Did You Miss It???

My wife and I took a trip this past weekend with a large portion of it being photography.  For this particular weekend I brought an old friend along, my Nikon 100mm f/2.8 Series E.  I haven't used this lens much since going to digital.  It is manual focus, and without the electronic interface, my D5200 doesn't even know it is there.  This means that along with manual focus there is no exposure metering either so you have to revert to the "Sunny 16" rule.

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Regardless of the extra effort required, I really enjoyed shooting with the old 100mm.  When I was talking with Karla about it and the added enjoyment it was providing I realised she missed it! 

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You see, Karla got into photography after I had made the switch to digital photography.  All her SLRs have been digital and fully automated.  While she uses the PSAM modes like a pro, she has never experienced a full manual camera with real manual focus lenses.  Back when I was using my all manual SLRs I always looked forward to getting more automated SLRs.  And now that I have them, did I lose something?

Camera: Droid MAXX
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Now I know that my automated SLR allows me to focus on what I am shooting and not worry so much about the camera's settings, but did the experience become something less?  I think in the end it did, and having less automation allows me to slow down and even take more care in my shots.  And I enjoy the experience of shooting that much more.  If you have never shot full manual you owe it to yourself to try a proper manual focus lens (AF lenses in manual mode aren't the same), and with third party manufacturers like Samyang producing some fantastic optics in manual focus package the opportunity to get a great lens cheap has never been better!