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best way to focus a Leica M wide open - fast


frogfish

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Hi bybrett,

 

some really nice, classic, wedding shots you got with your M.

 

(Your loading time for the relatively small images are awfully long on my screen - Safari browser. You might want to fix that...)

 

 

cheers,

 

heiko

Thanks Heiko, really appreciate your comments. That was a 'temporary' website arranged in a hurry... and has been there ever since! I'm almost finished on the new one  which will be far more user friendly.

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your wedding stuff's great but there's no reason why you can't & do combine both cameras in response to the ebb & flow of the day. since you've a strong photojournalistic style, add to your list : pre-zone focusing, high iso 1600/2500 & f4-8 in continuous mode with live view & preview switched off. as you get better at it you can work gradually wider, if you prefer that & not every shot needs dreamy bokeh.

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There is nothing better than practice, practice, practice to acquire kinesthetic memory. I worked with a National Geographic photographer who used used Leica Ms exclusively. He would start focusing while the camera was by his side or on the strap and in the next moment it would be to his eye, very often already properly focused or close enough to nudge it right-on. I never got that good.

.

+ I think it also helps if you use a few lenses intensively. Know your lenses...

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It is quite possible to build a mortice and tenon joint with a hatchet and chisel.

 

If you insist on using a hatchet and chisel be ready to put in some serious practice and accept occasional failures.

 

There are certainly better tools.

 

Sometimes though it is just more satisfying to use the more challenging ones.

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What a lot of "fluff & puff" (1) understand the mechanics of photography (2) know your lenses (3) know your camera (4) practice ...

Focusing RF is different from SLR - AF brings in another consideration.. Hyper focal is a somewhat forgotten with AF" --

Here's to 2016 & more keepers.....

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Sorry, wrote wrongly in your text but cannot copy and paste here...

I don't know - if you are actually missing shots with your Leica, then it's not awesome by any means. It's simply a job poorly done.

 

I understand the artistic inspiration and excitement, but that is given that you can actually get the job done.

 

I'm sure I will be more excited at work if I can wear headphones all day and drink booze, but I won't get my job done.

 

Perhaps you should stick with your AF setup, which seems to produce great results, and look for inspiration elsewhere, like other great photographers' work.

 

Again apologies if I come out harsh, but under the given situation where you need to deliver good photos and there isn't ample time to focus everything manually, I really think the Leica is the go-to camera.

 

As much as I love the Leica (which is why I'm posting here anyway) it's not the most versatile camera in the world.

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I don't know - if you are actually missing shots with your Leica, then it's not awesome by any means. It's simply a job poorly done.

 

I understand the artistic inspiration and excitement, but that is given that you can actually get the job done.

 

Wedding photography priority number one: Understand why your client wants.

 

Number two: Deliver them. 

 

Sorry but artistic interpretation is valid only if it achieves these two. If you want to use a Leica then practice, practice, practice until you can't get it wrong. Possible - yes. Difficult - yes. Would I do it - no. There are much easier ways to achieve the same results as far as your clients will be concerned. Much as I too like using my Leicas I have only used them at weddings for the odd shot whilst using AF dSLRs as the main cameras and that is how I will (if I am badgered into doing another wedding) continue.

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With a wedding there will be plenty of opportunities for the type of shots that suit both systems. You can go for the dual set up of a 35mm or 50mm Leica with a 70-200mm DSLR.

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This may be heresy, but Live View with focus peaking can be a valid option.  As much as I like rangefinder focusing, sometimes using the option of Live View can speed things up.

Why?? I really don't understand how it can speed things up. You still have to turn your manual lens. IMHO the looking isn't the problem, the fast turnig is.

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I am very happy shooting on Leica M's at weddings, yes I will miss the occasional shot but gain others that would have missed on the 1DX's. The shooting experience is much better than when on Canon, lighter more discreet cameras, small precise and fast lenses. Its much easier too focussing in dark venues on a rangefinder, where the 1DX would hunt seemingly for ever.

Shooting up to 40 weddings per year, for the last 20 years I can focus fast and confidently, its by no means perfect but its the best camera for me. I also use Sony A7ii for longer lens shots btw where the M240 certainly doesn't shine. 

 

Getting shots in focus at a wedding is as much about prediction as anything else, second guessing what a bride or guest will do next helps enormously with my success rate, again does it work every time? no

The M240 for me has been the best camera I have used in years both commercially and for weddings. 

As an aside I may replace the Sony with an SL this year. Sony is great but hasn't got that air of weapons grade indestructibility that the SL has. The M240 has this too.

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