On Wed, 08 Jan 2003 18:57:59 GMT, Robin Burns <r_f_burns@hotmail.com> wrote:

>I'm thinking of getting an AF camera, such as a Nikon F-100, after years of

>using manual focus cameras (Nikon F3, Contax RTS, etc.)

>

>How easy is it to focus a lens manually on an AF camera?

This depends on the camera. The F100, 8008, F4/5 are very

easy to focus manually (and most have variable diopter

corrections built-in); the N70/90 have less sharp finders,

making MF more difficult...

>Most of these

>cameras no longer have split-image and/or microprism focusing aids

I never liked these, anyway - with a good, sharp screen

that you can focus sharply on with your eye, a matte screen

is easier and faster to use than the "focusing aids"...

>and they

>seem to emphasize screen brightness rather than contrast. Is critical

>focusing still feasible?

Yes. It is as good as ever on the best models, but worse

on the worst... (some AF finders are so unsharp I begin

to think the makers make them that way to make people

think they need AF [and all those new AF lenses...;-]).