Idiot???

[Bill Pierce]

The other day I was working with a new camera. Not that familiar with the controls, I found myself autofocusing with every frame, not because I couldn’t find the button or lever that let me switch between autofocus and manual, but because I couldn’t find the focus-lock button. Of course, there was a way to lock focus. I just wasn’t carrying the 100 plus page manual with me.

When I told a young friend how stupid I felt, he said that he and many of his friends refocused with every frame because “that was what the camera did.” I was shocked. As an old person who grew up with manual focus, I couldn’t think of wasting time refocusing for every frame. Even when the important subject is dead center in a frame and I just have to push the button, not push it halfway and reframe, I don’t want to put up with the inherent delay introduced by the autofocus. I want to focus once and shoot every fleeting moment without refocusing until that time comes when the subject moves and I have to refocus.

Am I an idiot?

 

[f16sunshine]

No you're not.
It's this very method you describe vs the method of the young fellow that,... makes an Xpro1 (for example) focus fast enough for me while for others it's too slow.
Focus once..... Shoot twice or more (as opposed to carpentry where it's measure twice cut once) 😉

 

[Timmyjoe]

That's one of the reasons I like using my Leica M cameras Bill. When you're in there working close, and get a subject in focus, you can just shoot the moments that catch your eye. It would drive me batty if the camera kept searching for focus every time I touched the shutter button.

For work, shooting sports, that's why we use the auto-focus button on the back of the camera and disable the auto-focus on the shutter button. Then we only need to auto-focus when we want to change focus, not every time we take a shot.

 

[f16sunshine]

It's not right vs wrong , idiot vs genius (although the old way is the best way).

I guess it comes first from '80-'2000 af compacts. Then Digi compacts and Camera phones.
Folk who never used manual focus think Af everytime is biz as usual.

 

[GaryLH]

I guess I am an idiot too 😀

I find outside of Leica drf.. The Fuji xp, xe and xt series the next best implementations to handle this situation w/ their external control for mf/afc/afs plus one shot af when used w/ mf.

I end up just going w/ the flow w/ the other cameras doing the af cycle again since it tend to be a push for this method vs af switch to mf and eventually switch back to af to shoot a different distance.

Gary

 

[Daniel Teoli Jr.]

OP, don't feel bad. I can only shoot a lot of the mini cams on the dummy setting. I'm an old film photog. I can't understand them. All I want is shutter speed, aperture and focus.

nsfw

https://danielteolijr.wordpress.com/2015/05/13/what-is-the-best-camera-in-the-world/

 

[Steve Bellayr]

I used a Nikon F4 and D1 and don't remember having this problem when shooting quickly.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

I love Fuji's approach to this issue. Set the camera for manual focus, then if wanted, just push the AF-L button and it resets the focus point. Perfect... best of both worlds.

 

[Corran]

Especially with modern 24mp+ cameras, yes you absolutely want the camera to focus every time (or yourself). Unless you want slightly out of focus images. Even stopped down a bit apertures. Unless I'm misunderstanding and you are using a wide angle and f/8.

Now it shouldn't be racking in and out to find the focus when the subject has moved an inch or two. And to be honest I have very little experience with mirrorless cameras or lower-tier DSLRs. But when I'm shooting with an AF lens on my D800, it adjusts minutely on the fly when shooting quickly. No surprises there, and if I lock focus and my body drifts forward a bit, it's very clearly out of focus from the eyes.

 

[lukitas]

I love Fuji's approach to this issue. Set the camera for manual focus, then if wanted, just push the AF-L button and it resets the focus point. Perfect... best of both worlds.

quite so. I put my focus point slightly to the right, so it's in the upper half when shooting verticals. With the camera in manual focus, you get the depth of field scale.

cheers

 

[BillBingham2]

Hi, I'm B2 and I'm an Idiot.......

The race for me-too features has often lost folks who think a bit more than the average bear in the dust.

The days of picking up a camera and having a pretty good idea of how to use it, at least for us older-types has long gone. The magic three or five controls has made way to menus, buttons and silliness.

B2 (;->

 

[charjohncarter]

I have too many AF cameras, I wish they never invented it. RF the easiest to focus (for me), slit prism second easiest, either Rolleiflex or Pentax P3n (for me), third those bubble SLR center images (for me), and lastly AF with DSLR or SLR.

But when you are doing something for someone else AF is fastest:

Alan's Bike by John Carter, on Flickr

 

[dct]

I love Fuji's approach to this issue. Set the camera for manual focus, then if wanted, just push the AF-L button and it resets the focus point. Perfect... best of both worlds.

I concur with this approach.
I don't know which camera Bill was using (without user manual), but I'm confident that more modern cameras as the Fuji X series support the MF/AF method mentioned by Jamie.
Of course, you need to know how to use instant AF to adjust MF if needed...

Inversely:
The other week I was shooting a big family event with RF and AF gear. For a few shots where I had also to be on the picture I gave finally my X-Pro1 (set to AF + EVF) to my cousin, because he didn't understand how to manual focus properly with my Hexar RF 😡
In this case AF salved the job!

 

[mfogiel]

I don't think you are an idiot, but perhaps you should not buy an idiot camera.

 

[Sparrow]

I don't use digital that often, but when I do tend to misplace the same functions every time ... things seem to move around playing hide and seek in the menus somehow

... I only feel like an idiot when people are watching

 

[Michael Markey]

well I guess I'm in the 'Idiot Club' too.... 😀

Me too ...I just can`t seem to stop myself focusing every time with an RF ...😱

Which ,of course, makes them very slow (to me)

 

[johannielscom]

I don't think you are an idiot, but perhaps you should not buy an idiot camera.

Made me laugh, thanks!



Bill,

When shooting the workhorse DSLRs I instinctively keep the AF-lock button down whenever it's handy and the moment I release it, AF kicks in again.

I actually had to give your post some thought before I could write the above sentence. So I guess the instinctive bit is sufficiently taken care of for AF to out of the way whenever it needs to😉


All other cameras are manual (zone) focus, the workhorses are the only AF cameras I own, or need for that matter!

 

[leicapixie]

I "would" love to focus a AF camera.
I really would.
They all have dismal small finders, no actual clear image as on an old SLR,
whose viewfinder blows away anything out there..
OK maybe top pf line DSLR from Nikon..
I have used DSLR from others and can see the wrong focus..
Yes!
Try correcting what's already passed.:bang:
The EVIL cameras, well I cannot see a good focus..
I am not an idiot, the cameras are.
Useless to the mindless..
So i simply use my old film cameras, no PC to go "No Read File".
In a few weeks will re-start my wet darkroom.
I know many will say idiot.
When folks point finger, 3 are pointed back!😀

 

[icebear]

LOL, of course Bill you are not an idiot per se, just picking up that camera was a mistake.
If it's not a Leica M, you are not supposed to think on your own😀

 

[photomoof]

I have a Canon 6d and four expensive lenses in my cabinet.

I use my iPhone or my Nikon S2, I doubt I will ever take the Canon outside of my studio, it is so unpleasant to carry and use.