zone focusing, and candid help...

[lenicolas]

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Nobody has mentioned the focus tab?

I have found that the habit of the focus tab's throw helps me "zone focus" without even looking at the lens barrel.

I am merely a plebeian, but the few times I've shot with my 50mm setting the focus by feel only, I got acceptable sharpness on film at f/5,6. Surely a photography god could achieve the same thing on a digital m?

 

I should specify that I'm very set in my ways, and most of my people photography is made at my usual working distance of 1,5m to 2m. I seldomly venture out of this zone, so I guess my fingers know where the tab should be...

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[dant]

I m using 35 summicron now, I tends to take snap shot of people and friends, the difficulties is that when you focus people lets say a meter away, they move or turning head here and there I found I missed focus quite often, ( pictures comes out not razor sharp ) even though it is 35, it should be easier to get good focus and DOF than 50s.

 

please share some Technic, especially when people are walking towards to you, or moving a bit left and right how to get razor sharp images?

 

Thanks

 

 

Use a wide angle and small f stop. You can't zone focus long lens to perfection unless luck is with you.

[dant]

Nobody has mentioned the focus tab?

I have found that the habit of the focus tab's throw helps me "zone focus" without even looking at the lens barrel.

I am merely a plebeian, but the few times I've shot with my 50mm setting the focus by feel only, I got acceptable sharpness on film at f/5,6. Surely a photography god could achieve the same thing on a digital m?

 

I should specify that I'm very set in my ways, and most of my people photography is made at my usual working distance of 1,5m to 2m. I seldomly venture out of this zone, so I guess my fingers know where the tab should be...

 

 

Absolutely! The Fuji and new Zeiss / Fuji lenses don't even give you a focus scale to read. They want you to look at the screen to figure focus.

[dant]

I find zone focusing much harder with large sensor cameras like the M240 which is frustrating for street and doco work. My rate of 'keepers' has dropped off a lot since changing from the M9 even though I mostly use 21mm.

 

I'm now using a Fuji X-E2 in both manual & AF mode which seems far more practical for street and unposed people photography.

 

 

You should have little problem with a 21 zone focused. Now shooting from the hip may have framing isuues.

[acordes]

Nobody has mentioned the focus tab?

...

 

Right!

It's like the throttle control in the car, after a while you use it without thinking...

[Herr Barnack]

In most lenses, there is no such plane, as the field curvature may have a complex shape.

 

The concept of Depth Of Field is still valid, but:

- It is usually a complex shape.

- It is thinner than most people imagine, as you need the circle of confusion to be as small as a couple sensor pixels.

So far, so good...

Therefore, we can state that:

1) The rangefinder is obsolete and useless for focus-and-recompose with many lenses.

2) The DOF scale in our lenses is totally useless and should be replaced by a Latin motto.

...and now we're off in the ditch.

[brill64]

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Know your lens distances from using the position of the focusing tab on your 35mm lens flange. On the 35 Summilux - check for your own lens - & with your camera pointing forwards at your waist, 2.5 feet is closest focusing distance & slightly to the left, fairly close is 6ft & at the bottom position underneath your lens, far is 15ft & slightly to the right, just under the red dot. Infinity is horizon & farthest focus throw to the right. If you don't have one, think about adding one temporarily. Practice these four positions whilst approximately gauging by eye & without looking down or away, your subject's distance as it steps within these zones. You have to use trial & error & guess a bit. Preset, for example, f8, iso1250, shutter speed faster than 1/125 on the camera for starters. Keep your eyes on the subject all the time.

[Guest redge]

As lenicolas and Brill64 say, a tab is great for zone focusing. My 35mm has one.

 

But for those who haven't used a lens with a tab, and are thinking of buying one, just realize that not everyone is a fan.

 

Like me, for example. Except for the speed of zone focusing, I hate it

 

Cheers

[farnz]

An often forgotten tip: the focus tab is useful for focussing by feel because on Leica lenses when the tab is at the bottom the lens is always focussed at 1.3 metres = 4 feet.

 

Pete.

[mwilliamsphotography]

There is no one technique the equal of practice. I've been using a rangefinder for 40+ years, and I still practice.

 

You do not need to always shoot images to practice. Most things we focus on do not deserve to be shot anyway. So, practicing our focusing can also be an exercise in restraint.

 

Practice focusing a lot … like anything we want to master, practice is at the core. More practice makes you faster, more confident and more accurate.

 

Two manual focusing tips:

 

1) Practice returning the focus ring to infinity after each set of images. That way you will develop "muscle memory" to turn the ring in one direction every time, rather than hunting back and forth in the heat of the moment.

 

If you look at the DOF scale on the lens barrel, note that the closer you get to infinity, the closer together the distance markings become. For MOST shots this means you will have to turn the focus ring a very short distance to achieve focus = repeatable and reliable speed.

 

2) Practice "anticipation". The more aware of, or tuned into, your surroundings, the more prepared in advance you will become = less panic type attempts to focus. Rangefinders are particularly suited to this visceral approach because there are less distractions compared to through the lens viewfinders. IMO, AF has made people lazy in terms of being aware of something about to happen … even then, fast AF may not save the day.

 

HCB's "Decisive Moment" approach made this approach to rangefinder photography quite famous. For example: see the puddle, see the man approaching the puddle, focus on the puddle and wait for the man to jump it = (Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare).

 

Then there is this relevant quote from one of the most famous and influencial photographers of all time:

 

"Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." - Henri Cartier-Bresson

 

LOL!

 

- Marc

[farnz]

… 1) Practice returning the focus ring to infinity after each set of images. That way you will develop "muscle memory" to turn the ring in one direction every time, rather than hunting back and forth in the heat of the moment. ...

This is great advice until you start using Nikkor or Contax lenses whose focus rings turn in opposite direction.

 

Pete.

[farnz]

I also think it's important to practice recognising focus in one snap, ie not getting near to the subject's focus and then moving the ring a little back and forth until the rangefinder shows maximum contrast/image overlap. Focus needs to be hit in one go and practice helps especially if it's been awhile since I've picked up my camera.

 

Pete.

[mwilliamsphotography]

This is great advice until you start using Nikkor or Contax lenses whose focus rings turn in opposite direction.

 

Pete.

 

Solution:

 

Don't use Nikon or Contax lenses on your M : -)

 

Besides, the Nikkor and Contax direction is backwards and awkward when using your left hand to focus …

 

Leica got it right.

 

- Marc

[Peter H]

I also think it's important to practice recognising focus in one snap, ie not getting near to the subject's focus and then moving the ring a little back and forth until the rangefinder shows maximum contrast/image overlap. Focus needs to be hit in one go and practice helps especially if it's been awhile since I've picked up my camera.

 

Pete.

 

This is really good advice.

 

Anyone who got used to focussing a MF SLR (or even TLR!) knows that the best way to be certain of getting the subject in focus is to go beyond and back, sometimes a few times. With a rangefinder this is not necessary, although it can be a hard habit to get out of.