Applying RF photography technique to SLR shooting

[Calzone]

I've used hyperfocal focusing most of the time when shooting with wide-angle lenses on SLRs, and I've done most of my shooting with wide-angles. It's a technique to use, nothing that's unique to SLRs or to rangefinders. If you have trouble focusing, try an SLR with interchangeable focusing screens and find the screens that you like for different situations. Some are really neat, the ones with 12mm microprism circles in the center for instance. Try that with a F1.4 or F1.2 lens. Bright screen in a dark theater. 🙂

I have a Nikon F3 with a DA-2 Sportsfinder permanently mounted that sports a 24/2.0 AIS. Stopping down to F5.6 effectively makes this rig a very fast point and shoot.

Cal

 

[taskoni]

Scale focusing with RF is what I mostly do, but I still take every chance I have to take the camera up to my eye and double check the focus. With my R7 I use scale focusing with the 24mm lens only. Anyway, I am not a big "dead sharp focus" guy. In that sense the RF helped me to learn how to concentrate more on what I shoot than how I shoot it. The other interesting thing is I keep ignoring the build in meter in my R7 and keep reading the light on my palm as I got used to with the RF. I never used any other mode except the M-mode on my R7, not that I shouldn't, but it's simply never comes to my mind or when it comes it's too late (doh).
Regards,

 

[oftheherd]

I have one of those screens with only the microprism patch in my OM-1 and I far prefer it to the split image types. The combo of my 1.2 50mm, the microprism screen and the OM's amazing finder is hard to beat in SLR land ... though I still think a good rangefinder has the edge in poor light for pure focusing speed.

Strange, but I still find SLR focusing easier in poor light. I just learned to do it because I had no choice. I did a lot of shooting in such dim light I couldn't even see the distance scale. I would have to focus on the edges of people against what ever small amount of light there might be on a wall. It wasn't easy, but as I said, I learned because I had no choice.

 

[sanmich]

I much prefer focusing a good RF than an SLR.
the focus just pops.
About presetting the aperture, I have found that nothing beats the great idea of the Nikon F/ F2/ Leica M with Leicameter that allows you to point the meter at your subject and adjust metering without bringing the camera to your eye.

Talking about bringing the camera to my eye: paradoxically, when I identify a situation where I have no way around being very obvious by bringing the camera to my eye in front of someone in the street, I stick my camera on my face ages before I want to take the picture, and vaguely point at something in the direction I want. then when I have the frame, sometimes very close to the person, I shoot and keep the camera on my eye. Sometimes the very nice person keeps clear of the frame, not to "disturb" me. Sometimes, I even see people standing on the side not to ruin my frame. But if there is enough movement, people usually loose interest and I get my frame.

 

[Rico]

One thing I like about Leica M is the brightline viewing, be it inbuilt or external. Seeing outside the frame is great, and approximate framing is fine by me. I try to capture that feeling with an SLR (be it manual-focus film or AF digital) by preframing: frame, hold SLR steady, remove eye from the tunnel-vision VF, wait for the decisive moment. At a kid's birthday party, this can take a while, and I don't want to suffocate behind the pentaprism. Plus, I look a little more human to the subject!