MANUAL-FOCUS LENSES

What’s so good about autofocus anyway? Those who like being in control often shy away from multi-point AF, where the camera decides which parts of a scene it’s going to focus on, often in a seemingly arbitrary process. Instead, they’ll single out the central AF point. This invariably means choosing an object in the scene that’s our preferred distance away, autofocusing, then maintaining a light press on the shutter button while they swivel the camera and compose the shot.

For landscapes, street photography, reportage and action sports, manual focusing is a viable alternative. These manual lenses have a very particular advantage for manual focusing. They have longer, more accurate focus scales and most have depth of field index markings. With these lenses you can manage depth of field and hyperfocal distances precisely, something you can rarely do with regular autofocus lenses.

Most digital cameras aren’t really set up for accurate manual focusing – the split-screen and microprism viewfinder aids of 35mm film cameras are long gone – but help might still be at hand. Some manual lenses have built-in electronics that enable operation of the focus assist and confirmation lamps in the