How would you focus this? (50mm at f/1.4)

[jedi996sps]

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Dont know if this helps, but i have just downloaded a DOF calculator app which indicates that a

 

50mm lens focused at 12ft at f1.4 has a total dof of 1.47ft

 

and for comparison

 

75mm lens focused at 12ft at f2 has a total dof of 0.92ft

 

So the dof for the 50mm at f1.4 is not so shallow perhaps in causing the lack of sharpness that you are looking for?

[wlaidlaw]

It just takes years and years of practice (50+ in my case) but the problem is that as you get better and better at it, your vision starts to deteriorate with age and it is all downhill from there. The end result is that there is approximately 8 minutes when a Leica user is 46 ¾ years old, when focusing will be absolutely perfect.

 

However seriously, I found my 50 ASPH Chrome Summilux very difficult to focus accurately due to the stiffness of the focus mechanism. I am hitting focus far more with my 0.95 Noctilux, than I ever did with the 50 ASPH Lux. The only thing I miss on the Noctilux in comparison to the Lux is the lower weight. I don’t miss the purple fringing at all, when hard edges are against a bright background on the 50 Lux.

 

Wilson

[jankap]

Dont know if this helps, but i have just downloaded a DOF calculator app which indicates that a

50mm lens focused at 12ft at f1.4 has a total dof of 1.47ft

and for comparison

75mm lens focused at 12ft at f2 has a total dof of 0.92ft

So the dof for the 50mm at f1.4 is not so shallow perhaps in causing the lack of sharpness that you are looking for?

 

Hi, it is important to know with what COC (circle of confusion) your app works.

The maximum sharpness the lens can show is at the distance marking. In the front and at the back of this distance the sharpness degrades in an analogue (continuous) way. The COC defines, what the observer (the user) likes to see as sharp.

 

For film a COC of 1/30mm (0.033) was sufficient. But film and sensor differ. The sensor has a light sensitive plane (without depth). Film has a thick light sensitive layer, that is more forgiving.

 

The problem, why the pictures of piblondin are not crisp enough for his taste, is not solved. Perhaps we should compare (not sharpened) pictures in the original size via Dropbox. Or crops.

Jan

[CheshireCat]

I don't see how a DoF calculator can help with how much we suck at focusing

And in this case, the focus field was well in front of the subject.

[wlaidlaw]

I suppose that a DOF calculator at least shows you what sort of focus margin you have to aim for. I think it is very easy to get out of the habit of accurate manual focussing. I know for the few years I was using a Contax G1 and G2, it took quite a bit of work to get back to quick and accurate manual focussing. You know you are getting it right, when you twist the focus ring in the correct direction most of the time. I still find it difficult to get it right with long R lenses on moving subjects on the M240.

 

Wilson

[FlashGordonPhotography]

When I want to focus and recompose, I just ever so slightly rock back as I recompose. You could also slightly focus behind the desired point before recomposing. It's just something you get used to doing after a while.

 

Gordon

[Rick]

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I would put forth that sometimes what is the essence of photography is often lost not being able to see the forest for the trees. The details of photography obscure the art for some.

 

Street shots like this could be made by switching to 28mm (greater DOF), for example, and getting closer to the subject to take in a different and possibly more interesting perspective or one that includes more of the story of the whole scene the lady is engaged in. Some blur in the OOF areas could still be maintained while keeping separation of the subject if, that is your artistic intent.

 

Fast street shots like this would be the in the realm of stoping down to f8-f16, for me. Just me, I shoot 90% or more of these scenes at f8. I feel there is more interest in being able to look into the picture and see more. In my humble opinion only, separation, juxtaposition, and figure ground give more interesting pictures with more to look at than gimmicky, OOF shooting that risks the subject being OOF... just me, of course.

 

Also, these OOF type of low DOF images that I see posted a lot here must have an extremely interesting main subject to carry the shot, and that is rare. Street, to me, is more about creating a story than just concentrating on getting a sharp uninteresting subject and hoping that lots of Bokeh will save lack of complex creativity.

 

To answer the question and be constructive, my suggestion would be to not take fast moving, off the plain of the patch shots like this. These shots would be hard even if you had LV as it would take too much time to move the focus patch around and then, the shot would be lost. LV with no magnification plus peaking could work.

 

Why not explore the creative strengths of the RF system and lenses rather than its weaknesses?

[lct]

It suggests that the image does not suffer from focus-recompose, but that it is simply frontfocussed

Yes at about 5 meters subject distance there was roughly 80 cm DoF at f/1.4 which was enough to get the face, the bag and the left foot in focus if the OP focussed on the face, even if he rotated on the left to compose i suspect. Unless he's got some motion blur as well, which sounds improbable at 1/4000s, i would think that his lens and/or body suffer somewhat from front focussing then but i may be wrong.

[jedi996sps]

I don't see how a DoF calculator can help with how much we suck at focusing

And in this case, the focus field was well in front of the subject.

 

Precisely

[epand56]

I've been practicing this lean technique. See examples below. It's certainly better, but I still feel like I'm not getting the super crisp sharpness that the 50 Lux ASPH is, supposedly, known for at certain mid-range distances. Am I missing something other than more practice here?

 

I have the same problem with all my lenses, including the Lux 50/1.4 Asph.

No way to catch the correct focus under f:4 with my Leica M 240 except when using the EVF.

I've noticed that when using the EVF the lens focus correctly and is dead sharp at any aperture, but if I look in the VF after I correctly focused through the EVF, I noticed that the image in the focus patch is not in focus.

Besides, the focus at infinite is always a couple millimeter before the end run of the focus ring. On the infinite sign it is completely out of focus.

I think all my lenses have to be adjusted on my range finder or vice versa.

This happened since i bought the camera brand new. I think that being the camera under guarantee Leica should adjust them for free.

I'm about to send anything to Leica to be adjusted. It's very annoying the wrong focus at widest apertures.

[Jager]

I see nothing in the original image that should have caused a focus-then-recompose problem. Assuming you were stationary and focused accurately, and the subject didn't move, your picture would have been in focus.

 

One of those didn't happen.

[Exodies]

The subject isn't in the centre of the frame so the artist had to move after focusing.

[wlaidlaw]

Yes agreed but it is not as if the OP was using a Noctilux at 0.95, where the smallest movement of your head when recomposing can throw your point of focus out. Even a couple of centimetres of head movement should not have been enough to change the focus point on a Summilux enough to see.

 

However until such time as the OP does the basics of checking both the body and lenses for correct focusing or having them checked, we are all making stabs in the dark. With one of those focus charts taken diagonally at various distances and then pixel peeped, it is not a difficult task to do.

 

I check the infinity focus regularly on all my M bodies and I do find that it does very occasionally need a tiny tweak. I do a full focus check about once a year but unless I have dropped a camera body and the infinity is correct, I almost never find an error. The elbow rate adjustment screw on the RF arm, very rarely seems to move or need adjustment. I know it can be done at home but it is one I prefer leave to a professional with the correct tools.

 

Wilson