"meters or feet?" survey

Hi all,<P>While deciding on the design of a new goody I want to make a

little survey concerning your use of the focussing scales on the lens

barrel:<P>Do you...<BR>

1) ...absolutely need both (meters AND feet)?<BR>

2) ...need meters (but could renounce to feet)?<BR>

3) ...need feet (but could renounce to meters)?<BR>

4) ...get along with either (or never use any) of the two?<P>

 

To make a start, I'm of type 2). You may mail your answer <A HREF=

"mailto:lutzkonermann@compuserve.com">offline.</A><P>

Thanks!

For me, it's 2) first, then 4) [get along with either] second...

 

Sure am interested with what you're working on!

# 4

Hmm, 4, I guess.

I prefer #1.

If there's only one scale -- either feet or meters -- then you have to hunt for the

"f" or "m" to figure where you are. With BOTH then it's immediately apparent

as to feet and meters.

Make sense?

Probably not.

John, sure makes sense to me... like let's say some day there were lenses offered in feet only, in meters only, or in both. I'd buy the both.

...but I don't absolutely NEED both...

Right.

I think.

Lutz. .....No.4

I have no trouble "thinking metric" or doing mental conversions for people who can't. Most Americans are lost when it comes to metric measurements, and Europeans can't understand why we haven't adopted the system yet. A quarter century after President Jimmy Carter tried to fast track the U.S. into conforming with the rest of the planet we're still trying to teach the munchkins "A pints a pound the world around". At least for the U.S. you need a scale in feet.

I personally use feet but I think if you

had to choose either a feet or meter lens

the market would be too fragmented to the

detriment of both buyers and sellers.

I prefer having both feet and meters on the lens. Very often, the point of focus will fall between two English (feet) markings, but very close to a meters figure; or else the other way around. So having both gives me more calibration points. It's not hard to think in meters, they are just a yard + three inches.

 

So I think I'm closest to #1.

I prefer having both scales. With guess-focus cameras I need the feet scale because I can guesstimate quite accurately in feet after years of practice (I use mm in my professional work, but I can only guestimate up to about 1cm, after that it's back to inches). But in case I would ever sell the lens to a non-American I'd hope it had the metric scale as well. Also there's a formula for figuring hyperfocal distance based on aperture using a multiplier factor and it uses meters due to them both being base-10 systems.

#4 - my primary lenses have neither, and the other lenses have both. I like it that way.

Thanks all for your answers so far. Adding the few offline votes at the moment there is a slight majority for 3) (feet preferred), followed by 4) (i don't care which), 2) (meters, please) and 1) (need both).<P>Please keep them coming, before I raise the curtain. But do not take resale issues into account, just your very own preferences when focusing the lens.

Meters !!

I'll go for (4), but in an excess of elitism, suggest you use meters. I don't make buying decisions based on specs or scales being reported in Murrcan vs. Metric, and having only one scale with bigger numbers would be nice.

What Rob F. described above also counts for me: having both provides more reference points, in particular at close distances, also due to the fact that it is non-linear. If there would be only one choice, I would prefer meters.

 

Actually, I wonder whether there might be legal problems when only providing feet, as the official S.I. units contain meter, not feet, so that might be a problem when applying for a patent -- but I'm no expert in those things, this just crossed my mind, remembering some physics lectures some years ago.

Metre

I use metres for this purpose and this purpose only - otherwise, like most British, I use an odd combination of millimetres, inches, feet, miles, pounds, stones, pint, litres and gallons. Legally everything except miles and pints has to be in metric, but they've gone back to teaching both systems in schools.

John Fulton is correct. I agree with him.

Happy Snaps,

Meters. I can think in either, but prefer metric.

Both (1). Being American, I'm used to feet, but I can fake it with metric. Most of my older lenses are metric-only, and one of the advantages of a rangefinder camera is hyperfocal focusing. As long as I pay attention to the units of measurement, no problem. Hey, the old-style aperture scale takes much more thought than meters vs feet.

#1 ie both

#2.