[aurele]

Aurele, I always wondered about mf with a prime and with zoom. Is it any difference with a old Zoom lens? I am always contemplating should I settle for a old manual zoom for this reason.

with some old zoom lense, (like my vivtar 80-200) you have to turn the ring to focus, but you have to push/pull for zooming/dezooming. So you can focus and zoom in the same time, and compose your picture too in the same time. It's a strange feeling at the begining but after few tries you get use to it.
If your good with MF, you can be very quick to get great pictures. it takes me 0.5-1 sec to get it right, as fast as AF

The point is that i paid 25$ this vivtar. It's not too bad, but not too good to (always some CA no mater what.). So if you want to buy some, buy a good one, base on lenses reviews for exemple.
You can go for it, they are always cheap, but a little heavy (mine is 700gr, it's the heaviest i could carry.)

[Kim C]

That is a matter of opinion. I know a huge crowd of "street photograhers" and their preference is for rangefinders. Not an AF in sight not even on the latest eica or Bessa

Kim

It's just not about liking but convenience and need too. I came from MF->AF route because I do street photography and AF is something indispensable there.

[Kim C]

If you think the DSLR are difficult, try an Asahiflex LOL

Many of the eary M42 didn't have the aids either and are also quite dark such as the AP, K and S.

It may just be me and because I'm used to it but I don'y really notice that much difference between using the LX and the K10/K5. Then again I often have a plain matt scren in the LX as I find microprisms and split screens distracting. With the KX etc I tend to focus out the side.

I really do think it is a matter of practice and getting used to it. Having said that, I am using MF primes mainly on the DSLR's though I tend to MF the Ltds as well. That way, I chose the point of focus.

Kim

For the record, the DS & DS2 were also pentaprisms.

But the differences in size/brightness between the pentamirror and pentaprism is *tiny* compared to the gulf between either of these and a FF viewfinder. And not just the size/brightness, but also the focusing aids - split prisms, etc - that often tended to be installed in cameras pre-AF. I'm not saying it's impossible - far from it; I use MF lenses all the time. But there is a pretty huge difference in focusing ease between any APS-C DSLR with the stock screen and a classic film SLR, particularly when shooting in the wide to normal range where the lens itself isn't contributing any magnification. Also, the stock focus screen shows too much DOF at large apertures, which makes focusing lenses faster than f/2.8 an extra challenge in ways that would not have been the case 35 years ago.

[RioRico]

I always wondered about mf with a prime and with zoom. Is it any difference with a old Zoom lens? I am always contemplating should I settle for a old manual zoom for this reason.

Zoom technology HAS advanced over the last few decades. MOST newer zooms are better than MOST older zooms. Exceptions exist: Vivitar Series 1, Soligor C/D, Tokina ATX, tend to be premium lines of manual-focus primes and zooms. Other older manual zooms can be fine; my favorite portraiture lens is an M42 Sears-Tokina 55-135/3.5. Zooms with fixed maximum apertures tend to be better than those that vary; my Tokina RMC 35-135/3.5-4.5 just isn't quite as good as the Sears-Tokina f/3.5 or even a Sears-Samyang 70-210/4 or Vivitar-Kiron 80-200/4.5. (I'll sell that Tokina RMC if I find something better in that range, cheap.)

So carefully consider older manual zooms. Search for user reviews. If you find one cheap, go for it. My rule: If it costs less than a burger/sandwich, buy it; if it costs more than an extra-large pizza, think real hard about it. Buying lenses instead of burgers is great for weight control too!

[aurele]

So carefully consider older manual zooms. Search for user reviews. If you find one cheap, go for it. My rule: If it costs less than a burger/sandwich, buy it; if it costs more than an extra-large pizza, think real hard about it. Buying lenses instead of burgers is great for weight control too!

Sounds a good and proofed idea

[Mike Cash]

It's just not about liking but convenience and need too. I came from MF->AF route because I do street photography and AF is something indispensable there.

"Indispensable" is a strong word. There is no doubt it is "convenient", but I can think of about 1600 examples done with manual focus.

[TER-OR]

I cut my teeth taking pictures with my Dad's all-manual Minolta. The split-screen and larger viewfinder did make it easier. I installed a Jinfinance split-screen on my K-10, but am hesitant to do so with the K-5.

