Another point Mr. Gibson made got me thinking about something that I
have thought about from time to time. My first real camera was also
a rangefinder and when someone decided he should take it from me, I
was ready for the versatility of an SLR. One thing I noticed was
that frequently the rangefinder pics were stronger compositions than
the pics I took with the SLR. I eventually chalked it up to the idea
that there was so much in the way of image size variability, frames
and rangefinder field in the viewfinder that something that looked
good through all that "stuff" had to be pretty strong. As a result I
have considered using the focusing screen with the grid to see
whether the introduction of some dissonance in the view would have
the same effect. I have not tried it yet.
Another advantage is that you can switch lens fields in the
viewfinder so that you can preview what a different lens on the
camera would produce. I have frequently wished I had some way to do
that with my Olympus without changing lenses, looking, deciding that
is not what I want, and changing back or trying a different lens. Of
course I could buy one of the accessory multi-lens viewers made by
Leica, but that is a lot of money.
Gibson thinks that the advantage of the rangefinder is the clear
field. Unlike an SLR which needs to be pointed, then focused to just
look for a possible photograph, a rangefinder viewfinder can be just
pointed and looked through for picture possibilities. He thinks that
lack of an extra step gives you a chance to look at lots more
compositional possibilities. That may explain why the early
Leicaflexes had a clear field with a microprism spot in the middle.
It gave an exceptionally bright view like actually looking through a
window. Since Leica users were used to consulting a depth of field
table anyway when it was critical loss of it with this screen was not
a big issue. It might also be fun to play with a similar screen to
see whether "seeing" is affected.
--
Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California
mailto:wincros@xxxxxxxxxxx
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