Do you use more MF or AF lenses?

ducdao · 07-03-2010, 06:03 AM

I need to confess, I now have over 400 lenses (K and M42) and I don't see myself stop buying lenses anytime soon. With over 99% of my lenses are MF, the remaining 1% is composed DA limited lenses (15,35,40 and 70). Even though with that nice series of DA limited lenses I still find myself using my old M42 lenses under AV mode at 99% of time.

While I find the DA limiteds to be excellent lenses I just can't get myself to use those as much as I should. Perhaps I mostly shoot at low light and the AF of Pentax sucks under low light or I'm just an MF guy, period.

No, my DA Limiteds are not up for sale so don't even try

dude163 · 07-03-2010, 06:15 AM

all I have is a kit lens and the other 8 are manual

ducdao · 07-03-2010, 06:16 AM

Originally posted by dude163

all I have is a kit lens and the other 8 are manual

But do use more your kit lens or the other MF lenses?

dude163 · 07-03-2010, 06:35 AM

the kit lens is only on when I show ppl the cool white camera, all my shots are with the Taks

8540tomg · 07-03-2010, 06:48 AM

As you can see from my signature the bulk of my lenses are older K, M and A series glass. They are all manual focus. I would estimate I do the bulk of my shooting (90%) with these older lenses. I have a DA 70/2.4 and the DA* 16~50/2.8 as well. These are fine optics as well and I'll admit as much as I like the older glass I can see myself being easily seduced by the convenience of AF.

Tom G

RonHendriks1966 · 07-03-2010, 08:02 AM

Wow 400 lenses (that's almoast a disease). I have a M35/2 and an old non-AI Nikkor 300mm/4.5 that's attached to my K-7 with an adapter. So that are my MF lenses but I use them only on rare but always special occasions. The rest (14mm, 21mm, 40mm, 55mm, 50-135mm and 85mm) is DA, DA* or FA* and is AF. So my trick is AF in generela use.

ducdao · 07-03-2010, 08:16 AM

Originally posted by RonHendriks1966

Wow 400 lenses (that's almoast a disease). I have a M35/2 and an old non-AI Nikkor 300mm/4.5 that's attached to my K-7 with an adapter. So that are my MF lenses but I use them only on rare but always special occasions. The rest (14mm, 21mm, 40mm, 55mm, 50-135mm and 85mm) is DA, DA* or FA* and is AF. So my trick is AF in generela use.

Indeed, it's a non-curable disease called LBA

wlachan · 07-03-2010, 08:19 AM

Practically I can't MF anymore due to my aging eyesight and poorly made VF these days. I have found AF consistently more accurate than my own MF so I just P&S.

ducdao · 07-03-2010, 09:07 AM

Originally posted by wlachan

Practically I can't MF anymore due to my aging eyesight and poorly made VF these days. I have found AF consistently more accurate than my own MF so I just P&S.

Well, Alan, that's probably another reason why I should shoot more with MF while my eyesight still allows me to do so

Marc Sabatella · 07-03-2010, 09:18 AM

Wow, not sure how many lenses some of the more well-known lens collectors like Jim King have, but you're got to be up there with the largest collections I know of.

Pretty hard to collect 400 AF lenses for Pentax, so no surprise that it would be mostly MF, and with that any more MF lenses than AF, no big surprise you'd *use* them more too.

Me, I'm 50/50 in terms of ownership (literally six of one, half a dozen of the other). And around 50/50 in terms of usage, too, but that changes over time. Probably more AF than MF until I got the M28/2.8 and started leaving the kit lens at home. Then it was probably more MF than AF for a while. But since getting the DA15, the M28/2.8 has taken a real nose-dive in "face time". And even in my concert photography, where I think of myself as mostly using manual lenses (M100/2.8 and M135/3.5 especially), the DA70 has been getting more and more use. So I'm probably somewhat more AF than MF these days. Although I do still focus those AF lenses manually a fair amount, FWIW.

