Autofocus, Woohoo!

[Gipetto]

I still find myself thinking this. Autofocus almost feels like cheating.

My first autofocus capable camera (EOS 10s) I still focused manually 'cause autofocus sucked on anything less than L glass which was, like, all of my lenses (just a Sigma 24 f/2.8 & a Tokina 80-200 f/2.8 at the time, the 80-200 I still use, and all manual focus 'cause its autofocus sucks ;) ).

Now, all these years later, I have only one lens that's worth a damn on AF - a Canon 10-22. It simply amazes me sometimes. Yeah, sure, it takes longer to choose an AF point, line up against the subject, recompose if you have to, etc... but damn if it isn't cool.

So, who else here thinks "Wow! Autofocus!" on a regular basis?

[DStanic]

Definatly. And especially with telephotos that have USM or HSM. Cause I know there are many, many shots I have taken that I simply would never have been able to focus in time if it was manual focus.

I do miss, however.. taking the time to focus manually with my old 35mm cameras. It's just not worth it on my XTi cause of the crappy viewfinder. Perhaps I should get a focus screen for the ELAN and use my old M42 lenses.. hmm..

[bohdank]

Ultimately the "image" reflects one's vision and eye for light, composition etc. The technical aspects are less relevant. The only cheating would be is if someone else framed the shot.

[Gipetto]

Take your logic somewhere else, there, buddy! There's no room for that here.

[Ook]

I'm the exact opposite, having grown up on P&S cameras where AF was more or less the only option. Now after finally having a "real" camera with a "real" lens in my hand, I look through the viewfinder with my hand on the focus ring and think "Wow, Manual Focus!"

[Collin85]

Ultimately the "image" reflects one's vision and eye for light, composition etc. The technical aspects are less relevant. The only cheating would be is if someone else framed the shot.

Agreed.

[adblink]

if I had a real split focus screen that allowed for accurate manual focusing then sure I would probably use it more