Manual Focus or Auto Focus?

[Robert Watcher]

Although I don't use the lens often - I did attach my manual focus Minolta 50mm f1.7 a day ago to my new Olympus E-PL5 - just to see how it felt and I took this single shot at the closest focusing distance.

I find it a challenge to focus manually though - or quickly - - - shooting that way has to be a deliberate patient approach, which I don't entertain often. I was one of those guys who had no quams moving on to and trusting Auto Focus back in 2001, after 20+ years of shooting professionally with manual focus cameras and lenses.

So I guess that even though I am convinced that the 50mm Minolta lens provides really nice images, I'll be getting myself the Olympus 45mm f1.8 before I head back to Nicaragua in a couple of months - - - so I don't inhibit my shooting style.

Olympus E-PL5 w/50mm f1.7 Minolta : f2.8 : 6400 ISO

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[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Rob,

Although I don't use the lens often - I did attach my manual focus Minolta 50mm f1.7 a day ago to my new Olympus E-PL5 - just to see how it felt and I took this single shot at the closest focusing distance.

I find it a challenge to focus manually though - or quickly - - - shooting that way has to be a deliberate patient approach, which I don't entertain often. I was one of those guys who had no quams moving on to and trusting Auto Focus back in 2001, after 20+ years of shooting professionally with manual focus cameras and lenses.

So I guess that even though I am convinced that the 50mm Minolta lens provides really nice images, I'll be getting myself the Olympus 45mm f1.8 before I head back to Nicaragua in a couple of months - - - so I don't inhibit my shooting style.

Humankind benefits unashamedly from autofocus, automatic exposure control, dial telephony, automatic transmissions, and the discovery of cooking meat.

Best of luck with your nice new lens.

Best regards,

Doug

 

[Doug Herr]

Humankind benefits unashamedly from autofocus, automatic exposure control, dial telephony, automatic transmissions, and the discovery of cooking meat.

Automatic transmission - nope
Automatic exposure - oh please no!
Autofocus - take a guess

 

[Asher Kelman]

Automatic transmission - nope
Automatic exposure - oh please no!
Autofocus - take a guess

Annie Oakley was able to shoot split a playing card on its edge and get in two more bullets at 90 feet before the pieces hit the ground!

The Winchester was, of course, set to "manual"!

Asher

 

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Asher,

Annie Oakley was able to shoot split a playing card on its edge and get in two more bullets at 90 feet before the pieces hit the ground!

The Winchester was, of course, set to "manual"!

Did you ever wonder why semi-automatic rifles are called "semi-automatic", while semi-automatic pistols are called "automatic"?

Best regards,

Doug

 

[Jerome Marot]

Interestingly, automatic transmissions are still far to be the norm in Europe. The percentage of cars using them has increased in recent years, but the vast majority of cars still use a manual transmission with gear lever and clutch pedal. The reasons are varied but include taxes, perceived fuel consumption and legislation on driving licenses. Probably also the fact that the road networks are very different, traditional automatic transmissions are not very adapted to small and windy mountain roads.

Could it be the same for photography? I have been using AF from the time Minolta presented their first AF SLRs and automatic exposure before that. In my experience, manual focus or manual exposure are still the better choice in some cases.

 

[Doug Herr]

Interestingly, automatic transmissions are still far to be the norm in Europe. The percentage of cars using them has increased in recent years, but the vast majority of cars still use a manual transmission with gear lever and clutch pedal. The reasons are varied but include taxes, perceived fuel consumption and legislation on driving licenses. Probably also the fact that the road networks are very different, traditional automatic transmissions are not very adapted to small and windy mountain roads.

Could it be the same for photography? I have been using AF from the time Minolta presented their first AF SLRs and automatic exposure before that. In my experience, manual focus or manual exposure are still the better choice in some cases.

Agreed. IMHO the choice of automatic vs. manual is less a matter of the benefit to humanity and more a matter of "different horses for different courses".

 

[Doug Herr]

Did you ever wonder why semi-automatic rifles are called "semi-automatic", while semi-automatic pistols are called "automatic"?

I'm trying to figure out how this example of an automatic feature benefits humanity.

 

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Doug H,

I'm trying to figure out how this example of an automatic feature benefits humanity.

