R lenses on M240 - zoom in EVF?

[dritz]

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Can someone share the details or point to them regarding the use of R lenses on the M240, specifically does it do a zoom with its peak focus. I have been keeping a 70-180 APO-R in reserve hoping to make use of it some day (not having yet purchased a CMOS M) but my experience with the A7 and peak focus is terrible -- never accurate enough.

 

Thanks.

 

Regards,

Dean

[jaapv]

The M focus peaking works perfectly and very accurately on long lenses

Edited January 13, 2015 by jaapv

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[sillbeers15]

I personally am very happy with the Focus Aid function for R lenses on M240.

 

Below is an example of an uncroped pics using a APO R 180mm Elmarit lens @ F2.8 & ISO locked at 1250. There wasn't lots of time for me to nail the focus right before it flew off!

 

Bird Watch I by sillbeers15

[bocaburger]

I find the unmagnified view entirely adequate. I find magnification useless unless the rig is mounted on a tripod, and even then useless with any fleeting subject. I find peaking difficult to see and only marginally useful compared to just focusing visually as one would do with an SLR. Speaking of which, I find viewing/focusing any of these long lenses on my 5D orders of magnitude more satisfying than with the M240's EVF.

[jaapv]

I set it to 5x for long lenses.If the image gets too jumpy for focus you are waving the lens around too much to get a sharp image.

There is a tradeoff between visibility and accuracy with focus peaking. If the camera has it in-your-face it is not very useful as it is inaccurate, if it is just a subtle outline it is very precise but harder to see especially with low contrast lenses. I prefer the latter.

Edited January 13, 2015 by jaapv

[sillbeers15]

I find the unmagnified view entirely adequate. I find magnification useless unless the rig is mounted on a tripod, and even then useless with any fleeting subject. I find peaking difficult to see and only marginally useful compared to just focusing visually as one would do with an SLR. Speaking of which, I find viewing/focusing any of these long lenses on my 5D orders of magnitude more satisfying than with the M240's EVF.

 

I mostly only use tripod for landscape shots.

 

For telephoto shots, I prefer the freedom of handheld set at ISO1250. Uttermost is to rely on monopod if prefocusing for fixed point moving subjects such as car racing events below. I find 5x useful and 10x too jumpy to focus. I stick to Leica glasses for quality and M body for compactness.

 

2014 F1GP SG N Rosberg qualifying lap by sillbeers15

[fore]

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I set it to 5x for long lenses.If the image gets too jumpy for focus you are waving the lens around too much to get a sharp image.

There is a tradeoff between visibility and accuracy with focus peaking. If the camera has it in-your-face it is not very useful as it is inaccurate, if it is just a subtle outline it is very precise but harder to see especially with low contrast lenses. I prefer the latter.

 

jaapv, do you think making Leica will make the red lines will be made brighter optionally (I know, not what you like ) in a future firmware upgrade?

 

Great shot sillbeers 15!

[bocaburger]

I set it to 5x for long lenses.If the image gets too jumpy for focus you are waving the lens around too much to get a sharp image.

 

To me, magnification makes more sense with shorter lenses. Long lenses already magnify the image. And sure if you can handhold a lens rock steady @ 5X you're guaranteed an image free of camera blur at a much slower shutter speed than 1/focal. But a jumpy image @ 5X finder magnification does not mean you won't get a sharp image @ 1/focal or shorter.

[jaapv]

I have no idea, but I doubt it as I find for instance the Sony implementation completely useless. I tried to photograph a herd of Zebra with the APO 135 on a NEX 7, and the viewfinder turned completely red at the lowest setting:o.

My feeling is that Leica will go for presicion.

 

The whole point is that peaking appears to need to be different for medium length lenses and long lenses. And for the medium length Leica is primarily a rangefinder camera. So the focus peaking should be optimized for the cases that are difficult/impossible using a rangefiner, i.e. long lenses and macro.

 

Cameras like the EVILs need a focus peaking that works best with medium focal lengths.

 

jaapv, do you think making Leica will make the red lines will be made brighter optionally (I know, not what you like ) in a future firmware upgrade?

Edited January 13, 2015 by jaapv

[jaapv]

To me, magnification makes more sense with shorter lenses. Long lenses already magnify the image. And sure if you can handhold a lens rock steady @ 5X you're guaranteed an image free of camera blur at a much slower shutter speed than 1/focal. But a jumpy image @ 5X finder magnification does not mean you won't get a sharp image @ 1/focal or shorter.

That is true, and that is why it is adjustable by the thumb wheel; as the focal length shortens you can back off on the magnification. I use 10x for lenses like 135 and 180, 5x up to 300 or so, and over that no magnification. It depends on your stabilisation as well of course. I like using a beanbag, and keep the magnification at 5x for just about anything then.Focus peaking will work fine (for me) all the time.

[algrove]

dritz

 

Get yourself an M240 to enjoy that beautiful R lens you own.