sounds silly but to ALL BESSA users how you manually focus and shoot using R ??

[haagen_dazs]

See i have always been using AF on the SLR (almost always)
abd besides, the AF is always open wide and the camera has auto metering..

I wanted to learn a good technique that people generally use to manually focus using the Bessa (i have the R with no lens at th moment. eek)

I have poor eyesight and wide open makes the view finder brighter for me.

Does it make sense to
1)manually focus at widest on subject
2)stop down to approriate f stop
3)adjust the speed to ensure the ttl metering reads right..
4)take photo

to me, these 4 steps seem to slow down fast discreet RF shooting that people boast about.

please teach me how to do this right ?

btw. my lens is on the way yipppeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[former member]

Set the exposure first, then focus and take the photo.

Unless you are using a Viso-Flex type device, stopping down the lens makes no difference while using the RF to focus. You will never want a Viso-flex device unless you become a collector, or an RF-Centric recluse.

 

[haagen_dazs]

Set the exposure first, then focus and take the photo.

Unless you are using a Viso-Flex type device, stopping down the lens makes no difference while using the RF to focus. You will never want a Viso-flex device unless you become a collector, or an RF-Centric recluse.

but when i set the exposure by looking at the ttl meter and set the speed at wide (with alot of light coming in)
and i focus on my subject
and i stop down to f8 or f11,
less light comes into the lens....
wont that throw the meter off? i have to reset the speed AGAIN
and finally take the photo......

am i missing something here?

 

[a.black]

but when i set the exposure by looking at the ttl meter and set the speed at wide (with alot of light coming in)
and i focus on my subject
and i stop down to f8 or f11,
less light comes into the lens....
wont that throw the meter off?

no it makes the meter do what it's supposed to do. If you want a certain speed you have to adjust the f-stop, to get a right exposure.

 

[tedwhite]

Mark: Forget the SLR drill. What you do with a Bessa R, for example, is focus on the subject, let's say it's a couple on the street having a conversation. Move the focusing ring (or lever attached to it) until the two images come together. Your lens is now focused. Slightly depress the shutter release as you continue to look through the viewfinder: You will see an LED readout with + & - arrows telling you which way to move the aperture ring. When they both go out, take the picture. If one of them won't go out, then you've got to adjust your shutter speed one way or the other. Sounds difficult, but within a week it'll be second nature.

The rangefinder is a separate system from the lens. It doesn''t matter to it whether the lens is wide open or completely stopped down. It's coupled to the lens solely for focusing.

You decide the aperture and shutter speed. The meter tells you when everything's OK. The meter is TTL (through the lens).

Hope this helps.

 

[jcline]

The big thing here is that the viewfinder/rangefinder has nothing to do with the fstop the lens is set at. Its as simple as focus (as ted said, matching the double images in the center patch), set an fstop/depth of field, use the meter to pick a shutter speed (pressing down 1/2 way to turn on the meter), compose and fire.

Its definitely a different game. I felt your reverse pain here the other day. Someone lent me a rebel g while I was in san diego a couple weeks ago, with out a camera... bad move, and all of a sudden I couldn't figure out which way was up. Autofocus is weird 😛

 

[wlewisiii]

Another good technique to use with RF's is to use your hyperfocal distances. With a 50mm lens set your aperture to f16, shutter appropriate to the light and then line the infinity mark up with the 16 on the DOF scale on your lens. You now have a point and shoot camera where everything from from about 8 feet to infinity is in focus. 😀

If you want to know the gory details, google it for a number of pages that can explain the optics better than I can.

This usually works best for 50mm and wider lenses as the wider the lens, the greater the DOF there is to play with. OTOH, I have done it with 85 & 90mm lenses; you just have to be careful of that minimum focus distance.

Hope this helps.

William

 

[haagen_dazs]

TIts as simple as focus (as ted said, matching the double images in the center patch), set an fstop/depth of field, use the meter to pick a shutter speed (pressing down 1/2 way to turn on the meter), compose and fire.

I completely agree with you in the steps taken.
I think this is the method that seems to be running in my mind.

but itsnt it quite slow..
i have to use my left finger and thumb to focus
then i have to turn the aperture with left finger
THEN have to use my index finger to half press shutter
and THEN have to lift my index finger OFF and onto the shutter dial with thumb to turn it

and THEN AGAIN put my index finger on shutter to fire.

how is that suppose to be make this statement come true

"RF's are for grab shots, fast moving stuff, street shooting, the fleeting visual moment."

 

[Kyle]

I completely agree with you in the steps taken.
I think this is the method that seems to be running in my mind.

but itsnt it quite slow..
i have to use my left finger and thumb to focus
then i have to turn the aperture with left finger
THEN have to use my index finger to half press shutter
and THEN have to lift my index finger OFF and onto the shutter dial with thumb to turn it

and THEN AGAIN put my index finger on shutter to fire.

how is that suppose to be make this statement come true

"RF's are for grab shots, fast moving stuff, street shooting, the fleeting visual moment."

