How do you focus a Kontax held in vertical position

R

ruben

Guest
I have been asking myself this question for several months, without finding a clear answer. Therefore when I wanted to have a vertical shot I had no better way than focusing horizontal and then changing to vertical.

But this morning I happened to find something. Taking advantage of the great space between both windows, my left hand holds the camera from the lower end when the camera is in vertical position (parallel to the winding knob) while with my right hand is fisted between the two windows, and I only open and use my thumb and index finger to rotate the lens, in front of the camera.

You can even use your left hand to grip the whole of the right side of the Kontax in vertical position, letting your longest finger to touch the release knob, for immediate firing.

Some spiling of my index finger sometimes intrudes a bit of the upper window, yet it doesn't interfere with the yellow patch. It is just a bit.

Nevertheless if you have other ways, kindly post.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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i never had problems with vertical focusing. maybe you could try to hold right side of camera down so the camera lies in your right hand, and your left hand will be free for focussing.
 
nzeeman said:
i never had problems with vertical focusing. maybe you could try to hold right side of camera down so the camera lies in your right hand, and your left hand will be free for focussing.
Click to expand...

Perhaps it is just me, but by this way my left index seriously interferes with the viewing window. Although with a lot of care and training I may be able to overcome it.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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Hi alcaraban,
Could you detail a bit your question and also refer which method are you talking about ?

Cheers,
Ruben
 
Well, for vertical shooting I always hold the camera with the right hand from the higher end (keeping a finger to press the shutter), so I can use my remaining hand to focus. Now, I can place the left hand in two ways: the most natural for me is with the thumb under the lens and the palm outwards of me, but this way throws lots of fingers towards the viewfinder, rangefinder etc. The solution is to hold the lens with the palm towards my face and the thumb under the lens barrel.

I hope it is more understandable now, it is harder to explain it than to show it.
 
i just focus in horizontal position and then turn the camera to the vertical position and shoot...
never focussed a leica or contax or any other rangefinder in vertical position...
 
yea I have the same thought flow and came to the easiest method of focus horizontal and turn vertical .. I use a M8 so I'll happily shoot a horizontal and vertical for the same sceene and decide afterwards which one to keep.
 
For me the easiest method has always been to focus with the camera in the horizontal mode and the move to vertical for the shot.

Bob
 
I really have no consistent method of focusing verticals. It's just whatever works at the time. It's a little more comfortable for me to switch the camera to vertical by tipping it to the left and raising the shutter release side. I do have to remember to keep my fingers from blocking the rangefinder window, however. I use auxilary finders on my Kievs and I can focus and then move my eye to the finder easier from this position.
 
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If you have the 50mm lens on, just hold it like you normally do and then rotate it so the shutter release is at the top. Your fingers are then nowhere near the windows, your right middle finger focuses with the focusing wheel and your right index finger releases the shutter. It's actually a little more comfortable than holding it horizontally. They thought this out pretty well at ZI.....
 
Hi Rick,
If I understand you right, you simply are rotating camera and hands from horizontal to vertical, counter cloclwise, as a whole. Right?

Cheers,
Ruben
 
Hi Folks,

After reading the many ideas on this thread, I would like to retreat a bit from my former one at the opening post, as well as gladly accept the possiblity that the best way may result into the focusing horizontally and then turning the camera. This approach doesn't solve every shooting situation, nor it has been,within its limitations, properly explained, in the sense that there are some issues still open.

What we are trying to solve is the most difficult shooting situations, in which we don't have all the time at our disposal, and must act as fast as possible. For example when an old man is walking from 40 meters towards us and we want to catch it at close range.

In addition to the limitation of time there is also the limitation of conspicuity. Here the weakest point of the "focusing horizontal" approach. But I repeat, that at the end of the day we may find ourselves with no better solution. Changing the camera from horizontal to vertical while we are in front of our living subject will amount in some situations, into an abrupt change making our subjects aware they are being targeted.

On the other hand, this thread and my practice of what has been proposed, has made me aware, much more aware, of the issues involved in our quest for a vertical style of focusing. Hereby the problems we must solve in the vertical focusing

a) The camera must be steady

b) Our gripping of the camera must remain steady too when we push the shutter release.

c) Both windows should remain clear

d) The vertical gripping must enable us to approach the infinity lock, as by mistake we may lock it during focusing, and then be able to release it.

Our friends focusing horizontal and then changing the camera into vertical, still owe to detail how they perform points a), b) and d). As nothing here is obvious.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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I like to wear western style hat and with that the only option is having the shutter release (right) side down.
 
Mahe said:
I like to wear western style hat and with that the only option is having the shutter release (right) side down.
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Hi Mahe,

I will take advantage of your post to comfirm that the way you are pointing to, with the shutter release down, has been the common denominator to all posters here, excluding Rick Oleson (who is a mighty tech force by himself :D )

Cheers,
Ruben
 
Lucky they didn't have Contaxes in the Old West : ) =

I'm afraid my nose does not permit a right-end-down camera position.
 
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I never touch the lens on a Contax while shooting, unless it has a telephoto on it.

Here are the recommended ways to hold the Contax, scanned from The Contax Way by H. Freytag, but originally taken from the Contax instruction manual. The hold is the same, whether it is a II/III/Kiev model or a IIa/IIIa:

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/contax-grip.gif

This is different from the way you would hold a Leica or an SLR, but the camera is designed to be held this way. You will notice that there are always 2 hands available to hold the camera, and there are never any fingers in the way of the windows. The right-end-down grip is by far the most awkward, you have to change your grip to focus..... I don't think they wore Western hats much in prewar Germany.

:)=
 
rick oleson said:
....

Here are the recommended ways to hold the Contax, scanned from The Contax Way by H. Freytag, but originally taken from the Contax instruction manual. The hold is the same, whether it is a II/III/Kiev model or a IIa/IIIa:

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/contax-grip.gif
Click to expand...


Hi Rick,

The drawings are very nice, but how do you focus ??? :D

Cheers,
Ruben
 
With the focusing wheel, with the middle finger of your right hand! How do YOU focus a Contax?
 
i just focus horizontally and turn the camera. No different than focusing and then re-composing, I suppose.
 
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