> I guess one of the reasons I keep considering one is that there are > people who are very fast with them. Maybe it just takes some practice.
Actually it takes a LOT of practice. I personally believe daily practice is necessary, even if it's only five or ten minutes' worth. Also, most people who are fast with rangefinders don't necessarily focus them. On the Leica M6 with the 35mm Summicron and selected other lenses you can do what's called "prefocusing." What you do is practice looking at objects and setting the approximate focus by feel. You reference infinity by pushing the focusing tab all the way over, then learn how far back to draw the tab based on your estimation of the distance from camera position you wish to focus. It's actually possible to become quite good at this. At my best I was very good at it. I once astonished Nick Zavalishin at the photo show in NYC by taking his M6, pointing out an individual standing some distance away, and setting the focus by feel (without putting the camera anywhere near my eye) and then asking him to check me. I got it bang on. For sure, people who raise the camera to the eye briefly, frame and shoot and return the camera to a resting position all in one fluid motion (like Cartier-Bresson used to shoot) are prefocusing by feel. But it does take work.... --Mike - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
