Q3 Street Photography Autofocus Experiences?

[spectron]

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Hi All,

 

Is anyone using autofocus on the Q3 for street photography?  I normally use zone focusing with my other cameras and am curious if anyone's using autofocus with the Q3 and if so what the results are?

[Sandokan]

I cant say for the Q3, but the Q and Q2 are fast and accurate

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[Paul W]

great question. Can Sandokan share what focus settings s/he uses for street photography autofocus?

Thank you!

[Ad Dieleman]

I use AF most of the time for street photography with the Q3. Focus area is mostly set to zone, sometimes field. Occasionally I set it to multi-field, especially when wearing gloves because I can't operate the camera with gloves except for pressing the shutter button. Results are mostly good, but in 10-20 % of the cases the camera focusses on the background or the wrong person(s).

I don't use body/face/eye detection, in the street the focus point jumps around like a madman to select various persons; I briefly tried it and quickly gave up.

Sometimes I use range focusing with manual focus, setting the distance to ~ 2.5m and aperture at f/8, when I want to be really quick. I do this only sparingly because I prefer photos with larger apertures (f/1.7...f/4) to get some background separation.

Edited February 5 by Ad Dieleman

[stuny]

That's my experience with the original Q.  Autofocus, wide open, aperture preferred.

[FlickM]

Not the Q3 but the Q2 if it's any help. Focus area field, auto ISO, aperture priority (between f1.7 and f8 mostly), exposure highlight priority. If I'm in a crowded area, I use zone focusing, but Oxford isn't that crowded nowadays, and a lot of spaces are wider than the average pavement, so it's not that simple. I wouldn't bother with face or eye detection for street: it doesn't know which subject you want to home in on, and things change so quickly. I have some street images on page 457 of the Leica Q2 images thread. You can't be assured of sharp focus with street anyway, and be happy with acceptably sharp, even with autofocus, because nobody is going to stand still unless you ask them to. 

Edited February 5 by FlickM

[jaapv]

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Actuallly autofocus was invented to replace things like zone focusing which dates back to the era of box cameras in the 1950ies - and earlier. I fondly recall my Agfa Clack  with its 1-3 m and 3-∞ lever.

[ianforber]

+1 to @FlickM settings. I use the smallest possible field for the autofocus and rarely bother with zone focus on my Q2 these days. 

[FlickM]

6 minutes ago, ianforber said:

+1 to @FlickM settings. I use the smallest possible field for the autofocus and rarely bother with zone focus on my Q2 these days. 

I'm still getting used to the camera, and I'm alternating with the M262 and the fuji X-T5. I find zone very useful for packed situations in the street, but, as I say, that doesn't happen in Oxford, at least in winter. 

[ianforber]

39 minutes ago, FlickM said:

I'm still getting used to the camera, and I'm alternating with the M262 and the fuji X-T5. I find zone very useful for packed situations in the street, but, as I say, that doesn't happen in Oxford, at least in winter. 

I almost always use zone focusing for general street photography in London with my M11 but almost never with my Q2. I suspect I tend to shoot with wider apertures when using the Q2. 

[Corius]

Just a polite reminder that the question is about Q3 AF which is very different to the Q and Q2.

I'm also very interested in hearing how it is being used. In particular, are people who have had the Q2 changing how they focus with the Q3.

[FlickM]

9 minutes ago, ianforber said:

I almost always use zone focusing for general street photography in London with my M11 but almost never with my Q2. I suspect I tend to shoot with wider apertures when using the Q2. 

That's interesting. I was going to ask you more about this, but I think we've had a timely reminder that this is off topic, but thanks for your insights 🙂

[bobtodrick]

4 hours ago, jaapv said:

Actuallly autofocus was invented to replace things like zone focusing which dates back to the era of box cameras in the 1950ies - and earlier. I fondly recall my Agfa Clack  with its 1-3 m and 3-∞ lever.

I went for the hi end Agfa Optima Rapid…I had three distance settings 😂

Completely forgot about til you mentioned your Clack!

[jaapv]

It was the real start of my photographic journey. Before that I had a fix-focus box camera, after it I used my father's Agfa Silette Pronto SVS, nice camera, but still zone-focusing.. Then a EXA II which put an end to zone focusing, except when shooting from the hip, followed by an Olympus OM2Next an M3 and I never looked back. I think that AF has relegated the technique to the museum. but I did like cartoon face-stick man-family group-mountains. 😜
Which brings me back to the subject of the thread. In my opinion (modern) AF is superior to zone focusing in nearly all situations.

[Michele Belloni]

I am a Leica user since 20 years ago and have had many M cameras and the first Q. Now Q3. I can say that is the most versatile camera for street photography but the AF is not on par with leading brands like Sony (I own A1, A9II, a7C and also the last one performs better than the Q3). But it's a huge step up from the original Q and from any other AF camera into the german brand. I usually work with the spot AF or field af in AFC and AFS (it depends on situation).

[Ad Dieleman]

50 minutes ago, Michele Belloni said:

I am a Leica user since 20 years ago and have had many M cameras and the first Q. Now Q3. I can say that is the most versatile camera for street photography but the AF is not on par with leading brands like Sony (I own A1, A9II, a7C and also the last one performs better than the Q3). But it's a huge step up from the original Q and from any other AF camera into the german brand. I usually work with the spot AF or field af in AFC and AFS (it depends on situation).

I agree on Sony having superior AF compared to the Q3. Even my Sony A7R4 is better, and that is not a speed monster by today's standards.

[Le Chef]

There are multiple descriptions that fit the term “Street Photography” so for some fast autofocus is important, and for others not at all.

On the Q3 when taking quick snaps I use AFS, Field, and Multi-field exposure, and Aperture Priority.

But just as often for more “thoughtful” images I will shoot manual everything as it seems to work better when you can see an image/situation beginning to evolve. This may not be rangefinder photography but it gets reasonably close.

Edited February 6 by Le Chef

[David Wien]

5 hours ago, Le Chef said:

There are multiple descriptions that fit the term “Street Photography” so for some fast autofocus is important, and for others not at all.

On the Q3 when taking quick snaps I use AFS, Field, and Multi-field exposure, and Aperture Priority.

But just as often for more “thoughtful” images I will shoot manual everything as it seems to work better when you can see an image/situation beginning to evolve. This may not be rangefinder photography but it gets reasonably close.

Please tell me, what are the advantages of rangefinder photography?

David

[Le Chef]

38 minutes ago, David Wien said:

Please tell me, what are the advantages of rangefinder photography?

WYSIWYG.

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Hallo,

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[Photon42]

10 hours ago, David Wien said:

Please tell me, what are the advantages of rangefinder photography?

David

 

A rangefinder camera essentially has the viewing and image taking process detached and the viewing happens through an optical path. That has implications:

• You see what happens in real terms - it is like looking through a window versus looking at a monitor showing the very scenery. There is no delay
• The finder shows what the finder shows and the sensor sees what the sensor sees. That is never the same and (if you care) requires some imagination. Examples would be depth of field not visible in the finder, same for color adjustments and exposure
• Releasing the shutter only copes with the imagine taking process - not with the image viewing process. No mirror no move, no blackout etc
• There is no boost in low light
• In case you use tighter lenses than what the finder is showing, you see outside the frame - it works best for most with a 50mm lens on a camera with a 0.72 or 0.85x finder
• The magnification of the viewfinder does not change, which is a problem with longer telephoto lenses. The frame only gets smaller

All this to some is a plus, to others a minus. It is a matter of your viewpoint (no pun intended).