Many newcomers to dSLR (lime myself) thrive for Auto-Focus (AF) for the ease and maybe the habit of P&S. When I just got my first sDSLR, I had already a few P&S cameras incl. some super-zooms. I started with an AF lens like many. Manual Focus (MF) was not my 'cup of tea' and I was not alone, reading the many threads at PF.
Why are we so afraid with MF?
I ask the question because I now love to use MF. Yes, but I woudl add that I love to use MF with a
true MF lens. I found that the focus ring of most AF lenses is simply not good enough. It lacks precision and ease to focus perfectly at the first time. In contrast, most MF lenses have some nice, accurate focus ring with which it is a true pleasure to shoot MF.
The second key point is 'catch-in-focus'. Anyone afraid of MF should try catch-in-focus. Set your camera to centered focus, and set catch-in-focus. Turn gently the focus ring. The camera will shot as soon as the focus confirmation symbol appears. So easy, but you would not know until you try.
Why would I want to shoot MF? First in low light. In very dark conditions, the camera AF is simply unable to converge. MF is the way to go. Second, I shoot a lot of dynamic motion and AF.C is not always good enough. MF is another option when you can guesstimate right the focus distance.
In summary, I changed completely my own thoughts on manual focus lenses when (a) I tried some dedicated MF lenses with accurate focus ring (like the Voigtlander lenses), and (b) catch-in-focus is a very nice tool to get nicely focused shots. I hope that the experience may help others, and would encourage anyone afraid of MF to reconsider.
It may be interesting to hear from other Pentaxians with similar experience.