FRAMELINES

[marchyman]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Focusing M lenses with an EVF is an exercise in masochism. 

 

 

Why?  My M is the 262 -- no EVF available for me.  But I typically use my Q with manual focus.  Isn't that similar to an M with an EVF?  Using the Q that way doesn't seem masochistic.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Exodies]

Edwardkaraa prolly meant THE EVF rather than AN EVF; the one which comes with the M typ 240.

[edwardkaraa]

Why?  My M is the 262 -- no EVF available for me.  But I typically use my Q with manual focus.  Isn't that similar to an M with an EVF?  Using the Q that way doesn't seem masochistic.

 

With the RF, you know if you nail the focus or not in real time. With an EVF, manual focus is slower, quite imprecise with peaking, and precise but slow with magnification. I can focus with the RF in less that 1 second, it takes me 3-5 seconds to focus with the EVF and I'm not even sure the focus is spot on. If you're shooting stopped down, that is an additional problem with the EVF, with too much DOF and image getting grainy and slower refresh rate. That is my own experience. Some guys with hawks eyes may not find it to be a problem, so YMMV.

[edwardkaraa]

Edwardkaraa prolly meant THE EVF rather than AN EVF; the one which comes with the M typ 240.

 

I'm actually describing my experience with the SL and M mount lenses.

[jaapv]

The parallax problem doesn't only apply to objects at the focus distance but to objects at all distances present in the scene.

Yes - that is why the viewfinder has shifting framelines for parallax compensation.

[ralphh]

I think what he meant is that the frameline is only accurate at point of focus, so if you're focused at 6 feet, that tree at 50 feet that is perfectly at the edge of the frame line will actually be in a different place on the recorded image.  The shifting frame lines don't help for the whole image - only the focus plane.

[jaapv]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Correct. The inside of the framelines is accurate at 2 m, the outside at 5 m and infinity at 3x the frameline thickness outside, except for perspectve parallax, which cannot be compensated for. <Günther Osterloh - Advanced Photo School, Leica M> explains it perfectly.

[ralphh]

Well the frame line is actually in the wrong place for most of the picture (except the slice in focus), so if you're focused at 1m, the inside frameline is not accurate at 2m due to being in the wrong place due the parallax.  Perhaps we're saying the same thing

[jaapv]

Yes, we are partially saying the same thing.

 

You can judge the size of the framing by extrapolating as I said above. However, the perspective shift caused by the viewfinder window being offset to the left and over the lens cannot be compensated for outside the location off the framelines, as set by the parallax compensation (as you say, that coincides with the focus)

So there can be unexpected objects appearing or disappearing in your composition.

 

If one is wise to this, one can move the camera 7 cm to the left and stretching a few cm upwards between composing and pressing the shutter, effectively bringing the lens in the position of the viewfinder window.

Using a rangefinder has its little tricks

[wmm]

thanks for the discussion.  

 

I stand totally corrected.  the framelines are mechanical and it is only the light that has changed.  

 

I still wish there was a way to choose just the frameline you want, instead of getting the pair, but that is not the easy change I thought it was.  oh well. 

 

back to shooting,

 

b i l l