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- Aug 19, 2014
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- 35mm
On the old manual of a Fed 2 (Butkus, our voyage guide to knowledge) I have found an interesting statement, saying that if we know the distance between the photographer and the subject, better you use the rangefinder distance scale. And if you do not know,then use the range finding method.
You may understand from it that the classic yellow patch, the classical range finding method is not the most accurate for the best possible sharpness, or at least for the Fed 2. But this is not my concern, whether it is true or not.
The interesting point for me is that according to this statement, the highest Supreme Court to the right distance is in the camera distance scale.
And this may sound obvious for some, but wait a moment. I knew, we all know, that in order to check a Soviet rangefinder metering, distance scale, yellow patch, and actual distance, should all be the same, all in agreement, otherwise something of the three is wrong.
But when I went every time to make the adjustment, I never knew the distance scale will beforehand determine the distance, something that can be easily checked, and the yellow patch is the one that should be corrected. Rather I have used the actual distance first, to align the yellow patch coincidence, instead of checking to death the distance scale, and then arranging the yellow patch.
All these may sound obvious again, but the fact is that when you align the three, some small disagreements do happen, sending you to a slight compromise. The core of the problem is, in my opinion, that the yellow patches are not highly, highly, accurate. I.e. our vision is good enough to appreciate the superimposition of the images, but this superimposition if judged by severe ways is not perfect. And this natural imperfection may or may not influence an f/1.5 shot. Therefore, the yellow patch is to be calibrated as the last instance, what may look in sharp superimposition, may not be in fact as sharp as it may seem to be. It is the distance scale the one that not lies.
Hence why the Fed 2 manual is giving me a lead to proceed when calibrating. This clue is applicable only to those rangefinders with at least a 180 degree lens rotation (the Kievs have more)
You may understand from it that the classic yellow patch, the classical range finding method is not the most accurate for the best possible sharpness, or at least for the Fed 2. But this is not my concern, whether it is true or not.
The interesting point for me is that according to this statement, the highest Supreme Court to the right distance is in the camera distance scale.
And this may sound obvious for some, but wait a moment. I knew, we all know, that in order to check a Soviet rangefinder metering, distance scale, yellow patch, and actual distance, should all be the same, all in agreement, otherwise something of the three is wrong.
But when I went every time to make the adjustment, I never knew the distance scale will beforehand determine the distance, something that can be easily checked, and the yellow patch is the one that should be corrected. Rather I have used the actual distance first, to align the yellow patch coincidence, instead of checking to death the distance scale, and then arranging the yellow patch.
All these may sound obvious again, but the fact is that when you align the three, some small disagreements do happen, sending you to a slight compromise. The core of the problem is, in my opinion, that the yellow patches are not highly, highly, accurate. I.e. our vision is good enough to appreciate the superimposition of the images, but this superimposition if judged by severe ways is not perfect. And this natural imperfection may or may not influence an f/1.5 shot. Therefore, the yellow patch is to be calibrated as the last instance, what may look in sharp superimposition, may not be in fact as sharp as it may seem to be. It is the distance scale the one that not lies.
Hence why the Fed 2 manual is giving me a lead to proceed when calibrating. This clue is applicable only to those rangefinders with at least a 180 degree lens rotation (the Kievs have more)
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