You're thinking about it way too much. Once you get the hang of it you will realize this. Its not as complicated as you're making it seem.

Find a good shutter speed appropriate for the light. Then just stick with that. Unless the lighting conditions are changing drastically, you should be able to get the correct exposure by only adjusting the aperature.

At that point its a matter of finding your subject, using the meter to give you the exposure, adjust aperature, focus, shoot. I might not have explained the whole process very eloquently, but once you get the hang of it its really no problem.

 

[rool]

After a little bit of use you will learn to take an average reading with your meter and compensate as you go for bright light and shadows.
If you use print film for street photography, do not worry too much about exposure. Print film have exposure latitude and remember also that it is good if you overexpose it a little bit.

For me, what works best for me is to use an handeld meter with my R, I don't even have batteries in the camera. My method for street it to take readings with the meter in front of me, the dome pointing at me: a reading with the sun on my back, another with the sun in front of me, and readings in open and blocked shadows. With that I am fast and exposure is good enough.
Experience is the key and you'll learn by practising, it is gonna be second nature really fast, don't worry.

 

[haagen_dazs]

ha perhaps...

i do notwant to find a good shutter speed and set it fix

and i do NOT want to change the aperture to control my exposure. (stuborn? perhaps)

i want to change only the speed.
oh wellz.

coz i like to control and set my f stop fixed
but i think this was due to my slr ways...

 

[jcline]

There are lots of tricks to taking fast shots. Using the lenses hyperfocal distance is definitely one, getting your meter in the ballpark ahead of time is definitely a good idea. B/W is much more forgiving with exposures. Speed will come with practice. The R, like any manual camera, takes a little more effort, but what you get in return is more control, and you'll find yourself putting more though into your process. There of course is always options like the r2a/r3a.

I've been shooting the R a couple months now and I love it, I feel much more involved in the overall process. A whole new level of satisfaction. Before this my primary camera was a Minolta X-700 and a Holga (talk about a lack of exposure control). I really appreciate being forced to more carefully think about metering.

 

[Kyle]

ha perhaps...

i do notwant to find a good shutter speed and set it fix

and i do NOT want to change the aperture to control my exposure. (stuborn? perhaps)

i want to change only the speed.
oh wellz.

coz i like to control and set my f stop fixed
but i think this was due to my slr ways...

Sounds like you should look into a camera with aperature priority. Look into an R2a/R3a or even a Zeiss Ikon if you got the coin.

 

[Doug]

i do notwant to find a good shutter speed and set it fix
and i do NOT want to change the aperture to control my exposure. (stuborn? perhaps)
i want to change only the speed.

That's ok, and is called "aperture priority" method. Set the aperture you want, then change the shutter speed to get correct exposure. Not necessary to have lens wide open, makes no difference for focusing. Also not necessary to set exposure differently for another picture if the light has not changed. Focus and shoot. There is also a method of shooting with an approximate focus setting, but that's another story. Then, with an approximate exposure setting and approximate focus setting already on the camera, all that's left is to see, frame, shoot. Very fast.

 

[haagen_dazs]

Sounds like you should look into a camera with aperature priority. Look into an R2a/R3a or even a Zeiss Ikon if you got the coin.

haha perhaps but no coins..
still thanks for your advise nonetheless.
will learn and work with the R

 

[rool]

ha perhaps...

i do notwant to find a good shutter speed and set it fix

and i do NOT want to change the aperture to control my exposure. (stuborn? perhaps)

i want to change only the speed.
oh wellz.

coz i like to control and set my f stop fixed
but i think this was due to my slr ways...

So set the aperture according to the lighting conditions so that you are in the surrounding of a decent shutter speed (like f/11 if it' sunny or f/5.6 if it is darker) and turn the speed dial when you want to change your exposure.
With a little experience, the R is a really fast shooter.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Look into the 'sunnyf16' exposure method (Google it) and just concentrate on your focus right now. You'll set your exposure and leave it alone unless the light changes.

There's a lot of new skills to learn coming to the rangefinder and by taking exposure out of the equation at first things get easier.

 

[sfb_dot_com]

I think all the advice has been good here, but...

I'm beginning to get a sense of deja vue. Sorry if I'm wrong, but aren't these just the sort of questions a certain now departed member of the forum would post in order to wind up the more ernest & worthy stalwarts?

Just a guess...

Andy

 

[VinceC]

I caught onto this a couple of days ago. Join date is 13 March. Go figure. I'm patient, but the level of detail of these questions can be found using Google and a quick browse through the forums.It's all pre-Photo 101 stuff, yet there's a Fred Miranda ID ...

 

[Sparrow]

If you like you can set the exposure (AP or SP) by an incident reading from the back of your hand, dry tarmac or grass (all seem to be about 18% grey) and then forget about it until the light changes, set the range to 3-4m the most likely place for a human subject to occupy, and just take the first snap-shot like a point and shoot, then if you don’t spook the subject you can start to worry about precision focusing for any subsequent pics. Requires a bit of luck but keeps the workload down.
regards

PS Vince, is it April 1st today??