stupid question about 15/4.5 on the R-D1

morgan

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So I have a cv 15mm that I used successfully on my R2A and bessa-R. Scale focus and shoot. It always had just about unlimited dof and sharpness. On the R-D1, does it work the same way? I had sent mine off for repair because I thought it was broken (due to the results I was getting on my R-D1). It came back (apparently fixed). But I'm seeing the same thing; really out of focus shots, especially wide open at 4.5. I can post some samples. But is there a huge difference on using this lens on the R-D1 compared to a film camera (other than it now being a 21)? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but this is driving me nuts.
 
it's closer to a 23mm...

my 15 works the same on the rd1 and the zi.
i use it the same way too, just set hyperfocal distance and then point and shoot.
i did get an rd15 finder for it and my framing is better now.

joe
 
So I have a cv 15mm that I used successfully on my R2A and bessa-R. Scale focus and shoot. It always had just about unlimited dof and sharpness. On the R-D1, does it work the same way? I had sent mine off for repair because I thought it was broken (due to the results I was getting on my R-D1). It came back (apparently fixed). But I'm seeing the same thing; really out of focus shots, especially wide open at 4.5. I can post some samples. But is there a huge difference on using this lens on the R-D1 compared to a film camera (other than it now being a 21)? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but this is driving me nuts.
trouble with the RF maybe ?

EDIT : no, the 15 mm is not rf coupled 😀 , did you tried to focus wide open at the infinity ?
 
Just did some tests. Ugh, pretty sure this is user error :-(
It focuses fine at infinity. Closer though, not so much. Definitely sharper stopped down a bit. It's just about dark here but will spend more time tomorrow. I'm an idiot.
 
Ha. I'm up to a double espresso. The image is out of focus when shot at the closes distance. It doesn't get reasonably focused (even closer objects) until about 2.5 mark.
 
Remember that your hyperfocal distance is different when going from 35mm film to the R-D1s.

Using the 15mm @ f8:

Using your R2A, hyperfocal distance is about 1 meter, so everything from .5 meter to infinity will be in focus.

Using your R-d1s, hyperfocal distance is roughly 1.5 meter, so everything from .75 meter to infinity is in focus.

So, if you mount your 15mm on your R-d1s and set focus at 1 meter like you would with your R2A, you are NOT at the hyperfocal distance. Instead, you will only have a limited range in focus -- from a little less than half a meter to about 2.3 meters.
 
Remember that your hyperfocal distance is different when going from 35mm film to the R-D1s.

Using the 15mm @ f8:

Using your R2A, hyperfocal distance is about 1 meter, so everything from .5 meter to infinity will be in focus.

Using your R-d1s, hyperfocal distance is roughly 1.5 meter, so everything from .75 meter to infinity is in focus.

So, if you mount your 15mm on your R-d1s and set focus at 1 meter like you would with your R2A, you are NOT at the hyperfocal distance. Instead, you will only have a limited range in focus -- from a little less than half a meter to about 2.3 meters.

Thanks! That's pretty much what I've figured out, but it's good to see it spelled out like that.
 
You will see some smearing with the rd1 and also pronounce vignetting. Other than that I have had good success with the cv15 (original version). I
stoked for the new version that is threaded for filters 🙂
 
Remember that your hyperfocal distance is different when going from 35mm film to the R-D1s.

Using the 15mm @ f8:

Using your R2A, hyperfocal distance is about 1 meter, so everything from .5 meter to infinity will be in focus.

Using your R-d1s, hyperfocal distance is roughly 1.5 meter, so everything from .75 meter to infinity is in focus.

So, if you mount your 15mm on your R-d1s and set focus at 1 meter like you would with your R2A, you are NOT at the hyperfocal distance. Instead, you will only have a limited range in focus -- from a little less than half a meter to about 2.3 meters.

i don't understand this...as this is what i do, if i set the aperture at f8 i then move the infinity mark on the lens to 8 and the corresponding f8 shows .5 metres and it works like a charm for me.
joe
 
i don't understand this...as this is what i do, if i set the aperture at f8 i then move the infinity mark on the lens to 8 and the corresponding f8 shows .5 metres and it works like a charm for me.
joe

Same for me, not only @f/8, but on all f stops. hyperfocal space is always accurate and reliable. I have tested this issue extensively, and I use it almost on daily base.😕
 
So how should this lens work on the R-D1? If I set a very close focus distance @ 4.5, should the entire frame be out of focus? That's what's happening. I didn't see this on the R2A.
 
So how should this lens work on the R-D1? If I set a very close focus distance @ 4.5, should the entire frame be out of focus? That's what's happening. I didn't see this on the R2A.

If you set it to vey close focus point at f/4.5 then you are NOT in the hyperfocal space, I don't know how close is your focusing point, and I don't have the camera with me right now, so I can't tell you for sure what will be the focus zone, but I am astimating that at f/4.5 and focus at 0.5 meters, the focus zone will be something from 0.4m to 1m.
I do know that when I shoot while at f/4.5, I set the focus to infinity, and everything is in focus from ~1.5m to infinity. this is great for street photography.
 
i don't understand this...as this is what i do, if i set the aperture at f8 i then move the infinity mark on the lens to 8 and the corresponding f8 shows .5 metres and it works like a charm for me.
joe

Hi Joe - if I understand you correctly, you are aligning the infinity mark over '8' on the DOF scale. By doing this, what value on the distance scale is aligning with the f-stop hash mark? I assume it a value of something like 7-10 feet?

Since 7-10 is greater than the hyperfocal distance of a 15mm on an R-D1s @ f8, everything from about 1/3 in front (roughly a little over 4 feet if the scale aligns with 7) to infinity will be in focus.

It's less critical on such a wide angle (and more difficult to illustrate) because of the massive DOF for that lens. If you mount a 50mm lens, it's pretty straightforward to see the effects of using the distance scales and hyperfocal diatance.
 
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