auto or manual focus lens for film camera

[JohnnyL]

hi, i'm thinking of getting a lens for my 35mm film camera and was wonderig whats the difference if i got an auto focus lens for it versus a manual focus one. Obviously i lose the AF on 35mm camera but then i get the option to use it on my digital body with fast af. are mf lenses sharper? i was thinking of getting 28mm f2.8 which is available both mf and af. nikon

thanks

 

[analog.universe]

At the same cost, MF lenses are usually sharper, because the money goes into the glass instead of the focus mechanism. Many lenses are designed "cost-no-object" however, and plenty of these autofocus lenses are just as good as their manual competition. I don't know specifically about the lens you're talking about, but I would caution you against one thing. Some autofocus lenses are not designed with the intent that they be focused manually. Sure they have the little switch or whatever, but the focus ring ergonomics are often designed to aid autofocus performance, and not manual focus comfort. Cost-no-object lenses usually manage to get both of these right, but budget autofocus lenses are often difficult to focus manually. So I would say before you buy any lens, go somewhere and play with it and see if you like how it feels to focus manually.

 

[dxqcanada]

AF lenses have very loose "action" as it cannot interfere with focus speed ... MF lenses are designed to have a smooth resistive focus ring, so the focus will not be shifted just by light actions of your fingers while holding it ... and older MF lenses tend to have DoF markers on them, which is handy.

Lens quality varies, newer AF lenses are not necessarily better than older MF lenses.