Comments on: 5 Situations When Manual Focus is Better than Auto Focus

By: caroline

caroline — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:42:28 +0000

“I feel like I’m cheating otherwise, is there a point of being a photographer if your camera does ALL the work?”

If you think automatic focus is cheating, then surely digital photography as a whole is cheating. You really should be developing your own film prints at home.

By: Don Bird from Michigan

Don Bird from Michigan — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:36:54 +0000

The problem i see the most is people buy cameras and do not read the manual i think that is a big mistake..
READ THE MANUAL. Thats how to learn to use a cameras settings. You well be amazed how much better
you will get .

By: Don Bird from Michigan

Don Bird from Michigan — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:30:34 +0000

I have a canon 28-90 lens i use mf all the time i do leave the camera on p.I havent had any problems in
low light or other wise. I do not care for af anymore mf is great once you get use to it just takes time put
on mf and just take photos. AS faras other settings on the camera i have used but i like the p setting and
had no problems.

By: Junior

Junior — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:25:24 +0000

In response to lazlee’s question, it depends on which lens you use. The upper-spec range of Canon lenses have a symetrical layout and will hold focus at different zoom lengths, but expect to pay big $$$ for them

By: idb

idb — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:48:58 +0000

In reply to lazlee’s question, the focus does not hold when zooming, at least not with either my Pentax 50-200 or 28-55 lenses. And this is when using auto-focus and focus lock or using manual focus.

Other lenses could be different so maybe there’s a Canon user out there who can join in…

By: Lazlee

Lazlee — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:33:54 +0000

I have a similar problem as Laszlo. As an out of control diabetic I have a problem with the clarity of my vision constantly changing. Some days manual focus is a breeze with great results, other days not so much. I’m new to photography and although this is probably a ‘dummies’ question I was wondering. Once I’ve decided on my spot, if I zoom the feature I want to focus on , focus it and then zoom out to the distance I want to photograph, does the focus hold?

BTW, I’m using a Canon Rebel Xsi w/ 14-40mm EF L lenses for landscape. I’ve only been able to use it on cloudy overcast days and have been seriously disappointed in the sharpness. The kit lenses that came with the camera seems to do a comparable job. Both seem soft and not sharp at all. Any ideas?

Thanks! Darren, your many tutorials and articles are deeply appreciated!

By: Oz Rodriguez

Oz Rodriguez — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:58:22 +0000

Thank you you don’t know how useful is this for us the beginners. I’m studying photography and you have just answered a lot of questions in my head. Really thank you Darren.

By: idb

idb — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:51:59 +0000

Today I switched to manual focus while using my macro lens to shoot some flowers. The auto focus was confused by the surrounding leaves and other flowers. MF allowed me to get in closer too. I have a Pentax K200D and a 35mm f/2.8 macro lens. I will definitely be switching to MF in similar situations from now on.
I agree with the suggestions in the article and have used them all because of being a 35 mm film photographer for over 30 years without an auto-focus camera, until I added a DSLR to my gear last year.
Btw “bogart”, the “film era” is not completely over for some of us…I have 3 bodies loaded all the time.

By: Donovan Glass

Donovan Glass — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:13:14 +0000

Photography is my hobby, and I know of a great way you can easy use auto focus most of the time, and still have CRISP, CLEAR lines.

It’s called High Pass with Linear Light. I use it now on all of my modeling photographs. Works better than manual focusing.

By: Uzool

Uzool — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:12:50 +0000

Thanks, for this very useful tips,just a few days before i was thinking bout my focusing problem ,yours tips really helps me a lot thanks again