Nikon 35mm SLR: manual focus vs. auto focus

On Mon, 20 Sep 2004 06:43:28 -0700, S. S. wrote:


Perhaps if you were to mention what bodies/lenses you are considering...



I am trying to decide whether to go with a Nikon F4 / F5 or an MF Nikon
prior to F4.

What lenses are you looking to use?

If you buy an F4 you will be able to make use of pretty much any Nikon
lenses, including pre-AI manual focus, G type and AF-S. With AF-S lenses
the F4 becomes a very good AF body (not so hot with ordinary AF lenses).

The F5 OTOH, is only able to use pre-AI lenses with a Nikon modification
to the mount. Otherwise it is probably the most adaptable Nikon body
around.

Of course it will cost a lot more than an F4.

--
Dallas www.dallasdahms.com
"Going down a dirty inner city side road I plotted
Madness passed me by, she smiled hi, I nodded"
- Sixto Rodriguez

On Sun, 19 Sep 2004 18:17:37 +0000, Tony wrote:

Actually the MF will be the heavier given similar models. They tend to be
old designs with mechanical linkages and metal bodies. The only advantage
to them is that some equipment snobs will tell you that you'll learn more
about photography from them - they are wrong, and in fact actually don't
have the vaguest idea how wrong they are, but that's the way they are, and
no amount of evidence is gonna change them.
Go for AF - and take a look at Canon and Pentax while you're at it.
Nikon
has been running on empty for a while now.

So the rest of the world is wrong and Mr Spadaro is right.

What an idiot.

What a complete and utter idiot you have become.

What a complete and utterly prejudiced idiot you have become.

Has something been eating at your grey matter that you could bring
yourself to make such inane comments? You are the Godfather of brand
prejudice and as such, who can take anything you say seriously anymore?
Are you still ****ed off about your Nikon scanner that broke and had to be
repaired?

--
Dallas www.dallasdahms.com
"Going down a dirty inner city side road I plotted
Madness passed me by, she smiled hi, I nodded"
- Sixto Rodriguez

On Mon, 20 Sep 2004 06:43:28 -0700, S. S. wrote:


Perhaps if you were to mention what bodies/lenses you are considering...



I am trying to decide whether to go with a Nikon F4 / F5 or an MF Nikon
prior to F4.

What lenses are you looking to use?

If you buy an F4 you will be able to make use of pretty much any Nikon
lenses, including pre-AI manual focus, G type and AF-S. With AF-S lenses
the F4 becomes a very good AF body (not so hot with ordinary AF lenses).

The F5 OTOH, is only able to use pre-AI lenses with a Nikon modification
to the mount. Otherwise it is probably the most adaptable Nikon body
around.

Of course it will cost a lot more than an F4.

--
Dallas www.dallasdahms.com
"Going down a dirty inner city side road I plotted
Madness passed me by, she smiled hi, I nodded"
- Sixto Rodriguez

"S. S." wrote:

If you have bad eyesight,
then you would probably do worse with manual focusing.


Thank you very much for the answer! I do wear a pair of prescription
glasses. Do you know whether wearing glasses has any impact on manual
focus in particular and handling 35mm (versus digital where you do not
need to look into viewfinder) in general? Thank you once again!

In general, you would want a better screen that allowed easier focusing
manually. There are a few options to consider, such as high eyepoint
finders. The smaller manual focus bodies are not so good for that, though
the F3HP, and the F4 are well suited to manual focusing for eyeglasses
wearers. The other option is to not wear your eyeglasses, and use a
diopter lens on the finder. Any optics place could make one, or if your
eyesight is correctable in whole number increments, there are many Nikon
made diopters for most of the manual focus bodies.

Some people prefer to keep their glasses on while shooting, while others
like the diopter choice. My personal preference is to wear contact
lenses, and use a 0 diopter on my cameras. I should mention that my
eyesight without contact lenses is actually fairly good, and I have a
very weak strength prescription. I guess since you asked about Nikon, I
should mention that I use a Nikon FE for most of my 35 mm work. While the
eyepoint of the FE is not as good as for the F3 or F4, it is a much
smaller and more compact camera body.

