On Fri, 22 Jan 1999 09:06:12 -0700, Jerry Dean wrote:

>I don't know if other EOS models are easier to manual focus then the ElanIIe,
>but I consider the manual focus on the ElanIIe to be totally useless, maybe a
>different type or screen on a higher model would help, I don't know..anybody
>have comments on this?

This is not unique to Canon AF models...
I noticed with the first Minolta AF camera that
the fine (though darkish...), sharp viewing image
of their older cameras was replaced with a viewing
image in their AF camera that was unuseable for critical
focus with some lenses. Nikon continued to have very
sharp finders in their AF bodies through the 8008
models, but with the N90 models (except for the F4
and F5) the Nikon finders (of the 6006, N70 also...)
became unsharp... This is inexcuseable, I think
(and I can't help wondering if this was done to sell
people on the need for AF lenses, and also to make
it harder to see when AF fails to focus accurately
[which is surprisingly often, with all but the
F5...]). I think this, for me (in addition to the
crappy feel/look of AF lenses - and the fact that
my "second-guessing" AF takes more time than doing
it right manually the first time...) is why for me
"AF gets in the way"... Pick up an older manual
Pentax, Minolta, Canon, Nikon, Yashica, etc. body,
and see how very easy manual focus can be...! ;-)