Screen V's Rangefinder

[Leslie22]

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I just wanted to see if I am alone or are others  moving in this direction. With my M11,  I NEVER thought I'd use the screen to shoot , (that's for iPhones , or so I thought)

But , lately particularly with the 24 & 28 I'm finding it easier to use the screen to focus and compose .... and next thing you know I'm doing it with the 50 & 75.

Essentially I check the focus with the rangefinder (as I've done for 30 years) then switch to the screen mainly for composition and exposure.

OK , I feel a little guilty but I'm having fun doing it this way ... and it works ......... Comments welcome , do I need to be "re educated" (big smile)

 

 

 

 

 

[smuseby]

EVF to compose and move, then the rangefinder to focus and finally, back to the EVF. with the EVF, I can stabilize the camera with my cheek. 

[lct]

Ouch! Next step you will want a Visoflex 2 😱 Just kidding. Been using RFs for 50+ years and now i compose and focus with the Visoflex 2 most of the time. O tempora O mores

[GFW2-SCUSA]

Feeling guilty setting the camera up in a way that makes sense to you and works? That  shouldn't produce guilt but joy! Who cares how others folk do it. Do it they way that works best for you and lets you get the pictures you want. Stand on your head and focus with your toes if you want. As long as it helps and gets what you want you are doing fine and the Leica police won't come knowing on your door. 

[Chris W]

But I think you might as well use a camera that makes it easier - like an SL series, or a Sigma BF.

The whole point of an M is the rangefinder focussing IMO.

[LocalHero1953]

I saw this thread and thought: "great, a new company, Screen V, has developed a competitor to Leicas' M". 
Im' disappointed - its' jus't another example of the grocers's apostrophe.

[lct]

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2 hours ago, Chris W said:

But I think you might as well use a camera that makes it easier - like an SL series, or a Sigma BF.

The whole point of an M is the rangefinder focussing IMO.

Why easier if i may ask? I focus more or less the same way with the M11 + Visoflex 2 and either my digital CL or Sigma FPL. In fact, the easier camera is the M11 thanks to auto image magnification. I mean with M lenses of course. AF lenses are another story.

[Leslie22]

Thanks for the replies , I have used the Viso 2 , don’t like it , still have it sitting on a shelf. Someone said try the SL , I have an SL , Q3 and M’s. I think the move to being relaxed about using the back screen on the M11 , is because with the Q3 & SL you get to see the image (more or less) BEFORE you press the shutter , and I like that after 40 years of film and digital M’s. 

This is not some sort of complaint , but an observation of change after decades of doing it the other way, and the guilt aspect was humour (my wife says I’m no good at that) 

[Chris W]

3 hours ago, lct said:

Why easier if i may ask?

Because earlier in the thread people were talking about switching between rangefinder and screen before they take the shot, when it would be just easier to use a camera that prioritises screen.

[jakontil]

I have been using RF my whole life and im so comfortable with RF that i never use liveview since digital era.. even when i had my X2D, i still insisted on the evf since it has 1.0x magnifier which was heaven sent.. however things change when i started using my 907x comfortably.. all is liveview… and i thought i did oke.. focusing and composing.. and it’s quite a pleasure.. but when i got back to M, that’s when i felt home with RF again.. and i use optical viewfinder for my wide lens such as 21 and 28

[Tseg]

15 minutes ago, Chris W said:

Because earlier in the thread people were talking about switching between rangefinder and screen before they take the shot, when it would be just easier to use a camera that prioritises screen.

I used exclusively the Sony RX1 for nearly 12 years, which had an LCD and a detachable viewfinder, like the Visoflex 2.   The LCD is ok for spray and pray scenarios (especially with auto-focus), but definitely 1 step disconnected from using an EVF, which I found to be another step disconnected from using an internal rangefinder OVF.  

