Smoking Strike! Praise for the 135mm on R-D1

[jim_buchanan]

Once that R-D1 gets its rangefinder focus right, anything is possible. Even focus at 30 ft and snap the dust flying from the mitt. This is full frame, no processing, only 30% resize. Critically, its too tight. A 90mm would have shown the batter swinging, more of the catcher and there wouldn't have been a big a open space center frame.

 

[pfogle]

...on the button 😀

 

[Joe Mondello]

Critically . . . it's "the critical moment" and that is just the most important thing isn't it!

I like the shot. Sure it breaks some rules, but so what.

 

[ferider]

Amazing ! I first was wondering what that stuff on the glove was ...

Phantastic timing for using an un-motorized camera !!!

Thanks for sharing,

Roland.

 

[ray_g]

Once that R-D1 gets its rangefinder focus right, anything is possible.

Very nice catch (pardon the pun 😉 ). In your experience, how reliably can the R-D1 focus your 135mm?

 

[Terao]

Ah, the long dark winter without baseball is almost over 🙂
Nice shot. I used mine with the 75mm at a rally super special on Thursday, extremely tricky but I got a couple of reasonable shots. Given that earlier this week the R-D1 did some wildlife photography it goes to show it can be versatile...

 

[Flinor]

Nice shot. Did you use an aux vf or just center the frame? And if it was a VF, which one gives about 200mm fov?

 

[erikhaugsby]

Great shot, but that is some weird bokeh coming from the chainlink fence...

 

[jim_buchanan]

Contact!

Contact!

Thanks for the comments.

I don't have an external viewfinder for the 135mm or 90mm. Its all a guess based on the 50mm frame lines. Heres another 135mm shot (actually backfocused, do you think?) at the right moment, but because of the the frame line issue, I chopped of the batter's feet.

Steve at Steves Camera, LA, says the Leica lenses are all infinity set at the factory. Once I mastered the close focus adjustment on the R-D1, I have found my 3 long lenses, the 50, 90, 135 all fall into close focus accuracy. Technique is important. I start the act of focusing from the infinity side, focus past the focal plane, and approach best focus from the short side. No back and forth, as you get the backlash effect with the R-D1.

There is certainly the focus error on the 135 and very fast lenses, as we have discussed, but its doable. These type of shots are prefocused. I think I got f/5.6 on this one and at least 1/1000 shutter to freeze the ball. A slower shutter would give more bat movement, but the baseball then gets more fuzzy and hard to see.