brusby
Well-known
It looks like all the portraits are back focused. I'm not trying to be critical but I noticed her earrings and shirt are more in focus than her eyes in every shot. Might want to check rangefinder focus against live view to make sure your rangefinder hasn't drifted and to make sure the lens is properly calibrated.
raid
Dad Photographer
Thanks for this tip. I will do it right now. It can also be due to focus error by me. It is allergy season now, and we get teary eyes! Focusing a 50/1 wide open gets even more challenging. Note that I took these portraits without an refocusing very quickly. If the first image was off, the remaining 9 images will be also off. I took a few snapshots now, and I tried also LiveView. I cannot spot a back focusing. Maybe I am not doing such a check correctly.
brusby
Well-known
Yep, easy to miss focus with such a nice fast lens. I almost always put my camera on a tripod and then check rangefinder focus against live view just to be sure. One thing I love about modern Leica digital rangefinders like M240 and M10.
raid
Dad Photographer
I took this portrait quickly recently. I think that the focus is OK here. Right?
robert blu
quiet photographer
I used again the CV 50/1 a few days ago for some quickly taken informal portraits of my daughter Dana, and then of our cat Jenny.
link: https://raid.smugmug.com/Leica-M10-CV-50mm-1/
I have been trying to use this lens only wide open. This works well in dark scenes and in shade but not when the sun is shining full force in Florida.
Below are all ten portrait shots taken of Dana. I did not do any editing. Each image was taken wide open without an EVF or any focus assist device. No eye glasses or contacts were worn either.
The closer your main subject is to your camera, the more dramatic the OOF will be.
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Your beautiful (and patient!) model wears a nice Tshirt |
raid
Dad Photographer
Thank you Robert. Only Dana gives me portrait opportunities because she knows my love for photography is great.
It is amazing how Dana used to be my main model for RFF projects when she was 3 years old or even younger, and now she is a college student!
From a RFF project:
It is amazing how Dana used to be my main model for RFF projects when she was 3 years old or even younger, and now she is a college student!
From a RFF project:
raid
Dad Photographer
I am not being defensive or making things up, but most of my images are very quickly taken (sometimes in seconds) as I happen to see opportunities for photography. Robert has seen me take photos in Europe (with him), and he can vouch for me not using any tripod. Yesterday was a "sneezing day" for us at home. Pensacola is on the forefront of really bad allergies days (as seen on CNN weather forecast maps).
brusby
Well-known
That looks better. I found it easier to tell when looking at your Smugmug account.
I checked just now this series of pic of your lovely wife on your Smugmug and saw some in focus and some back focused to varying degrees. But it's almost impossible to tell whether it's rangefinder miscalibration or pilot error without doing checking against live view.
I usually just put the camera on a tripod, focus with rangefinder on something small and shiny like a reflection off of some chrome like the top of a coffee pot or silverware, and then switch to live view to confirm. Then do the reverse. Focus with live view to get the image as sharp as possible, then check the rangefinder. This latter test is where I usually find the errors most easily.
I checked just now this series of pic of your lovely wife on your Smugmug and saw some in focus and some back focused to varying degrees. But it's almost impossible to tell whether it's rangefinder miscalibration or pilot error without doing checking against live view.
I usually just put the camera on a tripod, focus with rangefinder on something small and shiny like a reflection off of some chrome like the top of a coffee pot or silverware, and then switch to live view to confirm. Then do the reverse. Focus with live view to get the image as sharp as possible, then check the rangefinder. This latter test is where I usually find the errors most easily.
raid
Dad Photographer
Thanks for the tip! I will try it out. I try to get a reasonably good focus, but sometimes it is not so important, really.
brusby
Well-known
I almost didn't say anything because I don't want to seem critical. But I noticed all the portraits were back focused which would be more a symptom of rangefinder miscalibration than user error. If it were just missed focus I'd expect to see some front focused too, but I didn't.
You've got such nice gear and it's so easy to check and remedy any errors, I figured I'd mention it.
raid
Dad Photographer
Brusby's suggestions are very useful here, in a thread on a 50mm lens with max aperture 1.0. I have to admit that in all the years I have been here at RFF I have never ever checked or corrected any of my (many) lenses and cameras for RF issues with back or front focusing. I guess, I never used any lens at aperture 1.0 or similar. I usually use apertures 8~11.
Thanks Brusby!
Thanks Brusby!
brusby
Well-known
Cool. Good luck. I check EVERY lens this way and I have a bunch -- old and new. They are all over the map but if I plotted their accuracy, as expected they'd form kind of a bell curve. Most are pretty close to correct and very useable. A few absolutely perfect and a few way off.
And my camera rangefinder drifts over time and needs to be reset periodically. I don't send 'em back to Leica. Just adjust here for the best focus with the main and the fastest lenses I use and so that most of my lenses fall in the middle of the bell curve.
p.s. Here's another quick way to test. Point the camera at a large screen tv and focus with rangefinder. I try to find a vertical line cause it makes focusing easy. Then switch to live view. Should be able to see the individual spots on the screen and the wave interference or moire pattern. Again do the reverse. Focus with live view to get the best focus then confirm with RF optical focus. I strongly suggest always using a tripod for these things because it eliminates camera movement error which can be a huge source of unsharpness.
And my camera rangefinder drifts over time and needs to be reset periodically. I don't send 'em back to Leica. Just adjust here for the best focus with the main and the fastest lenses I use and so that most of my lenses fall in the middle of the bell curve.
p.s. Here's another quick way to test. Point the camera at a large screen tv and focus with rangefinder. I try to find a vertical line cause it makes focusing easy. Then switch to live view. Should be able to see the individual spots on the screen and the wave interference or moire pattern. Again do the reverse. Focus with live view to get the best focus then confirm with RF optical focus. I strongly suggest always using a tripod for these things because it eliminates camera movement error which can be a huge source of unsharpness.
boojum
Mentor
The photos of your daughter, Dana, are wonderful. Especially after learning your daughters do not want their pictures taken. "Oh, dad, please." Whether or not the focus is perfect makes no difference as the photo captures the moment of a young girl, on the cusp of womanhood, tired of being photographed, loving her dad and putting up with it thinking, "Sheesh," all the while. These photos will be a comfort and joy for a long, long time. That's more important than razor edge focus. Good pics.
raid
Dad Photographer
Thank you .
i also try to photograph my family the way I see them. I know for sure that my wife likes it when I use older lenses that are not tack sharp.