I really really expecting the very worst with the X100 in MF mode, and granted the number of times you've got to spin the MF ring is a bit crazy (though nice you can pick the direction)
What I didn't expect, is that you can use the af/ae button to focus, which is perfect because thats how I set up my DSLR's and even more awesome is the distance scale in the viewfinder.
It not only shows you the distance the lens is focused at, but, also shows you the depth of field. You can instantly focus on a given subject at the distance you want, set the lens to your given aperture and know just exactly whats going to fall into your DOF.
As a former Leica RF owner, I really loved shooting this way, usually about F8, focused about 6 feet for a 35mm lens, and then its just a fast and discrete raise of the camera to the eye and take the shot.
This system with the focus range and dof display totally beats trying to look at the distance scale on a M mount lens or making a guess with the hyperfocal distance.
I guess not a lot of people really like to shoot his way anymore because I've heard no one talking about this feature really. Obviously there are times where you'd want to focus, either by AF or otherwise, but for street shooting I just dont think you can beat the pleasure of working with the zone focus and not having to worry about focus points, AF lag, too many spins of the MF ring etc. Its all about composition and reaction/anticipation.
Lets hope we do get a firmware update that gives some user control over the coarse/fine turning of the MF ring and I'll never even need to worry about the AF performance of the camera again.
Things worth every penny
What I didn't expect, is that you can use the af/ae button to focus, which is perfect because thats how I set up my DSLR's and even more awesome is the distance scale in the viewfinder.
It not only shows you the distance the lens is focused at, but, also shows you the depth of field. You can instantly focus on a given subject at the distance you want, set the lens to your given aperture and know just exactly whats going to fall into your DOF.
As a former Leica RF owner, I really loved shooting this way, usually about F8, focused about 6 feet for a 35mm lens, and then its just a fast and discrete raise of the camera to the eye and take the shot.
This system with the focus range and dof display totally beats trying to look at the distance scale on a M mount lens or making a guess with the hyperfocal distance.
I guess not a lot of people really like to shoot his way anymore because I've heard no one talking about this feature really. Obviously there are times where you'd want to focus, either by AF or otherwise, but for street shooting I just dont think you can beat the pleasure of working with the zone focus and not having to worry about focus points, AF lag, too many spins of the MF ring etc. Its all about composition and reaction/anticipation.
Lets hope we do get a firmware update that gives some user control over the coarse/fine turning of the MF ring and I'll never even need to worry about the AF performance of the camera again.
Things worth every penny