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Scale focusing - WAS [OM] light travel kit usage [Wayne]

Subject: Scale focusing - WAS [OM] light travel kit usage [Wayne]
From: Walt Wayman <hiwayman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 14:10:06 -0400
Message text written by INTERNET:olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

>It also takes a fair amount of practice. Try scale focusing your
>XA for a bit, double checking your 'guesses' with the rangefinder. 
>Most people are not any good at it simply because they don't do 
>it much. You also learn tricks to guess by. For example if I reach
>out with my arm and touch an objectit is 2' away from the camera 
>lens on an XA or 35S held up to my eye. A person sitting across 
>a table from you in a typical resturaunt will be about 4-5 feet 
>away depending on how close you both sit to the table. (leaning toward
>table vs sitting up straight for example.)
>
>Jim Couch

I agree.

As I said in a previous post, I spent many hours and shot many miles of
film with a camera that lacked almost every feature taken for granted
today: no rangefinder or TTL focusing, no built-in meter.  You quickly
learned to estimate distance, and because there was almost never time to
waste fiddling with an exposure meter, you either learned to eyeball
exposure or you found other employment.

To this day, many years later, I can guesstimate the distance from the tip
of my nose to any point within 15 feet to within one foot, and out to 30
feet within two feet. If you doubt me, bring money and let's have a
contest.  I guarantee you'll leave poorer than when you arrived.  The same
for exposure: nine times out of ten, my "guess" will be within a half stop.
 Bring more money for that one.

It's not all that difficult.  Put a lens on a camera, guess the distance,
focus, then see how far off you are.  The same for exposure.  I ain't no
genius, so if I can do it, you can too.  It just takes a little time and
effort, and it's one more skill that may come in handy sometime.  While it
may not make you a better photographer, I doubt it'll make you a worse one.
 And you might win a bet or two if you can find somebody gullible with
money.

Walt



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