Jools · 07-03-2010, 09:24 AM

Originally posted by ducdao

I need to confess, I now have over 400 lenses (K and M42) and I don't see myself stop buying lenses anytime soon. With over 99% of my lenses are MF, the remaining 1% is composed DA limited lenses (15,35,40 and 70). Even though with that nice series of DA limited lenses I still find myself using my old M42 lenses under AV mode at 99% of time.

While I find the DA limiteds to be excellent lenses I just can't get myself to use those as much as I should. Perhaps I mostly shoot at low light and the AF of Pentax sucks under low light or I'm just an MF guy, period.

No, my DA Limiteds are not up for sale so don't even try

When I saw 400 lenses, I had to laugh. But it's not at you but at myself.
Great to hear about the number of lenses in your collection because it only means I got a long way to go. I'm still in my LBA infancy.

I only have 10 lenses dedicated to Pentax (and a couple are redundant). All but the kit lens, are MF lenses. And when I use the kit lens, I manually focus it about 75% of the time.

Quite frankly, my subject matter doesn't require AF lenses at the moment. Maybe down the road. (See that..., the seeds for justifying LBA already being planted)

ducdao · 07-03-2010, 09:45 AM

Originally posted by Marc Sabatella

Wow, not sure how many lenses some of the more well-known lens collectors like Jim King have, but you're got to be up there with the largest collections I know of.

Pretty hard to collect 400 AF lenses for Pentax, so no surprise that it would be mostly MF, and with that any more MF lenses than AF, no big surprise you'd *use* them more too.

Me, I'm 50/50 in terms of ownership (literally six of one, half a dozen of the other). And around 50/50 in terms of usage, too, but that changes over time. Probably more AF than MF until I got the M28/2.8 and started leaving the kit lens at home. Then it was probably more MF than AF for a while. But since getting the DA15, the M28/2.8 has taken a real nose-dive in "face time". And even in my concert photography, where I think of myself as mostly using manual lenses (M100/2.8 and M135/3.5 especially), the DA70 has been getting more and more use. So I'm probably somewhat more AF than MF these days. Although I do still focus those AF lenses manually a fair amount, FWIW.

Marc, I know nothing about Jim King until you mentioned his name. After a quick look up on Google I don't think I'm anywhere close to his collection in term of values but in term of lenses count I think I'm ahead of him. My collection is mainly M42 lenses , probably 90/10 (M42/K-mount).

hangu · 07-03-2010, 09:54 AM

The only AF lenses I have is an F50mm f1.7 and a DA 12-24mm. The fast 50 is for when I'm so drunk I can't even MF correctly and the DA 12-24mm is here because there aren't any 12mm MF rectilinear lens that cost less than the DA12-24mm. I've used the F50mm f1.7 once since I got it just to make sure it works 100% and it can't seem to find its way into my bag when I have a 50mm f1.2. MF is all I use, it makes me feel better about myself.

ducdao · 07-03-2010, 09:59 AM

Originally posted by Jools

When I saw 400 lenses, I had to laugh. But it's not at you but at myself.
Great to hear about the number of lenses in your collection because it only means I got a long way to go. I'm still in my LBA infancy.

I only have 10 lenses dedicated to Pentax (and a couple are redundant). All but the kit lens, are MF lenses. And when I use the kit lens, I manually focus it about 75% of the time.

Quite frankly, my subject matter doesn't require AF lenses at the moment. Maybe down the road. (See that..., the seeds for justifying LBA already being planted)

You'll get there

All it takes is a good credit card and a supportive wife

**stevebrot** · 07-03-2010, 09:59 AM

MF vs. AF?

That is a hard question. I shoot about 50% film with manual focus cameras. OTOH, the Pentax-FA 35/2 is pretty firmly attached to my K10D. OTOH (three hands?), most of my serious work with the K10D is with AF disengaged, regardless of lens.

This much I can say...All of my PPG images were manually focused.

