Re: Auto-focus on digital SLRs.

"Steven Green" <steven.green30@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:EdFvj.249$Hd.83@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>I am new to the auto-focus world, both my film cameras are manual focus.
> I just got my hands on my sister's Digital Rebel XT (DRXT) to just learn
> some basics of the camera and see what features I really like.
>
> One thing I am developing a disliking for is auto-focus.
> On the DRXT it sometimes goes into fits zooming in and out then refuses
> to snap a picture. I find the auto-focus slow and a pain in the ass.
>
> I understand that the speed of auto-focus can be a function of the lens
> and the effectiveness on the amount of light (if I understand this
> correctly)
>
> Other than things like numbers of points and speed of lenses I don't see
> much on the effectiveness of auto-focus.
>
> How do the hi/low end cameras differ for canon?
> Is it better/worse with other brands?
>
> If this is representative of the other cameras as well I think I may add
> weight to the quality of manual-focus for my future purchase and largely
> ignore auto-focus.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve

Obviously, the more you pay, the more you get.  But, when it comes to 
autofocus, the digital Rebel is one of the better cameras on the market --
 
especially in its price range.

Given that the Rebel XT is a Canon, you can use older EF lenses on it
which 
have an autofocus switch;  it's located near the camera body on the left 
side of the lens.  (I'm not sure if the newer FS lenses have that switch
or 
not.)  You can just turn off the autofocus mechanism and focus manually. 
But, there won't be a focusing scale that is of much use to you.

My wife uses that camera a lot, and her only complaint is that the 
viewfinder is a bit dimmer than our old A2's viewfinder, but that is
usually 
only a problem in very low light conditions when manually focusing.

Also, you might want to check if the AF assist light is turned on.  The AF

assist light really improves the cameras performance in low light 
conditions.

Hope this helps,
Dudley