Re: [Leica] Pros and autofocus

[John McLeod <johnmcleod@worldnet.att.net>]

Eric Welch wrote:

You're using the wrong AF camera, of shooting too loose. There is no way
any person can outfocus an F5 or EOS1n, unless they are in the league of
John Biever of Sports Illustrated and his equal. (I'd say about 10 people
in the world might be close).

Believe me, I've shot sports professionally for years, and what I've found
is that AF doesn't make me better, I just get more pictures in focus. But I
don't need that now, so I'm back to Leica.


Eric --

I am not saying I can outfocus an F5.  What I am saying, however, is that
while you got more pictures in focus with your F5, I bet you had to "force"
your subject onto one of the camera's five focus points, and that this
limited your compositions to some degree.  My argument is that noone can
change focus points real quick with a fast moving subject so they tend to
pick a point -- say the one in the middle, for example.  Then you raise your
camera to the action, put your subject (a kid or a running back) on that
point and fire.  If you were using a Leica or manual anything, your subject
can be ANYWHERE in the frame and your focusing is independent of the
composition.  Instead of having a bunch of frames where your subject is
always in the middle (or whatever point you picked in advance), you can put
your subject 1/4 into the frame, right, left, up, or down.  I think
autofocus cameras tend to produce a lot of in-focus images with the subject
at or near the center of field.  Correct me if I'm wrong.  But don't forget
my 6 Pulitzer prizes, 4 Guggenheim scholarships, and 2 Press Photographer of
the Year Awards.  So I keep a low profile ... ;-) 

John