Manual or Auto?

sjt269

sjt269

sjt269

Associate
Joined
11 Dec 2004
Posts
1,979
Just wondering, out of sheer curiosity, how many people here use manual focus, and how many use autofocus? I'm wondering if the more serious photographers here, armed with their arrays of lenses costing a medium-sized fortune, eschew the benefits of technology in favour of doing it themselves, or if they too use AF most of the time.

Personally, I tend to stick with the AF on my camera (S5600) unless it's not doing what I want it to, then I switch to manual (which I've never really gotten the hand of yet). If the auto does everything I want it to, is there any reason to use manual instead?
 
Depends on the lens/situation. For example when shooting brightly lit stationary subjects I would probably use auto. For a moving subject such as wildlife I would tend to use manual, simply because my 70-300 zoom focuses very slow, and often on the wrong thing! Macro is done manually when on a tripod, auto when handheld (the sigma focuses very well I find :) ).

Its far too situational for an answer either way imo.
 
Helium_Junkie said:
Its far too situational for an answer either way imo.
Click to expand...


Perhaps. I dunno, maybe I'm being too judgemental, but I half-expected people with more serious cameras to look down upon AF as the amateur's method, and see MF as the 'proper' way to do it.

Now that I've said that, no one's going to admit to thinking that. :p



Like I say, I might be being too judgemental - it's that way with guitars, sometimes (and probably with most other things). Guys with DiMarzios look down on Wilkinsons as lesser pickups, even though they do the same job, and in some cases, equally as well.


I'm sorry if that comparison goes way over most photographers' heads, but it's my revenge for being bamboozled by all these different lens names that keep getting batted around in this forum! :p
 
Last edited:
I have a 400D and I find myself being able to focus much more quickly with manual focus as my 50mm prime lens seems quite slow.

I haven't had the camera long but I can see myself choosing the focus mode based on the lens I am using and how quick the AF is more than anything.
 
I use AF for most stuff, except macro/closeups, and shots where ive got the camera in the tripod, and the subject doesn't fall on one of the AF points.
 
I rarely use either manual, usually only for flash photography, and always use AF but as Helium_Junkie has said it does depend on the type of photography you do.

90% of my stuff is mil aviation where the lighting and situation is changing rapidly, you have to grab what you can. Even on base visits where a lot of the stuff is static you are moving from hangers, to HAS, to outside on the ramp, to the runway and all are lit differently. Add to this the time constraints placed on you and there isn't the time to consider all the factors needed to use manual.
 
I use whatever is best to get the picture I want. Sometimes I use Manual focus (macro, panoramic). Most of the time with normal lenses i'll use AF simply because it's better for normal situations.

As for Manual mode instead of Av and Tv, i'm slowly going in favour of manual. Simply because you dictate what you want. I find my exposures are generally better when done in manual although i'm not as quick as Av and Tv modes so again it depends on the situation. :)

I use Av 60% of time, Manual 35% and Tv 5%.
 
I use manual focus for macro, night time, portrait shots, and when i'm setting up a landscape shot (i.e. when i actually bother to setup my tripod and filters!) most of everything else I'll use auto focus.
 
Simple for me - the majority of my photography is still on a Nikon F3 so I don't have the choice! This is not because I am anti-digital or for any other reason than the fact that I have been using the beast for nearly 20 years and any other SLR (that I can afford) just doesn't feel quite right in my hands.

My rare forays into digital are on far lesser cameras and so I tend to use the autofocus and am then often disappointed with the results as well at the response time.

I have used borrowed DSLRs and then it has been like everybody else - leave it on auto until I decide I know better than the microchip!
 
Nicos Rex said:
Simple for me - the majority of my photography is still on a Nikon F3 so I don't have the choice! This is not because I am anti-digital or for any other reason than the fact that I have been using the beast for nearly 20 years and any other SLR (that I can afford) just doesn't feel quite right in my hands.

My rare forays into digital are on far lesser cameras and so I tend to use the autofocus and am then often disappointed with the results as well at the response time.

I have used borrowed DSLRs and then it has been like everybody else - leave it on auto until I decide I know better than the microchip!
Click to expand...


dont suppose you use to post on gamefaqs uk board did ya?
 
Nicos Rex said:
Sorry about the completely OT thread hijack!
Click to expand...


Hey, life would be boring without OT thread hijacks. ;)






Interesting to see the majority of people using AF. Like I said earlier, that surprises me somewhat. :o


I was only asking because I spent an idle half hour today playing with the manual focus mode, taking pictures of random things out of my window. Got a great shot of a squirrel, actually, but I can't upload it yet, since my HDD commited a dramatic suicide the other day, and I've not got the camera software installed on this hard drive.
 
I use both, but I don't think anyone looks down at AF these days, that has long since gone, ( I am sadly old enough to pre date AF !!!) as all the new top kit is AF anyway !!!
I use a Contax film camera as well as a DSLR, so have no choice to manual focus it...
On the DSLR, only when the dam thing keeps picking the wrong spot, and I can't be faffed to fiddle with the focus zone command. Or if I pre-focus at a sports event, to avoid the lens hunting.... But manual focusing a DLSR is toilet anyway compared to a "real" camera ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom