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Hi all,

 

I was wondering how other S users address the problems that come with the focus and recompose technique.

 

The one centre point AF is quite accurate, but still with the fast lenses at close distances focus and recompose can and probably will lead to focus inaccuracy.

 

How do you guys and gals work around that?

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I have not found much of a solution besides "practice, practice, practice". Plus I am taking sometimes more than one shot... But overall this has not been much of a problem, even wide open, for portraits. Certainly a different story reg. macros. So far I have tended to not recompose and rather crop later to get the subject out of center (if really needed). Certainly easier with a D4, but then again, lower res.

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Yes, practice is required to know which situations require manual correction of the focus. As was also suggested. take a larger shot where the recomposition isn't required and recompose through cropping later.

 

Regards,

Dean

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Yes, practice is required to know which situations require manual correction of the focus. As was also suggested. take a larger shot where the recomposition isn't required and recompose through cropping later.

 

A quick example. Full composition. I used auto focus, then fine tuned it on the eyelash (cropped at 100% resolution, no sharpening). You can see how shallow the depth of field is. The S2 has an excellent viewfinder, so the refocus is feasible.

 

Leica S2, 120mm, 1/125th second, f 3.4, ISO 640.

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I haven't had much of an issue with either. I manual focus as close as possible then let auto focus take over. Hit the lock button and recompose. What has messed me up is if the subject is moving from the wind, then the idea of crop is the only way I would do it.

 

Jim

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Hi all,

 

I was wondering how other S users address the problems that come with the focus and recompose technique.

 

The one centre point AF is quite accurate, but still with the fast lenses at close distances focus and recompose can and probably will lead to focus inaccuracy.

 

How do you guys and gals work around that?

 

Get the Microprism Focusing Screen and be happy for the rest of your life. Before I got the focusing screen I mainly used AF. After I had the focusing screen installed I mainly use manual focus except when I have to be fast and I always recompose. If I see I'm off, I adjust manually which is super easy even when not focusing in the middle of the prism. The focusing screen is really, really good. I remember, the first time I looked through the viewfinder with the focusing screen, it felt like looking through an old SLR where you had nothing else then manual focus. Give it a try. :)

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(In theory) the error is nothing much for a rule of thirds composition and not worth compensating; it's only a problem if pushing something to the extremes of the frame. (The error increases with distance and decreases with focal length.) I don't know why Hasselblad bothers to compensate this.

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The focus-and-recompose error can be a serious issue at close range; it is much less of an issue at larger distances (and also for longer focal lengths, if only because a long focal length limits the maximum tilt or swivel angle). The error is directly proportional to the distance but since depth of field grows much faster with distance, far away subjects typically don’t suffer from this issue.

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The focus-and-recompose error can be a serious issue at close range; it is much less of an issue at larger distances (and also for longer focal lengths, if only because a long focal length limits the maximum tilt or swivel angle). The error is directly proportional to the distance but since depth of field grows much faster with distance, far away subjects typically don’t suffer from this issue.

 

For example, the errors for the 35, 70, and 120 lenses at one meter are 21mm, 5mm, 1.5mm; at two meters are 44mm, 11mm, 3.4mm. Not something a working photographer would bother about.

 

*for recomposing to rule of thirds on the long dimension.

 

Strictly, the error is not directly proportional to the object distance, but just about so.

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Yes, focus and recompose is a tricky business with the S2. Beyond practising, you need to stop the lenses down a little, to get some depth of field. Now of course, the S2 requires that you shoot at relatively fast shutter speeds (minimum 1/250s with the 70mm lens and even faster with the 120mm) so you either have to have ample light or use higher ISO (at which the S2 is not really a champion). In my experience, it is a matter of judgment and compromise - but I would not shoot a portrait with the 120mm lens at f3.4 for example (as shown above). I normally use it at least at f5.6-7.1 for portraits and even then I have to be very accurate with the focus and recompose. In summary, my main piece of advice is that you don't shoot portraits at anywhere near fully open aperture with the S/S2, certainly not with the 120 mm lens (and of course anything longer).

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Yes, focus and recompose is a tricky business with the S2. Beyond practising, you need to stop the lenses down a little, to get some depth of field. Now of course, the S2 requires that you shoot at relatively fast shutter speeds (minimum 1/250s with the 70mm lens and even faster with the 120mm) so you either have to have ample light or use higher ISO (at which the S2 is not really a champion). In my experience, it is a matter of judgment and compromise - but I would not shoot a portrait with the 120mm lens at f3.4 for example (as shown above). I normally use it at least at f5.6-7.1 for portraits and even then I have to be very accurate with the focus and recompose. In summary, my main piece of advice is that you don't shoot portraits at anywhere near fully open aperture with the S/S2, certainly not with the 120 mm lens (and of course anything longer).

 

True advice. The problem is when you shoot with the light you have rather than the light you want. Perhaps that is when the M should come out... if you have one. I don't know what happened. Shooting HP5 at ISO400 used to be sufficient, but now I want more.

 

Also, a monopod is of great help. It doesn't help DofF but it does keep the focus point in focus.

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Bob Atkins on focusing and recomposing:

 

"If you run through all the numbers and make assumptions about typical subject distances, apertures and angles likely to be swung through when focusing and recomposing you find that the vast majority of the time it shouldn't give you a significant loss of sharpness. In fact most of the time it probably won't be detectable."

 

"In practice not many lenses have a flat field. Depending on which way the field curves, results may be better or worse than the flat field case would predict."

 

"...I think it's pretty safe to say that focusing and recomposing, even though it theoretically can result in being slightly off focus, works pretty well in practice and it's not something you really need to worry about 99% of the time."

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Can the S2 focus reliably on the catchlight?

 

 

I'd like to say "yes", but I use the split prism glass which lacks cross hairs. I'm now curious, and expect others can say whether or not the cross-hair in the viewfinder truly is the focus point.

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  • 2 years later...
Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

Hi all,

 

I was wondering how other S users address the problems that come with the focus and recompose technique.

 

The one centre point AF is quite accurate, but still with the fast lenses at close distances focus and recompose can and probably will lead to focus inaccuracy.

 

How do you guys and gals work around that?

I would have thought it was the same as shooting a Leica M........you use the rangefinder to make the eye sharp then you recompose, so with the S you just need to point the AF square at the eye (half press) re compose and shoot.............

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The AF spot is very accurate and the large file size allows me to use it and crop accordingly.  I tend to crop all images as 3:2 is not my favourite aspect ratio.  I'll also use the AF spot in portrait mode and then take a second frame to stitch to expand the frame.

 

if I'm up close, I'll use AF and then the screen to manually focus on the catch lights, or the eyelashes.  I wouldn't say it's hit and occasionally miss, like rangefinder focus/recompose.  The S provides visual confirmation of recomposed images at wide apertures and with use, near-100% accuracy can be achieved.

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The AF is precise. Recompose works at all the distances but the closest. I have no problems at the studio with the focus, shooting people.

 

The Hasselblad True Focus system works better at the distances up to 2metes. But I hate the Hasselblad tiny viewfinder and Phocus software.

 

With my S2 I can use my HC and HCD lenses on the Leica with the adapter.

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Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

if I'm up close, I'll use AF and then the screen to manually focus on the catch lights, or the eyelashes.  I wouldn't say it's hit and occasionally miss, like rangefinder focus/recompose.  The S provides visual confirmation of recomposed images at wide apertures and with use, near-100% accuracy can be achieved.

Hi Rolo

Can you please elaborate on what you mean by "I'll use AF and then the screen to manually focus on the catch lights" its the screen part I am confused with. I don't have or even touched a Leica S but plan to get one in 2 weeks time when I trade in my Leica M gear for it. It comes with the 70mm lens so looking forward to the upgrade.

When you say screen do you mean live view or something in the view finder? Is the conformation in way of a light or something else in the view finder?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I like the idea of backing off and cropping the final photo.

Many times, I end up in relatively low light situations and need to open up the lens as the ISO is already maxed out at 800 or so for the typ 006..

Focusing and recomposing can be tricky as the subject is inexorably moving and the DOF is perilously shallow with the 100, 120 and 180 lenses.

It is part of the challenge!

Albert

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