Focus Peaking

[nickma]

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Getting to grips with my X1 recently acquired, and enjoying a return to a simpler more thoughtful form of photography. Reminds me of my old Hexar AF with a truly great UI. I use the VF and grip.

 

One question though: as a 50 year old in need of reading glasses, how am I meant to see when the subject is in critical manual focus? I can get there or thereabouts, but I can't nail it every time. Why doesn't Leica provide the means to see an outline shimmer like the Ricoh GXR offers? I recall manual SLRs in the 1980s offering the same thing, and it ensured perfect critical focus every shot.

 

Firmware 2.1 perhaps? It's needed given low light focusing is so slow. Accurate yes, but deathly slow. I know the manual focus lock offers a workaround, as does AF focus and a quick switch over to manual to take fast shots, but this does not provide the complete solution to a genuine underlying problem. Neither does stopping down for optimal DOF necessarily help in low light since it forces the user into the upper reaches of ISO speed, something that's not always desired.

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[wda]

nickma, welcome to the forum! It seems that you are approaching X1 ownership in a sensible way. It does take time to hone one's technique.

 

Focusing does seem slow, the more so when you are waiting. In fact it is almost certainly faster than most manual systems. Experiment with the various focusing modes and zones. There is no universal best method, but for most purposes I use the single zone rather than the mult-zone method. For really critical work I use the spot method, but it is less forgiving if you are hasty.

 

Like most technical products, the X1 rewards those who spend time practising on unimportant but representative subjects. Good luck and enjoy your new X1!

[nickma]

Thanks David. Do you use manual focus in low light at all, or just rely on the AF modes?

[prk60091]

just inserting my 2cents worth..i have used my x1 for about 18 months now==i put it on AF (1 point) 90% of the time. I was recently on vacation and while taking some landscape shots i manually focused at infinity - to speed up the process.

 

for low light situations i use the red light assist and it mostly works

 

enjoy your camera

[nickma]

Thanks to you Paul and to David.

 

I'm also learning that for portraits AF macro is useful depending on how far from the the subject you are.

[robert blu]

welcome to the forum nickma, focusing the x1 is sometimes a little difficult but after some practice you'll manage it even in difficult light situation.

robert

[nickma]

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welcome to the forum nickma, focusing the x1 is sometimes a little difficult but after some practice you'll manage it even in difficult light situation.

robert

 

Thanks Robert - after a Christmas of evening poorly lit photos, I found that setting a manual focus distance with a smaller aperture is pretty much the only fast enough method for capturing the moment, at least for me given my limited familiarity with the camera. This of course requires a fast ISO or flash. Subjects get bored and self conscious when waiting for the AF to decide. Notwithstanding, I use the AF to focus a distance on the nearest subject I need to be sharp and then switch quickly to Manual to circumvent the AF lag. The results are generally good.

[robert blu]

In my opinion in low light prefocus is essential, but what is low light? The good high iso possibilities of the x1 allows to set iso at 800 or even 1.600 and as consequence in a normal room it is possible to shoot at f4 with 1/30 sec. When taking photos of people in a room I first take a photo of the place where they will be, check and adjust manually exposure and focus and than ask them to enter the scene.

robert

[tnturnerx1]

I don't know what "focus peaking" is, but I recently bought an X1. There is no way I can use it with manual focus--far too imprecise and slow to do by eye (at least my eye). I'd rather do multiple AF exposures, one all-auto, and a few with either A or S priority depending on condition--and hoping for at least 1 acceptable result.

[tnturnerx1]

Also, regarding indoor photos which you seem to be taking around Christmas. I've had such poor results from hand-held indoor photos, that I bought a tripod (see my post) and also the 24D Leica flash (which costs more than many cameras but is a fabulous, and in my opinion necessary, accessory).

[nickma]

Well, what I mean by 'Focus Peaking' is that the outline of the subject shimmers when in sharp focus, a bit like the dimpled centre screens on the manual focus 35mm Olympus and Nikon cameras of yore.

 

I gather this focus method is employed on the Ricoh GXR to very accurate effect.

 

I do agree that in low light achieving accurate fine tuning of focus using the LCD screen is more or less impossible/ hit and miss; hence what I now do (with a couple of hundred more shots under the belt since my first post on this subject) is AF focus once, switch to manual which 'picks up' the AF distance, and then shoot a MF sequence of the subject assuming it remains at the same distance. Effective but a massive compromise, and hard to do without alerting the subject to the pre-shot faffing. Not at all great for spontaneous portraits.

 

By contrast, my 35mm Konica Hexar focuses brilliantly in all conditions, via its 'stepless' contrast detection system. Not sure why that lightening speed in conjunction with its accuracy can't be reproduced on a digital camera as advanced as the X1, but perhaps someone will tell me there are differences when focusing with a digital sensor onboard?

[Mr_Jones]

The main difference with a mirrorless camera like the X1 is the sensor does the autofocus rather than having a separate dedicated sensor which most dSLR's have. So the AF speed is determined by the speed the sensor can send results to be processed for focus.