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Focus peaking with EVF?


Johnclare369

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I have an M10 with 90mm f2 Apo-Summicron M Asph lens.

 

I'm having difficulty focusing using the EVF Visoflex 020. I have read somewhere that the focus peaking works best wide open, and some have suggested it is best to focus wide open then stop down to the required aperture. I look at other images captured by the same lens/body and can only dream of getting anything that sharp. Obviously I am doing it all wrong. Focusing is fine on 50mm f1.7.

 

Any help appreciated.

Edited by Johnclare369
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The M10 is basically a rangefinder camera and can -within 28-135 mm-  be focused better using rangefinder focusing.

EVF + focus peaking is an auxiliary feature. The most precise way to achieve precise focus through the EVF, mostly with very long lenses, macro and framing wideangles, is to use magnification.

Focus peaking is an aid that depends on the contrast of the lens and obviously on the DOF. There is a trade-off between visibility and precision. Leica's systems are slanted towards precision, which means that they can sometimes be a bit difficult to see and use. In general they are designed  work best on (very) long lenses and with macro, which is logical, given that the medium focal lengths are meant to be used with the optical system.

Having said that, 90 mm, especially the 2.0 and the 135 mm lenses are a bit of a transitional case. Wide open the 90 2.0 may be easier to focus correctly with the EVF and magnification, if desired enhanced by peaking, stopped down I would advise to use the superb OVF.

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I do not have trouble focussing the 2/90 with the rangefinder wide open. With the M10, I would certainly try this first. IF you want to use an EVF, I would try to focus first without edge contrast enhancement. So - turn the focus peeking off, focus the lens at f/2 and also take a picture at f/2 with at least 1/250 as shutter speed setting. What is happening?

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Re your point that FP success is partly dependent on DOF. Does that support the idea of focusing with Lens wide open to decrease DOF, then stopping down? The 90mm is new to me and I am finding this issue v frustrating!


Yes, that is correct. If you stop down the area that has high contrast is just about everywhere. That means that the whole image will start shimmering and it will be very hard to determine the exact plane of focus. Leica is not too bad in that respect. I tried to use a Sony with the APO-Telyt 135 to photograph a herd of Zebra, but the lens has such high contrast that the viewfinder went into a complete red-out. Sony's focus peaking is optimized for medium focal lengths, meaning it is far more intrusive - and less accurate- than Leica's.

 

It is far better to use the rangefinder for a 90 mm, except when the focusing technique of the photographer is not up to the challenge or in very difficult circumstances wide open.

 

 

Thanks for replying jaapv. I am using image magnification as well as focus peaking. Do you use focus peaking or just turn it offf?


I had the 240 - now I use the EVF of the CL and GX8. I only use focus peaking over 200 mm and for macro, and even then sparingly. Magnification is more than sufficient in most cases.

 

One trick: focus peaking is far more visible if you set the EVF to black and white and the peaking to red.

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I shot some test shots yesterday and saw a real improvement....at least with the EVF. I've followed your advice:

Set preview to B+W, focus peaking to red

Focus with lens wide open

Then stop down as required.

Click away:-)

 

I need to play around a bit more using the rangefinder focussing, and see if I can get that as sharp as with the EVF. Yesterday I managed to do that with sharp lines/contrasty areas, but when I focused on trees/foliage,  am not sure I nailed the focus until I added the EVF.

 

Many thanks for your help... much appreciated.

 

The first of the attached images (the lamp) was shot with rangefinder focusing, the second (the lion) with the EVF.  Both were shot at f2, Comments welcome.

 

Have a great Sunday!

 

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

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From our forum M FAQ:

 

Question: I come from an autofocus camera background. What is the best way to get good focus on the M9?

The M camera works the same way as any rangefinder camera, the central patch in the viewfinder is your focusing tool.
It is important to look through the viewfinder in the optical axis. Looking into the camera skewed will result in inaccurate focus.

The first thing to do is to ascertain that you can see the rangefinder patch properly. A correct match between the rangefinder and your eye is even more important than it is using an SLR.
Leica sells corrective diopter lenses. Determining which one you need - if any- can be done by going to your optician and holding his try-out lenses between your eye and the viewfinder. The one that allows you to see the rangefinder patch and framelines sharply is the correct one. Order the nearest value from Leica. In a pinch you can use over-the-counter reading glasses for this test. If your eyes need special corrections, you can use your spectacles, provided you can see clearly at 2 meters distance ( the virtual distance of the rangefinder patch). Note that the background will be at background distance,so your eye should ideally be able to accommodate over the distance differential. However, there is some tolerance here.

For special cases there are viewfinder magnifiers. They can help, especially with longer and fast lenses and they can give confidence, but they can also be not very useful; they cannot correct errors in the focusing mechanism or your eye, in fact they magnify them.
Also, one loses contrast and brightness.
Leica offers a 1.25x one and a 1.4x. These need diopter correction like the camera, but often of a different value than the camera viewfinder.

