capabailities of auto focus

[pocketshaver]

been looking at cameras and saw something funny about either a canon or Nikon camera..

For the factory website information, it said that the cameras Auto Focus ONLY provided rough focusing, and the user needed to do the final focusing by hand.

Does that seem logical to anyone, considering the ancient 25 year old elan 2e I just tossed in the garbage this morning, claimed to be able to keep auto focus on MOVING VEHICLES like jet skis.

 

[dxqcanada]

You really need to provide links that we can read what you are referring to, so we can provide an informative reply.

 

[Derrel]

I'm not sure exactly what they might have been talking about. Over the past 15 years or so I have found that autofocus is getting better and better and better, and very seldom do I need to make an adjustment manually in 99% of situations.

 

[Jeff15]

Sony autofocus is spot on............

 

[pocketshaver]

I was looking at Nikon, Canon,leica, and Fujifilm cameras.

Anyone realize that Fujifilm has about 3 websites for EACH of their camera products? fricking mess, and nothing has a price. And most of their listed dealers DONT EVEN CARRY Fuji cameras on websites.

 

[pocketshaver]

it was a mirrorless or dslr, either way it had nice removable lenses. Its schtick in the ad was that the computer would give you a rough auto focus, but the user would have to use the manual controls on the lens to dial the focus in nice and tight.

 

[ac12]

it was a mirrorless or dslr, either way it had nice removable lenses. Its schtick in the ad was that the computer would give you a rough auto focus, but the user would have to use the manual controls on the lens to dial the focus in nice and tight.

SPECIFIC details and links.
Because what you have said does not correlate to my experience.

 

[AlanKlein]

Maybe they were referring to a setting that auto focuses but then allows manual adjustment afterwards if you want. The setting then releases the servo motor so you can move the lens focus ring by hand. My Sony does that and then also zooms in so you can see the focal points easier. But you don;t have to do anything. It's just there as only one of many focus setting including all manual, or all auto.

 

[Dacaur]

I would guess the op has been reading a crap-ton of stuff from different sites and has just gotten something mixed up in their mind.
99% of the time handheld auto focus is just as good as a carefully fine tuned manual focus on a tripod. (Discounting obvious missed focus of course) That is to say, you won't get a "better" picture by putting you camera on a tripod and carefully focusing using the focus ring and 10x magnification in live view, only one that is just as good as the af picture, but took WAY longer to take (again, assuming the shutter on the handheld shot us fast enough to take camera shake out of the equation).

On the other hand, if you think that using manual focus through the viewfinder handheld is better or even "just as good" as auto focus, you are wrong. You will get WAY more shots with missed focus trying to use manual focus through the viewfinder than you will using autofocus.

And lastly of course, there is the 1% of the time when chances are good you will get a better shot using manual focus, things like macro photography, shooting through glass or chain link, or low light photos, but those are definitely the exception, not the rule....

 

[Soocom1]

There is some misconception on the issue of autofocus.

Most will readily agree that autofocus is extremely accurate for most pictures. With the occasional misfocus or some oddity that comes into play.
But having used the 70D with the live view and digital focus, I have seen a very specific and sometimes dramatic fuzziness over standard autofocus.
Remember that the autofocus works on a system of computerized image splitting that is done in camera over the old split dot on older cameras.

The autofocus system works off of generalities and unless your shooting for extreme detail from a distance, the AF system works just fine.
However: If your into technical or macro photography, where the sharpness really DOES count, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

 

[Derrel]

Not sure what you are on about. I think if you are going to make claims then you should be able to copy and paste a URL.

 

[JBPhotog]

been looking at cameras and saw something funny about either a canon or Nikon camera..

For the factory website information, it said that the cameras Auto Focus ONLY provided rough focusing, and the user needed to do the final focusing by hand.

Does that seem logical to anyone, considering the ancient 25 year old elan 2e I just tossed in the garbage this morning, claimed to be able to keep auto focus on MOVING VEHICLES like jet skis.

What you may be referring to is the process of calibrating the focus of a particular lens to a specific body. Slight front or back focus can happen with a large number of brands however, for the past number of years one can actually calibrate each lens so AF is precisely focused. This calibration can then be saved in the camera body so when you swap lenses the camera automatically adjusts the focus point for precise focus.

 

[zombiesniper]

So it was a mirrorless or dslr from either Nikon or Canon. Ya I know the one?!?!?!
That is a lot of cameras.
No idea about what you've read but I've shot a few Nikon and Canon cameras. Never had to manually focus unless my sublet was obstructed by branches or something similar.

Agree with possible calibration explanation but even then it's not an accurate explanation of the OPs description..

Vague questions get vague answers.