An excellent question.

Best regards,

Doug K

 

[Charles L Webster]

Modern DSLR viewfinders provide no help for manually focusing. My Canons all just have a matte screen, with no fresnel rings, no split prism, nor micro-prisms. All aids to manual focusing. Since I use the camera tethered to a laptop in the studio, it's not a problem, but out in the field, trying to catch a flower in the f/g and an OOF b/g, it's not easy or fun.

I have no categorical objections to automatic things. Stuck in miles-long traffic jams going over the local hills tends to wear out these old legs quickly enough to make an automatic transmission a blessing.

I use auto focus often, auto exposure seldom, and auto ISO never.

It's all a matter of what works for you.

 

[Jerome Marot]

Modern DSLR viewfinders provide no help for manually focusing. My Canons all just have a matte screen, with no fresnel rings, no split prism, nor micro-prisms. All aids to manual focusing. Since I use the camera tethered to a laptop in the studio, it's not a problem, but out in the field, trying to catch a flower in the f/g and an OOF b/g, it's not easy or fun.

Focussing on a matte screen is easier when the lens is faster. I believe that the advent of zooms in the 80s was one of the drives behind the generalisation of AF. Consumer zooms are typically 2 stops slower than primes.

Focussing is also easier on a larger screen. Here again, the advent of digital cameras with smaller sensors made manual focussing more difficult (but digital cameras with a 24x36 sensor have become more common in the past 2 years, so that trend may be reversed).

Last but not least, not all matte screens are created equal. The default screen on a modern camera is designed to give a bright image with a relatively slow lens at the expense of focus accuracy.

 

[fahim mohammed]

I shall stop using manual focus when my eyes can no longer get it right.

Auto-focus, for me, is a way down second choice. Mind though, my photography is for my pleasure alone and not hardly for shooting fast moving objects streaming past me.

I do drive an auto transmission. I do not use a horse cart either to go into town.

 

[Roger Lund]

What's auto focus? I see M in my sleep...

 

[Tom dinning]

What's auto focus? I see M in my sleep...

I see M in my sleep as well, Roger, but its attached to Minogue. Such are our differences.
I'm with Doug on all accounts. Pistols and rifles should be automatic: automatically demonised and melted down.
My eyes have gone so wonky I cant trust them any more, especially in low light. I'm also a right/left eye user. Setting the viewfinder dioptre to one eye is limiting. Glasses are transition so its easy to miss the beat there as well. I'm a big believer in using the technology that is provided for us by those brilliant engineers and technicians who work so hard to make our lives so complex.

I know its a choice I make, but it is a well informed and logical choice, not one born of old fashioned ideas and pig headedness. Much the same as having a zipper in my fly. No humans were saved in the making thereof but it sure seemed a good idea at the time.

Brotherly love to you all.
Tommo

 

[Roger Lund]

I see M in my sleep as well, Roger, but its attached to Minogue. Such are our differences.
I'm with Doug on all accounts. Pistols and rifles should be automatic: automatically demonised and melted down.
My eyes have gone so wonky I cant trust them any more, especially in low light. I'm also a right/left eye user. Setting the viewfinder dioptre to one eye is limiting. Glasses are transition so its easy to miss the beat there as well. I'm a big believer in using the technology that is provided for us by those brilliant engineers and technicians who work so hard to make our lives so complex.

I know its a choice I make, but it is a well informed and logical choice, not one born of old fashioned ideas and pig headedness. Much the same as having a zipper in my fly. No humans were saved in the making thereof but it sure seemed a good idea at the time.

Brotherly love to you all.
Tommo

I'll counter with, don't use a viewfinder. Aka liveview. My eos-m doesn't have one , just a lcd screen and I zoom in to focus. Yes it different, but it works and I'll challenge you that with practice as fast as a viewfinder.

And since I just won a photography contest with that method , I would say it's effective.

 

[Robert Watcher]

Funny how this almost year old post resurfaced.

OK - so I never ended up with the 45mm f1.8 Olympus lens - I never use the manual focus Minolta lens - I never use manual exposure except for some flash situations - I never save in raw format - . . .

