Manual focus (MF) is the process of adjusting the depth of field of a camera lens to bring an image into focus without relying on autofocus (AF) or other technical aid.
Vintage lenses, and manual focus… an elephant in the crystal room.
For most of the twentieth century, manual focusing was the ONLY method of focusing a camera until autofocus became a standard feature of more modern cameras in the 1980’s. Most professional photographers continue to forego using an autofocus system because manual focusing allows them maximum control over their images.
Vintage Lenses are all manual, this is really the ” elephant in the room ” with vintage manual lenses. They are all manual ! This means you have to be really OK with manually focusing and manually setting your aperture, or these lenses are probably not for you. Two areas of photography that this is really noticeable are sports and wildlife photography. When focusing speed and accuracy are important to you to get the shot, these vintage lenses can fall short for you.
Proper use of the MANUAL FOCUS, agevolate you a lot in MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY, that I like so much. So the two things are closely related each other. Using manual focus as a shooting technique is very useful and very important.
There are thousands of courses, even free on the internet, where you can find tips & tricks, and directions to learn how to photograph in MANUAL.
Personally I don’t think, I can give you suggestions or directions, not being a professional photographer.
For my part I’ve seen many videos on Youtube (some useful, others definitely not) and I started manual photography in January 2020. The only thing I CAN RECOMMEND is to exercise, a lot of exercise, and when you are done exercising, still practice. The technique of manual shooting like many other things in life, you’ll LEARN only with a lot of practice, and a lot of practice on the field.
It doesn’t matter which (good) lens or (good) camera you use. Instead, it is important to understand correctly and IN PRACTICE, what are the characteristics of the manual lens you are using and of your camera. Obviously applied to the subject you intend to shoot. SHUTTER SPEED and APERTURE are the main rules, which you will have to get to know well. These are the basics to start, refer to some photographer friend, or to some online course, to learn MUCH more. For summary I don’t add further details, but there are still many other topics that should be treated.
Do not be discouraged by disappointing initial results, it is normal … it is almost certain that you will have photos that are not perfectly focused, overexposed or underexposed… The first photo sessions I did in January 2020, with static subjects, even using a good tripod, were often not very satisfactory or not at all satisfactory. Then little by little and with the exercise, the results begin to arrive, and by continuing you’ll have a constant improvement.
If you’re NOT SURE to love vintage lenses, or don’t have a real interest. I can only advise NOT TO SPEND A LOT on the vintage lens, and to try with lenses with an acceptable cost in the order of 40/60 €. Typically a 50MM – F2.8 or similar. Moreover, you can possibly also easily resell them to enthusiasts, if you discover that your interest it’s another, or totally not for you.
