MF user are dying ......

[fisheye]

It's like driving a manaul car VS. an auto car, the sense of control on an Manual is much more than an Auto car which sometimes tends to control you.

just my 2 rupees worth

MF gives you a statisfaction that AF cannot.

It is like cooking - buying the cake from the store is totally different from making it yourself. When you make it yourself, you can decide how sweet the product you want it to be.

AF is good when you are traveling because there is a time constraint. But seriously speaking and from my experience, I feel there is a sense of "worthless" in my photos. I feel my photos are like produced "in bulk" whereas when I use my FM2, I had a different feeling.

Just my 2 baht worth.

Cheers,
-Michelle-

 

[patch17]

all AF lens manufacturers allow for manual focusing in all their AF lenses as a back up facility. but no MF lens manufacturer has ever allowed for an AF function.

think about it....

 

[lsisaxon]

A lot of affordable modern lenses are flimsy plastic constructs. Older MF lenses are frequently inexpensive (especially when comparing primes) and well built.

But also bear in mind that newer lenses has got the benefit of modern ray tracing techniques for optimization of the lens elements and also for aspherical elements which are rare in older lens designs. Therefore you will see that modern lenses exhibits less spherical aberration than older lenses.

Also multicoating technology is also very much improved.

So technically speaking, you would pay almost the same price for better optical quality. Of course, if the build quality is not good, then it will be a big compromise..

 

[Terence]

If you're a rangefinder user like I am, there aren't many AF lenses which mate to a RF body... and I certainly don't see the numbers of RF users dwindling. In fact more people are finding out about the simple joys of rangefinder photography.

 

[igpenguin]

mf on mf mf rf would be great

 

[lsisaxon]

If you're a rangefinder user like I am, there aren't many AF lenses which mate to a RF body... and I certainly don't see the numbers of RF users dwindling. In fact more people are finding out about the simple joys of rangefinder photography.

Well.. most 35mm compacts are based on rangefinder AF. But anyway, that's beside the point. Yeah.. not many AF on RF, was there one by Contax?

 

[Terence]

Well.. most 35mm compacts are based on rangefinder AF.

How so?

 

[lsisaxon]

How so?

An IR beam is used to measure the distance between the camera and the subject and then the focus of the lens is set. So it's some sort of rangefinder too..

 

[haagen_dazs]

In fact more people are finding out about the simple joys of rangefinder photography.

its a nifty piece of equipment... starting to dive into this. you cs peeps should try this cam out.
the bright view finder blows alot of dslr away =)

 

[iceberg]

i never tried range finder.. but kinda like MF SLR split prism screen... sigh.. can't find a convenient one for AF

 

[haagen_dazs]

i never tried range finder.. but kinda like MF SLR split prism screen... sigh.. can't find a convenient one for AF

it isnt that bad. getting the hang of turning the lens fast wont take long.
and usually RF goes well with wide angles, so the dof is wider (than the tele lenses)

 

[Ashleyy]

Who say MF is dying??? Still got so many pple using!! including me!! lolx :bsmilie:

As for why, simple

1) Cost - if you already have a MF lens way before buying a AF camera, naturally you will also try to use yr MF to shoot so that you have have to spend $$ to buy another lens

2) Quality - some MF lens have better build and quality vs it's AF equivalent...

3) Personal satisfaction - I still own and use my Nikon FM & FE10 along with a variety of MF zoom lens and Prime Lens like 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 135mm. The MF lens are small and convenient to carry around compared to the bigger AF lenses. I use my 135mm on my D70 sometimes as it's rather ex to buy the AF135mm F2 DC. =)

Naturally there are also times when I carry 2 cameras for a shoot. For example portraits photography, sometimes I mount my AF85mm F1.8 to my D70 and MF135mm F2.8 to my FE10 so that I can shoot both digital and film.. Now to buy 2 similiar AF lens and mount 1 of them to the MF Film will be quite an overkill.. :bsmilie:

 

[Terence]

An IR beam is used to measure the distance between the camera and the subject and then the focus of the lens is set. So it's some sort of rangefinder too..

I think you're using the term rather broadly. Usually, in photographic circles, a rangefinder simply refers to a camera which uses 2 coincident images which need to be aligned to ensure proper focus through triangulation. There are electronic viewfinders which employ the same principle too. Rangefinders do not have TTL focusing or viewing unlike a SLR.

Though the method you described is widely used in all cameras, including electronic rangefinders like the Contax G series, it does accurately reflect the term as used by photo buffs.

 

[Terence]

i never tried range finder.. but kinda like MF SLR split prism screen... sigh.. can't find a convenient one for AF

You can change your focusing screen to a split prism type for certain cameras. I regularly use one on my 1D with AF.

 

[Pablo]

No auto focus, no picture taking for me, just imagine having to change glasses just to focus. Auto focus is by far the most ground breaking of all the technologies built into a typical DSLR.

:thumbsup:

You too hey ?

I can't wait till they bring a brail version of camera out :bsmilie:

 

[lsisaxon]

I think you're using the term rather broadly. Usually, in photographic circles, a rangefinder simply refers to a camera which uses 2 coincident images which need to be aligned to ensure proper focus through triangulation. There are electronic viewfinders which employ the same principle too. Rangefinders do not have TTL focusing or viewing unlike a SLR.

Though the method you described is widely used in all cameras, including electronic rangefinders like the Contax G series, it does accurately reflect the term as used by photo buffs.

Yes, I used the term quite broadly. If I don't remember wrongly, the method of IR rangefinding employs triangulation also.