Atrophe?

[aristotle]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Practice makes perfect I guess.  And I haven't practiced much lately.  My hit rate on the Noctilux wide open on my M6 used to be nearly 70%.  After a decade of Nikon SLRs with autofocus and I got lazy I guess.  My eyesight is as good as ever, but my real-time skills evidently not so much. 

 

With my new Digital M262, and the 50 'lux, it's down to around 20% hit rate on focus from the results of my recent holiday outing today. 

 

Regardless, the fun-factor has never been higher.  I really love the 262, and the 30% that work out make it all worthwhile.

 

I really need to practice with critical focus though....  The 50 'lux really brings out focus issues.....  But when it works, it's magic...

[CYBORA]

I am about to buy a 50 lux for my M 262 also , I will keep you updated about the results 

[lct]

[...] The 50 'lux really brings out focus issues....

 

Nor for me i must say. I suspect your lens and/or body needs some calibration.

[ianman]

With my new Digital M262, and the 50 'lux, it's down to around 20% hit rate on focus from the results of my recent holiday outing today. 

 

Regardless, the fun-factor has never been higher.  I really love the 262, and the 30% that work out make it all worthwhile.

 

That was a quick improvement right there ! 

[aristotle]

Haha.  Still probably 20%.

 

And it's not the lens, and not the body.  It's just me out of practice. 

 

It will come back for sure.  Right now, I'm getting an ear in focus, or the tip of a nose, or whatever...but not eyes often enough.  I went through the same thing when I first got the lens years ago.  Eventually you develop a feel for it.  And in any case with the Noctilux, you eventually tire of using it wide open all of the time.  Stopped down, it's as easy as any other lens.

[CYBORA]

I bought the 50 lux today and it is awesome with M 262 

[albertknappmd]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Have you considered the SL with the Nocti?

There was an article in the latest Viewfinder (VOLUME 49, ISSUE 3 p.37-41 by Mike Evans) pairing the two and the results were outstanding. 

Albert     

[Photon42]

My hit rate is still quite good with the 1.4/50 and the Nokton 1.1/50. Even with the M-D, where I cannot check the focus. I used to use a loupe occasionally with the M9, but with the M-D I find it not really helpful. Make sure all parts of the rangefinder are as clean as it gets.

[aristotle]

I hadn't really considered the SL.  Part of my rekindled interest in photography is the rangefinder experience.  I had even considered the M-D, wanting to go back to as close to the M6 experience as possible, but opted for the display, just because it seemed sensible. 

 

To be honest, from a pure image quality perspective, my D800 will likely always will provide more quality potential than my technique will ever be able to extract from it.  It's the character of the M lenses and the shooting experience that pulled me to the 262.  I'm certain from everything that I've read that the SL with the M lenses would be second to none in terms of image output.  But for me, I'm guessing not so much in terms of the shooting experience part of it.

 

That's all cool though.  Just in the past week, I've dusted off the cobwebs and am now at around 50% in terms of catching the focus that I want to achieve.  Although I know that new bodies can have calibration issues, I'm pretty sure the issue is with me, how I frame, how I recompose after focus, etc. that is driving the bus.

 

I'll get there eventually, or at least have a fun time trying... 

[epand56]

The 50 'lux really brings out focus issues.....

 

I don't think the 50 Lux has issues, I think that photographers have issues. I surely have some and sometime with the 50 Lux as well 

[sblutter]

Try a tripod & live view to test the lens / body combo for accuracy

[aristotle]

No live view on the 262. 

 

The purpose of the original post was just to remark about how you get rusty at a thing that was once intuitive, if you stop doing that "thing".  In this case, focusing a rangefinder quickly and accurately is the thing.

 

The problem isn't with the lens or the camera, it's just me being rusty, though it's coming back.  With the M6, I got to the point where focus and exposure were just willed as part of the composition process without conscious thought.

 

From what I can tell, the Noctilux and the 262 together are as calibrated as I've ever experienced with a rangefinder.  It's just that in low-light, trying to quickly grab a shot at the moment I see it, at f1, while simultaneously setting exposure and focus, I screw up sometimes.  Either by not interpreting the focus patch properly, or by camera shake, or by missing exposure.  I'm not complaining though.  It's been a while since I've had a bunch of practice with it.

 

The reason that I got the 262 in the first place is that it forces you to sharpen the skills you need if you want to achieve what you're looking for in your images.  If the goal was to just be able to use my Leica lenses in the easiest way possible to achieve accurately exposed and focused images, I'd have gotten an SL and would have been done with it.  I still may do so someday, but that's not what appeals to me right now.

 

The whole process makes for a much more intuitive experience, which I find fun, and find (for my tastes at least) that I am more pleased with my final output.

[David North]

My first post on the Forum and apologies in advance for the somewhat dullness of content.

 

I use an M262 with the APO Summicron 2/50 ASPH and on a simply personal and and subjective basis, I find this lens an absolute joy. No adverse issues whatsoever with accurate and precise focusing and I have found that this lens consistently returns ultra sharp results, to include when used in sometimes challenging conditions. Well, challenging for me at least.

 

The odd occasion of experiencing images with a focus result as I had not intended, has been down to me. This due to laziness, complacency or stupidly, although more often than not, a combination of the three on my part.

 

Regards and best wishes,

 

David

[aristotle]

My first post on the Forum and apologies in advance for the somewhat dullness of content.

 

I use an M262 with the APO Summicron 2/50 ASPH and on a simply personal and and subjective basis, I find this lens an absolute joy. No adverse issues whatsoever with accurate and precise focusing and I have found that this lens consistently returns ultra sharp results, to include when used in sometimes challenging conditions. Well, challenging for me at least.

 

The odd occasion of experiencing images with a focus result as I had not intended, has been down to me. This due to laziness, complacency or stupidly, although more often than not, a combination of the three on my part.

 

Regards and best wishes,

 

David

 

Well, I've solved about 90% of the problem as it turns out....  When last I used my M6 regularly, although I wore eye glasses to drive, I always took my glasses off to shoot.  I never had any focus problems.  But for giggles, I started shooting with my glasses on now just to see if that made any impact, and what do you know?  I'm up to around 90% with the Noctilux.  Maybe 85% given how you guys seem to be sticklers for critical focus around here   It's odd because it "seems" like I have no problem seeing detail in the focus patch without my glasses, but clearly I'm not.

 

As to the last 10 to 15%, Mr. North probably has me nailed.  Equal parts laziness, complacency and stupidity.  Assuming that I can control two out of the three, things are looking up.

 

Regardless, I've had more fun creating images in the last month or so since I've had the 262 than I've had in a decade of SLR shooting....