthernDonkey]

4. Thank you all!

I have ordered on EBAY from Hong Kong a couple of adapters for about $7 each (free shipping!) that contain micro chips for AF confirmation...the light and the "beep" signal when you manual focus these lenses and the camera senses they have come into focus. I don't know how well those work, but I am hopeful that they will help quite a bit. But it would be great to hear some tips from others who shoot with these lenses too.

These Takumars are some stout metal lenses! Tough, durable, with great glass if you find them in good condition. And most of them are. I paid $27 for this 55mm! It was made in 1972! and it's a pretty fast lens. I also bought a 50mm, f/1.4. They are considerably more expensive now, as people have started figuring out how to use em on different brand bodies, but still a bargain for the glass! Most go for around $90 to $100 but I snagged mine for about $65 with shipping. I don't like it so far as well as this one that I got for a lot cheaper. It's sweet... when you can nail the focus!

[Sherman A1]

5. Great pics

thanks for posting.