. . . and I am surprised in learning that while I have Tom on my ignore list so that I don't have to contend with his strong opinions and vulgar use of blanked out words - irritatingly his words show up when quoted by Roger Lund - although I would agree with some of what he says in this case. Oh well

 

[Roger Lund]

Funny how this almost year old post resurfaced.

OK - so I never ended up with the 45mm f1.8 Olympus lens - I never use the manual focus Minolta lens - I never use manual exposure except for some flash situations - I never shoot in raw - . . .

. . . and I am surprised in learning that while I have Tom on my ignore list so that I don't have to contend with his strong opinions and vulgar use of blanked out words - irritatingly his words show up when quoted by Roger Lund - although I would agree with some of what he says in this case. Oh well

How can you not shoot raw? faints.. :0)

 

[Antonio Correia]

Just a line about automatic transmission on cars:
It is great and when the gear box is correctly conceived it is a pleasure to use.
Expensive because it is usually is an option when you buy the car.
I had a BM with automatic transmission and it was a pleasure to drive. The box was very "clever" and it knew what I wanted ! LOL I long that car.
-
I have an old 5D and I am always struggling with the best focus point as I do not trust my right eye. The central point is the one with more sensitivity while the others don't return a perfect focus.
Now I have a Panasonic GX7 with a humble but good 20mm 1.7 and I am using auto-focus but more and more often I am using the focus picking. It is a fantastic tool and when I will have my Pana-Leica lenses in a couple of days, I will be even happier, perfecting and refining my photographs !

 

[jake klein]

I own and enjoy both. Manual focus with the 135mm f2 ais can be frustrating but when I nail focus the gratification is there. As a hobbyist it doesn't matter as much of I miss "shots" though.

 

[Asher Kelman]

I really enjoy the personal and seemingly physical involvement of myself, my thoughts and the subject all being organically joined by the tentative positioning that I optimize, as I hand-hold and adjust the focus of some foreign lens on my Sony A7R camera.

It's very different from the instant, dispassionate half press of the shutter to acquire focus and then follow through with taking the picture.

Both methods work, both can be creative, but manual focus, handheld, requires far more of my close attention and therefore seems to be more intimate.

Asher

 

[Roger Lund]

I really enjoy the personal and seemingly physical involvement of myself, my thoughts and the subject all being organically joined by the tentative positioning that I optimize, as I hand-hold and adjust the focus of some foreign lens on my Sony A7R camera.

It's very different from the instant, dispassionate half press of the shutter to acquire focus and then follow through with taking the picture.

Both methods work, both can be creative, but manual focus, handheld, requires far more of my close attention and therefore seems to be more intimate.

Asher

Man I agree 100%. and something about the result if you nail the focus.

 

[Tom dinning]

I'll counter with, don't use a viewfinder. Aka liveview. My eos-m doesn't have one , just a lcd screen and I zoom in to focus. Yes it different, but it works and I'll challenge you that with practice as fast as a viewfinder.

And since I just won a photography contest with that method , I would say it's effective.

Don't get me started on contests. You might say it's effective, roger. I would say it's immediately downgraded you argument to the level of a four year old liking Vegemite. Four year olds and contest judges have the equivalence in taste and importance in the scheme of things: ie, cuisine and photography.

Challenge me, will you? Ha! I only take challenges on pissing up the wall. School champion Granville Boys High 1964. I pissed so high I created a rainbow that could be seen from space. Unfortunately no one had been into space to see it, dogs and monkeys aside.

You go ahead and use your lv. Me too, from time to time. Love the tilt screens so I can shoot from the waste like the old days. There are days when I don't even look at the screen or viewfinder. Just guess. ****ed if I can focus in the dark any more. Anyway, if I come across a photo that's a bit blurred I step back a bit or squint. Seems like a bit of a shame to let a little blur interfere with a good picture.

Cheers bro

 

[Michael Nagel]

Whatever fits the situation.

Using film, manual focus is a little more forgiving and I never used AF on film.

With a sensor you have to be more precise and hitting the spot with a 85/1.4 at f1.4 can be a pita, even with a decent matte screen.

AF is pretty good for most situations and I only use manual focus for static pictures where I have all the time or sometimes when I don't trust the AF.

Best regards,
Michael