R
ruben
Guest
Ooooops ! Today I did it !
But as some of you know me, I am not going to make a short story about it.
First I am not the first one, as so far as my memory goes our friend VinceC, mentioned it several times concerning the use of the small wheel. I assume as well that other members do it and have not mentioned, or have and I do not remember.
Secondly, take note that from all manual focusing rfs I own, none allows this action, nor the lightest and compacts. Only those with the small focusing wheel will allow it. Nevertheless I expect some corrections here from other posters.
Thirdly (you see, its going long) I happened to have a byke accident less than a decade ago, resulting in two surgeries of my right hand, one in the joint between my hand and my arm, the other between the joint of the two parts of the arm. Therefore, raising a Kiev to my eye with a single hand is exactly the meeting of my weakest hand/arm ergonomics.
This is not to cry about my misfortunes, but to insinuate that the task is more than possible. Due to my accident, when others spoke about shooting with one hand, and after small unsuccessfull tryials, I thought this is not for me.
Now, just in case there is any lonely Kiev owner up there in the hills wanting to know how to do it, I will try to explain it.
My starting point is that you are standing, holding the camera down, as if you were walking and not shooting, but holding the Kiev by the rules of the "Contax grip". Of course no need to say you will not try it without a wrist. And btw, I assume that by wristing a strap it may be more of an obstacle. A wrist is needed.
Then before I explain my opinion about the trick, in a shooting situation you have to be pre-setted both with aperture and time, AND your focus should be rationally close to the real one - otherwise you will start turning the small wheel for so long time that shooting single handed will attract the attention of your subject and therefore loose any advantage.
About how to pre-focus a Kiev in two standard positions, comfortable to slight adjustment, I have wrote in a different thread. Here I will just mention that VinceC uses to guess the distance, then prefocus, and then adjust with the small wheel. This method may be of your taste.
Now about the trick. It is all about gripping the camera with the Contax grip, BUT giving it a very slight change. Your thumb at the back of the camera will moove a bit inwards. or in other words, more of your thumb will press the back to the camera against your other fingers in the front side of the camera.
Of course that the middle finger, the longest one, remains totally free to move the small focusing wheel.
Concerning the thumb, in my case, even half inch of my hand following the thumb is used to press the back together with the thumb.
That's not all. It seems to be a point of balance you have to find in order that it all may work. In fact I discovered this point of balance before finding the thumb's stuff.
To end this, let me clarify, that these findings concern a Kiev with half case mounted. I assume that according to the size of your hand and fingers, you may prefer it either with case or without.
Now, who the hell needs to shoot a Kiev with a single hand ? You are right. I guess some dozen folks around the globe using Kievs for street shooting.
Cheers & shtrudel,
Ruben
But as some of you know me, I am not going to make a short story about it.
First I am not the first one, as so far as my memory goes our friend VinceC, mentioned it several times concerning the use of the small wheel. I assume as well that other members do it and have not mentioned, or have and I do not remember.
Secondly, take note that from all manual focusing rfs I own, none allows this action, nor the lightest and compacts. Only those with the small focusing wheel will allow it. Nevertheless I expect some corrections here from other posters.
Thirdly (you see, its going long) I happened to have a byke accident less than a decade ago, resulting in two surgeries of my right hand, one in the joint between my hand and my arm, the other between the joint of the two parts of the arm. Therefore, raising a Kiev to my eye with a single hand is exactly the meeting of my weakest hand/arm ergonomics.
This is not to cry about my misfortunes, but to insinuate that the task is more than possible. Due to my accident, when others spoke about shooting with one hand, and after small unsuccessfull tryials, I thought this is not for me.
Now, just in case there is any lonely Kiev owner up there in the hills wanting to know how to do it, I will try to explain it.
My starting point is that you are standing, holding the camera down, as if you were walking and not shooting, but holding the Kiev by the rules of the "Contax grip". Of course no need to say you will not try it without a wrist. And btw, I assume that by wristing a strap it may be more of an obstacle. A wrist is needed.
Then before I explain my opinion about the trick, in a shooting situation you have to be pre-setted both with aperture and time, AND your focus should be rationally close to the real one - otherwise you will start turning the small wheel for so long time that shooting single handed will attract the attention of your subject and therefore loose any advantage.
About how to pre-focus a Kiev in two standard positions, comfortable to slight adjustment, I have wrote in a different thread. Here I will just mention that VinceC uses to guess the distance, then prefocus, and then adjust with the small wheel. This method may be of your taste.
Now about the trick. It is all about gripping the camera with the Contax grip, BUT giving it a very slight change. Your thumb at the back of the camera will moove a bit inwards. or in other words, more of your thumb will press the back to the camera against your other fingers in the front side of the camera.
Of course that the middle finger, the longest one, remains totally free to move the small focusing wheel.
Concerning the thumb, in my case, even half inch of my hand following the thumb is used to press the back together with the thumb.
That's not all. It seems to be a point of balance you have to find in order that it all may work. In fact I discovered this point of balance before finding the thumb's stuff.
To end this, let me clarify, that these findings concern a Kiev with half case mounted. I assume that according to the size of your hand and fingers, you may prefer it either with case or without.
Now, who the hell needs to shoot a Kiev with a single hand ? You are right. I guess some dozen folks around the globe using Kievs for street shooting.
Cheers & shtrudel,
Ruben
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