This weekend I finally went outside with the 500mm Vivitar lens and learned a few lessons. It's dark in that viewfinder with the big lens. Focusing is not easy, but I found my first shots with my best guess were the best shots. When I rolled the focus forward, the shots weren't in focus. So I must be able to see the focus. The hexagon focus confirmation never lit up, I'll have to figure out why.
I do like the look of the photos, though, they have some depth to them.
Mourning Dove 2 with 500mm manual | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[Just1MoreDave]

I cut my teeth taking pictures with my Dad's all-manual Minolta. The split-screen and larger viewfinder did make it easier. I installed a Jinfinance split-screen on my K-10, but am hesitant to do so with the K-5.

This weekend I finally went outside with the 500mm Vivitar lens and learned a few lessons. It's dark in that viewfinder with the big lens. Focusing is not easy, but I found my first shots with my best guess were the best shots. When I rolled the focus forward, the shots weren't in focus. So I must be able to see the focus. The hexagon focus confirmation never lit up, I'll have to figure out why.
I do like the look of the photos, though, they have some depth to them.
Mourning Dove 2 with 500mm manual | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The hexagon relies on the AF sensors, which may not get enough light at f6.3, and the lens may not have great contrast anyway. Probably it'll work sometimes but not 100%. With such a large lens and long focal length, you can botch the shot in many other ways besides bad focus. I sort of mentally slap myself and think hard if I go over 250mm, so I remember to do everything possible to control camera movement.

[edgedemon]

MF is scary
I spent hours trying to get a pin sharp photo, and everytime I thought Id nailed it according to the viewfinder, Id look at the picture afterwards to find Id just missed it - again.
Maybe my eyes are going, but it has put me off manual glass for a while..

[magkelly]

I'm not afraid, and I don't have perfect eyesight actually. I use AF when I have to shoot fast from the hip. It's convenient and it works, usually. But mostly I actually like to fiddle and manually focus. There's nothing wrong with doing either. The camera is a tool. Whatever gets the shot you want is the "right" way. Sometimes AF just doesn't work, sometimes manual focusing doesn't. You do what works for you, that's it.

[TER-OR]

Thanks, Dave. I was just reading the Magic Lantern book section about autofocus last night. You're probably right, not enough contrast. And if there's not enough contrast on the shots I was taking Saturday - bird on a wire against a clear blue sky - that's a prime thought. I've got some learning to do but I'm convinced this lens can make some very nice images. If I can keep it stable enough and roll through the focus, and I'm not trying to track something moving quickly!

A lot of the time with Macro photography I'll use manual focus. It can be tough getting the focus on exactly what you want without rolling the focus. The camera often will focus on the leaf rather than on the insect on the leaf, for instance.

[kheldour]

MF is scary
I spent hours trying to get a pin sharp photo, and everytime I thought Id nailed it according to the viewfinder, Id look at the picture afterwards to find Id just missed it - again.
Maybe my eyes are going, but it has put me off manual glass for a while..

Maybe you lack a focus screen, like the Katzeye focussing screens?

Since I installed mine from focussingscreen.com I have a 90% "hitrate".

Just keep practicing and follow these instructions how to learn to focus.

[edgedemon]

Maybe you lack a focus screen, like the Katzeye focussing screens?

Since I installed mine from focussingscreen.com I have a 90% "hitrate".

Just keep practicing and follow these instructions how to learn to focus.

Interesting, never heard of katzeye and that link with the instructions will give me something to practice with..

Thx

[hcc]

MF is scary
I spent hours trying to get a pin sharp photo, and everytime I thought Id nailed it according to the viewfinder, Id look at the picture afterwards to find Id just missed it - again.
Maybe my eyes are going, but it has put me off manual glass for a while..

This is why I started the thread at the 1st place. I may have two suggestions:

-Try catch in focus. It really help.

- Alternately shoot landscape, setting the focus rung to infinite. (as long as your lens focus properly to infinite. Mines do.)

These are two simple ways to start with MF lenses.

[rparmar]

"Indispensable" is a strong word. There is no doubt it is "convenient", but I can think of about 1600 examples done with manual focus.

Very subtle Mike.

I have varifocals and not the best sight. In fact using my glasses only seems to make things worse on the camera. I prefer MF. In fact I just did a model shoot all MF. I guess we'll see how it worked out, but I seem to do OK. Practice.