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So what's the master plan?
B2 (;->
B2 (;->
Manual Focus and Aging Eyes
- Thread starter dave lackey
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farlymac
PF McFarland
charjohncarter
Veteran
This is a big problem for me. I placed a new focus screen on my Rolleiflex. A few years ago I bought two AF SLR bodies to help with this problem. I now am using my Pentax P3n(s) more because they have a split image finder. I'm going back to my Pentax Spotmatic because, even though I haven't used it much in the last few years, I find it brighter and Fresnel easier to use than other finders. Obviously rangefinders if they are bright are the easiest, so my Bessa R and Olympus 35RC really help with my failing eyes.
Mamyia Super 23 (RF) is still easy, and my Pentax 6x7 has a good Fresnel finder.
Mamyia Super 23 (RF) is still easy, and my Pentax 6x7 has a good Fresnel finder.
dugrant153
Established
Chinatown in the rain... and it still worked
Chinatown in the rain... and it still worked
I had the fun experience of getting drenched while on assignment in the rain with a Fuji XT10 and a Leica M6. The Fuji XT10 EVF was solid throughout and it was fine to focus.
However, the Leica M6 started to get really wet and the viewfinder windows were starting to look blurry due to all the raindrops dripping in front of them. It was to the point where I couldn't even see but I did my best to line up two blurry images and still took the shot.
I missed 0 of the shots. 🙂
Chinatown in the rain... and it still worked
I had the fun experience of getting drenched while on assignment in the rain with a Fuji XT10 and a Leica M6. The Fuji XT10 EVF was solid throughout and it was fine to focus.
However, the Leica M6 started to get really wet and the viewfinder windows were starting to look blurry due to all the raindrops dripping in front of them. It was to the point where I couldn't even see but I did my best to line up two blurry images and still took the shot.
I missed 0 of the shots. 🙂
Godfrey
somewhat colored
.
.
I've had this problem all my life ... I've never had the world's best eyes, always needed glasses and started wearing them in 4th grade. Yet, with diligent practice and paying attention, I've never had any problem manually focusing with either an SLR, an RF, or the new "mirrorless" (TTL-EV) cameras. I prefer focusing manually in most cases still, although I'll be the first to say that a good AF system is an amazing convenience when it works.
But that's what it is for me most of the time: a convenience. I've had only two cameras that AF proved essential with ... a Sony R1 and an Olympus 8080WZ. The manual focus capability of both those cameras was awful, for different reasons, and spot-AF-on-demand was the only way I could achieve critical focus consistently.
I'm 62 now. My eyesight isn't what it was 10, 20, or 50 years ago, regardless of how good or bad it was then. But I can still focus with confidence.
My current daily use cameras—Leica M and SL—are both easy to focus. The SL's excellent AF with the SL24-90 lens is convenient, fast, and accurate, but I still prefer manual with it most of the time. My less frequently used Hasselblad 500CM is more work to focus, and of course the SWC with ground glass back is similar to that, but I manage well with them too.
So ... Don't think just because your eyesight is getting a little less than it once was that the world is ending and you must use an AF camera. It just takes some attention, some practice, to develop the necessary skills again and keep them up. Don't be lazy ... work at it! 🙂
G
.
I've had this problem all my life ... I've never had the world's best eyes, always needed glasses and started wearing them in 4th grade. Yet, with diligent practice and paying attention, I've never had any problem manually focusing with either an SLR, an RF, or the new "mirrorless" (TTL-EV) cameras. I prefer focusing manually in most cases still, although I'll be the first to say that a good AF system is an amazing convenience when it works.
But that's what it is for me most of the time: a convenience. I've had only two cameras that AF proved essential with ... a Sony R1 and an Olympus 8080WZ. The manual focus capability of both those cameras was awful, for different reasons, and spot-AF-on-demand was the only way I could achieve critical focus consistently.
I'm 62 now. My eyesight isn't what it was 10, 20, or 50 years ago, regardless of how good or bad it was then. But I can still focus with confidence.
My current daily use cameras—Leica M and SL—are both easy to focus. The SL's excellent AF with the SL24-90 lens is convenient, fast, and accurate, but I still prefer manual with it most of the time. My less frequently used Hasselblad 500CM is more work to focus, and of course the SWC with ground glass back is similar to that, but I manage well with them too.
So ... Don't think just because your eyesight is getting a little less than it once was that the world is ending and you must use an AF camera. It just takes some attention, some practice, to develop the necessary skills again and keep them up. Don't be lazy ... work at it! 🙂
G
dave lackey
Veteran
Working on it!🙂
It's ... complicated and involves a few other key people so it is best not to say much at the moment. But it is a grand plan.
dmr
Registered Abuser
I did kind of a non-scientific comparison this afternoon, the K1000 with the prime lens and the Mamiya SD rangefinder, both with and without glasses.
Using indoor targets, I can most definitely focus more accurately using the rangefinder than the SLR without glasses.
With glasses it's much closer, but I can zero in on the focus point faster and more easily with the RF.
I'm finally gonna have to admit that I need glasses to focus! 🙁
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