What are the benefits of (expensive brand new) manual focus lenses? Why did you, for example, buy a manual focus Carl Zeiss 85/1.4 rather than an auto-focus Nikon 85/1.4? I'm not concerned with these two lenses in particular. I'm curious about the reasons for buying expensive brand new manual focus lenses in general.
Answer
While you can obviously manual focus with an autofocus lens, manual focus lenses are catered towards manual focus users. Some possibilities:
- Longer focus throw (Autofocus lenses typically have short focus throws in order to focus faster.)
- More distance markings or depth of field markings (DoF markings are particularly useful)
- Wider focus ring
- Better feel, such as smoother or more dampened and resistant focus ring.
- Higher quality grip
- Lower weight since there is no AF motor
- No chance of AF motor failing (which could lock up the focus ring on certain lenses)
In addition, it could have been bought for its optical quality, bokeh, size, weight, build, prestige of Zeiss, and other qualities not intrinsic to simply being a manual focus lens.
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