[Leica] RE; Autofocusing M lenses

Fri Feb 12 22:15:27 PST 2016

I just set the camera to this option and put on the CV 1.4/35mm—this will provide a real test of this split image business. Focusing with the 90mm is a piece of cake, these focusing aids become truly important with wider lenses.

Cheers,
Nathan

Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu <http://www.frozenlight.eu/>
http:// <http://www.greatpix.eu/>www.greatpix.eu
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws <http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws>Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ <http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/>
Cycling: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator <http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator>
YNWA

> On 13 Feb 2016, at 03:26, Peter Klein <boulanger.croissant at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I guess I should now quote the maxim by which all of us computer geeks
> live:  "When all else fails, read the directions!"  :-)
> 
> (...but seriously, please let us know how you like the split image feature,
> Nathan.)
> --Peter
> 
> On Fri, Feb 12, 2016 at 10:22 AM, Nathan Wajsman <photo at frozenlight.eu>
> wrote:
> 
>> You did really well with these, but I am intrigued by the split image—I
>> had no idea Fuji had it. Maybe I should look in the manual after all.
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> Nathan
>> 
>> Nathan Wajsman
>> Alicante, Spain
>> http://www.frozenlight.eu <http://www.frozenlight.eu/>
>> http:// <http://www.greatpix.eu/>www.greatpix.eu
>> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws <
>> http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws>Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ <
>> http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/>
>> Cycling: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator <
>> http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator>
>> YNWA
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On 12 Feb 2016, at 07:53, Jayanand Govindaraj <jayanand at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Never tried it. I find Focus Peaking works quite well, even for my
>> weakish
>>> eyesight, as long as the subject is stationary. Here are some samples
>> which
>>> I took mainly at the behest of Alastair Firkin, with various lenses
>> mounted
>>> on the Fuji XT-1, all manually focused with the aid of focus peaking. All
>>> are just default processed in Lightroom, with no additional processing.
>> The
>>> models were my niece Shreeya, and my younger son, Aditya :
>>> 
>>> The first was an unscientific look at both the Summicron and the Fuji
>> 56mm
>>> as short portrait lenses, both at f2:
>>> 
>>> Shreeya - Leica Summicron:
>>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album333/Leica+Summicron+50.jpg.html
>>> 
>>> Shrreya - Fuji 56mm:
>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album333/Fuji+56.jpg.html
>>> 
>>> Then, two of  Aditya with the Tele-Elmarit 90mm wide open:
>>> 
>>> Natural Light:
>>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album333/1+Natural+Light.jpg.html
>>> 
>>> Artificial Light:
>>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album333/2+Fluoroscent+Light.jpg.html
>>> 
>>> Cheers
>>> Jayanand
>>> 
>>> On Fri, Feb 12, 2016 at 11:47 AM, Peter Klein <
>> boulanger.croissant at gmail.com
>>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Ah, another check mark on Fuji's chalkboard.  Didn't know they had a
>> split
>>>> image. How accurate is it? One advantage of a "real" RF is that the
>>>> physical baselength can be as long as can fit on the camera body,
>> whereas
>>>> the physical baselength of the digital split image is the diameter of
>> the
>>>> lens. Although some magnification could mitigate that...?
>>>> 
>>>> I will sometimes put a Leica lens on my Olympus E-M5, usually for
>>>> telephoto.  A 90mm Leica mount lens makes a rather compact 180mm
>>>> equivalent.  I usually just use the digital focus magnifier.  Easy.
>>>> 
>>>> --Peter
>>>> 
>>>> On Thu, Feb 11, 2016 at 9:52 PM, Jayanand Govindaraj <
>> jayanand at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Both a Digital Split Image overlay and Focus Peaking as manual focus
>> aids
>>>>> are available on my Fuji XT-1, which accepts M lenses quite
>> effortlessly
>>>>> with an adapter. In fact Fuji themselves make an adapter.
>>>>> Cheers
>>>>> Jayanand
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Fri, Feb 12, 2016 at 8:42 AM, Peter Klein <
>>>>> boulanger.croissant at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> In theory it should work just fine. You leave the lens on infinity,
>> and
>>>>> the
>>>>>> adapter does the rest.  The adapter must:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> -Interface to the camera's AF electronics such that the camera can
>> tell
>>>>> it
>>>>>> "forward, back, stop").
>>>>>> -Be thin enough to allow infinity focus.
>>>>>> -Contain motors and a mechanism that will rack the lens out
>>>> sufficiently
>>>>> to
>>>>>> focus the lens to a reasonable close distance. The mechanism must fit
>>>> in
>>>>>> the adapter. This is easier to do with SLR lens adapters. M lenses
>>>> have a
>>>>>> shorter back focus distance, and M to mirrorless adapters are quiet
>>>> short
>>>>>> compared to SLR adapters. Perhaps some of the mechanism could be below
>>>>> the
>>>>>> adapter, or concentric to it.)
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> The major problems with M lenses on other cameras would still be
>> corner
>>>>>> smearing and color shifts, unless the sensor's Bayer array was
>> designed
>>>>> for
>>>>>> M lenses. And would the autofocus be fast and accurate enough, and
>>>> would
>>>>>> using the adapter be convenient enough that you wouldn't get fed up
>>>> with
>>>>> it
>>>>>> quickly?
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Personally, I'd love to have an autofocus M that also did RF focusing.
>>>>> But
>>>>>> as Larry mentions, it would have to be worth someone's while to
>>>>>> manufacture. Most manufacturers have already passed on making their
>> own
>>>>>> rangefinder mechanism. Leica seems to be willing to make RF cameras
>>>> along
>>>>>> traditional M lines, but not to do anything radical with them.  But
>>>> what
>>>>>> about something entirely new by a third party--an AF camera that also
>>>> did
>>>>>> some sort of visual rangefinder simulation in an EVF, and was designed
>>>> to
>>>>>> take M lenses. Ideally, the version for M lenses would have a Bayer
>>>> array
>>>>>> with microlens offsets licensed from Leica.  The SLR lens version
>> would
>>>>>> have a more conventional sensor.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> All technically possible. The big question is whether there are enough
>>>>>> legacy(*) lens fans, and in particular M lens fans, to make such a
>>>> camera
>>>>>> commercially viable.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> --Peter, who actually dislikes the word "legacy."
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Thu, Feb 11, 2016 at 4:22 PM, Larry Zeitlin via LUG <
>>>>>> lug at leica-users.org>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> About 40 years ago, give or take a decade, a precision camera make,
>>>>>>> probably Zeiss. marketed a camera in which the focus was adjusted by
>>>>>> moving
>>>>>>> the film plane. This simplified lenses but had the downsides of
>>>>> increased
>>>>>>> expense for the camera body and the difficulty of providing enough
>>>>> motion
>>>>>>> for long focus lenses. The idea was abandoned after a few years but I
>>>>>>> believe that with modern electronics it could provide automatic focus
>>>>>> for M
>>>>>>> lenses. But, of course, there would be little incentive for Leica to
>>>>>> adopt
>>>>>>> such a system. Maybe a third party could sell a universal camera
>>>> which
>>>>>>> would autofocus with all makers lenses.
>>>>>>> Larry Z
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> + + +
>>>>>>> LUG:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Any idea whether this would actually work or not?
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>> http://www.thephoblographer.com/2016/02/11/the-techart-pro-lens-adapter-promises-autofocus-for-leica-m-mount-glass/#.VrywD_krJaQ
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Tina
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> Leica Users Group.
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>>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Leica Users Group.
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>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Leica Users Group.
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>>>>> 
>>>> 
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>>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
>> 
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> 
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