I think the idea of digital, using just the LCD (like on a P&S), leads to
other problems. There is no way to hold a camera steady at bent arms
distance. Also, judging focus is questionable on an LCD, and I would
hesitate to recommend manually focusing using one like that.

Prices on the F4 are actually fairly low currently, with many good used
examples. Check the prices at KEH in Atlanta first http://www.keh.com,
since sometimes EBAY auctions go too high on prices. The F4 would also
allow autofocus lenses to be used, though only with a centre focus area
selection. The F3 is slightly smaller and lighter, and just a little less
expensive than an F4. Avoid the F3AF, since that early autofocus camera
has some weird lenses, and is not very ergonomic.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio
http://www.allgstudio.com/gallery.html Updated!

"S. S." wrote:

If you have bad eyesight,
then you would probably do worse with manual focusing.


Thank you very much for the answer! I do wear a pair of prescription
glasses. Do you know whether wearing glasses has any impact on manual
focus in particular and handling 35mm (versus digital where you do not
need to look into viewfinder) in general? Thank you once again!

In general, you would want a better screen that allowed easier focusing
manually. There are a few options to consider, such as high eyepoint
finders. The smaller manual focus bodies are not so good for that, though
the F3HP, and the F4 are well suited to manual focusing for eyeglasses
wearers. The other option is to not wear your eyeglasses, and use a
diopter lens on the finder. Any optics place could make one, or if your
eyesight is correctable in whole number increments, there are many Nikon
made diopters for most of the manual focus bodies.

Some people prefer to keep their glasses on while shooting, while others
like the diopter choice. My personal preference is to wear contact
lenses, and use a 0 diopter on my cameras. I should mention that my
eyesight without contact lenses is actually fairly good, and I have a
very weak strength prescription. I guess since you asked about Nikon, I
should mention that I use a Nikon FE for most of my 35 mm work. While the
eyepoint of the FE is not as good as for the F3 or F4, it is a much
smaller and more compact camera body.

I think the idea of digital, using just the LCD (like on a P&S), leads to
other problems. There is no way to hold a camera steady at bent arms
distance. Also, judging focus is questionable on an LCD, and I would
hesitate to recommend manually focusing using one like that.

Prices on the F4 are actually fairly low currently, with many good used
examples. Check the prices at KEH in Atlanta first http://www.keh.com,
since sometimes EBAY auctions go too high on prices. The F4 would also
allow autofocus lenses to be used, though only with a centre focus area
selection. The F3 is slightly smaller and lighter, and just a little less
expensive than an F4. Avoid the F3AF, since that early autofocus camera
has some weird lenses, and is not very ergonomic.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio
http://www.allgstudio.com/gallery.html Updated!

"S. S." wrote:

If you have bad eyesight,
then you would probably do worse with manual focusing.


Thank you very much for the answer! I do wear a pair of prescription
glasses. Do you know whether wearing glasses has any impact on manual
focus in particular and handling 35mm (versus digital where you do not
need to look into viewfinder) in general? Thank you once again!

In general, you would want a better screen that allowed easier focusing
manually. There are a few options to consider, such as high eyepoint
finders. The smaller manual focus bodies are not so good for that, though
the F3HP, and the F4 are well suited to manual focusing for eyeglasses
wearers. The other option is to not wear your eyeglasses, and use a
diopter lens on the finder. Any optics place could make one, or if your
eyesight is correctable in whole number increments, there are many Nikon
made diopters for most of the manual focus bodies.

Some people prefer to keep their glasses on while shooting, while others
like the diopter choice. My personal preference is to wear contact
lenses, and use a 0 diopter on my cameras. I should mention that my
eyesight without contact lenses is actually fairly good, and I have a
very weak strength prescription. I guess since you asked about Nikon, I
should mention that I use a Nikon FE for most of my 35 mm work. While the
eyepoint of the FE is not as good as for the F3 or F4, it is a much
smaller and more compact camera body.

