How frequently do you crave for AF ?

Teo · Joined: 19 Jul 2014 Posts: 1079 Location: Romania

We are all loving our MF lenses , but sometimes I feel I need more some A F and automation . Just now I think I'll get myself an 24-85 for my Canon EOS IX and a lot of aps films that I have to use . The eos IX is a beautiful camera but I don't have the lenses suited for it .The 17-35 is a good one , but from my experience this format is not best suited for wide lenses , it works better with normal and tele ( too small frame for too much detail - . Because the smaller frame area (56% from 35mm film) the grain dimension is bigger vs frame area resulting a grainier , thus sharpless image .Even the lp/mm is the same in Nexia and superia , being basically the same emulsion. The APS enlargement potential is lower than the 35mm , similar to the 35mm vs MF ) . It works well with an old Sigma zoom 28-200 but that's a bit too big . The 50/1,8 works well making a field like a 60-65mm on ff.

GoldMark · Joined: 21 Aug 2012 Posts: 185 Location: Germany

For my i use 98% Manual lenses.

MartinCrabtree · Joined: 10 Jan 2015 Posts: 121

It's the subject that makes the difference for me. Birds,motorsports,ect make AF welcome.

Pete · Joined: 01 Feb 2011 Posts: 240 Location: Denver, San Jose

My big telephoto lenses are all AF, VR and all the great stuff but everything else is all MF.

AF is great for motor sports, wildlife, airshows, etc. I usually carry my Df and small kit of old Nikkor lenses. I don't think I have ever had an AF lens on the Df.
Pete

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4748 Location: Cheshire, England

AF for family and freelance, MF for hobby.

Nordentro · Expire: 2015-01-29

The only AF lens I have left is the OMD kitlens (12-50) which I use for light tent shooting.

TAo2 · Joined: 09 Mar 2012 Posts: 319 Location: Scotland

Sometimes AF just hits the spot...Ah have 4 Minolta AF lenses, a Tokina (19-35mm), and a Sigma. Wouldn't part with any of them.

kuuan · Expire: 2014-12-26

never grave for an AF lens, but sometimes I wonder if I should get a small AF zoom camera like e.g. a Sony RX100 or Panasonic Lumix LF1

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

I have found myself most often craving MF lenses, not AF ones. All the AF lenses I'm most interested in have new price tags that are more expensive than what I typically pay for a used car, so I don't usually develop cravings for something this far out of reach.

JJB · Joined: 02 Oct 2014 Posts: 424 Location: USA

For fast moving subjects like birds and kids, AF can be very restful! I have some wonderful AF shots from my trusty old Nikon.

vroger · Expire: 2016-10-21

I normally always bring a AF lens with. The only subjects I would really consider only using AF for would be birds, and mostly because of the Camera's I use.

Teo · Joined: 19 Jul 2014 Posts: 1079 Location: Romania

Well , frequently , for family ocasional snapshots , I much prefere a compact or my epl1 just because they just don't want to stay too much to wait me to focus ! Laughing

!Karen · Joined: 20 Jul 2013 Posts: 837 Location: Belgium Baby

Whenever I am shooting subjects that do not sit still or where you have to act quickly to get the shot.

rbelyell · Expire: 2014-01-31

i believe in the phrase 'horses for courses', and that there is no such thing as an all purpose tool. no single tool is perfect for all ocassions, so i personally have no problem picking and choosing based on intended purpose or my mood. i,m inherently suspicious of the 'i never do X' mindset, as i find it needlessly limiting. life is too short to exclude eating blueberries because i really like eating strawberries. 'purity' is a religious concept, not a hobby concept.

personally, i find the flexibility of AF makes unobtrusive street shooting so much easier than MF. some will counter that they 'hyperfocus'. well, then youve merely turned your MF cam/lens into a point and shoot! youre not focusing at all, so whats the difference between hyperfocal shooting and having the camera focus when you push the shutter?
tony

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

rbelyell · Expire: 2014-01-31

well michael, thats what makes the world go 'round. ive done both and much prefer an AF camera for street shooting. i dont really understand your issue about AF cam in aperture priority, because nothing prevents one from using any aperture they want in an AF setup, governed solely by the DOF they desire. in the hyperfocal setting, one is much more 'locked in' to something around f8 to maximize the likliehood that you get your subject in focus. and again, youve turned your manual focus rig into a lowly point and shoot when in hyperfocus mode, imo no different from an AF setup in practice. one just gets to use fancy words like 'hyperfocal' when describing what theyre doing, but in reality all one is doing is 'pointing and shooting', no further skill required!

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

Well you may be choosing to define what you do differently, but everything I wrote was based on personal experience -- and trial and error. A lot of the latter, actually.

My comment about setting up an AF cam in aperture priority in such a way as to mimic a hyperfocal setting is fairly basic. A hyperfocal setting is setting a distance scale to coincide with an aperture value such that anything in that hyperfocal range is rendered acceptably sharp, correct? By presetting the aperture in Aperture Priority to this hyperfocal value, you have determined the same thing, especially since we're discussing street shooting, where typically the distance will be limited by proximity (or at least so it is with my street shooting), in which case the two technologies will essentially achieve the same result. Isn't that what you were getting at? And there's nothing about hyperfocal distance that requires or even suggests that one limit oneself to f/8. I use hyperfocal settings all the time with very wides and ultra wides, where I can frequently get just about my entire field of view in focus at f/4 or so. Sometimes less. Depends on the distance, the lens and the focal length, really.

Well, there is some skill required. A person needs to know how to read a hyperfocal scale and dial it in on his/her camera. But that's about one step more advanced than P&S, so I'll grant you that one.

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

I use MF far more than AF, but during travel when my kids also use the camera, they need AF.
Still have a set of AF lenses.

PhantomLord · Joined: 08 Apr 2013 Posts: 476 Location: Szczecin, Poland

I take only AF lens I have, which is Tamron SP 17-50/2.8, in situation where I'll be shooting several people at once in reportage style, where I need 2-3 shots of one scene to be sure that for example everyone eyes are open Smile

, while those 10 or so people are walking.
Beside that AF lens takes it's place usually for family occasions indoors, since I don't have wide enough MF lens for APS-C, the same when on vacations and need wide angle for landscapes (and I don't have film body with me).

When I go out shooting for fun or making portrait shoot outdoor or indoor I most often pick MF lens. Also when I'm shooting outdoor but fast moving objects (like little kids Razz

- don't laugh, kids are seriously faster than motorbike when you want to take a photo) I prefer MF lens. My body's (C 600d) AF isn't fast enough for me in such situations and I'm faster with MF lens that I know very good.