sfb_dot_com said:
The deja vue has been investigated..... I was wrong too.
sounds silly but to ALL BESSA users how you manually focus and shoot using R ??
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The deja vue has been investigated..... I was wrong too.
Bertram2
Gone elsewhere
rover said:
Deja vu or not, I still guess how one can hold a R in your hands and expect to look through the lens with the finder ? 😕 It is the first time ever in my life that I see such a "misunderstanding" of an RF system.
bertram
VinceC
Veteran
>>The deja vue has been investigated..... I was wrong too.<<
Well, we all have to start somewhere. Still, a llittle bit of online research would answer a lot of these basic questions. So would buying a used camera for $40.
Well, we all have to start somewhere. Still, a llittle bit of online research would answer a lot of these basic questions. So would buying a used camera for $40.
VinceC
Veteran
>>The deja vue has been investigated..... I was wrong too.<<
There aren't any single individuals who hold a monopoly on specific behavior patterns. Just because it's not THAT person doesn't mean these someone else can't ask similar questions. It's a harmless review of photo basics, I guess.
There aren't any single individuals who hold a monopoly on specific behavior patterns. Just because it's not THAT person doesn't mean these someone else can't ask similar questions. It's a harmless review of photo basics, I guess.
R
RML
Guest
Guys, a newcomer asks pertinetn questions and some of us here doubt his integrity and tell him to get a $40 camera? Come, this isn't P.net. We're helpful here, remember? And these threads are good starts for other newcomers. Maybe they could be made permanent (or pinned or whateveryoucallittomakethemappearatthetopoftheforum)?
VinceC
Veteran
I probably was out of line.
VinceC
Veteran
Because Mark Haagen-Dasz lives in the greater New York City area, it might be a good idea to venture to one of the larger camera shops downtown and spend some time handling the a Bessa and a Leica to get a feel for what's going on.
And I do believe $40 these days will buy one heckuva goodused film SLR with standard lens. Nikkormats and Canon FTbs and old Pentaxes are excellent ways to learn film photography. Same for buying a nice old fixed lens RF.
Or a former Soviet RF system, for that matter.
And I do believe $40 these days will buy one heckuva goodused film SLR with standard lens. Nikkormats and Canon FTbs and old Pentaxes are excellent ways to learn film photography. Same for buying a nice old fixed lens RF.
Or a former Soviet RF system, for that matter.
RML said:
Thank you for the reminder.
S
Socke
Guest
As I understand Haagen-Dasz he used a SLR in full auto befor. Even from my Contax Av SLRs to a manual only RF was a big jump even with my experience with manual cameras from way back.
Come to think of that, setting exposure on a Rollei 35TE is easy compared to my Zorki 4 and Kiev 4.
Even the big shutterwheels on my Contax G2 and G1 can't be operated witout letting go of the shutter.
So the lesson to learn about exact exposure and fast shooting with rangefinders is, don't try it 🙂
Set your shutter to a decent speed and adjust with the aperture, then rely on the film, if in doubt, bracket!
Come to think of that, setting exposure on a Rollei 35TE is easy compared to my Zorki 4 and Kiev 4.
Even the big shutterwheels on my Contax G2 and G1 can't be operated witout letting go of the shutter.
So the lesson to learn about exact exposure and fast shooting with rangefinders is, don't try it 🙂
Set your shutter to a decent speed and adjust with the aperture, then rely on the film, if in doubt, bracket!
Nearsighted
RFF-aholic
You may have enough to digest already but there is another method of focusing your Bessa that no one has mentioned. This has nothing to do with obtaining the proper exposure. If you look at the top or bottom edge of the rangefinder patch then align the two parts, (inside the RF patch and outside the patch) instead of looking at the middle of the patch and over-lapping the two images. It's kind of like looking at the split image circle on a manual focus SLR. I've found this method helpfull to me when I've struggled with glare inside the viewfinder. Others may be able to explian this better than I can.
haagen_dazs
Well-known
VinceC said:
hey come on guys
i woke up this morning to alot of these rather.. negative posts 🙁 🙁 🙁
i do know ALL the basic stuff at the back of my hand coz i have been shooting with slr for 5 years now ?
so i have no problems with f stop, speed and distance.
i am simply trying to understand how the RF works and how i can manually focus fast. You guys probably dont believe me but the AF system on the canon SLR are just as BLAZING fast. If you stick a L glass onto the SLR, its lightning TOO.
haagen_dazs
Well-known
rover said:
Am I being investigated here now ??? 🙁 🙁
haagen_dazs
Well-known
Bertram2 said:
i am really trying to understand the RF as I venture into a new style of photography.
haagen_dazs
Well-known
RML said:
Thank you for the support 😛
ClaremontPhoto
Jon Claremont
Set the exposure for the light and leave it alone, focus as per the manual tells you, or hyperfocus.
