manual or auto focus, prefer?

[freybear3]

Which do you prefer, manual or auto focus?


I used to do auto focus all the time. I just started using manual focus just recently.
I now prefer to use manual focus over the auto focus. I found out that it is faster and easier to get the photo i want. I do still use auto focus for some occasions, but with the new telephoto lens it takes awhile for it to focus on longer distances. This is how come i started using manual focus.

I was always using auto focus. I am glad i tried out the manual focus. Plus manual focus does wonders for macro shots!


I want to hear your opinion on which one you use, auto or manual focus? And why?

[TravisForsyth]

I prefer manual focus as well for most of my shots as it gives me the opportunity to fine tune the shots where I don't have to act fast or miss it.

[kencaleno]

What you prefer doesn't come in to the equation-you use what is most appropriate for the task in hand-For myself, Autofocus is only useful for fast sports and wildlife-manual for all else-It's faster and more accurate. This may help you understand:

Focus

Is the measure of the degree of sharpness in our images.
All modern cameras have Auto-focusing, which works very well, but there are times when you need to focus manually. For auto-focus to work properly it requires a certain amount of contrast, if the contrast isn’t adequate you will need to focus manually.[ NOTE: In your camera’s viewfinder, depending on camera-flagship models generally have many focusing spots, and lesser, entry-level dslr’s will have around 5 focusing spots. With lens wide open, any of these spots can be used for selecting where to auto focus-But, depending on maximum aperture of lens in use, the ones you are able to use get fewer. Top-of-the-line cameras will only have the centre spot usable at F8,and entry level cameras at F5.6, and less than that, even these single spots aren’t reliable.]
Actually it is more beneficial to set auto focus by the centre spot, then re-compose, rather than use the peripheral spots-The reason being that only the centre spot has vertical and horizontal pixel rows. This means that if you use the peripheral spots (top and bottom spots have horizontal pixels only and right and left spots have vertical pixels only) To focus, you must have a part of the scene crossing a line of pixels at 90 degrees, and the centre spot gives you a more accurate reading ,having both vertical and horizontal pixels) It will pay you to manually focus most of the time, for full control of the situation. For instance, if an unnoticed reed encroaches into your image, when your are shooting a swan at the lake, for instance, your lens may auto-focus on that reed, rendering your actual subject out of focus.

Concerning Auto focus

There are times, you will find when auto focus will fail to respond favourably-although auto focus is able to lock on to any subject, there are certain conditions where it may not be possible ,even when the indicator lights are on, and the shutter releases.

Subjects with low contrast
Solution: Focus on something the same distance as the subject you want to make an image of, then aim at that subject
Subjects that do not contain vertical lines
Solution: Hold camera vertically, lock focus, then switch to horizontal
Subjects in excessively bright light
Solution: Focus on something the same distance as the subject you want to make an image of, then aim at that subject
Two subjects at differing distances
Solution: Focus on something the same distance as the subject you want to make an image of, then aim at that subject, and re-compose
Subjects with repetitive patterns
Solution: Focus on something the same distance as the subject you want to make an image of, then aim at that subject, and recompose
High speed subjects at close range
Solution: focus on another subject at the same distance-to-subject distance first, then re-compose your frame

To ensure you are in focus, there, in the viewfinder, is the electronic rangefinder icon, that comes on when you are in focus. NOTE: Each lens has its “sweet-spot”, that is when the aperture and zoom length combine to give optimum sharpness- 18-55 mm zooms usually have this “sweet-spot” at the 35mm distance setting and 2 stops back from wide open. On a 70-300mm zoom the “sweet-spot” would be around 185-200mm aperture 2 stops back from widest.
Auto focus is good for situations where you cannot focus fast enough, manually, such as sports and wildlife photography.
Depth of field appears to be the most confusing of focus elements. Depth of field is a range of acceptable sharpness in an image, from near to far. Three factors control Depth of field: Aperture: The wider the aperture, the shallower the depth of field. Focal length of lens, The longer the focal length of the lens, the shallower the depth of field will be. and Distance from subject, Landscape images have great depth of field, whereas Macro (extreme close-up) images have very shallow depth of field. Concerning depth of field, Hyperfocal distance seems to be even more confusing -Hyperfocal distance is a point of focus where at a certain aperture, Half the distance from that point to Infinity, (which starts at 30 feet, and extends to as far as you are able to see)) will be in acceptable focus, The best lenses for hyperfocal distance are 80mm or wider ; telephoto lenses, because of their relative short depth of field, are rarely used. (Prime lenses have a scale on them for this, zooms do not) Using a 18mm setting on your zoom lens at f16, Hyperfocal distance is somewhere around 5 ½ feet (1600mm), so depth of field at this aperture would be from 2 ¾ feet ( 800mm) to infinity, when focused at 5 1/ 2 feet. A good guideline for great depth of field for landscapes is to use the bottom focusing marker in your DSLR viewfinder, (either horizontal, or vertical) as this will focus 1/3 of the way into the distance, (It is on the lower third imaginary “Rule of Thirds” gridline!) ,as is usually recommended. [ NOTE: Unless your camera has depth of field preview, looking through the viewfinder all will not be in focus, because your lens, until you press the shutter button to make the shot, will be open at full aperture.]

Regards, Ken

[wulf]

Manual, although, to be fair, most of my lenses require it when mounted on my D40! I find it frustrating when I put the 18-55mm kit lens on because that has such a poor focus ring compared with lenses that were built for the task.

Wulf

[Chip]

I use both: AF for when I need to react quickly, and mainly MF for when I have some more time.

A lot of times, though, it just depends on whether I have an AF lens with me or not. I just use what I have an try to make the best of it.

[Quo Fan]

I use auto focus most of the time because I can't see a bloody thing in front of my face, and I haven't taken the time to set my diopter in my camera.

[Swisstony10]

I use neither. Altering the focus on the lens is, in my opinion, an unnatural level of processing along the same lines as using Photoshop. I move my own position backwards and forwards until my subject is in focus. I may stop doing even that, since that too is affecting the image that the camera records...

[dcclark]

Kencaleno got it just right: use the right tool for the job!

I autofocus most of the day, but if I'm in a low-light or tricky focus situation, I may change to manual focus. Or, I may just grab the focus ring and turn -- having instant manual override is a nice feature of some lenses.

[WooD]

Only time I use manual, is went its too dark for my camera/lens to auto focus.

I've never actually done a test to see if I can focus as good as my gear. I'll have to try it sometime.

[dakwegmo]

Originally Posted by Swisstony10

I use neither. Altering the focus on the lens is, in my opinion, an unnatural level of processing along the same lines as using Photoshop. I move my own position backwards and forwards until my subject is in focus. I may stop doing even that, since that too is affecting the image that the camera records...

That's just brilliant!


I'm with Ken, on this, though I didn't read the whole post. Most of the time I leave my camera/lens in M/A. The lenses I use the most have override rings, so if the auto focus isn't cutting it, I can just grab the focus ring and manually focus where I want. About the only time I switch to full manual focus is when I'm shooting landscapes or macros.