Steve

07-03-2010, 06:03 AM	#1
ducdao Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Montreal/Vermont Posts: 2,160	Do you use more MF or AF lenses? I need to confess, I now have over 400 lenses (K and M42) and I don't see myself stop buying lenses anytime soon. With over 99% of my lenses are MF, the remaining 1% is composed DA limited lenses (15,35,40 and 70). Even though with that nice series of DA limited lenses I still find myself using my old M42 lenses under AV mode at 99% of time. While I find the DA limiteds to be excellent lenses I just can't get myself to use those as much as I should. Perhaps I mostly shoot at low light and the AF of Pentax sucks under low light or I'm just an MF guy, period. No, my DA Limiteds are not up for sale so don't even try

07-03-2010, 06:48 AM	#5
8540tomg Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Waterloo, Ontario Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,446	As you can see from my signature the bulk of my lenses are older K, M and A series glass. They are all manual focus. I would estimate I do the bulk of my shooting (90%) with these older lenses. I have a DA 70/2.4 and the DA* 16~50/2.8 as well. These are fine optics as well and I'll admit as much as I like the older glass I can see myself being easily seduced by the convenience of AF. Tom G Last edited by 8540tomg; 07-03-2010 at 07:38 AM. Reason: typo

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07-03-2010, 06:15 AM	#2
dude163 Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 824	all I have is a kit lens and the other 8 are manual

07-03-2010, 06:16 AM	#3
ducdao Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Montreal/Vermont Posts: 2,160 Original Poster	Originally posted by dude163 all I have is a kit lens and the other 8 are manual But do use more your kit lens or the other MF lenses?

07-03-2010, 06:35 AM	#4
dude163 Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 824	the kit lens is only on when I show ppl the cool white camera, all my shots are with the Taks

07-03-2010, 08:02 AM	#6
RonHendriks1966 Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,668	Wow 400 lenses (that's almoast a disease). I have a M35/2 and an old non-AI Nikkor 300mm/4.5 that's attached to my K-7 with an adapter. So that are my MF lenses but I use them only on rare but always special occasions. The rest (14mm, 21mm, 40mm, 55mm, 50-135mm and 85mm) is DA, DA* or FA* and is AF. So my trick is AF in generela use.

07-03-2010, 08:16 AM	#7
ducdao Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Montreal/Vermont Posts: 2,160 Original Poster	Originally posted by RonHendriks1966 Wow 400 lenses (that's almoast a disease). I have a M35/2 and an old non-AI Nikkor 300mm/4.5 that's attached to my K-7 with an adapter. So that are my MF lenses but I use them only on rare but always special occasions. The rest (14mm, 21mm, 40mm, 55mm, 50-135mm and 85mm) is DA, DA* or FA* and is AF. So my trick is AF in generela use. Indeed, it's a non-curable disease called LBA

07-03-2010, 08:19 AM	#8
wlachan Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Canada Photos: Albums Posts: 2,626	Practically I can't MF anymore due to my aging eyesight and poorly made VF these days. I have found AF consistently more accurate than my own MF so I just P&S.

07-03-2010, 09:07 AM	#9
ducdao Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Montreal/Vermont Posts: 2,160 Original Poster	Originally posted by wlachan Practically I can't MF anymore due to my aging eyesight and poorly made VF these days. I have found AF consistently more accurate than my own MF so I just P&S. Well, Alan, that's probably another reason why I should shoot more with MF while my eyesight still allows me to do so

07-03-2010, 09:18 AM	#10
Marc Sabatella Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Denver, CO Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,686	Wow, not sure how many lenses some of the more well-known lens collectors like Jim King have, but you're got to be up there with the largest collections I know of. Pretty hard to collect 400 AF lenses for Pentax, so no surprise that it would be mostly MF, and with that any more MF lenses than AF, no big surprise you'd use them more too. Me, I'm 50/50 in terms of ownership (literally six of one, half a dozen of the other). And around 50/50 in terms of usage, too, but that changes over time. Probably more AF than MF until I got the M28/2.8 and started leaving the kit lens at home. Then it was probably more MF than AF for a while. But since getting the DA15, the M28/2.8 has taken a real nose-dive in "face time". And even in my concert photography, where I think of myself as mostly using manual lenses (M100/2.8 and M135/3.5 especially), the DA70 has been getting more and more use. So I'm probably somewhat more AF than MF these days. Although I do still focus those AF lenses manually a fair amount, FWIW.

