Leica focusing-practical suggestions in response to a crazy idea.

[msitaraman]

Some people here have talked about prefocusing tabbed Leica short lenses and focusing by feel, something I practice often, but with only limited mastery.

 

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I was looking at an old Schneider movie camera lens, and notice how smooth yet precise the click stops on that tiny lens were.

 

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In concept, one could provide click stops on any (tabbed Leica) lens, at say the 10, 3, 1.5 and 1 meter distances, each click stop very soft, and preferably with a different feel (or different sound/pitch to the click), so that you could tell by feel or sound alone, where the lens had been focused, approximately.

 

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The idea is similar having frets on the fretboard of a guitar, (as opposed to a violin, which has no frets and so is harder to learn to play.)

 

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Assuming I am crazy enough to experiment with an old/used lens, is there any modification you can think of (sticker dots maybe?) that will let me determine exactly where the lens is focused, by tactile sensation/feel alone?

[andrew_schank]

My Voigtlander 25mm lens has that system .(except the clicks all feel

the same) It will click in place at 1 meter,1.5 meter,and 3 meters.

Being a 25mm , at f8 everything is in focus from 5 feet to infinity

when focused at 3 meters, so they didn't put a click any further up

on that lens. It would be interesting to see how they actually did

this.

[Tony Rowlett]

I think this is good thinking! But I think also that with the

shorter, tabbed lenses you may only need two, possibly three

positions. I think "straight down" on the 35/2 or 50/2 make a good

position. Good question... can't wait for the others to contribute.

[robert_appleby]

A friend of mine who met Josef Koudelka some years back told me he

used a variant of this technique - except instead of clickstops he

had the lenses locked at a certain hyperfocal position with metal

shims (small wedges jammed into the barrel) so he never had to focus.

He apparently carried four bodies (Leica M) with lenses set to

different focus points. That way he just picked up the body he wanted

and shot.

 

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Maybe someone who knows Koudelka can confirm? Seems he's only using a

Linhof panoramic camera these days.

 

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Sounds like a technique that'd work better with Tri-X than Velvia,

unfortunately. Life is definitely harder for the colour slide

photographer! I can't see it being practical for anything longer than

24 mm.

 

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For myself, I'm an obsessive refocuser. And I don't regret it - my

results are always in focus.

 

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Rob.

[keith_nichols3]

Who not us the rangefinder or ground glass to focus the camera on the subject? My Leicas have nicely made rangefinders for that purpose, which I use all the time. I suppose if my eyesight was bad enough, I might seek some help, but even my myopic and astigmatic eyeballs can focus a rangefinder okay. I can't imagine lugging around four cameras just to get sharp focus at four distances. It all sounds too much like doing it standing in a hammock.

[robert_appleby]

Well, I assume he had a variety of lenses on those cameras, not just

one focal length focussed at four different positions! However, I

tend to agree. Of course if you're photographing a crowd scene from

inside the crowd this might be a good system. And it may have been a

temporary expedient, I don't know. I suppose you could have little

wedges machined and tap them in when you needed them.

 

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Certainly the clickstop idea is not a bad one, and it really pays off

when you get to something like the Voigtlander 12/5.6.

[jay_.]

The simplest and least-invasive way would be to put small dots of

model paint at the hyperfocal points for the various apertures. But

neither this nor click-stops would work for closer distances where

you need DOF between two distances other than infinity. The DOF

scales and the rangefinder, when used together, provide the most

complete focusing system.

[roberto_watson_garc_a]

Very interesting topic; and I´m sure every Leica M user can speak of

an unique technike, after time of using this cameras, focusing is the

part of the prosses of photographing that takes longer to master,

specialy if you use diferent lenses.

For a wile my main and almost only lens was a 35/2.8 on an M3, by

moving the focusing tab I was very close to the point of focus I was

looking for, without looking at the camera, (a technick very well

described by Al Smith in a previous question in this site),but when I

wanted to move to newer lenses like summilux or summicron, I had to

learn it again, and when using a 28 and a 50 in combo I decided to

try other ways.

The clicks, like in f stops for focusing is s great idea, but a great

deal to make too.

In my last vacations I came to an idea I haven´t try; it consist in

using some masking tape or other sticking material to put in the base

of lenses and in combination with the focusing tab or other sticker

in the focusing barrel match them at diferent distances; all depends

on how many diferent lenses you´re using.

 

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I was deligted in reading Robert Appleby´s contribution on Koudelkas

technick; he uses one lens; you can see in his pictures; i´m not sure

if it is faster to pick out a camera from where ever you carry them

or just move the focusing tab; any way to me no other photographer

has make me feel as Koudelka has, but that´s another history.

 

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Great topic Mani.

[msitaraman]

Keith, Jay:

 

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What I was getting at was really assisting the ability to focus

(approximately by feel), in the second or so that we spend in lifting

the camera to the eye, by which time the focus would need to be

adjusted only slightly as you would already be in the ballpark. And

if the moment did not allow for that final adjustment you would be

zone focused already.

[Rob F.]

Yes, Mani, and it also would help to reduce the length of time the

camera needs to be at eye level, thus minimizing the risk of tipping

off the subject who is about to be photographed. In fact, with a

wide angle lens, the camera might not need to be brought to the eye

at all; maybe just aimed approximately. Practice would make, if not

perfect, at least good enough. I like the click-stop idea better

than just marking with paint. I'm thinking that one of the old

lenses, maybe a collapsible Summicron or Elmar, might be easier to do

this with. Maybe something like a spring and ball bearing detent

anchored to the mounting flange?

 

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Nice Idea--

[robert_appleby]

I agree that Mani's idea about the clickstops is neat and could be

useful. But isn't this unobtrusiveness thing a bit of an obsession

among Leica-ists? I personally believe that if I were to paint my

cameras pink and yellow stripes it wouldn't make any difference to

the quality of my pictures.

 

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I believe the best pictures come about when there's a contract

between the photographer and his subject that allows both to get on

with what they're doing, rather than when the subject is unaware of

being snapped. Very few of my pictures are of people who are unaware

of being photographed, indeed in the conditions in which I normally

photograph this would be close to impossible. But after you've shot

half a roll of film most people just get on with their lives and let

you get on with taking pictures.

 

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But maybe that's another thread...

 

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Rob.

[paul_nelson3]

Why not just get an auto-focus, auto everything? I enjoy

composition, and running some calc's in my mind. It helps me, a not

so talented s'bug, get some interesting work sometimes. And if I want

to work candidly, I put on a tele-photo lens. PN

[Rob F.]

Of course, another approach would be to substitute icons for the

focusing scale numbers. Four should do it. How about: 1. a

mountain range; 2. a bunch of people; 3. one person; 4. a flower.