Finding infinity, zone focusing, and the DOF scale

[bencoyote]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I don't own a Leica SL (yet) but I have the original T and a M240.

I stopped by the Leica Store in SF to play with one for a bit to see what I felt with one in my hand.

 

One thing that I could have sworn that I'd seen somewhere is the OLED display on top having the DOF scale in it. When I was in the shop I couldn't figure out how to make it do that. The guy in the shop swore he never saw that and we both went through the manual quickly and couldn't figure out how to have it there.

 

One thing that is nice with M lenses is that I can look down from the top of the camera and see what range is going to be in focus given the selected aperture.

With the T when I need to and I'm in MF mode, I can hit the Info button on the screen and bring up a focus scale. 

 

How do you bring something like the focus scale that the T has up on the SL? Is there any way to have it appear on in the little OLED display so that I can look down on the camera and see it?

 

If not, you do you scale focus? There are at least a couple of situations that I know of when I want to do that. One is astrophotography. With M lenses I can basically rack the focus up against the mechanical stop and that is infinity. With the TL lenses, at least my 55-135mm seems to focus beyond infinity and so I can't just overspin it to the right, I actually have to pick some fine detail on the horizon and then focus on that. How do you do that with the SL and the SL lenses.

 

 

[Advertisement]

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

[Jeff S]

The SL top display DOF concept was borrowed from the S. David Farkas, who frequently uses the feature, describes it in his S review as follows...

 

"Perhaps one of the most useful additions, especially for landscape photography, is the live DOF readout on the top LCD. When you half press the shutter release, three distances are displayed: near, focus and far. Between the near and far is your effective depth of field. The range is dynamic and based on distance to subject, aperture and focal length. Obviously, this is most useful when using wide lenses at smaller apertures, rather than longer lenses at wide apertures. To determine hyperfocal distance, just adjust the focus on the lens as far forward as you can, while still keeping the back reading at infinity." (David Farkas)

 

Jeff

[LD_50]

Unfortunately the SL still requires a half press of the shutter to be held to see the DOF scale. S 007 firmware updated some time ago to allow it without half pressing.

 

Leica needs to make similar the use of similar features between cameras.

[rijve044]

hello Bencoyote can you please explain how to get the DOF scale on the screen with the T

in manual mode and M lenses?

thanks

Dre

[ramarren]

hello Bencoyote can you please explain how to get the DOF scale on the screen with the T

in manual mode and M lenses?

thanks

Dre

 

 

I doubt that it's possible: M lenses do not communicate aperture or focus settings to the body. 

 

The DoF readout on the SL and S is possible because the lens communicates focus, focal length, and aperture settings to the body. I don't own a T and don't know whether it has this feature at all.

[rijve044]

I doubt that it's possible: M lenses do not communicate aperture or focus settings to the body. 

 

The DoF readout on the SL and S is possible because the lens communicates focus, focal length, and aperture settings to the body. I don't own a T and don't know whether it has this feature at all.

 

OK Thank you for your reaction Ramarren.

 

Dre

[bencoyote]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

hello Bencoyote can you please explain how to get the DOF scale on the screen with the T

in manual mode and M lenses?

thanks

Dre

With M lenses I just read it off of the lens.

With TL lenses in MF mode you hit the info button a few times until it comes up while turning the focus ring and the Focus scale will appear on the bottom of the screen.

 

One proble that I have with the T/TL UI is that info cycles through histogram, focus scale, and nothing. I think those should be toggles so that we can choose to have focus scale and histogram and data fields all at once if we want....but this is the SL list not the T/TL list. (Haven't seen the TL2 yet)

[rijve044]

Thank you Bencoyote for the info.

greetings

Dre

[jessiewonka]

On 8/5/2017 at 5:30 PM, Jeff S said:

The SL top display DOF concept was borrowed from the S. David Farkas, who frequently uses the feature, describes it in his S review as follows...

 

"Perhaps one of the most useful additions, especially for landscape photography, is the live DOF readout on the top LCD. When you half press the shutter release, three distances are displayed: near, focus and far. Between the near and far is your effective depth of field. The range is dynamic and based on distance to subject, aperture and focal length. Obviously, this is most useful when using wide lenses at smaller apertures, rather than longer lenses at wide apertures. To determine hyperfocal distance, just adjust the focus on the lens as far forward as you can, while still keeping the back reading at infinity." (David Farkas)

 

Jeff

I've not been able to find this feature on the SL with the latest firmware, nor can I track down much more about this online other than this thread. Any ideas?

