Voigtlander Vito B color skopar 50mm F3.5 ( guess focusing)

I've done a few shots with this great little camera ,

and i suppose i really need to practice on my guesstimation.

 

are there any tips on guessing distances w/o using a

rangefinder ? i've got a few old cameras that don't have a built in

rangefinder, (Agfa Isolette II, Rollei 35 SE,Minox GT, Minox

ML,EL,Vito B etc. and when i finish the roll , there's very few

frames i could really look at and smile.

 

any tips or tricks will be much appreciated . TIA , pc<div></div>

Good tips at hyperfocal distance and zone focussing at: http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/marine/569/rusrngfdrs/focusing.html

 

Also, develop "mental yardsticks." E.g. I'm 6' tall. If I fell over on my face, where would the top of my head be? My living room is 26' back to front - is that object as far away as the other side of the room? Stuff like that. I use a scale-focussed Retina I, but mostly for medium and far distances. Good luck.

Get to learn distances like 3, 6 feet and 10 feet and you can use scale focusing cameras as well a rangefinder. I also made a lot of use of the depth of field scale on the lens barrell. Outdoors is a snap for landscapes. Set your f-stop, say f8, and place infinity either on infinity or over the right-hand f8 setting (as you view from above and behind the camera) to maximize your depth of field.

 

Indoors I used to set 5 or 6 feet and f8 or f11 when using flash. Most anything indoors will fall within that depth of field, no need to be exact if you aren't shooting at f3.5.

I have a depth of focus scale in my Palm Pilot that works for several film formats. I use it to get familiar with the ranges when my camera doesn't have the scale on the lens. I also use the familiar objects rule that was mentioned above. I too have a <a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=307527">Vito B.</a>

Paul, looks like you did fine with the shot you showed. I make use of the depth of focus (dof) scales on my lenses that have them, but a lot of the old cameras, particularly those with front element focusing don't. Some, like my Dolly have an inscribed dof chart on the back of the camera. The little Retina I am working on now has a beutiful little rotating dof dial on the bottom of the camera. The easiest way to use such a scale, I think, is to line up the aperture you are using with the infinity mark and then check the other aperture mark to see what the closest distance is for sharp focus.<br>    If your camera has no dof information on the lens or the body, an option is to construct your own table using one of the many on-line dof calculators. A google search on "depth of field calculator" will turn up quite a bunch. You will find there is some variation among the calculators and they may not agree exactly with dof information inscribed on your lenses and camera bodies. The discrepancy is due in part to the way that sharpness is defined. In any case, any of them will give you a good starting point for getting a feel for depth of field or depth of focus.<br>    A general rule to bear in mind is that smaller is better in regard to aperture. If you can manage to shoot at f16, you have a pretty good chance of getting your subject in focus, even if you are a poor judge of distance. Fortunately, quite a few of the older cameras will let you stop down to f22 for even better performance. My old Brownie folder that I have been raving about lately lets me go all the way to f64, so on a bright day focus estimation is pretty much a non-issue.<br>    A useful exercise is to get a stick of some sort with a length equal to the minimum focal distance for your lens; for a 50mm that will be around 3 feet and for a 75mm about 5 feet. Walk around with it inside and outside to familiarize youself with the proper minimum distance in a variety of circumstances. Once you have that distance clearly implanted in your mind, you have a pretty good chance of sharp close-up images at 5.6 and above. Another possibility to hone you distance estimation skill is to walk around with a camera having a very accurate rangefinder; guess the distance, and then check with the rangefinder to see how you did. <br>    The Vito is a great little camera, and the Color Skopar is a terrific lens; certainly worthwhile to take some time with to get the best possible results.

p.s.<br><br>Here's some razor wire at three feet with the Vito II.<br><br><center><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/1719186-lg.jpg"></center>

