Re: [Leica] Re: Greg Bicket's focus thread

[Dan Cardish <dcardish@microtec.net>]

I don't know about other autofocus cameras, but the one I have has this
little square right in the middle of the viewfinder (just like with M
Leicas), and all I have to do, in ALL lighting conditions, is point that
little square at what I want to be in focus (just as with M Leicas), either
press the shutter release button half-way down or use a separate dedicated
button to lock the focus (analogous to twisting the focus ring on M
Leicas), recompose (as with M Leicas), and press the shutter release button
to take the photograph (as with M Leicas). 

I get a higher focus success ratio with my AF camera (not that the ratio is
bad with the Leica), and focusing is much quicker.

So whats the problem with autofocus? 

Dan C.


At 08:49 AM 04-11-00 -0800, Jim Brick wrote:
[snip]
>> 
>
>Greg's post is a great post. Everyone should read it in it's entirety. Not
>just this snip.
>
>What Greg has outlined is exactly why AUTOFOCUS camera/lenses are useful
>for only a very limited and select set of conditions. Like bright sun, ISO
>400, f/8-f/22. Weddings, flat walls with graffiti, etc. Autofocus
>algorithms look for vertical or horizontal (whichever your camera maker has
>provided) contrast lines. Since you, the human, who are looking at the
>ground glass screen, know what it is that you want in focus, how can a
>computer program written by a programmer, sitting in a cubicle somewhere,
>know what you want to focus on? They cannot, the camera can't, and even you
>the human, will sometimes have trouble.
>
>This, to me, is why autofocus is useless to the photographer-artist,
>commercial/illustrative photographer, amateurs who want to control what
>gets put on the film, etc. Autofocus is great for weddings, journalism,
>county fairs, happy snaps, vacations, and all of the times when you can
>live with where, on the subject, the focus program focuses your lens.
>
>Jim
>
>