Manual lenses

Q I’ve seen some cheaper wide-angle lenses that don’t have autofocus. Does this really matter? Gary Howell

You are referring to lenses like the Samyang 16mm f/2 or 24mm f/1.4 which, considering their maximum aperture, seem to offer great value for money.

There’s no doubt that AF is a real bonus in many situations, but if you are a landscape photographer who tends to focus manually (like me), the Samyangs are a credible alternative. For shooting landscapes, controlled portraiture and still-life, manual focus is generally fine. The highly accurate AF systems we are used to now are still recent introductions in the history of photography.

Q Should I get an ND grad or just replicate what they do in Lightroom? Kate Flanigan A ND graduated filters are useful, but not absolutely essential.

You can replicate their ability to balance exposure by taking more than one shot and merging them in Lightroom or Photoshop, or simply just darkening the sky of a single shot, as long as you haven’t burned out important detail.

In the past I would always have a two-stop ND grad filter with me, but these days post-production techniques mean that if I forget to pack one I’m not panicking. I still enjoy using them and think there is something satisfying about getting the exposure correct in-camera, so I will generally carry one out of preference.

I know a lot of experienced photographers who no longer bother with ND grads, though, so it’s very much a personal choice about to what extent you enjoy the post-processing side of digital photography.