Manual or Auto?, That Is The Question.
Hebden Bridge - Leica SL + Voigtlander 35mm F1.4 Nokton Classic II
I’m no stranger to using a manual lens. They were the only option back in the 1970s and my Dad’s Yashica and Canon cameras could produce lovely sharp images with this technology. The use of film cameras in recent years has reignited the use of manual lenses originally designed for film. Makers such as Olympus Zuiko, Pentax Asahi & Takumar, Nikon, Canon , all produced high quality optics. Third party lenses could also be very high quality, in many ways the 60”s through to the 1990’s were the heyday of lens manufacture.
Modern lenses are in some ways superior to the old ones with superb topics and fast autofocus. You do hear some photographers today say that modern lenses can be almost too sharp, too perfect. Little or no aberrations, reliable and predictable, tools of the trade, not enough character. I use Sigma Contemporary lenses with my Leica and the Ricoh GRIIIX has a superb 26.1mm f2.8 fixed lens. I know the results from these lenses will be sharp, reliable and consistent. Photographers of yesteryear also needed reliability however and that often came from the quality of manufacture the companies produced. Olympus Zuiko lenses can stand up to modern day lenses in sharpness and contrast but are often made to a higher standard than many top notch modern autofocus lenses. I use a modern rangefinder lens made by Voigtlander. It’s incredibly reliable, sharp and beautifully made. It is also surprisingly easy to use.
Hebden Bridge, Leica SL + Sigma 90mm f2.8 Contemporary.
Learning to manual focus could be seen as a rite of passage for modern photographers. Most modern cameras can be supplied with autofocus kit lenses. They allow the photographer to focus on composition, learning the exposure triangle rather than how to manually focus. It is seen as slower where in fact, learning about hyperfocal distance can make manual focus quicker. My Voigtlander can be set at a particular aperture and focal distance. All you have to do then is compose and press the shutter. Autofocus lenses will often hunt to nail focus and sometimes miss. Once you know that everything from a certain distance will be in focus, a manual lens makes life a little easier. No hunting, just sharp results every time.
Grasmere from Loughrigg Terrace, Leica SL + Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 Nokton Classic II
So why not go for all manual lenses? Well , in fairness I could. I do like the convenience of autofocus, the build quality of the Sigma lenses and the fact they are weather sealed. I can also use them as manual lenses if I wish but in the end, I’m happy with their performance. You do have to be careful when searching for old vintage lenses. They can be from a top name manufacturer but time and poor care can affect the quality of the build and optics. Get a good one however and you’re on to a winner, particularly as they often cost a fraction of a modern top lens.
In the end, they are all tools and secondary to the image you want to capture. You can have the best kit money can buy and still produce mediocre images. It isn’t possible to make a terrible photograph good by having expensive gear or extensive editing. You can however produce a good photo with a mediocre camera plus a good lens. My photography hasn’t improved because I have invested in better gear. it has done so by taking thousands of photos and learning from the mistakes captured earlier on. I have a long way to go before I am ever content with the finished result but the trying is the fun part!
My current kit.
