Lens types

Not all lenses are created equal when it comes to manual focusing

Lenses can be separated into three broad groups: those that can be toggled between autofocus and manual focus using a switch on the lens (or via the camera if the lens switch doesn’t exist); those that allow you to focus manually even when they’re set to autofocus; and those that are manual focus only.

Choosing a lens that can only be focused manually is not as mad as it sounds. For instance, macro, still-life, landscape and astrophotography don’t typically require the speed and snap of autofocus.

Unless you opt for high-end glass, manual-only lenses are typically much more affordable than their autofocus counterparts, and there’s been a resurgence in dedicated manual-only lenses from the Asian brands such as Samyang, Venus Optics and Irix.

The ‘focus throw’ of a lens – a measure of how much its focus ring has to be rotated to move from the closest focusing point to infinity – is another factor worth considering to consider when it comes to choosing a lens. Although lenses that have a short focus throw make it quicker to focus, those which have a long focus throw allow you to adjust the focus distance in smaller increments. The latter is certainly helpful when it comes to macro photography or positioning the sliver of sharpness afforded by a lens with a large maximum aperture.