I used to use my auto focus all the time but then it stop working, it broke I think. So the last 2 years all the time I use manual focus, even when I'm using another camera. Which one do you use more often? Just wondering..
Definitely autofocus when I'm outside and taking snapshots..autofocus enables me to always point and shoot! Just in case I see an interesting moment.. I only use manual focus on shots where I use my tripod (I don't want the focus re-adjusting every time I want to make a pic ) or on shots where I intent to make the picture a bit blurred
Manual focus for me unless I am shooting something where I don't have the time... tomorrow I am shooting a wedding, the service and congratulations will be auto while the portraits will be manual
I hardly ever use easy auto or auto on my point and shoot camera. I'm always fiddling with the settings and setting the focus using the settings that come with the camera.
I guess it depends. If I am shooting macro then it is more likely to be manual focus or if I am shooting a small moving target where the camera can not fix on the subject. Other than that I use Auto spot focus all the time.
I do often turn off Auto focus, but that is after I used Auto focus to get the focus and I don't want it to change over many photos.
I can't manual focus to save myself ... but I struggle with close up stuff so that's my excuse ;) With some super close macro shots I have attempted to manual focus - not too successfully ... but I guess that will come in time ...
I use manual everything else on my camera so I figure I'm allowed auto focus ;)
Depends on situation but mostly manual at this point. I used to be too slow with manual to track and focus a moving object but now I think i'm faster than my camera's auto focus. While shooting one of my bottle shots I had the bottle tossed in the air and had to still capture it on the way down with sky and clouds still behind it. So I set for auto focus but after several failed attempts with the auto focus I switched to manual and got it on the second try.
Manual focus, unless I'm taking photos of something/someone that's moving. For example, my parents have a couple Shih Tzus I have been trying to get decent photos of for a while now. No luck, even with auto focus. They get all excited when they see my camera.
I use auto a lot when I'm focused (pun!) on getting the shot right the first time. Night photos are usually in manual because the camera is terrible at focusing. One of my goals this year is to use manual more to get DOF shots.
Once I was shooting a indoor sport event, the auto focus came out really clear but thats when it is successful. You will see auto focus fails at light found indoors, the motor will get spastic and shuffle from close to far and back and repeat till the cameras meter is happy with the light, even in full manual mode. That night I got a handful of awesome sport photography pix, tho there were many many fails. Im trying manual more but sometime life passes by to fast so to sum I wont deny Im more on auto ... but will see after reading this I might eat more carrots and "focus".
Most of the time, I just rely on auto focus. Sometimes though, if I need to specify to my camera what to focus on, or for doing some more artistic styles (purposeful blur, etc), working in low-light or night light, or macro, I use manual.
Can I add on to this discussion with a question? I try and use manual focus but find that sometimes when things look in focus through my viewfinder, they aren't when the image is uploaded. I also find that there is a "range" in the focal adjustment when things look in crisp focus to me. Is there a trick to making sure things are actually in perfect focus or should I be seeing my eye doctor? :)
@katiebrenkert do you focus, then recompose the image? If so, that will definitely throw the focus off, especially with your wider apertures (i.e. f/1.4).
If you aren't doing that, you might need to adjust the view in your viewfinder. I'm sure that's not what it's called. I have a Canon, and right next to the viewfinder is a circle wheel thing. When I turn it, the viewfinder adjusts more blurry or sharp, depending on how I turn it. I really hope your camera has one, so you know what I'm talking about!
My goal is to first get good with manual exposure, then work on manual focus. Even when I had a camera that only focused manually (back in the days of film), I was notoriously bad at it.
@sweett No, dont usually recompose the image. Its just that things look clear to me in the viewfinder, and I can rotate slightly and it still looks the same. I do have one of those dials you're talking about. I'll try playing around with it. I do actually wonder if it is my eyesight and at some point clear and crystal clear are just too hard for me to distinguish, so things look out of focus when I upload. Or, if I just need more practice, which could be VERY likely as well! LOL. Thanks for the tip though!
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I do often turn off Auto focus, but that is after I used Auto focus to get the focus and I don't want it to change over many photos.
I used this method to take my avatar.
I use manual everything else on my camera so I figure I'm allowed auto focus ;)
If you aren't doing that, you might need to adjust the view in your viewfinder. I'm sure that's not what it's called. I have a Canon, and right next to the viewfinder is a circle wheel thing. When I turn it, the viewfinder adjusts more blurry or sharp, depending on how I turn it. I really hope your camera has one, so you know what I'm talking about!