Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/12/11

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Subject: Re: 35mm Eyes
From: Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net>
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 15:48:12 -0500

At 12:18 AM 12/11/96 -0400, Dan C. wrote:

>Don't get me wrong, I admire Leica very much, but anyone who says that
>autofocus cameras can't focus as well as MF cameras has obviously never used
>an autofocus camera.  My primitive Minolta 9000 (a first generation AF
>camera) will equal or better the focusing accuracy of a MF leica in all but
>dim lighting conditions.  I have used that camera enough to prove to me that
>my eye can never out perform its electronics.  It sometimes has trouble
>locking in, but when it does, it is dead on.


Dan

Even the AF manufacturers -- Nikon, Canon, Minolta, &c -- admit that AF
accuracy is not as great as MF.  Try a test with your Minolta -- use FAST
prime lenses (f/1.4 or faster) wide open.  You'll find a lot of cases in
that circumstance where the narrow focus will cause a focusing problem.  The
problem exists -- but you cannot see it -- with the relatively deep
depth-of-field on a slow (f/5.6 or so) zoom lens, which is about all anyone
uses with AF.

Leica and Contax, whose virtues are FAST prime lenses (F/1 Noctilux, f/1.4
Summilux and Planar designs, especially the 1.4/75 Leica and 1.4/85 Contax
lenses), are more nervous about this than are the AF camera makers, and with
very good reason.

Hope this is clear!

Marc



msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
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