I have a couple of questions...

[danic]

Firstly, how many people here do all of their focusing manually? Or are you lazy and just rely on the AF function of the camera. The reason I ask, I have just gotten my A1 up and running and have had to rely on manual focusing, which makes things all that more interesting.


My second question relates to ISO ratings. If you use the incorrect ISO rating on film photography, do you still get the "grainy" image? Are you still able to use ISO 100 film to shoot low light photography?

Cheers,
Dan.

[Greg McCary]

I use AF when I am using my 510. But when using one of my RF's I have to manually focus. If you use the wrong ISO setting on film and don't compensate with your meter you will just miss exposure. The higher the ISO of film the more grain it will have.

[Frog]

At my age and eyesight or lack thereof I depend on auto. I've tried a few shots manually but what looked sharp in the viewfinder didn't look sharp when loaded.
No split prism makes it too difficult.

[another view]

Manually focusing an AF camera isn't as easy because it's not set up for it. On Nikon cameras, there's a dot and depending on the camera two arrows to help but it was a lot easier manually focusing with a split image focusing screen. I rarely do it. It just seems odd to watch something outside the focusing screen (and not looking at the subject) while focusing.

The second question is a lot harder to answer without specifics. If you use ISO100 film and set the camera at 3200, then you have a problem. Some films can be "pushed" during processing - like TriX (ISO400) at 1600, but again it's all about the specifics. ISO100 film could of course be used for low light but you'd get long shutter speeds with it, and another thing to watch out for is reciprocity failure. If you're not familiar with it, in the world of B&W that means that you'll have to add some shutter speed to your exposure past a certain point and the inside of the film box will explain this. Look at Fuji Arcos for this - it's probably the best 100 for reciprocity.

[livin4lax09]

i shoot af most of the time because I shoot sports, but I use MF sometimes for still things, like product shots. I find that the viewfinder isn't big enough to use it effectively though....