Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/09/30

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Subject: Focusing SLR vs M
From: "BIRKEY, DUANE" <dbirkey@hcjb.org.ec>
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 8:31:46 -0500

Paul wrote:

>One great advantage that the Leica has (and one that I've never seen 
>mentioned in print anywhere) is that you always know which way to turn 

>the lens to focus, depending on whether the rangefinder image is 
offset 
>to the left or to the right. I realized this one day, and discovered 
that 
>I have aware of this and have been using it automatically for years. 
I'm 
>sure that most experienced M users also use this, although you also 
may 
>not do it consciously. With an SLR, you need to hunt back and forth to 

>determine if you are focused too close or too far. The comment on 
setting 
>your focus at infinity, IMHO, is pointless with a rangefinder camera 
but 
>useful for an SLR.

If you work with a SLR long enough you will learn to focus in the 
proper direction.  I have at least.  My major gripe with the M system 
is follow focusing.  It is very easy for me to do with an SLR and 
maintain composition, impossible to do with a M camera if the subject 
is off-center.  Which it usually is.

Duane Birkey
HCJB World Radio
Quito Ecuador