Using F11 for 100% of my Leica MDA Photos - Hyper Focal Focus Question

[i8z]

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Hello, I am new to the MDA film camera but not the Leica M series. I use this camera with a 35mm Summicron lens and Hyper focal focus every shot I take. Can someone with more experience with this  type of focus comment with tips or tricks? I set the aperture to F11 and the infinity mark on F11.  Thank you for your help 

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h this type of focus comment with tips or tricks? I set the aperture to F11 and the infinity mark on F11.  Thank you for your help

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[a.noctilux]

If you use the 35mm Summicron IV, it's easy, depending on the film (grainy or not)

set the 'oo' mark at right of dop scale "11"

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here where "m" is

 

side note,

this would not work great for night pictures 😏

...

side note bis

which is the viewfinder you use on your MDa ?

 

I prefer wider lens like S-A 4/21 on MDa

 

[i8z]

Thank you. I do not currently have a viewfinder with it. I will look into the one that you have. 

[Danner]

I've been reading The Camera by Ansel Adams recently.  You are doing it exactly the way Ansel describes it, true hyper-focal distance focusing.  Set ∞ at the selected f/stop.  Of course, that's to agree with Leica's estimation for Circle of Confusion.  But, it works for me shooting HP5+.

YMMV

[grahamc]

Interesting post, all the best with it  ! 

I've been using my M lenses in a similar way often and have a related question ... does it matter if you keep turning the focus ring past " oo " .... ( for example until you reach a hard stop ) ? 

I've often been wondering this.  My guess has been that in doing so you are probably still focussed to infinity, but not at the optimal distance for hyperfocal distance ? 

Thanks 

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by grahamc

[M9reno]

I remember sometime seeing a photograph of one of Cartier Bresson’s lenses (a 50mm, can’t remember, which, or where I saw the photograph).  I was interested to see that there were red marks painted on the lens, at some predetermined distance setting.  Presumably he was using the marks to zone-focus very quickly, basically setting the lens to “near”, “medium” and “far” zone settings, and letting depth of field take care of the rest.

I imagine that HCB rarely focused through the rangefinder. Too much of a faff, too slow for the decisive moment, and too obvious for a photographer that fancied himself as invisible on the street.

Another tip for zone-focus photography: use a fast film.  Using Kodak P3200 TMax at 1000 (or 2000) ISO, or pushing TriX, will let you keep very small apertures at decent shutter speeds, raising your zone-focus hit-rate. We are lucky to have films this good and this fast.

I tried this tip a few weeks ago at a local fair where I am normally too shy to approach too close to people.  With Elmar 50 f/3.5 fixed at f/11 (the Elmar with its finger-nail aperture tab is not a lens for fast or inconspicuous aperture changes!), and shooting P3200 at ISO 1000, I wandered around for a good hour, guessing focus by feeling the position of the focus knob. Shutter speed was my only exposure control, and I was able to keep between 1/1000 and 1/30 at all times, from sunny to deep shade, again guesstimating all the while.  I never once focused through the camera.  I was fairly happy with candid street shots like these.  Just don’t be too picky about grain (one of the joys of shooting very fast films) - or imperfect focus!

 

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Edited September 20, 2021 by M9reno

[grahamc]

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Nicely done @M9reno ... So did you lift the camera to eye (using viewfinder) when snapping the shot though? That's what I'm doing at the moment (after zone focussing).   

[M9reno]

14 minutes ago, grahamc said:

Nicely done @M9reno ... So did you lift the camera to eye (using viewfinder) when snapping the shot though? That's what I'm doing at the moment (after zone focussing).   

I did very quickly aim (hardly “compose”) through the viewfinder, mostly… except here the second one (carrot-top guy) was from the hip.😅

[grahamc]

Nice one ! @M9reno.

[Al Brown]

On my MDa I used to always set the infinity mark to a stop or so LESS than my chosen f/stop when using hyperfocal distance, just to be sure. The set depth of focus was more or less rock solid (i.e. 100% sharp) from my shortest hyperfocal distance  to infinity. Of course you also need to consider that the DoF goes 1/3 back towards you and 2/3 towards front (infinity).

Other option: use a wider angle lens and come closer.

Edited September 20, 2021 by Al Brown

[i8z]

3 hours ago, Al Brown said:

On my MDa I used to always set the infinity mark to a stop or so LESS than my chosen f/stop when using hyperfocal distance, just to be sure. The set depth of focus was more or less rock solid (i.e. 100% sharp) from my shortest hyperfocal distance  to infinity. Of course you also need to consider that the DoF goes 1/3 back towards you and 2/3 towards front (infinity).

