Well there you go. I drive an automatic transmission truck now, but I owned a manual transmission sports car before that (and loved it).
I can't speak for anybody else, but as far as I'm concerned it has nothing to do with anybody else viewing the photo or caring about how it was made... just me and my personal experience of shooting.
Don't misunderstand, I use AF all the time. As far as I'm concerned it's not a 'this or that' question, it's both. I own a
couple manual focus lenses, and a
boatload of great AF-capable native lenses. I'm not a luddite by any means (heck, I work in the technology industry). I just enjoy a bit of manual focus with a quality optic now and then. Just like I enjoy the *process* of driving a manual transmission sports car because it's fun, or how I carve wooden spoons with knives, even though a bandsaw and power sander is faster.
To be clear... I actually agree with you Bob, I don't think the current FF craze is 'necessary' for many people, myself included. And heck, I probably wouldn't suggest Fuji build this rumored camera for my uses either, as I think it's a niche market inside an already small niche. But IF they did, I certainly wouldn't complain - haha!