Composing with a rangefinder

[catacore]

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10 hours ago, IkarusJohn said:

@catacore, Has your experience improved over the last few weeks?.

Well, not really, hence my M240 is for sale. The "parallax issue" being just one of the shortcomings/frustrations I encountered. I have simply had enough of it.

[250swb]

7 hours ago, catacore said:

Well, not really, hence my M240 is for sale. The "parallax issue" being just one of the shortcomings/frustrations I encountered. I have simply had enough of it.

So you are haunted by something, some issue that you can't get rid of because you are in a small minority amongst hundreds of thousands (millions?) of photographers who have made excellent use of the Leica rangefinder system. So good for you for coming out.

Edited June 18, 2023 by 250swb

[pop]

1 hour ago, 250swb said:

So you are haunted by something, some issue that you can't get rid of because you are in a small minority amongst hundreds of thousands (millions?) of photographers who have made excellent use of the Leica rangefinder system. So good for you for coming out.

So you're unable to grasp what the issue is, even if the description is perfectly clear. That was really not called for.

[IkarusJohn]

I’m afraid I really don’t see the issue here.  I get it that the rangefinder doesn’t suit everyone, but I often don’t understand the explanations posted here - people post, so unpicking their reasons strike me as fair, if not expected.

The rangefinder is the most accurate means of achieving good focus with wides, and it gives the best means of anticipating a shot in a dynamic environment (as you watch your subject approach the framelines).  However, notwithstanding Leica’s assurances, those framelines are an approximation, at best.  It’s not just that the image can be tighter with longer focal lengths and wider with shorter focal lengths; sometimes the framelines can be out where shorter focusing distances and parallax becomes a bigger issue.

That said, it’s not the end of the world after a bit of practice; and if framing is critical (the OP bracketing the framing?), then just use the EVF.

Speaking purely for myself, I can’t think if an image where framing was that critical, and I can’t fix it with a bit of careful cropping in post.  The OP’s concerns aside, the benefits of the M system reward perseverence; particularly in the context where the OP was seeking the simplicity that only the M system offers.

Edited June 19, 2023 by IkarusJohn

[TomB_tx]

Some parallax issues of the VF window to the side of the lens do exist. Say shooting through a close chain-link fence where the VF shows the subject free of any wires in the grid - but a fence wire is actually directly in front of the lens. With experience you know to shift the camera the correct amount towards the VF window, but a through-the-lens view is much simpler for such a situation. 

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It's about the relative apparent position of things within the frame. Aligning elements within the image can be fiendishly difficult with the parallax of a viewfinder camera. Also, it can lead to surprises, more often unwanted ones.

I just have prepared a demonstration of the effect.

This is what I would have seen through the viewfinder:

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And this is what the camera would have seen through the lens:

Taken with the Leica CL at 56mm. I have moved the camera about 3.5 cm up and about 3.5cm sidewise between the shots. The distance between the camera and the window was about 1.6m.