Manual focus or Auto?

MrGibbage · 14th of July 2005 (Thu)

It only took me a few months to stop taking pictures on the "P" or "Green Square" setting. But I still take just about all my pictures on auto-focus. Am I a bad person? Is that a habit I need to break? In most normal circumstances, is it reasonable to assume that the camera will get a better focus that I can manually? I know that low light, fast moving, etc circumstances are out there, where manual focus is the only way to go, but I'm talking about your regular, vanilla, portraits, lanscape, pictures.

Skip

rent · 14th of July 2005 (Thu)

i entirely trust canon's AF doing a better and much faster focusing job in most "vanilla" situations. that's what AF was there for anyway, right?

-alex

jfrancho · 14th of July 2005 (Thu)

I only use manual focus for macro and low light pictures. Otherwise, I trust the AF.

Hellashot · 14th of July 2005 (Thu)

Depends on your camera. My Drebel viewfinder is so small I can only manual focus to semi close objects. If I shooting kinda far/landscape I have to go with AF because MF could turn out out of focus consistentely.

nosquare2003 · 14th of July 2005 (Thu)

Yes, there are some difficulties for manual focus on 1.6x DSLR:
- small and dim viewfinder;
- no focus assist screen;
- it's not easy to do fine adjustment on "some" EOS lenses

tim · 14th of July 2005 (Thu)

I think AF does a better job than I can most of the time. I only use MF for macro or if there's not enough light/contrast for AF.

MrGibbage · 14th of July 2005 (Thu)

Interesting responses. In a way, I expected answers that said MF was better than AF, similar to how many of here shoot AV/TV/Manual. But it really looks like when it works, it really works good. I don't feel so bad now.

Skip

Maureen Souza · 14th of July 2005 (Thu)

I use both but 75% are AF.

markubig · 14th of July 2005 (Thu)

i did MF last night and as i'm going through them in post, i am seeing a lot that are OOF (my contact lenses were bothering me last night) . . .never really used MF until last night . . . looks like Canon AF works better than I can.

Big_B · 15th of July 2005 (Fri)

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim

I think AF does a better job than I can most of the time. I only use MF for macro or if there's not enough light/contrast for AF.

me too

14th of July 2005 (Thu)	#1
MrGibbage Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hampton Roads Area, VA Posts: 286	Manual focus or Auto? It only took me a few months to stop taking pictures on the "P" or "Green Square" setting. But I still take just about all my pictures on auto-focus. Am I a bad person? Is that a habit I need to break? In most normal circumstances, is it reasonable to assume that the camera will get a better focus that I can manually? I know that low light, fast moving, etc circumstances are out there, where manual focus is the only way to go, but I'm talking about your regular, vanilla, portraits, lanscape, pictures. Skip

14th of July 2005 (Thu)	#2
rent Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Irvine, CA Posts: 447	Re: Manual focus or Auto? i entirely trust canon's AF doing a better and much faster focusing job in most "vanilla" situations. that's what AF was there for anyway, right? -alex

14th of July 2005 (Thu)	#3
jfrancho Cream of the Crop Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,341	Re: Manual focus or Auto? I only use manual focus for macro and low light pictures. Otherwise, I trust the AF. __________________

14th of July 2005 (Thu)	#4
Hellashot User is banned from forums Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: USA Posts: 4,617	Re: Manual focus or Auto? Depends on your camera. My Drebel viewfinder is so small I can only manual focus to semi close objects. If I shooting kinda far/landscape I have to go with AF because MF could turn out out of focus consistentely.

14th of July 2005 (Thu)	#5
nosquare2003 Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hong Kong, China Posts: 861	Re: Manual focus or Auto? Yes, there are some difficulties for manual focus on 1.6x DSLR: - small and dim viewfinder; - no focus assist screen; - it's not easy to do fine adjustment on "some" EOS lenses

14th of July 2005 (Thu)	#6
tim Light Bringer Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 47,923 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Manual focus or Auto? I think AF does a better job than I can most of the time. I only use MF for macro or if there's not enough light/contrast for AF. __________________ NZIPP Qualified Professional wedding photographer. Camera and Lens Reviews ~ Wellington Wedding Photographer Wellington Wedding Photographer (site2) ~ Wellington Wedding Photographer (site3) Read all my FAQs (wedding, printing, lighting, books, etc)

14th of July 2005 (Thu)	#7
MrGibbage Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hampton Roads Area, VA Posts: 286	Re: Manual focus or Auto? Interesting responses. In a way, I expected answers that said MF was better than AF, similar to how many of here shoot AV/TV/Manual. But it really looks like when it works, it really works good. I don't feel so bad now. Skip

14th of July 2005 (Thu)	#8
Maureen Souza Ms. Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Central California Posts: 28,985 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Manual focus or Auto? I use both but 75% are AF. __________________ Life is hard...but I just take it one photograph at a time. 5DmkIII 7D Canon Lenses: 50/1.4, 85/1.2 135/2.0, 300/f4, 24-70! Pro1

14th of July 2005 (Thu)	#9
markubig Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: NJ USA Posts: 1,952	Re: Manual focus or Auto? i did MF last night and as i'm going through them in post, i am seeing a lot that are OOF (my contact lenses were bothering me last night) . . .never really used MF until last night . . . looks like Canon AF works better than I can. __________________ ~Mark Canon 7D \|40D Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM \| Tamron SP 70-200 f/2.8 Di VC USD Canon Speedlites 580exII, 5800ex *. . . and a bunch of other stuff*

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