A couple of days ago I was out with my M11-D and after taking hours of photos I came to a situation where I put on the Visoflex 2 for some close focus shots.   To avoid the hassle of putting away the Visoflex 2 while on the move, I left it on the camera.  I soon was ready to stop shooting and realized I was now using the Visoflex 2 for non-close-focus composition... essentially the activity became less enjoyable.  But this is just me.

[JRWhite]

On 5/1/2025 at 2:31 AM, Leslie22 said:

I just wanted to see if I am alone or are others  moving in this direction. With my M11,  I NEVER thought I'd use the screen to shoot , (that's for iPhones , or so I thought)

But , lately particularly with the 24 & 28 I'm finding it easier to use the screen to focus and compose .... and next thing you know I'm doing it with the 50 & 75.

Essentially I check the focus with the rangefinder (as I've done for 30 years) then switch to the screen mainly for composition and exposure.

OK , I feel a little guilty but I'm having fun doing it this way ... and it works ......... Comments welcome , do I need to be "re educated" (big smile)

 

 

 

 

 

Yep, same here. Traveling around Ireland with an M10R + 21, 35, 75. In the small towns I’m using the 21 exclusively. Focus with RF, switch on LV, spot meter then compose to taste, shoot, switch off LV, keep walking. Once in the groove it all takes just a moment. Love it! 

[Derbyshire Man]

1 hour ago, JRWhite said:

Yep, same here. Traveling around Ireland with an M10R + 21, 35, 75. In the small towns I’m using the 21 exclusively. Focus with RF, switch on LV, spot meter then compose to taste, shoot, switch off LV, keep walking. Once in the groove it all takes just a moment. Love it! 

Depends what one is doing. With a 21 I don’t bother to use the screen unless I’m doing something super critical at a funny perspective/low to the ground etc. The field of view is such that it doesn’t matter, 21mm can be cropped at will, especially if using the 21 SEM. For me it’s much more about the layers. And I have to imagine that in the viewfinder admittedly it’s easier to see via screen but I’m typically using a fast 21mm 1.4 and taking a shot with people in it so there simply isn’t time wide open to focus and then move the camera away check via the screen most of the time. For landscape or environmental portraits a different matter. 
 

As ever, there’s no right or wrong, it’s simply about using what works for you in a given situation rather than following some sort of externally imposed purity for fear of being regarded as a blasphemer or heretic. 

[sinjun]

On 5/1/2025 at 8:21 AM, LocalHero1953 said:

its' jus't another example of the grocers's apostrophe

Not really. The use of an apostrophe here can be rationalised by noting that the full word is 'versus' and that the apostrophe is filling its natual role in marking the absence of the letters in the midde. Granted, the usual abbreviations are v. or vs.

[LocalHero1953]

33 minutes ago, sinjun said:

Not really. The use of an apostrophe here can be rationalised by noting that the full word is 'versus' and that the apostrophe is filling its natual role in marking the absence of the letters in the midde. Granted, the usual abbreviations are v. or vs.

I'll accept that reason!

[pippy]

On 5/1/2025 at 2:31 AM, Leslie22 said:

...I feel a little guilty but I'm having fun doing it this way ... and it works ......... Comments welcome , do I need to be "re educated"...

The only thing which matters is finding a system which works for you to enable you to capture the images you want.

Nothing more to say, really.

Philip.

[lct]

On 5/1/2025 at 4:13 AM, GFW2-SCUSA said:

[...] As long as it helps and gets what you want you are doing fine and the Leica police won't come knowing on your door [...]

+1

[costa43]

I only use the rangefinder 99% of the time. It's by far the biggest reason I use an M in the first place. That is what works for me, there is no right or wrong here. When you spend 9k on a camera, do with it what pleases you!

[Tseg]

8 minutes ago, costa43 said:

When you spend 9k on a camera, do with it what pleases you!

And I can do even more with my camera now that it is 10k.

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[3D-Kraft.com]

Perhaps, tomorrow we get the answer, that there is no "vs" anymore.