Manual focusing techniques for the X Vario with an Leica EVF2

[Guytou]

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Thank you for this information.

I specify to you that all this is in the excellent site of X Vario of Gerd Waloszek :

 

 

http://www.waloszek.de/overview_lxv_e.php

 

 

Guytou

[Trivette]

 

Thank you for this information.

I specify to you that all this is in the excellent site of X Vario of Gerd Waloszek :

 

 

http://www.waloszek.de/overview_lxv_e.php

 

 

Guytou

 

 

This is a very comprehensive in-depth discussion of the X Vario, one of the best I have seen about any camera. Especially interesting to me were his comparisons between images focused at infinity and at hyperfocal distance. Also, he found that one point AF was generally more dependable than spot AF. I have incorporated his findings into my own shooting methods. My simplified hyperfocal table is merely an edited version of the one he worked out. Anyone who appreciates technical information regarding the X Vario can benefit from this site.

[waloszek]

Hi Trivette and Guytou,

 

Thank you that you find my X Vario pages useful. Such nice comments stimulate me to keep up the work.

 

For those who do not want to wade through my Website, just a few comments on using hyperfocal distance (HFD) versus infinity as a "fast route" to manual focusing:

• HDF tables are just a guide, they should not be taken too seriously (typically, you estimate the distances, anyway...). And they are based on certain assumptions and conventions (e.g. size of the circle of confusion).
• "Conventional wisdom" tell us that the image is sharpest, where you put the focus. Thus, if you use HFD, your image will be sharpest at HFD, and "acceptably sharp" at HFD/2 and infinity.
• While the HFD method is useful for, for example, street photographers, "acceptably sharp" may not be good enough for, for example, landscape photographers, or other photographers who wanted it really sharp at infinity. The latter should therefore set the focus on infinity. In this case, the "near limit" ("acceptably sharp") will be just the hyperfocal distance. Thus, HFD tables are also useful for this purpose.

BTW: Some people call setting the focus on infinity the "Merklinger" method. But it's only a special case of Merklinger's approach to determining depth of field (DOF).

 

Best regards, Gerd

 

P.S.: Oh I just saw that I mentioned that already some time ago on page 1 of this thread...