Bill Pierce
Well-known
I recently realized that my old rangefinder habits die hard even though I’m not using a Leica rangefinder. My favorite Leica is a Q2. Ninety percent of the time it is set to frame a 35mm field of view, the same focal length and angle of view that did ninety percent of the work on my rangefinder bodies. And like the rangefinder bodies with their bright line finders, I can see outside the fame lines, an important feature for me. Indeed, I recently went on a reading binge of web articles on rangefinders. Rangefinder focusing accuracy wasn’t an admired feature. The bright line finder and the ability to see outside of the frame was. With the Q2 I have the focusing accuracy that the digital mirrorless can offer and a viewfinder that lets me see outside of the frame lines. True, its “bright line finder” doesn’t give me the “everything sharp from foreground to background’ view that the optical finders do. But, while the jpg is cropped to the 35mm field, the raw file preserves the 28mm field of view and at 47 megapixels can provide a quality file even when cropped to the 50mm field of view. The ability to change the framing in the digital darkroom is a definite plus for those of us who are less than perfect.
Fuji provides us with cameras that have a true, non-ttl bright line finder. The X100 series provide a small camera with fixed 35mm equivalent that’s no problem to keep with you all the time, and the lightly larger X-Pro series provide lens interchangeablity. And with the flick of a switch both bring up a conventional EVF. a must for longer lenses and really close shots.
I bring all of this up because different photographers and different situations can benefit from different tools. And how you view the image is certainly important. Film cameras, the subminiature Minox, the 35mm rangefinders and SLRs, the 2 1/4 reflexes, the sheet film view cameras and a host of other gear, provided a variety of viewfinder options for a variety of photographic approaches. Today’s mainline gear - not so much. And that’s kind of sad. I don’t hear any complaints. I’m lucky. I still have viewfinders that let me see outside of the frame. I have a friend who copies rare books and art works, and her employer provides a large format digital camera valued at $120,000 that has a relatively large LCD. (I heard they just upgraded; haven’t got the price on that.) That’s a little high for folks who might have chosen a large format view camera in film days and probably a little more difficult to shoot landscapes with. But I wonder what those folks who would have ended up with other options than the 35-mm SLR in the days of all film are doing now? You could say shoot film, but that’s not always realistic these days. Any thoughts from those not lucky enough to be bright line frame shooters?
Fuji provides us with cameras that have a true, non-ttl bright line finder. The X100 series provide a small camera with fixed 35mm equivalent that’s no problem to keep with you all the time, and the lightly larger X-Pro series provide lens interchangeablity. And with the flick of a switch both bring up a conventional EVF. a must for longer lenses and really close shots.
I bring all of this up because different photographers and different situations can benefit from different tools. And how you view the image is certainly important. Film cameras, the subminiature Minox, the 35mm rangefinders and SLRs, the 2 1/4 reflexes, the sheet film view cameras and a host of other gear, provided a variety of viewfinder options for a variety of photographic approaches. Today’s mainline gear - not so much. And that’s kind of sad. I don’t hear any complaints. I’m lucky. I still have viewfinders that let me see outside of the frame. I have a friend who copies rare books and art works, and her employer provides a large format digital camera valued at $120,000 that has a relatively large LCD. (I heard they just upgraded; haven’t got the price on that.) That’s a little high for folks who might have chosen a large format view camera in film days and probably a little more difficult to shoot landscapes with. But I wonder what those folks who would have ended up with other options than the 35-mm SLR in the days of all film are doing now? You could say shoot film, but that’s not always realistic these days. Any thoughts from those not lucky enough to be bright line frame shooters?
charjohncarter
Veteran
I've always for the last 40 years been a MF and 35mm (60 years) user. And I still am, but I do have and had many digital cameras that I purchased just like I would a yo-yo or donuts. I have used them for volunteer projects but my heart wasn't really in it. But it is fun to put an old Super Takumar lens on one of them just to see how it performs.
Would I ever take a digital camera on a nice vacation; I wouldn't. I have in the past and the post editing and the inane ability to take way too many images was just nonsense to me. So for now film (MF and 35mm) unless my grand kids want me to use a digital for something.
But more power to techy types, I would probably be just like them if I hadn't grown up with film.
