manual or autofocus?

Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 176 Location: philly

i just read a book and it said autofocus rarely focuses good. for scenic shots should i use manual or af?

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 5:11 am

How old is that book? AF systems today are quite reliable - in fact more reliable than my own eyesight in certain conditions. But there are some areas, where manual focussing is the better choice:
- consciously using depth of field by pre-setting the aperture to a value which gives you the required depth of field (for example choosing the hyperfocal distance)

- in some sports (like motorsports) you would often pre-set the focus to a certain point and simply wait, until your subject comes into focus, rather than waiting, that your A system focusses on the subject.

- sometimes, when the main subject is not in the image center (f.x. the eyes of a person you want to portrait) it is easier to set the focus manually, as the AF points are either focussing on a diffferent spot or you need to select the AF points manually (and then I find manual focussing faster).

So, AF has its merits and its limitations. Forget the book and make your own experiences!

regards
René

Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 176 Location: philly

hey i never thought about the motorsports one, i dont like manual too much its strains my eyes thru that little view finder

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 5:45 pm

den9 wrote:

hey i never thought about the motorsports one, i dont like manual too much its strains my eyes thru that little view finder

... buy a Pentax DSLR, they have a much bigger viewfinder... grin...

regards
René

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 7:14 pm

lol Rene, seconded!

Still while my *ist is in the shop I am using my old ME-F again and the finder on that just blows anything digital clean out of the water.

Joined: 25 Jun 2006 Posts: 247

I remember my old Olympus which had the focus viewfinder that had a small circle in the middle of the sight. There was a split through it which you would aim at the edge of your subject or some aspect that had a straight line. You then turn the lens until the line would be smooth across both halves of the focusing circle. I never got as clear pictures as with that one. What were those called?

I always like having MF as a choice, a serious shortcoming of most P&S cameras. AF is quicker, and tends to be very good nowadays, so my preference for MF may just be sentimental.

Joined: 14 Oct 2006 Posts: 37 Location: Plano, Texas

Very interesting converstation. I was talking about this with my buddy yesterday and he was suprised that I use manual focus most the time. I guess cause I learned way back in the day before auto focus I don't know I just feel more comfortable with it. But he was saying Auto focus is always better than manual. Maybe I just haven't learned to use the AF correctly yet.. I don't know.

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:24 am

like most things in photography it seems to me that neither af nor mf is "better", they are just different. Everyone has to figure out what works best for them and their style.

I like manual focus, I wish my *ist had a split screen finder like the one on my old ME-F and nof1's olympus, but at least the Pentax focus confirmation system still works with any lens.

Joined: 09 Sep 2006 Posts: 114 Location: Boston, MA

AF is far more sensitive and faster than your eye could ever be providing you have sufficient contrast and light. I always use AF on my DSLR because it has no focusing aid such as that found on a rangefinder except when I am in low light or I need to prefocus for action. I shoot alot of MF and LF so i do my share of manual focus..but that is always done with a loupe on the ground glass to scutinize the focus. When I think I am locked in on naked eye only I almost always need to fine tune when viewed through the loupe.

But it all comes down to taste and what you shoot.

Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 10:37 am

Personally I use Manual focus for static subjects like landscapes or the like. Mostly to assure the proper placement of DOF.

I only use Autofocus on moving/active subjects or a shot I need to take quickly for some reason.

Joined: 18 Nov 2006 Posts: 288

You might as well take advantage of the technology. I think auto focus is best if it used properly. When the camera has finished focusing you can see where it decided to focus in your viewfinder. If that isn't the point at which you want focus, then refocus on the desired plane by pointing the camera at it and use AF lock to hold that focal point while you reframe.

Personally, I think that is faster and more consistent that manual focus. I'm getting pretty gray so that may be the reason but I certainly recommend AF as long as you use it properly and not let the camera make all the decisions for you.

Joined: 18 Sep 2006 Posts: 59

AF + lock = you're good to go.

Joined: 01 Nov 2003 Posts: 2751 Location: Luxembourg

I use manual focus only for landscapes where I manually set the hyperfocal distance, or for very critical macro work where I don't have an autofocus sensor falling on my desired point of focus.

The rest is all autofocus with amazing results...