Timphoto wrote:
My challenge has been to quickly focus. Getting better at it, but I need lots more practice.
I'm finding a zone setpoint for a given aperture works well for speed. For instance, set between 12 and 25 feet, at f/5.6 - f/8 for "speed ready" stuff. From there, I can quickly slide into infinity, or slide to the bottom 6-7 o'clock and shift my focus to a different zone when something falls outside of that mid-distance zone. I do this while carrying on my neck strap at waist level for "no look" shots. Point being, that zone focusing isn't reliant on your eyes, rather your mind and your finger via muscle memory.
Takes some test shots to figure out the right distance - aperture combo that works for you and your lens. But once, you do ... speed is literally at your fingertips via binary decisions.
From a "midpoint" start, the question is merely ... closer or farther (when different from starting point). Either way, it's just a "flick" to the other zone. In some regard, it is reminiscent of the "ready position" in tennis.
This is my focus practice target range that I set up in my back yard when I was first learning with the Range Finder and also Zone Focus.
I would sit in a chair set the lens to wide open to get a shallow DOF, set focus to minimum distance, mentality choose a distance target, then raise the Range Finder to my eye and see how quickly I could focus and get a shot off.
For practicing Zone Focusing I would set the lens to a reasonable Zone focusing aperture to have enough DOF to ensure Zone Focusing made sense, usually f/8 or close to it. In the beginning I would pick a distance then set my DOF gauge on the lens. Once I got used to where the focus tab was for each distance, I would try and set that distance just by tab position never looking at the lens or through the Range Finder.
I did this for about a week. By the end of that time I had gained pretty good skill at all three ways of focusing, with each of my lenses.
Probably a little OCD on my part, but I think it helped.
1bwana1 wrote:
This is my focus practice target range that I set up in my back yard when I was first learning with the Range Finder and also Zone Focus.
I would sit in a chair set the lens to wide open to get a shallow DOF, set focus to minimum distance, mentality choose a distance target, then raise the Range Finder to my eye and see how quickly I could focus and get a shot off.
For practicing Zone Focusing I would set the lens to a reasonable Zone focusing aperture to have enough DOF to ensure Zone Focusing made sense, usually f/8 or close to it. In the beginning I would pick a distance then set my DOF gauge on the lens. Once I got used to where the focus tab was for each distance, I would try and set that distance just by tab position never looking at the lens or through the Range Finder.
I did this for about a week. By the end of that time I had gained pretty good skill at all three ways of focusing, with each of my lenses.
Probably a little OCD on my part, but I think it helped....Show more →
Upping my Zone Focusing abilities was key for me to use my rangefinder for just about any type of photography to include high performance/very fast moving subjects/sports etc. I honed my zone focusing "awareness" with a gadget. The pocketable "BOSCH GLM20 Blaze 65ft Laser Distance Measure With Real Time Measuring"...Ha Ha. Whatever it takes to get the shot!
LBJ2 wrote:
Upping my Zone Focusing abilities was key for me to use my rangefinder for just about any type of photography to include high performance/very fast moving subjects/sports etc. I honed my zone focusing "awareness" with a gadget. The pocketable "BOSCH GLM20 Blaze 65ft Laser Distance Measure With Real Time Measuring"...Ha Ha. Whatever it takes to get the shot!
Like all worthwhile skills I have endeavors I have engaged in during my life, learning the techniques required to successfully shoot with a ranger finder Leica required an investment in time and effort. I found I was able to learn the basics reasonably quickly. I can't say that I have mastered it to the point where things like focus, and exposure are an invisible exercise that happens instinctively while I concentrate on other parts of the process. I expect that takes years of use to happen.
For those that are considering try out a Leica, I encourage you to try it. It is both an enjoyable and inspiring camera to make images with.
The following quote from Robert Gibson in his book Refractions 2 expresses it well.
"Herr Barnack did not realize however that the most difficult thing to do with a Leica is to set it down."