Would I ever take a digital camera on a nice vacation; I wouldn't. I have in the past and the post editing and the inane ability to take way too many images was just nonsense to me. So for now film (MF and 35mm) unless my grand kids want me to use a digital for something.
But more power to techy types, I would probably be just like them if I hadn't grown up with film.
Oscuro
He's French, I'm Italian.
Darling Bill,
My husband and I have issues with some of the assumptions made but we think so much of your work that we assume that it is our poor English that is at problem. We shoot digital SLR and digital rangefinders. I am Nikon DSLR and Fuji X100
all the time and my husband has gone back to Leica. You have remembered that we have shot Leica M in film before going to the devil in digital.
A note to charjohncarter: we shoot fewer frames in digital than we did in film. We checked. The constraint of a system may force workarounds but capability of a system doesn't make you use those capability all the time. We shoot jpeg and almost never post process, unless there is a real problem. At our age, there are only discards and selects. This is what happens when you shoot a lot of slide film, we think.
To Bill: We both shoot with both eyes open. It is how we first noticed each other. He was a DOP on a set where I made the stills. Also this way of shooting because I think we have had to use such a variety of pool equipment and always for current events. This means that even if you have the TTL finder you can see "outside" the frame.
Now for the punchline, as my husband says. We built a large format camera using scanner for the back. It was...unusual. I will try to find some photos that were made with it. Portraits. Some still life. It is the most rolling shutter you will ever experience but.... "no art exists without constraint" as an old maestro told me once.
We used the wire finder from another view camera. After a while we set up a arrangement that allowed us to detach the scanner from the back so we could frame with the ground glass. Slow... but for two photographers that were in their 40s and working with enough spare time it was amusing.
Cordialmente,
Mme. O.
My husband and I have issues with some of the assumptions made but we think so much of your work that we assume that it is our poor English that is at problem. We shoot digital SLR and digital rangefinders. I am Nikon DSLR and Fuji X100
all the time and my husband has gone back to Leica. You have remembered that we have shot Leica M in film before going to the devil in digital. A note to charjohncarter: we shoot fewer frames in digital than we did in film. We checked. The constraint of a system may force workarounds but capability of a system doesn't make you use those capability all the time. We shoot jpeg and almost never post process, unless there is a real problem. At our age, there are only discards and selects. This is what happens when you shoot a lot of slide film, we think.
To Bill: We both shoot with both eyes open. It is how we first noticed each other. He was a DOP on a set where I made the stills. Also this way of shooting because I think we have had to use such a variety of pool equipment and always for current events. This means that even if you have the TTL finder you can see "outside" the frame.
Now for the punchline, as my husband says. We built a large format camera using scanner for the back. It was...unusual. I will try to find some photos that were made with it. Portraits. Some still life. It is the most rolling shutter you will ever experience but.... "no art exists without constraint" as an old maestro told me once.
We used the wire finder from another view camera. After a while we set up a arrangement that allowed us to detach the scanner from the back so we could frame with the ground glass. Slow... but for two photographers that were in their 40s and working with enough spare time it was amusing.
Cordialmente,
Mme. O.
PaulW128
Well-known
What a great post by Bill and what an even greater post from Oscuro!!!!
Mme. O. your post is cordial, eloquently written and inciteful. I wish my English was as "poor" as yours!
warm regards,
Paul Williams
Mme. O. your post is cordial, eloquently written and inciteful. I wish my English was as "poor" as yours!
warm regards,
Paul Williams
Lss
Well-known
This is easily the best compact digital camera currently available. It may not be suitable for everyone, but competition does not get particularly close.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
I have the brightline OVF for my Hasselblad 907x, as I thought it would be a good companion for the 30mm and 45mm lenses (24mm and 36mm full-frame equivalents respectively), as well as helping to retain a bit of a connection to my longtime Leica M usage. I now think it was a waste of money, as for me the tilting rear screen seems to be a much better option for framing and shooting. One of the issues is focus - with AF, you probably need to have the AF point right in the center or slightly above, as there isn't any parallax compensation with this particular finder. Plus I'm now having a hard time seeing the bright lines through the viewfinder (not sure if it's just me or the design of the finder itself). Additionally, with the new AF lenses these days, there isn't a distance scale on the lens so that you can set a hyperfocal distance as you might on a Leica M lens, so for me there is a figurative and literal 'disconnect' between this particular brightline OVF and the rest of the camera. Composing and focusing strictly with the rear screen was initially a challenge, but it's interesting how one can easily adapt to things, especially for someone like me after having been a Leica M user for so many years.
