Need your advice here

[ChrisN]

Need some guidance and advice here: On Thursday night I had a great evening at a local blues venue, where a friend's band was performing. I had fun exposing a roll of HP5 with available light, of which there was a good amount on the well-lit stage.

I used three lenses, a 35, 50 and a 90. All shot were taken at f2 or 2.8, and 1/125 or 1/60. I have not done much shooting wide-open before, so this was the first time I've needed to focus critically.

Unfortunately, all my shots seem to come out close-focused (ie a point in front of the spot I focused on is sharp).

In the attached shots (all taken with the 90) you'll see that the sharp focus point seems to be anything up to a foot in front of the face of the performer.

I've just set the camera on a tripod and carefully checked the focus at an indicated 4 feet and 6 feet, with several lenses. The three lenses appear to be in agreement about the distance, so I think they are ok (or at least consistent!).

At an indicated 4 feet the camera is 4 feet and 1 inch from the focus target; at 6 feet it's 6 feet and 1.5 inches.

Now I understand that a 90 is more difficult to focus, but the 50 and the 35 showed similar results, albeit less pronounced. Do you think I'm on the right track here - that the rangefinder is out ad needs to be adjusted for distance?

Apologies for the large file sizes - trying to show clear images. What other tests should I perform? Thanks.

 

[Frank Granovski]

I would have pushed the HP5+ 1 stop. I don't know if it needs adjustment but shooting in dimish lighting is difficult to focus, I find. I guess the band wouldn't have appreciated a flash on your camera.

 

[rover]

Shot at 1/125 or 1/60 in general you should have been able to freeze the subject's motion but I wouldn't underestimate that. I think the focus point on the hand in the second shot is excellent by the way.

What camera by the way?

If you have set up a test case, fit the 90 on a couple cameras and take some test shots. If all are not focused correctly, then it is the lens, if it works correctly on one or more of the bodies but off on one, then it is the body.

 

[daveozzz]

Easyway to check (well, easy if you have all the bits)... put the camera with your 90 on a tripod, using a locking cable release lock the shutter open in B mode. Open the back and put a strip of frosted scotch tape along the film plane over the gap (maybe you can't do this with a bottom loader?) and you can clearly view what's in focus with an 8X loupe. So focus it like an SLR then check with the rangefinder to see if the 2 agree.

And finally remember to take the tape off BEFORE releasing the shutter... potential horrible mess to be got into there...!

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Check the RF at infinity, i.e. about 300ft. If it is not dead-on converged at that distance, and will focus past it, try using it for infinity anyway. Check with a loupe if you can. I had one that declared infinity on planes at altitude, and it was off for anything closer.

Also check that the lens mount on the camera has not loosened up. I had this happen to a Canon 7 after servicing. They did not glue in the screws, as I prefer. After a lot of lens changes, they loosened up a bit. That will really mess things up with an RF!

 

[ChrisN]

Thanks for the feedback.

The camera is the M4, and two of the lenses are m-mount, so I don't have another camera to check them on. Hmmm - so I DO need another M-body!

Rover - I like that second shot too, it was taken through the gap between the edge of the stage and the speaker stack (note to self - remember to take ear-plugs next time!). I think the sharpest focus is actually between the hand and face, on the strap.

I'll try to find some frosted tape and also run the infinity test.

It was fun shooting the band - they are good subjects as they can't run away, they are happy to be photographed, and they really appreciate getting copies of a few photos. I learned that with the strong stage lighting, the meter actually gave me an overexposure - I should have exposed about a stop less to avoid blowing out the highlights on the faces.

 

[back alley]

a spot meter is great when shooting bands.
take a reading off the face.