Hello Tom, Sounds like to me, you ought to just turn AF off on your *istD. That is what I am shooting - almost never have AF on. If you are trying to be prepared for that "fleeting moment" by having AF on, your hit rate is going to be low. It has nothing to do with the format - just a frame of mind.
One thing to consider - AF for me tends to weaken/spoil my composition - the reason is that focusing is one of the last steps, rather than the first step. By focus locking, I tend to not really explore the image very well. I find that setting composition, then exposure and lastly, focusing works much better. I will move the focus back and forth looking for the exact spot that I want the plane of focus to be on. It might be a specific feature of the landscape that stands out better or a feature of face (not just the eyeball). Along with that, AF is rather imprecise at times (AF target is too large). Try setting the *istD to all manual everything and go out and shoot for awhile. You will have a whole new experience and I suspect your hit rate will go up. You will have decided what you are trying to capture before shooting rather than after. The technique is the same whether shooting APS, 35mm, MF or LF. -- Best regards, Bruce Tuesday, July 27, 2004, 11:45:15 AM, you wrote: TC> I use AF in the same manner and mode as I would manually focus camera... TC> also I generally am in AF mode because it saves time on those occasions TC> (wildlife) where you may not have time to compose and focus before the TC> moment is lost. In general I find shots ruined because of poor focus are TC> roughly the same between using AF and ManF, for myself. TC> I'm generally very deliberate and slow in composing a shot... However, in TC> the back of my mind I believe AF can hamper that... With a 67 I won't have a TC> choice... TC> I have an MX as well... I'm finding little desire to shoot 35mm since the TC> *ist D. Therefore I'm looking for something different. TC> Tom C. >>From: Bruce Dayton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>To: Tom C <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>Subject: Re: Film vs Digita, was: lRe: Pentax is Dying? >>Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 11:16:38 -0700 >> >>Hello Tom, >> >>slowing down and thinking through the shot is a good thing to do. But >>it doesn't require medium format to do it. Why are you using AF now? (at >>least >>by your post, it sounds like you are) I only use AF in rare instances >>no matter what body I shoot with. Fully controlling your shots is a >>good thing, but can be done in 35mm just as well as 67 or 4X5. >>Shooting an MX is just about the same experience as shooting a 67 >>(I've done both). >> >>-- >>Best regards, >>Bruce >> >> >>Tuesday, July 27, 2004, 10:57:58 AM, you wrote: >> >>TC> Followup... actually I'd like to try 4 X 5. I do think one can 'craft' >>a >>TC> shot regardless of format. That's why I think going to a 67 and all >>manual >>TC> focus will help in that regard. >> >> >>TC> Tom C. >> >> >>
