AF n MF


alancwr

New Member
Sep 23, 2007
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when to use either 1?
i have some frens who used AF as default
some who used MF as default..

can kindly advise me?
 

it's just matter of preference ... and your lens
 

When you are doing macro shots you will need MF. Otherwise, your camera will AF on areas which are not to your liking. MF is especially useful when you want bokeh (background blur in simplest term) in your picture.

AF is used mainly on sports photography where you object move nearer/further too fast for our eyes to adjust (and for our hands to turn the focus ring).
 

When you are doing macro shots you will need MF. Otherwise, your camera will AF on areas which are not to your liking. MF is especially useful when you want bokeh (background blur in simplest term) in your picture.

AF is used mainly on sports photography where you object move nearer/further too fast for our eyes to adjust (and for our hands to turn the focus ring).

I disagree with you. MF is helpful for final fine-tuning on macro shots, but my camera always AFs on where I want it to. That's why you have spot AF.

As for bokeh, this has NOTHING to do with AF/MF. I don't know where you get the idea that MF results in bokeh because it DOES NOT. FYI, bokeh is the *quality* of the background blur, and not a catch-all phrase for "background blur". As for blurring the background/subject isolation, as stated, this has nothing to do with AF or MF.

AF is perfectly usable in any and all conditions so long as your camera and lens are capable of focusing in those conditions. Most people would recommend MF for nighttime landscape shots if your camera cannot focus, or to manually set the hyperfocal distance.
 

AF most of the time.
MF in macro
 

I agree with raskae that bokeh seems got nothing to do with mf.it's the f number and the background distance that decide the background blur.i use mf only when it's at nite where light aren't enough to let the camera detect the focus.and when we are shooting macro.sometimes when red dot flicks,sometimes the focus is not achieved.that's y we have to fine tune it the focus ring if your lens has FTM like mine.
And i use MF when i'm shooting with tripod where i wanna get myself included.i compose the focus and setting,when the setting and focus is achieved,i'll turn it MF.so the next shot,the focus is still the same.
Y bother use MF if AF does better job to our picture.except you want to compose a all blurred picture for some artistic reason.
I use af all the time.
 

There no answer which one is best option. We need understand both and apply them correctly.

I.e. when I shoot Panaromas, I will using "AF" focus on the first segment, then will turn off auto focus change to "MF" for my lens. That way, my camera doesn't refocus as I shoot the different segments, which would be very bad.

It just like using "AF" to get the focusing point and use "MF" to lock in. That my way to do it.
 

when to use either 1?
i have some frens who used AF as default
some who used MF as default..

can kindly advise me?

1. When u can't nail the focus u want (focus shift in fast primes)..where MF works better..
2. When u doing macro, u need precise adjustments in certain focus areas
3. In night photography when it takes ages to AF (hunting) and hyper focal distancing comes into play
4. In Long exposures in broaddaylight with high stops NDs when Af is simply not possible through super dark viewfinder with ND filter applied
5. In Pano'in when u want ur exposures to be consistent throughout. and the list goes on...

Personally i prefer MF over AF nwadays :)
 

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You should use MF exclusively for one week. If you find no problem with that, you should then continue with MF. If you have something difficulty focusing, then try AF for one week. You should alternate one week of MF with another week of AF. After 3 months, you would be sure which is better for you.
 

i MF when i dun have a choice:
1. manual lens...
2. can't get the focus point i want: macro shots & low light situation when the lens hunt
MF can be pretty fun and frustrating sometimes too, still learning;p
 

the most powerful and accurate focusing comes not from the camera, but your eyes, because you know what exactly you want.
even the smart and powerful camera gets fooled once in a while.

MF is something that is good to try and practice, especially for shots that you can afford to wait.
AF requires contrast and sufficient lighting (so does your eye actually) and is pretty accurate most of the time, and definitely faster (useful in sports).

However, it is great to learn MF because it can help you out in tight situations, and it once happened that my friend was covering an event and the AF jammed on him and he had to use manual focus for the rest of the event.

But stick with AF, you can't go wrong for most of the shots :)
 

I AF all the time . I MF if i cannot AF or AF not reliable.

Ryan