auto focus vs manual focus

[Infinite]

Just curious on your thoughts, which would you use for tracking hard subjects ie birds bugs fast moving objects also in still life when you want pin sharp which would use best auto vs manual?
I guess this is subject to the individual
Is like 5d3 af better than manual?

 

[realspeed]

Tracking =continuous focus (auto)
still life = either

Realspeed

 

[Yellowbelly]

AF every time for BIF and fast moving subjects. However the AF needs to be set up correctly in the first place. i.e. AI servo. You may also need to adjust its response characteristics in the custom menus.

 

[Major Eazy]

Just curious on your thoughts, which would you use for tracking hard subjects ie birds bugs fast moving objects also in still life when you want pin sharp which would use best auto vs manual?
I guess this is subject to the individual
Is like 5d3 af better than manual?

Does it matter? Photographers in the past had done well with manual focus before AF came. A modern digital camera can fail somehow, something can go wrong with the AF motors, or the subject is confusing the AF sensors, like say you're at a zoo, you see a lion decided to start tearing apart the zookeeper and you tried to take photos but the chicken wire fence throws your AF into confusation, so in such cases, you may be forced to switch to manual focus and have to make do with it, if those photographers of the old days can manage with manual focus, so can we.

So for me, I enjoy using both manual and AF either way, after all, for as long as there is still some film about, I'm using my Minolta X-700 which is a manual focus in addition to my Nikon D200 which is AF, and on my Nikon, I do sometimes switch to manual focus when the AF is not doing well. Either way is fine with me.

 

[Nod]

Using most AF SLRS, I would tend to trust the AF. Their screens are generally not ideal for MF, neither are modern AF lenses. Older SLRs tended to have such useful focus aids as split screens or microprisms and the older lenses needed more angle of turn between close and infinity focus making fine adjustment easier and more precise.

These days, pretty much the only time I use MF is when shooting Macro and then I'll tend to preset the focus and move the camera/lens to and fro until the plane of focus is where I want it

 

[Phil V]

The answer to anyone who has only ever used an AF camera. Go and look through an old Manual Focus SLR. Compare it to your AF DSLR, particularly if it's entry level and you only have a kit lens.

The difference is massive, one of them was designed to do a job (aid manual focussing) that the other one wasn't. Manually focussing a modern entry level DSLR with a kit lens makes as much sense as cracking open the cartridge from your printer and dipping a fountain pen into it in order to draw what's on your computer screen.

There's nothing wrong with Manual focus, using tools designed to do it - just like there's nothing wrong with Auto Focus, using the tools designed to do it.

My AF rarely craps out, in fact >99% of the time it's 100% better at focussing than I ever was. For the <1% of the time it fails I can sometimes get a shot, but often I can't.

 

[Major Eazy]

Using most AF SLRS, I would tend to trust the AF. Their screens are generally not ideal for MF, neither are modern AF lenses. Older SLRs tended to have such useful focus aids as split screens or microprisms

Modern AF cameras, well as far as I know Nikon do, but not sure about Canon, Sony, and many others, will often let you know if subject is in focus or not, even if you use AF lens on manual setting or use non-AF lens.

Hold down shuttle button half way or use AF button or similar, although camera is not able to do its auto-focusing due to either AF lens set to manual or using non-AF lens, so when you focus manually, there would be some symbol in the viewfinder that would light up when subject is in focus.

 

[RichardTaylor]

From personal experience from shooting motor racing back in the 1960's with manual focus lenses,
Autofocus generally runs rings around manual focus. As for birds in flight I didn't even attempt it.

 

[Phil V]

Modern AF cameras, well as far as I know Nikon do, but not sure about Canon, Sony, and many others, will often let you know if subject is in focus or not, even if you use AF lens on manual setting or use non-AF lens.

Hold down shuttle button half way or use AF button or similar, although camera is not able to do its auto-focusing due to either AF lens set to manual or using non-AF lens, so when you focus manually, there would be some symbol in the viewfinder that would light up when subject is in focus.

But when the box lights up to tell you what's in focus, can you be certain that it's the thing you want in focus?

Well no you can't, because whilst you're twiddling the ring, if the camera AF light is your only clue, you've had it. Try to focus on an eye, and the larger AF sensor may pick up the brow. The box lights up and you have your shot.

That's not manual focussing I'm afraid, manual focussing means your eyes seeing your chosen area click into focus. Proper focussing screen will give you this.