Forget a lot of SLR stuff.
It's like moving from a car to a motorcycle.
Forget a lot of SLR stuff.
It's like moving from a car to a motorcycle.
VinceC
Veteran
It is an interesting and rewarding new photographic style that comes with a fairly steep learning curve. I apologize for lapsing into being a jerk.
haagen_dazs
Well-known
now someone feels for me! yeah ! 😛Socke said:
oh yes FINALLY someone understands some of my pain/questions..Socke said:
haagen_dazs
Well-known
Dont know if i should be sad or happy. Heck its a new thing i want to tryJon Claremont said:
rbiemer
Unabashed Amateur
Mark,
I tned to vary the aperture more than speed when I shoot the Bessa but it is not really any harder to shoot the other way.
The meter LEDs in the bessa will stay lit up for (I think) 12 seconds after you lightly press the shutter button to get a reading. so you don't have to hold that pressure constantly--it's not like locking in a focus point with an AF camera. And if you leave the wind lever out from the camera body it's pretty easy to turn the speed dial.
I think you mentioned that you don't have a lens yet? A lot of this stuff will make better sense when you do and can "dry fire" the camera a bit.
The reason people say that shooting RFs is fast is that since you can set both f/stop and speed ahead of time(focus too if you want) and then just raise the camera to your eye, focus and shoot.
I'll dig through my book-marks and see what I can find that will explain this stuff better than I can.
Rob
I tned to vary the aperture more than speed when I shoot the Bessa but it is not really any harder to shoot the other way.
The meter LEDs in the bessa will stay lit up for (I think) 12 seconds after you lightly press the shutter button to get a reading. so you don't have to hold that pressure constantly--it's not like locking in a focus point with an AF camera. And if you leave the wind lever out from the camera body it's pretty easy to turn the speed dial.
I think you mentioned that you don't have a lens yet? A lot of this stuff will make better sense when you do and can "dry fire" the camera a bit.
The reason people say that shooting RFs is fast is that since you can set both f/stop and speed ahead of time(focus too if you want) and then just raise the camera to your eye, focus and shoot.
I'll dig through my book-marks and see what I can find that will explain this stuff better than I can.
Rob
kmack
do your job, then let go
Mark, I have poor eyesight also, a rangefinder will help a little.
1. Rangefinder cameras make you slow down. Kind of ironic since rangefinders are used mostly for "snap" type shots. The reasoning here is that all of the setup work is done ahead of time. Metering, speed and f-stop selection and some rough focusing are done first. It's almost as if you are taking pictures with an overly priced instamatic. The difference being that you reconfigure your instamatic at will.
2. Most people who use rangefinder camera's shoot black and white. B&W gives you a wider fudge factor when it comes to exposure. It's not any harder to use color, it's just you have to be more exact with your exposure.
3. I suggest you do not pay any attention to the meter, pull the battery on the R, it will still work. That will teach you to rely upon the best meter you already have: your eyes. There are lots of folks here who can tell you the speed and f-stop for a given film type based on experience alone. It's a lot faster than a meter and can be more accurate. You have to be willing to fail alot first. Once you get over your reliance on a meter you can then get a meter for those really tricky lighting situations.
See: See Fred Parkers "Ultimate Exposure Computer" some of us keep a version in our camera bags for reference.
BTW: what lens did you get?
1. Rangefinder cameras make you slow down. Kind of ironic since rangefinders are used mostly for "snap" type shots. The reasoning here is that all of the setup work is done ahead of time. Metering, speed and f-stop selection and some rough focusing are done first. It's almost as if you are taking pictures with an overly priced instamatic. The difference being that you reconfigure your instamatic at will.
2. Most people who use rangefinder camera's shoot black and white. B&W gives you a wider fudge factor when it comes to exposure. It's not any harder to use color, it's just you have to be more exact with your exposure.
3. I suggest you do not pay any attention to the meter, pull the battery on the R, it will still work. That will teach you to rely upon the best meter you already have: your eyes. There are lots of folks here who can tell you the speed and f-stop for a given film type based on experience alone. It's a lot faster than a meter and can be more accurate. You have to be willing to fail alot first. Once you get over your reliance on a meter you can then get a meter for those really tricky lighting situations.
See: See Fred Parkers "Ultimate Exposure Computer" some of us keep a version in our camera bags for reference.
BTW: what lens did you get?
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