Newbie R3A User

[vsolanoy]

Hi all, I just got an R3A with the 40mm/1.4 Nokton lens. I'm running through my first test roll and am eager to see how things turn out. I've heard of the virtues of rangefinder photography and really like the size and weight of the camera.

I'm new to the world of rangefinders -- are there any tips you guys can provide?

 

[aizan]

learning to prefocus by scale or zone is probably the biggest rangefinder tip. oh, and presetting exposure, adjusting as needed. at least when you're shooting action.

 

[peter_n]

Welcome to the forum Victor! 🙂 A great tip I learned from a sage on another forum is to carry the cam with the lens set at infinity. Then you only have to turn the barrel in one direction to bring the subject in focus. Once the subject snaps into focus squeeze the shutter - none of the back-and-forth focusing associated with an SLR.

 

[vsolanoy]

Thanks for the excellent tips! One of the things I really liked about the rangefinder concept is that the art of hyper-focal length indicators haven't been lost. Setting the camera to infinity makes sense -- there were a couple times when I pulled the camera out and had to play the focus hunting game. I'm amazed how quickly I can focus! I'm glad I made the leap into RF photography. I just had a test roll (Kodak Ultra Color 400) developed and I am absolutely floored by the quality. I was a bit nervous about the autoexposure of the R3A, but most of the shots (outside of user error) were right on! I've posted a couple photos to my gallery.