I have been suffering from focusing with my Canon AE-1, even after having taken many rolls, most of the photos are still out of focus. So I post a discussion on flickr, and some guys replied me kindly. Then I realized I had never used split-image focus function, instead I was all the time using the more difficult microsprism.
What I’ve learned from TheWhiteElephant‘s answer is more than how to focus, but his opinion about street photography has definitely inspired me,
“In my opinion, manual focus street shooting is a highly respected art, as the average person who shoots digital auto focus cannot truly appreciate how quickly one must react to frame, focus, and shoot a street scene with a manual focus camera.”
I got my first film camera about one year ago in a second-hand shop for 100 Czech Koruna and I am still taking photos with it. I think I’ve learned and enjoyed the most from this plasic Russian toy camera. Thus I would like to tell those beginners in photography, find a cheapest film camera you can possibly get and learn to respect photography.