it's a complete PITA to focus manually without the prism on the focus screen
Yes, if one is expecting the old film camera method of showing focus.
My 40D, like many digital SLRs, will confirm focus by lighting up the "focus dots" that are in-focus during manual focusing. Those are every bit as easy to see as the old style split-prism view, and the camera doesn't need to be centered on the target either.
Cheers
You can even get adapters that will let you use old manual focus lenses on DSLR bodies, some of these adapters will actually light up the AF Confirm dot when they are in focus. Using old lenses like this can be a good antidote to bored-with-all-your-lenses syndrom. For instance you can pick up an old Pentax or Nikon 50mm f/1.4 lenses for $30 or so. A 50mm Canon 1.4 costs about 10 times that. Of course you don't get autofocus and have to use stop-down metering but it works.
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