The last DSLR that I reviewed was the Nikon D850. In that review, I steadfastly say that, “I’m over DSLRs at this point despite the fact that I acknowledge them as fantastic image making devices.” I also state somewhere else in the review that unless a DSLR is packing a medium format sensor, that I don’t care about it. Now here’s my latest hot take: modern autofocus can’t actually improved at all since probably 2017. I say this as a man who tests loads of cameras and even supervises the testing of them with other very experienced staffers. Autofocus only seems better because lots of the reviewers currently being listened to have really only started shooting with seriousness in the past few years. But in reality, autofocus hasn’t improved and it’s as stagnant as it ever was. Let me explain.
When recently testing a new lens, I decided to try something different that I’ve been thinking about for a while now. I turned off scene and face detection in a few cameras. I also went to AF-S and shot a single frame a second. In addition to all this, I turned off all exposure preview settings — which I rarely if ever use at all anyway. These are all the big advancements that cameras have made in the years. But these aren’t autofocus performance related — they’re autofocus assistance related and it’s only possible for this to really work to its fullest potential with mirrorless cameras.
Let me spell this out in even more plain, unfiltered terms:
- You aren’t getting the autofocus on the subject’s eyes. Your camera is doing it unless you physically move the autofocus point to the eye. Unless both face detection and AI scene detection are turned off, the camera is doing all the work for you.
- Lots of photographers shoot portraits at a super fast frame rate in order to get one in focus or one that doesn’t have camera shake. Turning off all those features make you really have to rely on you and your skills — not the tech.
As the great Tony Stark tells Peter Parker, “If you’re nothing without this suit, then you shouldn’t have it.” This is a line from Marvel movies that really rings true with me.
If you’re nothing without the exposure preview that the camera gives you, then you shouldn’t use it. You should instead learn how light metering works and how you can make a better photo in camera that’s more in line with your creative vision.
If you’re nothing without scene detection, then you shouldn’t use it. You should learn how your camera’s autofocus works without all the bells and whistles first. I say this as a legally blind man: you can get a subject in focus fairly easily these days.
If you’re nothing without aperture priority, then you shouldn’t use it. You should learn how to do Sunny 16 light metering and be more in tune with the scenes around you as you do things like street photography.
If you’re nothing without eye detection, stop using it. Focus on your subject using a small autofocus point, shoot a single image, and then take another one. The photos you yield will be much higher quality.
If you’re nothing without image stabilization and autofocus tracking, then stop using it. If you slow down and become familiar with anticipation instead, you’ll get more impactful photos.
On a phone call the other day, a long-time buddy and very accomplished career-long photographer told me that good wildlife photography is super rare these days. The cameras do everything for you, and everything looks the same. Photographers are happy if they get the scene and the subject in focus. Artistically speaking, it’s frustrating.
If you’re reading this and thinking that this is all dumb, then it’s already probably too late for you. Generative AI will probably end up replacing the work you do at some point.
Shoot photos like a human and stop letting the camera do all the work for you.
To the manufacturers: please make your autofocus better without the use of scene detection. It shouldn’t be this difficult to find a person with deep melanin in their skin in low light.