Q. What will I see in the viewfinder when the film moves to focus?

A. The internal chassis carries the film, shutter, mirror box, and pentaprism as a unit. When the film moves, the pentaprism moves along creating a different distance to the field lens in the viewfinder. This changes the focus in the viewfinder just as any other AF SLR. The look is identical.


Q. I understand that the AX can move the film 10mm back and forth, this will not accomodate my 300mm f4 which needs more than that to run through its focusing range.

A. You are correct. Your T* 300mm f4 should be focused at infinity for subjects at 9.5 meters (31 feet) to infinity. A twist of the lens to approximately 5 meters (16 1/2 feet) will allow the T* 300mm f4 to focus to the normal minimum focusing position of 3.5 meters (11 1/2 feet). To reward the user for this mid-position focusing change, the AX can focus in the Macro mode to a new minimum focusing distance of 2.8 meters (9 1/4 feet). This mid-range re-positioning is necessary with focal lengths 100mm or longer.
Macro photography is a special case with regard to lens extension. In macro mode focus is achieved by moving camera and lens together as a unit closer or farther from the subject. Magnification ratios are set by moving the lens in relation to the film. Therefore, autofocus is of little benefit in macro.