Fingers in the field of the VC 28mm

[david_werbeloff1]

Hi All: I've had my VC 28mm (f=3.5) for a couple of weeks now and

have been running a film through the Barnack IIIa to which it is

mounted.

I haven't finished the roll yet, but I catch the fingers of my left

hand looking as if they must be in the bottom of the field of view.

As I'm sure you all know, the hood that comes with the lens is tiny

and doesn't flare out to give one a warning where to place the fingers

when focussing. I'm trying to relearn my focussing grip. Does anyone

have any experience with this issue? Best, David

[ronald_moravec1]

The proper position for 35mm cameras is the left hand holding the focus ring with thumb and forefinger and the palm TOWARDS your face.

 

You pinky does not belong waving about in space.

[david_werbeloff1]

Ronald, I'm talking about the knuckle of my left forefinger as I grip the little knurled focussing knob on the VC. My pinky is well out of the way.

[terence_mahoney1]

Perhaps that's your trouble, since the VC 28mm f/3.5 <i>doesn't have a knurled focussing ring</i>. The ring is quite smooth and focussing can be accomplished reliably only via grasping the little silver teat betwixt one's thumb and finger, which effectively keeps the rest of the fingers out of the lens' sight. Unless of course you've more than 5 on that hand, or some spastic disorder.

[bernard_frank]

Terence, David says "the little knurled focusing KNOB", not "ring", which, I guess, exists on

the VC 28/3.5. So, that IS NOT his trouble..

[Rob F.]

David: 28mm is wide, but not all that wide. You are probably OK. You'll know when you see the pictures--in the meantime, keep that knucle flat!

[__jon__]

>terence mahoney , apr 15, 2006; 11:40 a.m.

 

>Perhaps that's your trouble, since the VC 28mm f/3.5 doesn't have a knurled focussing ring

 

Maybe if you are going to go to the trouble of quoting someone... you should actually bother

to read what they read, eh?

[terence_mahoney1]

It matters not. As the "knob" is quite smooth and <i>in no manner knurled</i> the conclusion must still be that he is sublimely confused. Or doesn't own the lens at all.

[ken_ford1]

"In no matter knurled", eh, Terence? You should stick to what you know.

[terry_rory]

This matter of the knurledness (or not) really should not matter but I was intrigued so I checked on Cameraquest and they have a number of pics of the 28mm f/3.5 just under half way down this page....

 

http://www.cameraquest.com/voigtlen.htm

 

..all with knurled knobs.

 

Now it is possible, I suppose, that there are examples out there with smooth focussing tabs/knobs or that Terence was thinking of a different model. But, after having stated with utter authority...

 

"It matters not. As the "knob" is quite smooth and in no manner knurled the conclusion must still be that he is sublimely confused. Or doesn't own the lens at all."

 

It would have been better for Terence to have allowed that there may have been variants or that he may have been mistaken before being so dogmatic and ESPECIALLY before implying that the poster may not even own one!

[35mmdelux]

Yes, I'm having the same issue w/ my new/not very used xpan. All thumbs. Fortunately the 45mm isn't pancake, or I'd be in real trouble.

 

good luck.

[terence_mahoney1]

Mine, purchased three months ago, is not knurled. Evidently the old ones were knurled. All beside the essential point, that being if one grasps that little knob with thumb and first finger as was intended, it would be virtually impossible to get one's knuckles in the way of the front glass, even if one had both the hands and IQ of an orangutan.

[ken_ford1]

Aren't you the *sweetest* thing?!?

[terence_mahoney1]

Perhaps not sweet, but nonetheless also not wrong. I'm un-apologetic for being abrupt because logistically/anatomically there's no way what he claims can take place without an awkward and necessarily purposeful contortion.

[david_werbeloff1]

Mr. Mahoney: A couple of things to straighten out here: I asked a question in good faith, and don't believe I deserve to be told that I'm spastic, deformed, and an orangutan for expressing a concern about projecting my finger into the lens field of view. I have been using Leica's for a very long time and am quite familiar with how to hold the camera and focus it. The concern which prompted me to post in the first place, is that I've never used a 28mm lens before and don't have a sense of its field of view. The knob on my lens is most definitely knurled, and the focussing ring is not. There is no other way to focus the VC 28mm other than to grip the little knob clearly meant for this purpose. I'm not sure what this forum is coming to. Almost daily people ask questions and post photographs only to get lambasted by people like you, for no good reason. If you're unable to adjust your medication dose so as to keep yourself civil, I could probably come up with the names of several reputable psychiatrists who could help you.

[terence_mahoney1]

Perhaps one of them might remember basic anatomy from his days in medical college and inform you of the impossibility of getting your fingers or knuckles into the field of view of that lens if you are indeed gripping the knob, knurled or not, with thumb and forefinger of your left hand, palm facing you, as that would by necessity place the remainder of your fingers well beneath the lens with no known way to bend them such that they could enter the field of view. If you'd like to post a shot of your hold, showing how you accomplish this feat of human contortion, then I will humbly withdraw my assertion.

[ken_ford1]

David, save your breath. He's not worth the trouble.

 

Check Terence's posting history, and you'll see he has a history of similar posts. I'm reminded of a line from a long-forgotten book, where a person's personality is described as being "like biting into a piece of tinfoil."

[__jon__]

>Ken Ford , apr 16, 2006; 03:51 p.m.

 

>"In no matter knurled", eh, Terence? You should stick to what you know.

 

So far that adds up to little or nothing. Except how to be an a......

[Rob F.]

Welcome to the Leica Forum, David! It's a great place to exchange information, even though it does attract people with narcissistic personality disorder. You and I excepted, of course.

 

Please let us know how the pictures turn out.

[terence_mahoney1]

<i>So far that adds up to little or nothing. Except how to be an a......</i></p>The pot calling the kettle black. BTW I'm still waiting for that picture of david holding his focussing knob in the prescribed manner whilst his fingers/knuckles obscure the fov. It'll never happen because it simply can't.