Other option: use a wider angle lens and come closer.

I am thinking about buying a wider lens, I like the small size of the 28mm but would love a 24.

[Al Brown]

1 minute ago, i8z said:

I am thinking about buying a wider lens, I like the small size of the 28mm but would love a 24.

MD/MDa and M1 are ideal for ultra wides below 18mm, there are several options now. All sharp from about 30cm/1 foot to infinity. Never have to worry about focus again.

[Vlad Soare]

1 hour ago, Al Brown said:

All sharp from about 30cm/1 foot to infinity. Never have to worry about focus again.

No, but then you have to worry about getting close enough to the subject. So much for being invisible...

 

[i8z]

11 hours ago, grahamc said:

Interesting post, all the best with it  ! 

I've been using my M lenses in a similar way often and have a related question ... does it matter if you keep turning the focus ring past " oo " .... ( for example until you reach a hard stop ) ? 

I've often been wondering this.  My guess has been that in doing so you are probably still focussed to infinity, but not at the optimal distance for hyperfocal distance ? 

Thanks 

 

would the hard stop  be infinity?

[cp995]

vor 9 Stunden schrieb M9reno:

I did very quickly aim (hardly “compose”) through the viewfinder, mostly… except here the second one (carrot-top guy) was from the hip.😅

Sorry for asking, but I don't see any sharp layer in  the first picture. What happend there?

The second and the third are o.k..
The fourth example has a focus on the tram in the background.
Was it the desired focal point?

My question is: Is this result really worth the amount of money and the work?

Not to be misunderstood, I also do film with rangefinder, but this "f11 and everything is sharp"  is not acceptable for me.
I really like to have a focalpoint, where I wanted it to be.

[Vlad Soare]

11 minutes ago, cp995 said:

My question is: Is this result really worth the amount of money and the work?

Not to be misunderstood, I also do film with rangefinder, but this "f11 and everything is sharp"  is not acceptable for me.
I really like to have a focalpoint, where I wanted it to be.

I agree. 
I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but in my opinion, if all you want are some blurry snapshots that look as if they were made with a Holga, then there's no need to spend thousands of dollars on Leica cameras and lenses. You might as well save the money and just use a Holga instead.
 

Edited September 20, 2021 by Vlad Soare

[M9reno]

44 minutes ago, cp995 said:

Sorry for asking, but I don't see any sharp layer in  the first picture. What happend there?

The second and the third are o.k..
The fourth example has a focus on the tram in the background.
Was it the desired focal point?

My question is: Is this result really worth the amount of money and the work?

Not to be misunderstood, I also do film with rangefinder, but this "f11 and everything is sharp"  is not acceptable for me.
I really like to have a focalpoint, where I wanted it to be.

Thanks for the feedback.  I completely understand that the result, to you, may not be worth the amount of money and the work.  If one desires to place the focal plane accurately, then one must focus through the rangefinder, and one does not zone focus.  As you rightly say, there is one and (only one) focal plane - that is why “zone focus” is an oxymoron, but it’s the game I was playing on this one occasion.  And why not?  For me these imperfect snapshots capture the freakish mood of the fair, and anyway I think HCB pontificated somewhere that sharpness is a bourgeois concept.   😁

[a.noctilux]

@cp995you are right of course.

I don't know what price is Holga things.

As Leica user, the very light MDa can be handy.

For me it's the cheapest Leica M which was primary intended to be used for reproduction or scientific use.

This way of using MDa for 'dynamic pics' can be hard to learn (or accept), but this is not for everyone.

Edited September 20, 2021 by a.noctilux

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[earleygallery]

19 hours ago, i8z said:

Hello, I am new to the MDA film camera but not the Leica M series. I use this camera with a 35mm Summicron lens and Hyper focal focus every shot I take. Can someone with more experience with this  type of focus comment with tips or tricks? I set the aperture to F11 and the infinity mark on F11.  Thank you for your help 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

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

h this type of focus comment with tips or tricks? I set the aperture to F11 and the infinity mark on F11.  Thank you for your help

For both of these images you should really have been able to judge the correct distance and focus accordingly using the scale on the lens.

 

[M9reno]

1 hour ago, Vlad Soare said:

I agree. 
I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but in my opinion, if all you want are some blurry snapshots that look as if they were made with a Holga, then there's no need to spend thousands of dollars on Leica cameras and lenses. You might as well save the money and just use a Holga instead.
 

Better than a Holga, Leica made the Null-Series replica for those of us keen to waste our money on expensive toy cameras. It’s probably the next best thing after the MDa for rangefinderless “zone focus” snapshots.

See: