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Comment by rrauenza | Hacker News Reader

I really want the focus information in the display.

Tell me the DOF, and make finding the hyperfocal distance easier -- a button to just take me there, or a calculator that tells me the ideal distance and a display that shows me my estimated focal distance.

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In the manual film days, all that information was often engraved on the lens. Some currently manufactured manual focus lenses also include depth of field scales as well. These make zone focusing easier...not that I don't like autofocus.

Agreed. The camera knows this stuff, why not display it. I've got the top of the line Canon 1DX II, a $6000 body. WTF, Canon? You can't put that in there?

Magic Lantern proves it’s possible to show it too, but alas, Canon can’t seem to follow their lead.

Several mirrorless and pro compacts at least have focus peaking built in. Not perfect, but something that can be worked with.

Some cameras do have this. The Fuji X10/X20 (and probably X30) had a focusing distance indicator on the screen, and I loved that feature. I can't speak for the other Fuji X models since I only had the X10 and X20. I really miss this feature on my other cameras.

X100 cameras do too. I never find myself using it, personally, but I understand why some people would.

I use the focus display all the time in "action shot" scenarios – kids and pets. The auto focus is too slow (at least on the X100, X-Trans was supposed to fix this) to capture these, and I can't manually focus quickly enough through the LCD either. It's similarly useful for low-light shots.

The 3rd-party CHDK firmware for Canons has a focus display as well. Loved it when I had a Canon for the same reasons.

I also wish split prism focusing screens were at least easier to get your hands on, if not the default. Makes it 10x easier to quickly tell when a subject is in focus instead of squinting & hoping.

I believe split prisms work best at fast apertures. With the movement towards lower cost DSLR's and lenses, typical apertures are slowing down. Your typical Rebel might never see glass f/2.8 or faster.

High end cameras like the 1D and 5D series have always had better focusing screens and several different replacement options available.

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