Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/12/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Most digital camera manufacturers probably feel that their laser-guided, heat-seeking autofocus is so good that you really don't need to worry about seeing anything for yourself. Just point, shoot and place your complete trust in the electrons that are racing around inside the body -- communicating, coordinating, and doing their thing -- all at the speed of light. Hopefully one of the key e-"Kurtzweill's Quicksilver Express Co., Ltd"-riders doesn't take a wrong turn or get held up at a transistor for too long. "When will this light turn green!", a Kevin Bacon look-alike wonders as he attempts to maintain balance while stationary on his fixed gear Raleigh while the focus lock instructions languish in his messenger pack. (We outside the nano-world simply know this as lens hunting). My Fuji F31 even puts a little green box around people's faces. Sometimes around faces that I didn't even realize were in the picture. The guy crossing the street in the background is in focus, because the person 5 feet in front of me had his or her face turned a little to the side. But that was all my fault, right? Just like if I decide to put one of those prehistoric manual focus devices on a new DSLR, it's my fault for turning all the stop lights red, causing complete gridlock. "The ball is in your court, now," one messenger says as they all decide to grab a burger at the closest atom. "Gimme a neutron, but hold the photons!" says another, and they all laugh. Granted a few e-messengers may still be assigned to lighting up that little green focus assist light in the viewfinder, but experience leads me to believe that those are the ones that flunked out of autofocus school, or at the very least had to rely on a GPS to get from point A to B. The only DSLR that had a real viewfinder was the Contax N1. It was way ahead of its time. The viewfinder rivaled the SL. Sadly the sensor was already outdated when it hit the market. DaveR -----Original Message----- From: Philip Forrest [mailto:photo.forrest@earthlink.net] Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 9:55 PM To: Leica Users Group Subject: [Leica] Focusing screens Dear Nikon, Canon, et al, Can we have our focusing screens back? The only digital camera out on the market now with a range of focusing screens that aid using manual focus is the Canon 1DS series. Frankly, I'd rather stick with a 5D if I were to go with an SLR, but there are no focusing screens with focus aids available for anything less than the flagship camera. Nikon looks like they have two focusing screens available for their D700 but neither have actual focusing aids; just a bunch of little brackets getting in the way of composing the image. So as far as manual focus goes on digital cameras, the Leica M8 is on top. I just wish these manufacturers offered the system compatibility that they once did. Instead of companies which make outstanding cameras, Nikon and Canon have become camera companies that make an outstanding amount of money through tactics of vendor lock-in. It's really disappointing. Phil Forrest