How many of you pre-focus, then shoot?

[PetarDima]

I like the way you allready wote about, RFF friends: f-stop 11 on 35 mm lens
+ focus on infinity = from about 3 meres to infinity everything is sharp.
One professor of photography told me that HCB used to shoot in this way 😉
But, I think that( yes I have learned that from other street photographers - than I've realised by myself that it's true ) very important thing is how to
be a part of the street - in that case you are invisible 🙂 - Joel Meyerowitz is amazing! He is laughing, he dancing & taking hip shots at the same time! I saw some short videos, but I am wondering which lens is on his black Leica -35mm perhaps?

 

[nikon_sam]

I'll shoot that way if I'm driving...preset focus at 20', f5.6@1/1000 during the day with 400 asa...took about 5 or 6 shot just like that this afternoon...

 

[wontonny]

I think HCB said it but I always go by:

"Aim well, shoot fast, and scram"

haha yes and prefocusing works so much better than focusing while the camera is up to my eye becuase then you're there for longer and you have the potential of spoiling the moment

 

[sepiareverb]

Rarely. I will focus once and then continue to shoot variants, but I rarely trust my guess of distance. Recent rolls through the Rollei 35SE confirm this pathetic lack of ability.

 

[Bingley]

I often pre-focus when out doing street photography. I alternate between zone focusing and hyperfocal focusing. I use the latter particularly when I can shoot from f.8 to f.16 at a 1/250 or 1/500 using a 35 or a 28. In cloudier/darker lighting situations, or in more crowded situations, I zone focus, w/ the nearer distance set at about 5-6 ft (which is about my "in your face" limit for snaps of people I don't know). Still learning these techniques, but am pleased w/ the results so far....

 

[raid]

I rarely pre-focus but I often check the distance scale to see if the shown distance is reasonable or not. I also use hyperfocal focusing and guess focusing when the light is dim and I cannot clearly see the focus point.


Raid

 

[John Bragg]

I think the DOF scale on the lens barrel is one of the most under used tools at any photographers disposal. Once you grasp the concept of hyperfocal distance and zone focussing all sorts of otherwise lost opportunities can be captured in an instant. More reliable than auto focus too !!! (No chance of the camera accidentally locking onto the wrong element of a scene).

 

[dll927]

John, you are probably right about that, but then again, we have focusing "aids" of various types around nowadays that weren't around back when you had to focus strictly on a ground glass.

I can't say that I often pre-set focus and then shoot, but I do make a somewhat regular practice of zooming that way. Especially with the 24-105mm lens on my Maxxum 7D DSLR I tend to do that. In other words, if I want closer up or a little ways farther away, I look at the zooming scale and reset it sort of by "eye". That would probably less likely, however, with the 100-300 lens on the same camera, since depth of focus is less in that case.

It also makes sense that with street photography, one would be more likely to pre-focus and then shoot. But street photographers commonly use 35mm or so lenses for their work, and those will take the less "exact" procedure. So all in all, just how we do things may depend on the situation at hand.

 

[Rico]

I think the DOF scale on the lens barrel is one of the most under used tools at any photographers disposal. Once you grasp the concept of hyperfocal distance and zone focussing all sorts of otherwise lost opportunities can be captured in an instant. More reliable than auto focus too !!! (No chance of the camera accidentally locking onto the wrong element of a scene).

Totally agree! I avoid lenses with poor markings since I like to focus by scale, even when using an SLR. The modern trend of short throw has decimated the design of DOF scales, often reduced to a mere smudge. Some designs, like the modern Elmarit-M and Summicron-M 28s, look like the work of a drunkard. In Solms defense, the new Elmarit-M 28 ASPH looks fine.

 

[pvdhaar]

I think the DOF scale on the lens barrel is one of the most under used tools at any photographers disposal. Once you grasp the concept of hyperfocal distance and zone focussing all sorts of otherwise lost opportunities can be captured in an instant. More reliable than auto focus too !!! (No chance of the camera accidentally locking onto the wrong element of a scene).

But you do have to factor in the vintage of your lens. The perception of sharpness is linked to the amount the print is enlarged. Fifty years ago, common print size for 35mm was 6x9cm, i.e. ca. 2.5x3.5 inch. In other words, as small as a contact print from a medium format negative. Lenses from that era have DOF markings that match that. But look at 21st century Leica or Konica lens, and you'll see the DOF is marked very conservatively to even have A3 sized prints appear sharp..

A 50 year old FED-50 says that with f16, hyperfocal is when focused at 4meters, while the Hexanon says it's more like 6meters..

 

[John Bragg]

But you do have to factor in the vintage of your lens. The perception of sharpness is linked to the amount the print is enlarged. Fifty years ago, common print size for 35mm was 6x9cm, i.e. ca. 2.5x3.5 inch. In other words, as small as a contact print from a medium format negative. Lenses from that era have DOF markings that match that. But look at 21st century Leica or Konica lens, and you'll see the DOF is marked very conservatively to even have A3 sized prints appear sharp..

A 50 year old FED-50 says that with f16, hyperfocal is when focused at 4meters, while the Hexanon says it's more like 6meters..

Very true. My Leica lenses are 100% reliable when used in this way. However, even a fairly modern Bronica lens in my collection is not, and in my opinion the DOF scale on it is way over optomistic. I even had it collimated in a camera repair shop and the technician said the focusing was spot on, therefore the scale must be inaccurate. However all my OM Zuicko, Nikkor and Leica lenses are dependable when hyperfocussed...