Manual focus phobia by Riccardo Mantero
Now I’d like to add my two-cents worth in debunking those (in)famous doubts that gravitate around manual-focus lenses. To begin with, when I decided to get something wider and sharper for my beloved Nikon 16-35 f/4, I have to admit that I was worried about the prospect. No, change that. Actually, I was really scared. Scared that I had to make some choices.
The first was getting some kind of autofocus zoom, like the Nikon 14-24, or the recently-introduced fisheye; something sharper than my 15mm sigma, or something even sharper, like a prime lens by Zeiss. But hang on a minute! These Zeiss Prime lenses are all manual focus! What’s going on? 4000 and more euros for something that doesn’t autofocus? No way, José! And it was at that point, like being in some kind of Zen state, I had an epiphany. I’d asked myself, “why is a company such as Zeiss producing manual focus lenses?” And there was only one answer: “because a manual focus – in several situations, especially where a wide lens is required – is better than autofocus!”.
For example, try and ask yourself, as I did, “Now why do I want an extreme wide-angle lens?” The answers will include, for sure, “for landscape photography”, or “for night photography”, or again “for architectural photography”. With three categories you’ve covered a really huge part of the photography universe, and one of those is done, by default, using manual focus!
So my idea was to achieve something really stunning with my landscapes and with my nightime photographs. I would so badly love to give the observer the sensation of jumping directly into the frame, and moreover I surely would if I were an architectural photographer.
Basically I’m a landscape and travel photographer, but I don’t dislike some architectural shots, especially when I can play with the perspective. TIP: Just put on focus on the farthest statue at the top.
So, to recap, my research was oriented towards a super-sharp wide-angle, no matter the focus mode or stabilization, just for extreme performances. After checking several brands and being almost resigned to having to spend 4000 euros, I’d found an article on some website (may be dpreview or petapixel, don’t remember – sorry) about something new: the Irix 11mm… Hell… 11mm!! ON A FULL FRAME DLSR! What crazy perspectives and absurd vanishing lines I could draw with an 11mm, and for less than a quarter of the price!
