coller@utah-cs.UUCP (Lee D. Coller) (12/13/85)
Here is the summary of responses I received on my request for info on
autofocus cameras. Thanks to all those who responded. (I only included
responses that included opinions). I've set followup to net.rec.photo
only.
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From: arizona!mtgzz.ATT!mwf (m.w.field)
Date: 22 Nov 1985 15:31 EST
Subject: Re: Info on Autofocus Cameras Wanted
Consumer reports had an article on autofocus cameras a few months
ago. [This article was on non-autofocus cameras as well. -Lee]
We have an auto-focus, auto-exposure cannon snappy. The results
are uniformly poor. The camera cannot focus < 5 feet which is
to far to get good pictures of peaple, the only thing the
lens is sharp enough for.
Mike.
From: ihnp4!zehntel!win (Win Soule)
Date: 27 Nov 85 10:25:14 PST (Wed)
Subject: Yr Inquiry on Auto-focus Cameras
Last Xmas, I bought my wife a Nikon L35AF (not to be confused with
the less expensive L135AF). We have had nothing but excellent
experiance with it (save for on instance when the battery door
came open, and we lost a battery while on a hike). We have
used it under some very demanding conditions. For example, I
took a number of pictures at a dance concert given in a church
auditorium with large windows in the afternoon. There were spots
of light on the floor from the windows, interspersed with shadow
areas. The dancers were constantly in motion. Much to my surprise,
the pictures were excellent, well-focused, well exposed.
We have exposed probably fifty rolls of film, and not yet had a focus
or exposure failure. I admit to being fairly careful to check the
distance needle which shows how the focus is set before the shutter
trips, and using the corrective process (focus on some other object
at the desired distance) before actually shooting. The camera is
light, small, ideal for taking on hikes, and so far has proved
quite rugged (except for that one battery door problem - never
repeated).
Win Soule
....!ihnp4!zehntel!win
From: ihnp4!allegra!dsf
Date: Mon, 2 Dec 85 18:33:01 MST
Subject: Minolta Maxxum 7000
I bought one of these, and I must say that it is an amazing camera.
I have gotten the best pictures of my life using it. The main
drawbacks are (1) no adapter is currently available for using
other lenses, and (2) it sometimes has trouble focusing in low light
or low contrast conditions. Of course, most other cameras can't
focus themselves at all, so it is hardly fair to complain about
this. Naturally, it goes through batteries quicker than most
cameras. If you are afraid that it won't allow you to do things
manually when you want to, fear not. Every automatic system is
defeatable, and often ways are provided to do the things you want
to do manually automatically. I find that while I insisted on
having the manual capabilities, in real life I rarely use them.
My advice is: Buy this camera. And buy the 70-210 zoom lens,
perfect for candid shots.
David Fox
allegra!dsf
From: hplabs!tektronix!tekig4!mstevens (Mike Stevens)
Date: Monday, 2 Dec 85 07:30:54 PST
Subject: Re: Info on Autofocus Cameras (reposted from net.rec.photo)
I was introduced to a Fujica with a "sonar" autofocusing system, rather
than the common infared system. Also, I am interested in the Minolta
ESP focus system which is supposed to be able to focus to patterns.
(One problem with that - if you are trying to get a foreground item
out-of-focus and a background item in focus (like when taking a picture
of a mountain between two trees in the foreground), it may cause a
problem). The infared and sonar autofocus cameras give center weighted
focus (ie they focus on whatever is located by the small area in the
center of the viewfinder), and you can defeat it usually by focusing on
the an object at the distance you want to be clear, then moving the
camera to the object you want fuzzy, while holding the shutter release
down slightly. (See any good photo shop for details).
The Ricoh AF70 seems like a good deal at $130. I saw a picture from it
that was fantastic (portrait). Sandy's in the northwest is selling a
Vivitar T-autofocus camera ($160) that claims "the best lens in an autofocus
camera". One problem was that the shutter release cover could allow the
user to accidently trip a picutre when not desired.
Also, Consumer Reports listed some good cameras in their opinion. The
ones in my price range and feature set included:
Mamiya U $180
Fujica Auto 5 $150
Sear Mini 35 (SL121A) $170 (Discontinued model, may be discounted)
Please let me know what you find out.
From: hplabs!tektronix!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!ssc-bee!thill
Date: Tue, 3 Dec 85 12:35:03 pst
Subject: Re: Info on Autofocus Cameras (reposted from net.rec.photo)
There was a good article about them in Money Magazine (sorry I don't
remember the issue). They generally liked most of the new auto-focus
cameras but the two that they liked the most was the Ricoh ff-90 and
the Cannon (sp?) super shooter (or something like that). Be careful on
the cannon's, they have several different models with basically the
same name. They also said it was well worth the extra $30-$40 to get
the better of two camera's of the same make (you get what you pay for).
Good luck, I am about to buy one also and will probably end up mailordering
the Ricoh.
--
-Lee
UUCP: {ihnp4, seismo, hplabs, decvax, arizona}!utah-cs!coller
ARPA: coller@utah-cs
"They say the mark of a good team is that it wins when it plays poorly."
-- Jim Fassel, Head Football Coach, University of Utahdsf@allegra.UUCP (David Fox) (12/19/85)
>Also, I am interested in the Minolta >ESP focus system which is supposed to be able to focus to patterns. >(One problem with that - if you are trying to get a foreground item >out-of-focus and a background item in focus (like when taking a picture >of a mountain between two trees in the foreground), it may cause a >problem). The Minolta focuses the image based on a small rectangle in the center of the viewfinder. When you hold the shutter release halfway down, it holds the current focus. Therefore, you center the mountain, half press the shutter, and after the camera focuses (about 1 second) you may then recompose the picture. There is also a button where your right thumb rests which holds the exposure and aperture so you can recompose to include, say, a bright sky when you want the exposure correct for the landscape. David Fox allegra!dsf "Get me Waylon Burr on the phone. That's Raymond Burr's brother. I've got a great idea for a series: Ironhead." (SCTV)