Rangerfinder accuracy

[charlesphoto99]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I've had two brand new Leica's with rangefinders out out of alignment straight out of the box (M8 and now M10-R BP). That said, I've only really had the vertical alignment go out while using the cameras, which doesn't affect focus at all but is just annoying to look at. Once happened from a bumpy bike ride in Vietnam on my M6, can't recall the other one at the moment. Otherwise the rf is quite robust and the best way to check if there's an issue is to just see if infinity lines up, and alway best to check with more than one lens. 

[Advertisement]

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

[Adam Bonn]

Saw this earlier 

https://www.leicalensesfornormalpeople.com/2021/10/20/reverse-zone-focusing-or-learning-to-be-faster-with-your-rangefinder-camera/

 

 

 

[jaapv]

Actually, I find that blogpost quite misleading. Zone focus is a technique that is as old as photography. It is mostly indicated by symbols on the focusing lever of box cameras : Face, Stick Man, Group of Stick Men, Mountain. 
However, Leica recognized  that focus is in one plane only and that DOF, as perceived by the viewer is quite variable, being determined by subject matter, subject contrast, tolerance for unsharpness by the viewer and above all print size, so they designed a camera with a rangefinder to enable the user to focus accurately. 
Using zone focus to create a preset and allow the subject to move into the zone of acceptable unsharpness (using the RF patch to judge the optimal plane) is also an old technique, made obsolete by Autofocus (but that doesn't help M users  )

Using it as a substitute for lack of rangefinder focusing technique is fundamentally silly IMO. Why buy an expensive rangefinder camera in that case? The author of the blogpost admits to being incapable of manual focus ("always fiddling back and forth to find focus") 

[Adam Bonn]

Well the blogger does implore readers to suggest a better name for what he’s trying to demonstrate (personally I call stopping down, increasing depth of field 😅)

The point he’s making is that with FLs up to 50mm using moderate aperture settings means that stressing about having a exactly aligned image in the rangefinder patch isn’t necessarily that important to achieving an in focus image.

IIRC (you’ll correct me if I don’t), the lens markings are more filmic than 200% view on a large monitor anyway.

Ultimately if the moment is fleeting, then a couple of clicks on the aperture ring can really help nail the focus of the shot.

[Luke_Miller]

1 hour ago, Adam Bonn said:

Ultimately if the moment is fleeting, then a couple of clicks on the aperture ring can really help nail the focus of the shot.

Agree.

Recently I have become more adventuresome with my Leica Ms.  Normally I shoot events with autofocus cameras since the groupings/gestures/expressions I am trying to capture are so fleeting.  For the last several I've used my Ms and a 28 or 50 Summicron stopped down to f5.6.  No problems with sharp images even with my "quick and dirty" manual focus.

Edited December 6, 2021 by Luke_Miller

[SoarFM]

All my Leica lenses focus at infinity when at the infinity stop. Not so on one particular voigtlander. Very frustrating. Insist that your lenses don’t focus past infinity.

 

A similar but different issue…

If you have an M10. Learn how to use a 2mm allen wrench.  I should caveat, do this at your own risk. But if you’ve ever traveled somewhere and find the rangefinder has jiggled out of position (hint at infinity, like on a tower a mile away, the rangefinder still shows a double image), a slight twist of the rangefinder cam will save you loads of frustration or sending your camera away for 2-8 weeks just to have a properly trained technician do a 3 minute adjustment. If you’re out at infinity, you’re out everywhere else. If your RF is always falling out of adjustment then a trip to a Leica tech with that note included will be necessary.

Edited December 13, 2021 by SoarFM

[charlesphoto99]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

The key to focusing rangefinders is to not rely on hyper focal focusing, but to be constantly viewing the subject and making micro adjustments to the focus and then quickly recomposing. Do this over and over again and it becomes like muscle memory. That way, even if one is at say 2.8 , then at least your focus is as near the subject as possible at all times to capture a fleeting moment. And isolating the focus with shallower depth of field often makes for the more interesting picture, even in the 'street.' And always take the picture whether you this you've 'nailed' the focus, exposure etc or not. Especially with digital there's never any penalty to tripping the shutter. The beauty of M's and rf's in general is the beauty that can arise out of not knowing exactly what one is going to get. 

[Al Brown]

The true never-to-fail RF accuracy thest is when you put the well calibrated Mandler Summilux 75/1,4 on your M and nail focus on 10 consecutive images perfectly.
If you do not succeed, first try with EVF and/or Live View (if there is one) and compare. If none of those is available, try with a similar lens or several other lenses.
If the initial 75mm lens test fails it is either a) you (result: some shots are in focus, some are not, pretty randomly) or b) the camera (most shots have front/back focus).

There is some magic in RF. But only when it works well. When not, it is "Janice from Friends' laugh" annoying.

Edited December 15, 2021 by Al Brown

[panoreserve]

That's why I switched in 2016 to the (sensor-based) SL-system...😉...and couldn't be happier😇.