M100 focus to infinity?

[Stellar7]

I just got the M100... I have very mixed feelings about it because of the interface. 

In any case, I will be using it for taking pictures out of an airplane cockpit.  Lighting and focus are always impossible using any automatic mode.  There are too many extremes.  One particularly impossible scenario is taking pictures at night or evening.  Putting the camera into manual focus mode means that I will have to focus using the LCD, which is nowhere near as precise as an optical viewfinder. 

But how do I set the lens to Infinity in darkness, without any reference to distant objects (which is a hack anyways)?

[ebiggs1]

"But how do I set the lens to Infinity in darkness..."

There isn't an infinity mark on the lens?  If you are shooting things that are at infinity ot even close to infinity the DOF should handle any slight dependencies in focus.

[Stellar7]

No there isn't, unlike the lenses I have for a Rebel T4i.  This one only has a focal length adjustment.

The problem is that without having an inifinity setting, there's absolutely no way I can focus properly since I'm taking pictures at night, at high altitude.  There's simply no reference point and even if there were, I just can't focus sharply using a low resolution LCD.  Even with the optical viewfinder on the T4i, it's still a problem focusing to infinity but at least that camera has an infinity mark which I can set and hold with tape.

[ebiggs1]

Hmmm, sounds like you need a different, better camera for the job.

[ebiggs1]

A Rebel T7i, perhaps.  It is a whole lot better camera and has better lenses.

[PLee]

Simplest solution would be to get the EF-M to EF mount adapter and put any lens you would have used on your Rebel T4i on the M100.

[MikeSowsun]

Which lens are you using on your M100?

It should have manual focus but it may be “focus by wire” without a distance scale or infinity stop. 

Even a regular lens with a mechanical infinity focus stop won’t be ideal because most modern AF lenses will go slightly past infinity focus.

In Manual Mode, if you rotate the focus ring all the way, it will probably go slightly past infinity. You best bet is to enable “MF Peaking”. This will outline the in focus areas in red on your LCD screen. It may be difficult at night but you really have no other option. 

[Stellar7]

Thanks for the advice.  I saw that in the manual but I had never used a camera with this function before.

Indeed the M100 is "focus by wire". 

I just wish there was some kind of software or hardware preset of infinity. During the day any camera I've ever had (except for manual focus) locks onto the windshields or some other interior feature.  At night, most cameras refuse the take a picture as they search for a focal point.

The reason I purchased the M100 is because I needed a small camera with a high resolution and decent optics (better than a cell phone and comparable to a DSLR). 

[PLee]

If you set the focus mode to AF+MF and half press the shutter for AF and then turn the focus ring, a 5x digital loupe will appear that will help with focus peaking.

[pipestem]

Just found this thread after having the same thoughts.  How about using an EF lens with an adapter and thus going full manual?