The ME-F had it's focusing motor in the lens. So did the Honeywell AF system and several 3rd party lenses which, may or may not have used this system before the release of True system AF cameras. I'd say putting the focusing motor in the camera was revolutionary.
At 09:57 AM 3/3/2003 -0600, you wrote:
On Mon, 3 Mar 2003, Mike Johnston wrote:
> > When Canon introduced the EOS, it > > was VERY ground breaking; no one had anything like it, > > and AF was in it's infancy. > > No it wasn't. The first EOS was the EOS 650, introduced in March 1987. > Canon was the third major manufacturer to switch to AF, after Minolta > and Nikon, not the first.
Since the first genuine AF camera system (Minolta Maxxum 7000) came out in 1985, if memory serves, I'd say that a camera that appeared in 1987 was still in the infancy of AF. I haven't read the post to which Mike is responding, but it seems to be that the EOS *was* very ground-breaking. Canon wasn't the first company to introduce AF, but, when they did, they did away with mechanical lens interfaces entirely by introducing a completely electronic mount, which was unheard of. *And* they put the focusing motor in their lenses, not in their bodies, which helped to keep focusing quieter and, probably, quicker. How is this move not revolutionary?
chris
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. --Groucho Marx