I think the idea of digital, using just the LCD (like on a P&S), leads to
other problems. There is no way to hold a camera steady at bent arms
distance. Also, judging focus is questionable on an LCD, and I would
hesitate to recommend manually focusing using one like that.

Prices on the F4 are actually fairly low currently, with many good used
examples. Check the prices at KEH in Atlanta first http://www.keh.com,
since sometimes EBAY auctions go too high on prices. The F4 would also
allow autofocus lenses to be used, though only with a centre focus area
selection. The F3 is slightly smaller and lighter, and just a little less
expensive than an F4. Avoid the F3AF, since that early autofocus camera
has some weird lenses, and is not very ergonomic.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio
http://www.allgstudio.com/gallery.html Updated!

"S. S." wrote in message
om...

Perhaps if you were to mention what bodies/lenses you are considering...



I am trying to decide whether to go with a Nikon F4 / F5 or an MF Nikon
prior to F4.

Both are very good camera bodies. The F5 will cost considerably more than
the F4 but that's to be expected. I have both cameras and it suites me to
use the F4 much more often than I use the F5. Although both bodies are
top-o-the-line, each has advantages in how they are used. Since Dallas has
already mentioned the lenses, I won't repeat what he said. IMO, you will not
go wrong with either camera body but you should be aware that some parts for
the F4 may not be readily available, if repairs are needed. But accessories
for the F4 are readily available and inexpensive. An F4e with a MF23 back is
a potent tool photographic tool and IMO, more user friendly than the F5.

nick

"S. S." wrote in message
om...

Perhaps if you were to mention what bodies/lenses you are considering...



I am trying to decide whether to go with a Nikon F4 / F5 or an MF Nikon
prior to F4.

Both are very good camera bodies. The F5 will cost considerably more than
the F4 but that's to be expected. I have both cameras and it suites me to
use the F4 much more often than I use the F5. Although both bodies are
top-o-the-line, each has advantages in how they are used. Since Dallas has
already mentioned the lenses, I won't repeat what he said. IMO, you will not
go wrong with either camera body but you should be aware that some parts for
the F4 may not be readily available, if repairs are needed. But accessories
for the F4 are readily available and inexpensive. An F4e with a MF23 back is
a potent tool photographic tool and IMO, more user friendly than the F5.

nick

Dallas wrote:
On Mon, 20 Sep 2004 06:43:28 -0700, S. S. wrote:


Perhaps if you were to mention what bodies/lenses you are considering...




I am trying to decide whether to go with a Nikon F4 / F5 or an MF Nikon
prior to F4.


What lenses are you looking to use?

If you buy an F4 you will be able to make use of pretty much any Nikon
lenses, including pre-AI manual focus, G type and AF-S. With AF-S lenses
the F4 becomes a very good AF body (not so hot with ordinary AF lenses).

As I uderstand it, the F4 has no idea what to do with an AFS lense.
Indeed, it is less "hot" on account of AF not working at all :-)

Also, G type lenses will only work in the Program modes; so no A,S, or M.

Cheers,

Proud F4s owner.

Dallas wrote:
On Mon, 20 Sep 2004 06:43:28 -0700, S. S. wrote:


Perhaps if you were to mention what bodies/lenses you are considering...




I am trying to decide whether to go with a Nikon F4 / F5 or an MF Nikon
prior to F4.


What lenses are you looking to use?

If you buy an F4 you will be able to make use of pretty much any Nikon
lenses, including pre-AI manual focus, G type and AF-S. With AF-S lenses
the F4 becomes a very good AF body (not so hot with ordinary AF lenses).

As I uderstand it, the F4 has no idea what to do with an AFS lense.
Indeed, it is less "hot" on account of AF not working at all :-)

Also, G type lenses will only work in the Program modes; so no A,S, or M.

Cheers,

Proud F4s owner.