- #36
chroot
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
- 10,296
- 41
It sounds like a common experience: you attempted to use auto-focus, but actually took a whole sequence of pictures none of which were focused as you intended.
That's pretty much why many people still prefer manual focus -- or, at least, auto-focus that can be used only on demand. I typically use spot auto-focus one time, then switch to manual focus to leave the focus locked for the remainder of my photos of a given scene.
Auto-focus rarely, if ever, does what you really intend for it do, with the exception of vacation pics of sunsets, and pics of your friends at a dinner table. For pretty much every other kind of photography, auto-focus is a hindrance. You'd spend less time, overall, and get more shots worth keeping with manual focus.
</rant>
And you're right, most teeny tiny point-and-shoot cameras often have pretty lousy manual controls, but not all. I have a $250 Canon SD-450, which is a tiny little camera that actually takes remarkably good photos. It has half-shutter auto-focus, which helps a bunch. You can also turn off auto-focus altogether, but it requires a couple of button pushes, and is hard to do while holding the camera still.
- Warren
That's pretty much why many people still prefer manual focus -- or, at least, auto-focus that can be used only on demand. I typically use spot auto-focus one time, then switch to manual focus to leave the focus locked for the remainder of my photos of a given scene.
Auto-focus rarely, if ever, does what you really intend for it do, with the exception of vacation pics of sunsets, and pics of your friends at a dinner table. For pretty much every other kind of photography, auto-focus is a hindrance. You'd spend less time, overall, and get more shots worth keeping with manual focus.
</rant>
And you're right, most teeny tiny point-and-shoot cameras often have pretty lousy manual controls, but not all. I have a $250 Canon SD-450, which is a tiny little camera that actually takes remarkably good photos. It has half-shutter auto-focus, which helps a bunch. You can also turn off auto-focus altogether, but it requires a couple of button pushes, and is hard to do while holding the camera still.
- Warren