07-03-2010, 09:24 AM	#11
Jools Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: SW Wisconsin by way of Venezuela Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,383	Originally posted by ducdao I need to confess, I now have over 400 lenses (K and M42) and I don't see myself stop buying lenses anytime soon. With over 99% of my lenses are MF, the remaining 1% is composed DA limited lenses (15,35,40 and 70). Even though with that nice series of DA limited lenses I still find myself using my old M42 lenses under AV mode at 99% of time. While I find the DA limiteds to be excellent lenses I just can't get myself to use those as much as I should. Perhaps I mostly shoot at low light and the AF of Pentax sucks under low light or I'm just an MF guy, period. No, my DA Limiteds are not up for sale so don't even try When I saw 400 lenses, I had to laugh. But it's not at you but at myself. Great to hear about the number of lenses in your collection because it only means I got a long way to go. I'm still in my LBA infancy. I only have 10 lenses dedicated to Pentax (and a couple are redundant). All but the kit lens, are MF lenses. And when I use the kit lens, I manually focus it about 75% of the time. Quite frankly, my subject matter doesn't require AF lenses at the moment. Maybe down the road. (See that..., the seeds for justifying LBA already being planted)

07-03-2010, 09:45 AM	#12
ducdao Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Montreal/Vermont Posts: 2,160 Original Poster	Originally posted by Marc Sabatella Wow, not sure how many lenses some of the more well-known lens collectors like Jim King have, but you're got to be up there with the largest collections I know of. Pretty hard to collect 400 AF lenses for Pentax, so no surprise that it would be mostly MF, and with that any more MF lenses than AF, no big surprise you'd use them more too. Me, I'm 50/50 in terms of ownership (literally six of one, half a dozen of the other). And around 50/50 in terms of usage, too, but that changes over time. Probably more AF than MF until I got the M28/2.8 and started leaving the kit lens at home. Then it was probably more MF than AF for a while. But since getting the DA15, the M28/2.8 has taken a real nose-dive in "face time". And even in my concert photography, where I think of myself as mostly using manual lenses (M100/2.8 and M135/3.5 especially), the DA70 has been getting more and more use. So I'm probably somewhat more AF than MF these days. Although I do still focus those AF lenses manually a fair amount, FWIW. Marc, I know nothing about Jim King until you mentioned his name. After a quick look up on Google I don't think I'm anywhere close to his collection in term of values but in term of lenses count I think I'm ahead of him. My collection is mainly M42 lenses , probably 90/10 (M42/K-mount).

07-03-2010, 09:54 AM	#13
hangu Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NYC Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,071	The only AF lenses I have is an F50mm f1.7 and a DA 12-24mm. The fast 50 is for when I'm so drunk I can't even MF correctly and the DA 12-24mm is here because there aren't any 12mm MF rectilinear lens that cost less than the DA12-24mm. I've used the F50mm f1.7 once since I got it just to make sure it works 100% and it can't seem to find its way into my bag when I have a 50mm f1.2. MF is all I use, it makes me feel better about myself.

07-03-2010, 09:59 AM	#14
ducdao Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Montreal/Vermont Posts: 2,160 Original Poster	Originally posted by Jools When I saw 400 lenses, I had to laugh. But it's not at you but at myself. Great to hear about the number of lenses in your collection because it only means I got a long way to go. I'm still in my LBA infancy. I only have 10 lenses dedicated to Pentax (and a couple are redundant). All but the kit lens, are MF lenses. And when I use the kit lens, I manually focus it about 75% of the time. Quite frankly, my subject matter doesn't require AF lenses at the moment. Maybe down the road. (See that..., the seeds for justifying LBA already being planted) You'll get there All it takes is a good credit card and a supportive wife

07-03-2010, 09:59 AM	#15
stevebrot Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,617	MF vs. AF? That is a hard question. I shoot about 50% film with manual focus cameras. OTOH, the Pentax-FA 35/2 is pretty firmly attached to my K10D. OTOH (three hands?), most of my serious work with the K10D is with AF disengaged, regardless of lens. This much I can say...All of my PPG images were manually focused. Steve