There are also third-party magnifiers, sold by Japan Exposures, that include a variable diopter correction. 1.15x and 1.35x. For patent reasons they cannot be sold in the USA and Germany for use on a Leica camera, but they can be purchased for use on for instance a rifle scope.
Basically, for an experienced user, magnifiers are not needed and will only lower contrast and brightness, but some users do like and use them.

Once the viewfinder is corrected optimally, there are three methods of focusing, in ascending order of difficulty aka training.

1. The broken line method. Look for a vertical line in the image and bring it together in the rangefinder patch to be continuous.

2. The coincidence method. Look for a pattern in the image and bring it together to coincide. This may lead to errors with repeating patterns.

3. The contrast method. Once you have focus by method 1. or 2., a small adjustment will cause the rangefinder patch to "jump" into optimum contrast. At that point you have the most precise focusing adjustment.

Side remarks:

If you try focusing on a subject emitting polarized light like a reflection it may happen that the polarizing effect of the prism system in the rangefinder will blot out the contrast in the rangefinder patch, making focusing difficult. In that case rotate the camera 90 degrees to focus.

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Many thanks v helpful. I wear glasses and have set the EVF diopter to the correct adjustment. I don't think there is an adjustment in the RF? My eyesight only slightly impaired, I don;t think it's an issue.

 

I tend to use the methods 1 and 2 as describe. However I'm not sure I am getting to this stage: 3. The contrast method. Once you have focus by method 1. or 2., a small adjustment will cause the rangefinder patch to "jump" into optimum contrast. At that point you have the most precise focusing adjustment.

 

I don't think I see that happening. Is it obvious? 

 

Thanks again.

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John,

 

I'm glad you're persevering and having some success - i think you'll find it worthwhile in the end.

 

One thing to bear in mind with the 90/2 APO-Summicron-M asph is that there have been reports of difficulty focussing wide open at minimum focus distance with a rangefinder.  I have read opinion that it's to do with the limits of the FLE (Floating rear Lens Element) that compensates for focus shift over the entire focal range through to infinity but with such a high precision lens it can struggle towards minimum focus distance.  it needs to be remembered that wide open the 90 AA has less depth of focus (depth of field) than the 50/1 Noctilux so we're approaching the limits of physics or mechanics.

 

My 90AA and I have parted company now but when I nailed focus wide open the pictures were superb.

 

I used a Leica 1.4 magnifier on the rangefinder to increase the size of the focus patch and make it easier to focus although to be fair I found that the magnifier reduced contrast in the rangefinder a smidge so it might not be the answer for you.

 

Good luck!

Pete.

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John,

 

I'm glad you're persevering and having some success - i think you'll find it worthwhile in the end.

 

One thing to bear in mind with the 90/2 APO-Summicron-M asph is that there have been reports of difficulty focussing wide open at minimum focus distance with a rangefinder. I have read opinion that it's to do with the limits of the FLE (Floating rear Lens Element) that compensates for focus shift over the entire focal range through to infinity but with such a high precision lens it can struggle towards minimum focus distance. it needs to be remembered that wide open the 90 AA has less depth of focus (depth of field) than the 50/1 Noctilux so we're approaching the limits of physics or mechanics.

 

My 90AA and I have parted company now but when I nailed focus wide open the pictures were superb.

 

I used a Leica 1.4 magnifier on the rangefinder to increase the size of the focus patch and make it easier to focus although to be fair I found that the magnifier reduced contrast in the rangefinder a smidge so it might not be the answer for you.

 

Good luck!

Pete.

Hi Pete

 

Thanks for the encouragement. There’s so much to learn about the Leica system and it’s quirks... and I’m enjoying doing so! (It was never like this with my Canon!) Maybe I should stop down half a stop from fully wide to focus? And not try at min focus distance?

 

Thanks for your advice.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Hi Pete

 

Thanks for the encouragement. There’s so much to learn about the Leica system and it’s quirks... and I’m enjoying doing so! (It was never like this with my Canon!) Maybe I should stop down half a stop from fully wide to focus? And not try at min focus distance?

 

Thanks for your advice.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

I like that you explore how the system works and try to understand the pros and cons of each method. Keep up experimenting with less important subjects, and practice a lot with the rangefinder. If your (corrected) eye sight is fine, you will eventually get there. Even with an f2/90 lens and, especially, with the best rangefinder so far: the M10.

 

Cheers

Ivo

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EVF has its uses as pointed out before.   Focusing on the back of the camera works well for me.  I use the 4x loupe from my view camera.  As an aside,  I can focus the view camera WAY better than any electronic screen on any camera regardless of brand.  Only advantage of electronic is that image is not upside down.  Leicaflexes and Nikon F are superior.  Split image will nail focus effortlessly in much less time.   

 

Landscape and macro are nice with electronic.  Precise framing and perfect focus slow but precise when that is called for.

 

Hate to say it,  but Nikon digital is very fast focus if the camera is set up well and pro bodies have perfect optical framing + all the better ones get live view which is always perfect. 

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