Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/01

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Subject: MF über alles (was:[Leica] Re: (Leica) God, no Canon vs Nikon)
From: Doug Herr <Telyt@compuserve.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 08:10:54 -0500

 Rod Fleming wrote:

>>>
Last year I went out with a friend who is a well known wildlife photog
because we were doing contrasting "Day in the Life" features for a UK mag
(Photo Technique). My friend was using a Nikon F5 with the latest 300 & 500
lenses, yet when snapping (sorry, since Dunblane I have a thing about the
term "shooting" when applied to cameras) seabirds in flight, I, using an F4
and manual lenses, had better results. You should try photographing
wheeling
seagulls with a tele from the top of a 300-ft cliff, BTW. It's
enlightening.

That is because the process of making pictures involves the interaction of
hand, eye and brain, and for me, the best brain is the one between my lugs,
not the microprocessor in the black box I'm holding. My brain has 30 years
experience taking pictures, and there's no digital substitute for that.

Can an AF system predict which way a footballer will kick the ball? Or
which
way a seabird will jink? I think not.
<<<

I swore to myself I wouldn't get involved in a dumb N-vs-C thread yet here
I am.  My comments are not so much N-vs-C as they are AF-vs-MF.  Rod's
experience with snaps of seabirds in flight is much like my own.  Using the
SL (on-topic) and either the 400mm or 560mm f/6.8 Telyt I have no desire
for AF.  Not only do I consider AF an overrated feature but I find cameras
designed around AF to be less useful in MF mode than a camera such as the
SL that was optimized for manual focus.  All IMHO, of course.

Doug Herr
Sacramento
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/telyt