Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/07/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 02:28 PM 7/14/97 -0400, you wrote: >This can effectively be done in about 3-5 seconds. Manually >would require focusing on near and far subjects while checking distance on >lens and interpolating with the correct law of thirds application. About a 10 >to 20 second procedure. (I'm not touting switching from Leicaland though) > Well... having spent many years behind a view camera and a 35 with DOF preview, I can visually focus and set/check Depth Of Field (DOF preview on the Leica R and f-stop lever on a view camera lens) in a very few seconds. No looking at the lens barrel for distance. And I do not have to move the camera so the electronics can re-focus on another object. If I confirm visually that something is in focus, I'm happy. Actually, I have gotten so that with a given lens and f-stop, I know exactly where to focus to get max DOF and how far it extends (1/3 - 2/3 law.) I usually pull the DOF preview lever to double check and it's usually right on. This is the result of doing it for decades (before CA was a state. :-) Practice makes perfect... well almost perfect. This is not for everybody, but it sure works great for me. A benefit of being old. Please don't get me wrong... I'm not arguing about methods, just sort of defending the old techniques. The electronic goodies are great. I'm anxious to see what Leica does with autofocus on the R8. If that's what works for you, by all means go with it. The whole object is to take great pictures. Jim