Re: [Leica] Leica focusing...HELP!

[Henning Wulff <henningw@archiphoto.com>]

At 12:25 PM +0800 3/11/03, Red Dawn wrote:
>Hi Mike,
>
>u're going to get me in trouble answering that qn on the LUG....:p
>
>What I meant was by taking the burden of accurate focus off the
>photographer, one is more relaxed and free to think about the right
>composition. Just as Chris mentioned that he is more free to think about
>focusing the camera when the job of exposure is taken care of by the AE
>feature of his M7, with a camera with fast AF, focusing becomes more of a
>none issue and the photographer can think more about the shot in terms of
>arragement of elements in the frame, balancing content and asthetics,
>instead of worrying whether that rangefinder image is really perfectly lined
>up.......
>
>Of course this is a very personal issue. Some positively hate anything
>that's electronic or battery dependent :) I can wield an M with ease and
>work just as fast as my AF SLRs for focal lengths 50mm and below, and still
>compose things the way i want to. I'm not a fan of zone focusing, preferring
>to focus exactly whenever possible.
>
>There is a second part to my answer, though, and that is the use of fast
>telephoto lenses (75 f1.4, 90 f2 etc) or extremely fast lenses like the
>Noctilux. Ever wondered why most Noctilux shots have their subjects
>perfectly centred in the frame? Often with DOF so narrow with these lenses,
>focus then recompose is a big no-no, especially for moving subjects.
>
>Modern AF systems shine in this aspect, with the ability to selectively
>place AF points over desired spots (for me, almost always the eyes of any
>human subject). With that capability, you can choose an off center AF point,
>frame up the subject with the composition you want, and shoot with
>confidence that the focus is dead on where you want it to be. It's much
>faster too. And if i wish, i can configure the camera to behave exactly like
>my M - one button press to focus, the main shutter release for well, shutter
>release, which means the camera will not attempt to AF everytime i half
>press the shutter release - that way i can hold focus. the best thing is i
>can even do this with off center moving subjects - and i can still shoot
>wide open with confidence.
>
>I've always thought that lenses like the M 50 f1.0, 75 f1.4, 90 f2 etc are
>wasted on rangefinders, and are probably more suitable for use on SLRs,
>where it's much easier to wield them, even with manual SLRs. The whole
>premise of the M rangefinders, is to me, shooting fast and candid fleeting
>moments, often in horrible light. It's harder to achieve that with say, a
>Leica M and 75 f1.4 @f1.4, than a Canon 1v with a 85 f1.2 lens, and still
>get a satisfactory composition that does not have the main subject perfectly
>centred in the frame....
>
>the 75mm at f1.4 may have phenomenal bokeh, contrast and sharpness - but it
>only works if the picture is
>1) in focus
>2) has a pleasing composition
>
>agree? :)
>
>ok this is now OT and i shall stop my ramblings....
>
>Boon Hwee

I find that using an M with a lens like the 75 allows me to control 
the plane of focus better than any AF camera.

I used Nikons in the past and now use Canons, but placing the plane 
of focus even with 45 AF points usually involves doing a quick AF jab 
on one of the points, and then touching up the focus manually. This 
is no faster in practice than manually focusing vie the rangefinder 
in the M series, if not slower.

As soon as you rotate the camera, you change the focusing distance 
anyway, whether initially AF or rangefinder. You have to make your 
adjustments, and that needs experience, familiarity and judgement.

SLR's are not more accurate or any greater help in getting what you 
want, and often hinder in making sure you get the decisive moment, as 
you don't see the actual moment.

I'm a lot better with my 75 on my Leica M's than I ever was with my 
85/1.4 on the Nikons, even though the lenses themselves are not that 
different in character.

I should say that I started out (after guesstimate focussing with 6x9 
folders) with a 4x4 TLR, and since 1962 have use Leicas. SLR's came 
in the later 60's.

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    *            Henning J. Wulff
   /|\      Wulff Photography & Design
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