Who's better, You or your AF?

[canoli]

Hooray! Someone actually mentioned the "Katzeye" system! I posted last year asking for KatzEye impressions but no one replied. []


I'm sure there are reviews on other sites but this is the only photo forum I ever read and I trust you guys.


Have you used a Katz screen Daniel? Anyone else - even if it starts out "I know this guy who's girlfriend's mom's best friend had one..." Seriously, anything you know about them would be helpful to me. I've read their site many times; the metering adj doesn't bother me. I'm just curious if it's anything like the Leica split prisms. (must be the 1.6x FOV complicating things for me, as I do see a big difference with the 1-series, but I still can't get over how dinky [and dark] these DSLR VFs are).

If you have an f/2 or faster lens, then I find MF becomes better than even the f/2.8 AF sensor

That's the larger aperture at work, right, allowing a brighter image in the VF?


I get the impression most folks here don't do much manual focusing, but whatever thoughts you'd care to share, I would appreciate reading them. Thanks All!


{btw, if you haven't tried it in awhile I recommend taking a day off from AF. What I've lost in blurry photos I've gained in slowing down the whole process and thinking more about each shot.}

[Daniel Browning]

Hooray! Someone actually mentioned the "Katzeye" system! I posted last year asking for KatzEye impressions but no one replied. [img]/emoticons/emotion-6.gif[/img]

Yeah, I saw your thread. As I recall, you specifically asked for people who had used it themselves, so I didn't respond.

Have you used a Katz screen Daniel?

No, but I would assume it's like using a film camera with a split prism.

That's the larger aperture at work, right, allowing a brighter image in the VF?

That's a part of it, but I was mainly thinking because the visible DOF is slightly thinner. It's not as big as the difference from f/4 to f/2.8 with the high precision screen, but it's there. With a true ground glass or split prism, the difference would be even larger.

[Fast Glass]

I have used a split prism focusing screan before on myMinoltaX-700 film camera, it works great. It gives you some feedback when you have achieved accurate focus.


Hey Daniel, how does AF confirmation compare to MF or Live View? Would it be faster than MF or Live View?


John.

[Daniel Browning]

Personally, I find that AF confirmation is a good technique to use to supplement MF, but I don't find it any faster than MF alone. Live view is the best I think, but for mobile subjects it can be slower as you lose and re-acquire the subject at 5X.

[canoli]

How do you get confirmation when you're in MF mode? Do you mean your lens is in AF mode but you focus manually, and then when you think you've got it you press your shutter halfway (or press the AF button if your cam is setup that way)?

[Daniel Browning]

How do you get confirmation when you're in MF mode?

Push the AF-ON button (or half-press shutter) while the lens is in MF mode and the focus confirmation will light up.

[canoli]

Hehe...okay - thought I was missing something there. So it's only "confirmation" if the camera agrees with you, otherwise it's AF... (lol)

[Feanor]

Having just used the AF micro-adjustment to calibrate my lenses, both of which were quite far out, I can't imagine me ever being more accurate than AF.


Even 1 or 2 microadjustment points can make the difference between a pin-sharp and slightly soft image at wide apertures. Not only is it only possible to see that difference on a big screen (or magnified on the 5DII's screen) and IMO impossible to see through the viewfinder (with an AF screen), but even 10 microadjustment points (on a scale that goes from -20 to +20) is the equivalent of the tiniest movement of the MF ring. I just can't see me manual focusing with anywhere near that level of precision.