Manual focussing ?

[*gold*]

How many of you guys and girls manually focus ? Is it a feasable option on say a 400mm lens or ** - 400 zoom lenses ?
The reason I ask is if it is worth getting an older NIKON AF lens that will not AF on my D3100 to save some cash, if so, what lenses would you recommend,
Many thanks
Cliff

 

[dubstylz]

Personally i do all my close-up and tele work manual focus, i used to rely on AF but for macro and long reach shots the focus hunting drives me mad, anything inbetween and i tend to switch back to AF.
Manual focusing on an aps-c sensor camera can be challenging with the small viewfinder but you soon get used to it.

 

[Yardbent]

How many of you guys and girls manually focus ? Is it a feasable option on say a 400mm lens or ** - 400 zoom lenses ?
The reason I ask is if it is worth getting an older NIKON AF lens that will not AF on my D3100 to save some cash, if so, what lenses would you recommend,
Many thanks
Cliff

i use a Nikkor 50mm 1.8 Ai lens on my D5000 [this camera accepts all Nikon lenses - will focus confirm green light ]

set shutter speed on camera and adjust aperture according to the histogram

so what did we do before AF-s anyway......

the older Nikons are still expensive, as they are compatible and the build quality/optics are bloody superb

mine was £80 mint from P.Walnes

 

[Yardbent]

here's an even earlier version . classic design -Nikkor-H non-Ai

this 28mm non-Ai and the 50mm non-Ai were about £30each on eBay IIRC
traded in for Ai versions which do meter on my F3

 

[*gold*]

Thank you for the help, you mention short focal length lenses but what about longer stuff and macro lenses, any older ones spring to mind ?
Cliff

 

[gramps]

Manual focus on long lenses e.g. 400mm is going to be exceedingly difficult for some nature e.g. birds in flight etc but for more stationary subjects should be fine and probably preferable to A/F in many cases.
Handheld could be a challenge though and you might well want some sort of support as some of the older primes can be quite long and weighty.

 

[casts_by_fly]

I used a 300 f/4 AF on my D40 for a few hours shooting some birds and animals from a public hide. I also manual focus my own 300f/4 at times on my D90. It is possible and with some practice I imagine that for reasonably stationary subjects it would be fine. For anything moving or for situations where things are popping up at different distances, it would be tough.

A 300f4 AF would be a good lens for your 3100. They come up on here for £325-£375 pretty regularly (one now I think). The focusing is super smooth and the optics are great. You can add a 1.4x converter or even a bit more with decent light and manual focusing. It also isn't as big as the bigger lenses so it is still reasonably portable. Yes a monopod, beanbag, or tripod will be useful but I shoot mine handheld too.

Thanks,
Rick