More reliance on AF with age?

[Horatio]

Just curious how others are addressing issues with MF as they are getting older. I'll be 67 shortly and I've never had excellent eyesight, but in the past I could manage MF focusing ok. I can't seem to focus well in low-contrast scenes since reacquiring the film camera habit. I love my MF cameras, but find I'm leaning towards AF now.

 

[BrianShaw]

Why not? Whatever it takes to enjoy photography...

 

[xkaes]

You're not the only one who finds it a necessity, and others -- like me -- find it useful lots of times when taking a lots of pictures quickly -- but AF is not perfect either. Neither is AE -- auto-exposure -- but I use that sometimes too!

 

[wiltw]

It typically takes the ability to focus vision at about 1 meter distance to see focusing aids in cameras clearly...readily achieved even with cheap drugstore reading glasses, so even low income should not be much deterrent from achieving that unless there is some ofther visual defect to overcome, like cataracts.

 

[Horatio]

It typically takes the ability to focus vision at about 1 meter distance to see focusing aids in cameras clearly...readily achieved even with cheap drugstore reading glasses, so even low income should not be much deterrent from achieving that unless there is some ofther visual defect to overcome, like cataracts.

I'm probably at stage 2 cataracts now. I'm sure things will improve when it's bad enough for surgery! lol

 

[IpseLux]

I often have to rely on tricks, even if I focus manually on AF cameras, I depend on the focus indicator to help. The Depth of Field preview button also helps.
My Nikonos expects an educated guess, there is no focusing that one by sight! Ha, ha.
But yes, on cameras with AF I used to rely on AF-L button and a single focus point centered on the viewfinder. I’m reaching a point now that I’m gonna have to explore the other AF options offered by my cameras. Some are rather sophisticated, though nothing like the current AI assisted eye detection of mirrorless cameras.
Hard to imagine such technology.

 

[BrianShaw]

My Nikonos expects an educated guess, there is no focusing that one by sight! Ha, ha.

Interesting point! One of my more favored cameras lately has been a 1930's range-focus folder. Less fiddling and more time to concentrate (I almost used the word "focus") on composition.

 

[xkaes]

Many (most?) SLR manual-focus cameras can be fitted with eye-piece magnifiers -- usually 2-2.5X -- that fits over the viewfinder. The good ones have diopter adjustment. My Minolta model flips up and out of the way for composition, and then quickly flips down for fine focusing. Nikon, Pentax, and other made them to. They are pretty inexpensive. On AF cameras they are more important since AF screens lack MF aids:

 

[Paul Howell]

I'm probably at stage 2 cataracts now. I'm sure things will improve when it's bad enough for surgery! lol

When you are to the point of surgery you can decide if you want the lens implant to have, either your distance or near RX. Some have near in one eye and far in the the other, that can lead to vertigo for a few. I have been on the the cusp of surgery for 10 years, my vision is now best corrected at 20/30, in a year or two should be 2/40 when my insurance will fund a surgery. I use MF cameras, Nikon F4, Konica T3, and Minolta 101 and X700. The Minolta does not have split image, the Nikon has focus confirmation so I do pretty well. My Minolta 9 and 800SI do pretty in AF mode. my Pentax SF 1 I cut down an old Miranda split image focusing screen which well when the early AF does work well. I dont use the Pentax much, I guess its time to dig it out.