davidecossu Posted July 4, 2007 Share #1 Posted July 4, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi everyone, any tip on how to prefocus or how to focus quickly in reportage situation? my first reportage with the m6 was a disaster. HELP! thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 4, 2007 Posted July 4, 2007 Hi davidecossu, Take a look here focusing. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Jean-Michel Komarnicki Posted July 4, 2007 Share #2 Posted July 4, 2007 Hi, My sympathies for what happened during your reportage. If you are new to a rangefinder and are used to work with and AF SLR, you may need to do some dry training. Take your M and frame and focus on just about anything, anywhere, anytime. You wil soon get the feel for focusing quickly enough. The nice thing about Leica lenses is that they give you a nice scale for the depth of field on the barrel. Pick an aperture, set your hyperfocal distance, and as long as your subject is within the range it will be in focus –of course, the only point in exact focus is that at the exact distance focused on, but the rest will be visually in focus. Being liberally conservative, I tend to use the range shown by that of one f stop larger than the one being used (lens at f/11, use the range shown for f/8). And lower the number of variables: pick one lens, pick either f-stop or shutter speed, then you only have to adjust one of those two variables; similarly, figure out what you might want out of the shooting situation and position yourself in a comfort zone for exposure, framing, edges and backgrounds, etc. In a reportage situation, you do not control where or what your subject does or will do, you do control where you will position yourself and what your point of view will be. Do this and you will have ample time to do all you need and to click the shutter to make the photograph when it happens. So endeth the lesson :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_x2004 Posted July 4, 2007 Share #3 Posted July 4, 2007 I keep my finger in the focus tab, and only adjust aperture with that fingers knuckle and thumb. After shooting get in the habit of returning to infinity like you do with winding on automatically. Focusing will then be in only one direction and it wont be a hunt. Bring the rangefinder into focus once, or just through, at worst you are focused forward and depth of field will sort you out behind. In the very worst instances when there isnt time to focus at all, I learn the barrel feel and know that just a touch back from infinity gives me twenty feet, or I make sure it is at infinity. If you have plenty of time then it doesnt matter what you do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidecossu Posted July 4, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted July 4, 2007 Thanks guys, I'll let you know what happen with my next film. Cheers, Davide Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
milsu Posted July 4, 2007 Share #5 Posted July 4, 2007 You have to think about all parameters in advance, especially to be sure which point You want to focus on, and what depth of field do You wish. Also, You may practice to keep moving subjects or objects in focus, it will help You to gain better feeling and faster reactions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Michel Komarnicki Posted July 4, 2007 Share #6 Posted July 4, 2007 Forgot to mention: The rangefinder patch shows you which way to focus. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapp Posted July 5, 2007 Share #7 Posted July 5, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi everyone,any tip on how to prefocus or how to focus quickly in reportage situation? my first reportage with the m6 was a disaster. HELP! thanks. practise, practise, practise Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpsawin Posted July 7, 2007 Share #8 Posted July 7, 2007 practise, practise, practise Yep...excellent advice. If circumstances allow you can stop down, maybe 11 or 16, and zone focus. May depth of field be with you. Best regards, Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHAG Posted July 7, 2007 Share #9 Posted July 7, 2007 Problem is hyperfocal makes you loose gorgeous Leitz OOF. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve kessel Posted July 7, 2007 Share #10 Posted July 7, 2007 Problem is hyperfocal makes you loose gorgeous Leitz OOF. Johan Please explain. Thanks, Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHAG Posted July 7, 2007 Share #11 Posted July 7, 2007 Being sharp everywhere from there to there. No selective focus. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve kessel Posted July 7, 2007 Share #12 Posted July 7, 2007 Being sharp everywhere from there to there. No selective focus. How can this be? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_x2004 Posted July 8, 2007 Share #13 Posted July 8, 2007 Um, I thought the enquiry was for reportage kind of situaltions. So a close medium and far shoud be enough when there is no time to focus. When you are inside ten feet then there isnt really much choice. In and out of focus wont be saved by depth of field and hyperF techniques. Better to learn to rack the patch over once, quickly, with sufficient f/stop. Also, if you are left eyed, learn to use your right and keep both eyes open. I am far and away left eye dominant, but I put the time in to learn my right. Rangefinders are a learning curve anyway, so make the effort on this as well. You cant wind on left eyed without tipping the camera a bit from your face. And there are many occasions you just need to keep the viewfinder nailed to your eye while you walk on. Another interesting thing someone brought up once was learn the framelines so well, and learn your pre sets, that you raise the camera at the instant you want the frame and adjust nothing. Very fast. With what a rangefinder costs you, you owe it to learn to use the thing properly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHAG Posted July 8, 2007 Share #14 Posted July 8, 2007 How can this be? If sharp from, say, 9 feet to ∞, you're not selective. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted July 8, 2007 Share #15 Posted July 8, 2007 You cant wind on left eyed without tipping the camera a bit from your face. And there are many occasions you just need to keep the viewfinder nailed to your eye while you walk on. That's why I bought a Rapidwinder and only ever took it off my M6 to change film <grin> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHAG Posted July 8, 2007 Share #16 Posted July 8, 2007 That's why I bought a Rapidwinder and only ever took it off my M6 to change film <grin> Oh, you still change films. I re-use it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
frc Posted July 9, 2007 Share #17 Posted July 9, 2007 Ah, a green photographer. The environment in focus. Doing that selective is called NIMBY;-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHAG Posted July 9, 2007 Share #18 Posted July 9, 2007 Ah, a green photographer.The environment in focus. Doing that selective is called NIMBY;-) Photogreener;) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
frc Posted July 9, 2007 Share #19 Posted July 9, 2007 A pale or green face is a common phenomenon amongst rep and doc photographers. Don't worry Davide, it's happened to all of us in the beginning. Perhaps, to assist us in answering your question more to the point you could reveal more precisely what went wrong. Did you practice in advance in focusing, were your "subjects" running all over the place, was there little light so you had to use fully open aperture and couldn't work with sufficient DOF. Were you nervous because someone expected you to come back with killer pix? Wedding, social misfits, butchers annual BBQ, kiting on the beach, 100 iso or 400? Let us know! Being green as a photographer isn't a shame, were here to help. Fr. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StS Posted July 9, 2007 Share #20 Posted July 9, 2007 Yes, we are all still learning. All the time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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