Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/05/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I read with interest the increasing debate about the future of autofocussing and our Solms masters. I've been an M-camera devotee for more than 20 years, so I guess manual focus has been my creed for that long too (actually, I used other RF brands before Leica, so longer...). When I first took the leap into SLRs (for longer lenses, mostly) the thing that annoyed me most was the lack of certainty with focussing, the way that - - even with lots of experience - precise focus remains quite subjective, something you've got to hunt around for. Not so with the M, where you can be sure almost instantly if you are in or out. I switched to autofocus last year and find it very useful for much more than just sports, wildlife or fast action. The ability to get shots of people, with the whites of their eyes in perfect focus and without making them wait more than an instant while I fiddle around, is really very useful. More time to spend on composition or catching the instant when their facial expression is really ideal. I don't think autofocus is a limited-use feature. P.S. I still use the M-camera for much of my work, because it is still less threatening to point one at someone than a big bayyery-powered beast. These are the trade-offs. I bet Solms will have to go for it eventually...