Tips on Correcting for Parallax Error?

[Kumachrome]

So, I recently acquired a Leica IIIc, recently CLA'd. I actually thought it would be difficult to focus with, but I'm surprised how quickly I'm able to achieve focus in street photography! Also, compared to my M2, people actually don't seem to really notice me as much, or don't care.
Anyway, I've been spoiled by the parallax correction of the Leica M2 viewfinder. I'm wondering how you correct for this. I understand that for larger distances, this isn't really an issue, but I'm the type who tends to get up close to subjects, or shoot within 10 feet, so it can be an issue. I'd prefer to train myself to automatically correct for it without using an external 50mm finder.
Thanks for any tips.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Get brightline finder. I had one for 50mm, original one. It has parallax correction line and it stays in the middle of the camera. This is most impressive and bright VF I ever seen. It is true one to one VF. Man, it is so good, I'll finish this comment and go look into it. 🙂

If you want to train yourself instead, put the lens where VF was.

 

[Richard G]

I’ve basically never remembered this lack of parallax correction and can’t recall an image affected by it. I do use the SBOOI which has a dotted line below the main upper frame line. That might help you and for street the external finder is brilliant, in both senses.

 

[Doug]

Framing with an RF camera is imprecise at best. And the closer the subject is, the more an issue parallax becomes. So, theoretically, you want the lens to be imaging what the viewfinder framed... thus, after achieving the desired composition, slide the camera slightly up and to the left so the lens is where the VF window was when you did the framing. (As Ko.Fe. suggested above!)

Just turning/rotating the camera gives a slightly different effect, and won't deal with relative positions of near and far objects... such as lining things up so that a distant light pole seems to be sticking out of your nearby subject's head! 🙂

Another example: With a twin-lens reflex, the parallax error is entirely vertical, since the lenses are stacked. So there was a product called a Paramender that fit between the camera and tripod. After setting the composition, you use the Paramender to raise the camera by the distance between its viewing and taking lenses, so that the taking lens is now where the viewing lens had been, and then shoot the correct photo.

 

[jcb4718]

The SBOOI brightline has an outside (solid) frameline that is not 1:1.5 and a single (dotted) line along the top for close-up. For close-up the dotted line and the 3 framelines are about 1:1.5 and are pretty accurate all round. At infinity two things happen: firstly, the view moves up because of vertical parallax (horizontal parallax is negligible) and, secondly, the view is magnified. These two effects tend to cancel at the bottom and add at the top, hence the need for only one 'dotted line'. The effect of the magnification on the side framelines is ignored so the actual image extends beyond them at infinity. The view through the camera viewfinder approximates to the solid lines in the SBOOI. So at infinity it is OK top and bottom but the image extends beyond the sides; close-up you have to ignore about the top 15% (the SBOOI does this for you with its 'dotted frameline') but the sides are OK.

 

[retinax]

Just turning/rotating the camera gives a slightly different effect, and won't deal with relative positions of near and far objects... such as lining things up so that a distant light pole seems to be sticking out of your nearby subject's head! 🙂

Indeed. But parallax compensation built into a camera makes you rotate it. For this reason I think it's overrated.

 

[Ronald M]

Crop

50 mm BL finder with parallax lines

Use a pro Nikon with 1:1 finder, F1,F2 etc D3. No parallax. Image size changes as as you focus. What you see is what you get.

TLR have a paramender that raises the the camera to account for view lens, taking lens difference. You will need a tripod.

A pro photog I know trained all his wedding people with 50 mm BL and he showed them where to line up frame lines for portraits. With thousands of pics week, they could not afford to crop individual photos. He achieved top quality and mass production.

Put some tape on the wall in 2x3 ratio and shoot at various distances and write down results. put a sign on the wall indicating distance for each frame so it recorded on the film. Then memorize results.

If you wish to get really picky, you need a different camera.

 

[02Pilot]

Frame loose.

 

[Luddite Frank]

Wide-angle lens. 35mm.

The Leica screw-mount VF doesn't suffer as much from parallax error as do Contax and Nikon RFs, due to the VF window being almost centered over the taking lens.

I would think that most of the correction needed for close-ups on the Barnack Leica would be framing the shot so that the desired "Center" of your image falls below the center-line of the VF image... 1/3 for medium-close (10-15 ft), 1/4 for close (6-10 ft.) ?

The brightline finder is a really good suggestion.

LF

 

[presspass]

External finders and use the camera a lot. You will learn what is, and is not, in the frame after you shoot the camera a while. After you gain some experience, you will know what will be on the negative no matter what lens you use. No rangefinder is made for precise framing.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

We are talking about 1¼ inches vertically and ½ inch horizontally. So the question is, just how accurate do you want it?

Of course, you could get ready to take the shot and raise yourself up by an inch by starting to go on tiptoe...

OTOH, I reckon it's within the range of inaccuracy caused by view-finder and enlarger masks and, of course, printing 8" x 10" when it should be 8" x 12" to use the full frame.

FWIW, I don't worry too much about it.

Regards, David

 

[Luddite Frank]

When I was still shooting a lot of film with my Leica III, about 7-8 years ago, I used an Elmar 35mm lens most of the time, the rest of the time a 50mm Summicron.

I had a Nikon Vari-focal finder in the accessory shoe, which covered from 35 to 135 mm, and had a parallax adjustment as well.

Some of my 35mm shots were at close-range, and I do not recall having significant parallax regrets.

I had the camera in the bottom half of a IIIg case, with a wide "hippie-strap".


If you're trying to do quickie "street shots" up close, a "fast" wide-angle (35mm) lens will really help. Also pre-setting the the lens and shutter for hyper-focal distance / average exposure will help make it a more "point & shoot" effort, rather than having to "compose, set lens and shutter, focus, adjust finder, re-focus, etc. oops - the shot is gone..."

 

[ForestCap]

Aim wide and crop.