Scale Focusing / Any Tips ?

[raytoei@gmail.com]

Hi,

my XA patch is so faint that I have resorted to scale focusing.

I am currently 50% accurate (mostly outdoors at F8 - F22) and 50% inaccurate, indoors at F2.8 - F4. I tried with ISO 800 film. But my guesstimate is still off.

Any suggestions ?

raytoei

 

[Roger Hicks]

1 Has it a depth of field scale? If so, http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/ps how zone focus.html may be useful.

2 Army training: visualize any distance over about 6 feet in terms of 6-foot soldiers lying end to end.

3 Extend your arm. How far is it to the camera from your eye (a) square on (chest parallel with subject plane) and (b) twisting your body to reach a little further?

4 Shoot at 'known' distances (arm's length, 1.5 soldiers) instead of trying to guess each distance anew.

5 Take a piece of string* 2 yards long. Put a clothes-peg on one end (to clip to the subject). Tie a knot every foot. Use this as a gauge (a) when shooting, if possible, and (b) just to practice. *light, inextensible string, the sort you get in school physics questions.

6 Above all, PRACTICE.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Steve M.]

Buy an auxiliary rangefinder. If your camera doesn't have a distance scale, buy another camera.

 

[Mablo]

I'm using meter scale so YMMV. I think of the distance in terms of 'long steps'. I can step roughly a meter so three 'long steps' is about three meters in distance scale. I try to use f/8 or f/11 as much as I can and usually keep a distance to increase my odds.

The photo below is taken with my Rollei 35 in the middle of the night using f/3.5 and 1/2s shutter speed. I think it's kind of sharp enough (I wasn't...).

 

[cliffpov]

Just call the mis-focused shots "ART".

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

hey. thanks for all the suggestions.

raytoei

 

[wblynch]

Leave the focus on 8ft and go from there.

The focus movement on the XA is very short, from 2.8ft to infinity.

I had an XA with a broken rangefinder and left the focus on 8ft. Then for closeups, I guessed the distance between 2.8ft and 8ft and adjusted the focus. The same for longer distances, from 8ft to 20ft. Sure I missed a few times but was usually very close.

After every shot I put it back to 8ft.

My current XAs have working rangefinders and it takes me longer to focus now than my guesstimates, and I'm not much more accurate!

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Practice.
And like Roger Hicks said; military training. Learn to shoot from the hip and compose without even putting your camera up to your eye. This will definitely help you to learn scale focus.
When we were doing CQC drills with rifles, we had to keep our weapons at the low ready but then when confronted with a target, shoot from the hip without aiming. We'd have to figure close distance and aim a very small object at a not very large target (in arc seconds, it's quite a small area for not aiming) and hit an 18" circle in semi-auto, not burst.
Sorry, that's TMI but it helped me scale focus to the point now that within 3 meters I can accurately focus a 50mm lens at f/2 if I have a few seconds to calculate that distance.
It's just a skill that comes with time.
Or you could be like Bruce Gilden & just shoot at close focus right in people's faces. 😱

Phil Forrest

 

[Sjixxxy]

Know how long your stride is. For example, I know if I take seven comfortable steps, I am fifteen feet away from where I started. Three steps gets me to seven away.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

Hi,

Thanks for all the advise, I bought am inexpensive BLIK companion RF, and I got the seller to test it first.

I have another question on Scale focusing. This time, I got a XA4 which comes with the following scales:

1ft aprox 30cm
1.7ft aprox 50cm
2.3ft aprox 70cm
3.3ft aprox 1m
5ft aprox 1.5m
10ft aprox 3.3m
infinity

What if my subject is at 2m (about 6.7ft), do I use the 5ft scale or 10ft scale. There is no DOF aperture setting to use hyperfocal focusing.

Thanks

Felix

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

hmmm...i think the answer is found here:

So reading this,

Either the 5ft or 10ft will do. If in low light, then either move closer (5ft) use or further away (use 10ft) .

raytoei.

 

[BillBingham2]

.....
1ft aprox 30cm
1.7ft aprox 50cm
2.3ft aprox 70cm
3.3ft aprox 1m
5ft aprox 1.5m
10ft aprox 3.3m
infinity
.......

Try this.

Forget about learning the 1ft, 1.7ft and 2.3ft. Get a string with a 1/4 x 20 screw to mount it on the bottom of the camera, tie knots at the 1ft, 1.7ft and 2.3ft marks. Use that for close focusing, learning these is hard at best.

Infinity is easy, anything twice as far away from the camera than the 10ft mark.

So that leaves you with three distances 3.3, 5 and 10 feet. So get to it. First lets learn five feet. Get a tape measure and practice. Don't guess how far away something is, get to where you think it's 10 feet away and measure it. Don't worry about 10 or 3.3 right now, get perfect at 5 feet.

Now you have 5 feet, lets do an easier one, 10 feet. You know how far 5 feet away is, now double it for 10. Get the tape measure out and do it again and again. While your stuck in a store while others shop. Walking to work, at work on a break. Once you have 10ft down now do 5 and 10, alternating one then the other.

Last one is the hardest 3.3. Get the tape measure out, practice then swap between 3.3 and 5 and practice some more.

You are now ready.

I did the same thing with my old CV 25/4 Snapshot lens and love it.

Hope this helps.

B2 (;->

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

thanks B2. Most interesting. Looking at my recent shots, my difficulties lies in 1.5 - 3m. So this is something I need to practice more.

thanks for all the advice and suggestions.

One more observation:

While the XA4 is scale focused, and has a 28mm lens and support of ISO up to 1600, I am beginning to feel that the automatic exposure works against available light shooting as compared to the XA. In normal room light, where my XA would not have a problem at F2.8, the XA4 shoots at speeds unsuitable for hand-holding. I do, however, like the macro feature but at the closest range of 1feet, the aperture is around f5.6.

cheers!