Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/05/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]- --- Doug Herr <telyt560@cswebmail.com> wrote: > On Sun, 14 May 2000, Simon Lamb wrote: > > > so that I can understand how non AF people operate > is fast > action, what are > > your (and the groups) opinion on this. > > > > You are tracking a lioness stalking a hers of > wildebeest and you know that you > > are going to see a high speed hunt in action. > Suddenly the lioness accelerates > > and gives chase, dodging this way and that as a > single young wildebeest tries to > > evade capture. The action is happening realtime > and sometimes the animals are > > passing behind trees. > > > > Do you use your super SLR with predictive AF, > focus lock-on so that you don't > > refocus when the action goes behind obstacles, > colour metering so you can forget > > about exposures as they will be spot on and high > shutter speeds because you has > > 400 film in the camera and don't have time to > change rolls. You get 36 frames of > > action captured in about 4 seconds, five seconds > to change to new film, and off > > again. > > > > OR > > > > M6 or R8 rangefinder/manual focus camera with none > of the above. > > > > Now, don't shoot me down in flames. As I have > said, my new M6 is great and I > > love it but it is not the tool for the job IMHO > for the scenario above. My F5 > > is. So, as so many have said before, the picture > counts and I know what will > > give me the best chance of getting it. > > > > I would be interested in finding out how others > with M6 or R8 would approach this > > situation. I know that many have said they were > sports action photogs before AF > > existed, so I would be interested to learn of any > techniques that could work in > > this type of scenario. > > > > Simon > > Simon, > > My assumption in the scenario you've presented is > that the photographer is using one of N****'s long, > fast AF lenses on a solid tripod, possibly with a > Wimberly tripod head. Supposedly an ideal equipment > setup. > > First, I'd ditch the tripod. Wildife action doesn't > happen in predictable locations, as it might on a > racetrack or a playing field. It may be in front of > me, to either side, above or behind me. My 400mm > and 560mm lenses are hand-held lenses, using a > shoulder stock. I've tripped over tripods too > often, and lost too many shots moving the tripod, to > consider using one aside from static situations. > > Second, I'll ditch a lens that's too heavy to use > hand-held. Leica's f/6.8 Telyts will do quite > nicely: a simple two-element acromat at the end of a > long aluminum tube make a very light-weight lens. > > Third, a traditional concentric-ring focus control > is out. Use a sliding-focus lens like the Novoflex > or Leica f/6.8 Telyts. With a little practice > they're intuitive. > > Fourth, use a viewfinder to die for. Best choice is > a Leicaflex SL or SL2, the next best is the Leica > R8. Fortunately both the Leicaflex and the R8 are > big enough that I can keep a solid grip on the > camera as I'm following the wildlife going through > their activities. > > Fifth, keep the camera simple enough that I can't > inadvertantly set the wrong AF or metering mode. > > I'm using the f/6.8 Telyts and Leicaflex SL camera > bodies for my wildlife photos. The focus is quick > and positive no matter what the background is, no > matter where the critter is in the viewfinder, even > when the animal ducks behind a bush. I've only used > an R8 for a day, and with familiarity (and the right > diopter setting!) it would be as easy to use as the > SL. I can track fast action with ease, swinging the > hand-held lens around far more easily than walking > around a tripod, and don't have to hunt for stable > footing for the tripod. If I can stand, sit or lie > down, I've got a stable lens. The lens can be used > at shutter speeds as slow as 1/60 sec (400mm) with > excellent results. The SL's selective meter, a dumb > CdS meter cell, has consistently given me excellent > results on chrome film. > > I've been in groups of photographers where the > advantages of the fast-handling manual equipment > made the difference between getting the picture and > missing it because due to tripod fumbling or > incorrect meter/AF/motor mode settings. > The F5 is a piece of ***** __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/