Hello Jens, It is a very useful feature in a few instances - an example: following the action in a soccer game - you keep you finger half depressed while the focus is maintained - at the right moment of action, you press the rest of the way down and bang! you got the shot. If you had to rely on the whole sequence of pressing halfway down, letting it focus, and then fire the shutter when you see the moment, you will miss it.
This, coming from a died in the wool manual focus shooter. There are a few instances where continuous focus is useful - not many, but it does have it's moments. I think that the way that the DS implements continuous focus is weak - at best. Of course, this is how Pentax has always been. Continous focus is a feature of the higher end bodies. >From what I remember, the Rebel Digital does about the same thing - not directly selectable, but part of one of the programs - probably to compete on a checklist with the Canon. Unfortunately, I can see just as many times when the action program with single AF would be just as valid. -- Best regards, Bruce Thursday, November 4, 2004, 2:01:56 PM, you wrote: JB> I have had coninous AF available since I got my first Zl in 1992. I never JB> really likie/used it. It's too slow and too automatic. I still don't use it. JB> I like the optional auto selection or manual selection of the AF point (MZ-S JB> or *ist D)much better. JB> I wonder if anybody really uses AF-C, except for JB> clip-zoom-mode/power-zoom-work, perhaps? JB> Jens Bladt JB> mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] JB> http://hjem.get2net.dk/bladt JB> -----Oprindelig meddelelse----- JB> Fra: Leon Altoff [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] JB> Sendt: 4. november 2004 20:39 JB> Til: [EMAIL PROTECTED] JB> Emne: Re: *ist DS and continuous autofocus JB> David, JB> That's my thinking. I like to set the camera the way I want it, not JB> have some functions only available when something else is on. JB> Leon JB> On Thu, 4 Nov 2004 08:57:51 -0500, David Zaninovic wrote: >>And Action picture mode implies that you can't set many custom settings, JB> right ? >> >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: "Leon Altoff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>> On Wed, 3 Nov 2004 17:12:33 -0500, David Zaninovic wrote: >>> >>> >Does the *ist DS have focus tracking ? >>> >>> The istDS review on DP Review says it has continuous auto focus, but >>> you need to select the "Action" picture mode. The AF switch has only >>> AF and MF. >>> >>> The istD has AF-C as well as AF-S and MF. I am not a believer in >>> picture modes, so I'm happy with my istD.