[beewee]

54 minutes ago, jessiewonka said:

I've not been able to find this feature on the SL with the latest firmware, nor can I track down much more about this online other than this thread. Any ideas?

If I remember correctly, it only shows up in MF mode on native (Leica, Panasonic, Sigma) L-mount lenses.

[Jeff S]

Works as described on my SL2 with native SL lenses (camera set with back button AF, which as I recall is MF mode in the menu). I don’t own the original SL to determine if operation is the same, but I presume so as the feature was derived from the S, which has a similar design interface. 

Jeff
 

 

[jessiewonka]

Funny enough I happened to notice it today while shooting manual focus. So this may be obvious to others, wasn't to me, but the camera mode has to be M plus autofocus set to manual. Lovely feature, though wish it also appeared when shooting in a different mode and with autofocus.

[Jeff S]

17 hours ago, jessiewonka said:

Funny enough I happened to notice it today while shooting manual focus. So this may be obvious to others, wasn't to me, but the camera mode has to be M plus autofocus set to manual. Lovely feature, though wish it also appeared when shooting in a different mode and with autofocus.

As noted, I use back button AF, which both provides for manual tweaking and still enables this feature. 
 

Jeff

[jessiewonka]

4 hours ago, Jeff S said:

As noted, I use back button AF, which both provides for manual tweaking and still enables this feature. 
 

Jeff

Ah right, good point, thanks! Speaking of the joystick, I really wish you could still use it to check focus peak when in autofocus modes.

Edited August 8, 2021 by jessiewonka

[jessiewonka]

David also covers the DOF scale in one of their YouTube video: 

 

[Jeff S]

On 8/8/2021 at 7:21 PM, jessiewonka said:

Speaking of the joystick, I really wish you could still use it to check focus peak when in autofocus modes.

I disable focus peaking, finding it distracting, not precise and unnecessary. For detailed assessment, I find magnification far superior.

Jeff

[jessiewonka]

16 hours ago, Jeff S said:

I disable focus peaking, finding it distracting, not precise and unnecessary. For detailed assessment, I find magnification far superior.

Jeff

Now...I'm confused. What's the difference between the two? The feature I'm referring to is pressing in on the joystick to quickly zoom in -- lovely feature, but seems only in manual mode.

[Jeff S]

3 hours ago, jessiewonka said:

Now...I'm confused. What's the difference between the two? The feature I'm referring to is pressing in on the joystick to quickly zoom in -- lovely feature, but seems only in manual mode.

Focus peaking shows colored lines depicting in-focus areas.  Magnification is, well, a magnified view of the scene to more closely inspect focus.  I set my camera so that the back button (joystick) establishes initial focus (rather than the shutter release button), while a turn of the focus ring on the lens brings up magnified view. The manual describes all of the options and how to set them.

Jeff

[jessiewonka]

18 hours ago, Jeff S said:

Focus peaking shows colored lines depicting in-focus areas.  Magnification is, well, a magnified view of the scene to more closely inspect focus.  I set my camera so that the back button (joystick) establishes initial focus (rather than the shutter release button), while a turn of the focus ring on the lens brings up magnified view. The manual describes all of the options and how to set them.

Jeff

Ah that's right -- somehow I keep forgetting that's what the peaking feature is. But this, "while a turn of the focus ring on the lens brings up magnified view," that is new to me. I've searched through the manual, various posts, and looked through the menus several time and cannot find such a feature. Tell me it's real! 

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[Jeff S]

5 hours ago, jessiewonka said:

Ah that's right -- somehow I keep forgetting that's what the peaking feature is. But this, "while a turn of the focus ring on the lens brings up magnified view," that is new to me. I've searched through the manual, various posts, and looked through the menus several time and cannot find such a feature. Tell me it's real! 

Pg 112 in the manual… MF Assist functions, Enlargement in MF mode…

In main menu… select Focusing; select Focus Assist; select Auto Magnification; select On.  Read the rest to adjust the function.

Jeff