Dogman
Veteran
Although I've used SLRs as my main cameras for nearly 50 years, I've always enjoyed using those camera that have brightline finders. The view through a nice clear window with lines around the image area was never exactly precise but that led to a freer, looser type of shooting for me. Precision is overrated anyway.
Today, I shoot with Nikon DSLRs and Fuji XPros. I'm no techie, I just take pictures. These tools fit me, they are reliable and joys to use. In that respect, I'm a lucky guy. YMMV.
Today, I shoot with Nikon DSLRs and Fuji XPros. I'm no techie, I just take pictures. These tools fit me, they are reliable and joys to use. In that respect, I'm a lucky guy. YMMV.
Hari
Well-known
My Sinar P 4x5 didn't come to life until
I added the Binocular Reflex Magnifier.
The dark cloth is for 8x10 for my Kodak
2D is double white/black 40 by 70 inches
held in place with two large clips to the top.
I added the Binocular Reflex Magnifier.
The dark cloth is for 8x10 for my Kodak
2D is double white/black 40 by 70 inches
held in place with two large clips to the top.
Bill Clark
Veteran
Henry Mancini composed a song titled, “Mr. Lucky.”
It has a nice jingle to it.
Oh, my goodness, this sure does date me!
Info:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Lucky_(TV_series)
It has a nice jingle to it.
Oh, my goodness, this sure does date me!
Info:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Lucky_(TV_series)
Most cameras have at least two viewing options built in (EVF & LCD or OVF & LCD) and some have three (EVF, OVF & LCD)... and then you can add a bright line finder to the hotshoe. It may be different than the past, but there are still options. Especially if you consider LCDs that are fully articulating.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
I have a vast mess of cameras, both film and digital. I like using all of them, each in their different ways with different viewfinder and focusing tools. Some work better than others for some things, others for other things.
Most of what I find excellent comes down to a camera that feels good in my hands and has a good normal lens, with a sensible set of controls that I can learn quickly and remember without having to relearn every time. Doesn't matter whether it's film or digital capture. I don't need every magic gizmo in the world, I need to be able to see my subject and set exposure properly, release the shutter at the right time. I need the camera to operate predictably/consistently so I don't waste exposures so much of the time.
Most of my cameras achieve this, some better than others. The image quality out of everything I have at present is good enough to satisfy my needs.
It's all on me to figure out what to make photographs of. That's the hard part.
G
Most of what I find excellent comes down to a camera that feels good in my hands and has a good normal lens, with a sensible set of controls that I can learn quickly and remember without having to relearn every time. Doesn't matter whether it's film or digital capture. I don't need every magic gizmo in the world, I need to be able to see my subject and set exposure properly, release the shutter at the right time. I need the camera to operate predictably/consistently so I don't waste exposures so much of the time.
Most of my cameras achieve this, some better than others. The image quality out of everything I have at present is good enough to satisfy my needs.
It's all on me to figure out what to make photographs of. That's the hard part.
G
charjohncarter
Veteran
It's all on me to figure out what to make photographs of. That's the hard part.
G
"That's the hard part." No kidding!
Out to Lunch
Ventor
To be honest, I have no idea what you are rambling on about. Am I Lucky? Yes, in more than one way. Cheers, OtL
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
I don't like external viewfinders. They make my nose stuck into camera.
The only manual focusing I'm confident with is RF. SLRs manual focusing is so-so with f1.4 lens. Anything slower is not good at all for me.
FED-2 was made in millions. I'm one of the users of it. It doesn't have framelines, nor I use external VF for it.
But framelines are really cool feature. I enjoyed goggled Summaron 35 3.5 with M4-2's 50mm framelines.
The only manual focusing I'm confident with is RF. SLRs manual focusing is so-so with f1.4 lens. Anything slower is not good at all for me.
FED-2 was made in millions. I'm one of the users of it. It doesn't have framelines, nor I use external VF for it.
But framelines are really cool feature. I enjoyed goggled Summaron 35 3.5 with M4-2's 50mm framelines.