Hi, Paul I'd endorse what Jonathan has said, ie imagining somebody 6 ft tall lying down and how far away their head would be. I got taught that same principle early on in my pic taking, before I acquired a camera with the luxury of a rangefinder, and it works well. However, don't just stop at one person - then move on to two people end on end for 12 ft, three for 18 ft, and so on. Have a tape measure ready, then get a friend to stand at various distances away from you while you make your "guesstimates", then check with the measure how close you got. You'll find before long that you're getting better at it - trust me! If you really still are quite hopeless, though - what about getting yourself an accessory rangefinder? They're small enough to slip into your pocket for a quick reference, or indeed leave fitted in the camera's accessory shoe. Regards from ---<Pete N>---

p.p.s.<br>After sleeping on the question I think your biggest gain in focusing accuracy would probably come from using faster film. That is not such an attractive option with color, but modern film makes you pay only a small penalty in grain for 400 speed bw; plus you'll get nicer contrast and tonality. More importantly, being able to stop down two full stops over 100 speed film greatly enhances your chances of getting the important parts of your composition in sharp focus. I use some kind of 400 speed film in both 35mm and 120 95% of the time.

Mike, your picture reveals how wire-sharp the Skopar lens is.

 

:-)

Paul, I'd recommend a separate rangefinder that slides into the accessory shoe. Voigtlander made one, but there are other brands as well. Just make sure it uses the same distance (meters or feet) as the camera.

WOW ! thanks guys , all the things you've posted are surely helpful.

 

Mike , that wire fence shot is Great ! as always , but makes me feel like giving up , and buying one of those cheap autofocus P&S .. hehehe ! seriously , i was great at guessing distances when i was younger ( i hate talking abt this s**t ) now that i'm 54 yrs old, things just suddenly change . (maybe i should change my diet ) ..pc

Mike Elek, yep , a Voigtlander rangefinder would be nice ( they're hard to find and expensive tho).

 

Mike , i've uploaded better shots i had with my Vito B in my Vito B folder here at my photo.net portfolio , for you to check out. ( few shots from the Dragon Boat Races in Stanley 2004.

 

Man ! talk about difficult shooting a Zone focus camera from a moving Yacht . Geez !

Paul, take a look at this one. It's being offered on eBay Australia. Very reasonable right now. This one is calibrated in meters.<p>

 

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3832576253" target="_new"><b>Rangefinder</b></a><p>

 

I either had one of these at one time, or I repaired one. Maybe I repaired it for a friend. This should be OK, but if you open it and clean it, don't touch the sem-gilded mirror.

Paul, I don't really see any cause for discouragement in that Vito folder. You've got good exposure and sharpness in every shot. The one of the bikes has excellent dof. I think you just need to shoot more.<br>    I actually use my little Vito II quite differently than all my other cameras. I have shot only Fuji Sensia 100 in it. I like the natural color and smooth tonalities, and it desaturates very well to produce very crisp bw. No, actually, I did shoot one roll of 200 speed Kodak slide film and it produced an image I liked in low light, but that was a special circumstance. Anyway, they are great little cameras. I'm looking forward to working more with mine when I have a scanner that will do it justice.

Paul:

Since depth of field extends two-thirds out in back of the focus point and only one-third in front, it might be better to guess on the near side when not sure. I practice on subjects at various distances, using my SLR to tell me how close I guessed. Later when I get my Retinette out alone I'm usually pretty close.

Paul, I had a chance to go through your photos. I reaLLY enjoyed them. Thet brought back quite a few mostly good memories. I'm hoping to get back there next year for a visit.

thanks Mike C. for the encouraging comments .and to everyone that shared their thoughts and experience .

 

yes , i know i need to shoot more , altho time doesn't always permit me to do so . ( So Many Cameras , Too Little Time ) i think that phrase applies to most of us here .

 

Mike E. glad you actually enjoyed some of the shots of Hk. please let me know when you get back to Hk ok ? it'll be my pleasure to meet you and maybe chat a bit over coffee/beer ? or maybe i could get you to listen to music with the groups that i usually gig with around here . ( that's if you like listening to old standard jazz music ).

 

thank you all , cheers ! pc

I always imagine people lying flat on the ground. Each one is six feet. If you use a fast film you will be able to use smaller apertures and thus get larger depth of field.