Focusing.. Auto or Manual

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Peter Ralph

auto is great for finding focus but always shoot in manual. You will look like a complete doofus if the camera starts hunting.

You don't need to be able to focus manually - that can be tricky on the servo lenses - just switch the AF off once the shot is composed.

With a bright background the AF can be fooled even if the subject is center frame.

I had a reception I filmed for free for a friend where my GL2 jumped a bit because the background had some vertical lines and the foreground was a toast where the lady kept moving around. I forgot and left the AF on. If AF is on you better be moving fast and need your concentration elsewhere, otherwise, use AF just to compose the shot (if needed) and go all manual the rest of the way.

[Jason Magbanua]

manual always. i'm anal about this.

[Vito DeFilippo]

To all you manual-always people, how do you deal with run and gun situations? Do you get used to the look of every shot starting out of focus then coming into focus as you manually work?

Or in event work, I do a lot of tilting down or panning from one subject to another while the event is happening. I don't have time to practice the shift in focus. Do you just get used to judging distances on the fly?

I would honestly love to get some input on how people work with manual focus in these situations. When I have time to set up a shot, it's manual all the way, but when running around, I'm thinking about so much at once that it's nice to be able to use auto.

I would love to go manual all the time, because it seems to be the concensus that it's better, but man, I have a rough time when running and gunning.

Any hints?