Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/10/24

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Subject: [Leica] Focusing the M6
From: Jesse Hellman <hellman@home.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 20:46:35 -0400

What is the best way to solve the following: you are shooting close-up,
say at two feet, at F/2 or wider. The closer eye of your subject is
off-center. There is nothing dead-center on which to focus. So you focus
on the eye and then swing the camera back to frame. Now, obviously, the
plane that passes at a right angle through the eye intersects the lens
axis at a distance closer to the film plane than the distance from the
film plane to the eye. The farther the eye is towards the edge of the
film the greater this becomes. With a reflex you can avoid this problem
by focusing on the groundglass.

At wide f-stops the depth of field is very small at close distances.
What is the best way to handle this? A lens with a curved field might do
better in this regard than one with a flat field. So as the lenses get
better, this effect has become greater. My own solution is, if it is
possible, to try to set up something (like the subject's hand) where I
think the center would be. But with quick action and more candid shots
that simply is not possible. Or, you could focus a bit closer than
indicated, but that seems like guessing.

What do you do? I have never seen this issue discussed.

Jesse

Replies: Reply from Christer Almqvist <christer@almqvist.net> ([Leica] Flat vs curved field, was Focusing the M6)
Reply from ksherman <ksherman@cottenmusic.com> (Re: [Leica] Focusing the M6)
Reply from Rich Lahrson <tripspud@wenet.net> (Re: [Leica] Focusing the M6)
Reply from "Simon Lamb" <simon@sclamb.com> (Re: [Leica] Focusing the M6)
Reply from Tina Manley <images@InfoAve.Net> (Re: [Leica] Focusing the M6)