Focusing - SLR vs. Rangefinder vs. TLR vs. Zone Focusing vs. Ground Glass vs. Fixed
SLR vs. Rangefinder vs. TLR vs. Zone Focusing vs. Ground Glass vs. Fixed
by Karen Nakamura
With the demise of TLRs as contemporary cameras and only large format photographers using ground glass, single lens reflex and rangefinders remain as the major current manual focusing options for curmudgeonly photographers who refuse to go auto-focus (or who like myself, use AF for their professional photography, and manual focus for their fine art photos).
This page is dedicated to explaining the difference between the various options. First, there's a chart explaining the different types of focusing devices, then a section on the great SLR vs. Rangefinder debate.
| Type | System Description | Pros | Cons | Executive Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLR | A camera design which uses only one lens system as both the focusing and taking lens. A 45° mirror in the camera box reflects the image from the lens upwards onto a focusing screen. A waist-level finder allows you to view the image from above. Most SLRs however use a pentaprism to further bounce the image around until it emerges parallel to the taking lens through an eye-level viewfinder. | + What you see is what you get, including
filter effects. + Auto-focus and auto-exposure are usually seamless. + New and vintage SLRs are usually inexpensive. + Focusing telephoto lenses is a cinch. |
- Heavier |
Great for portraiture, sports, nature, and general photography. |
| TLR | A camera design that uses separate taking lens and focusing lens mounted one above the other in a single unit. The focusing lens on the top is mounted so that the image bounces off an internally mounted 45° mirror to a focusing screen on the top of the camera. You view the image from above using a waist-level viewfinder.The bottom lens system is the taking lens. |
+Very quiet +Reliable +No mirror slap vibration +Simple to manufacture, fix, and adjust to keep in focus +Leaf shutter lenses can flash sync up to 1/500 sec |
-Usually manual focus -Most TLRs do not have interchangeable lenses (Mamiya 330 is the notable counterexample) -Waist-level finders are hard to orient (left-to-right reversal) -Viewfinder image does not always match film image, including filter effects and parallax error -Bulkier than SLRs or rangefinders |
Great for nostalgia value |
| Type | System Description | Pros | Cons | Executive Summary |
| Rangefinder | A type of focusing aid which uses parallax difference to ascertain the distance to the subject. Coupled rangefinders connect the rangefinder distance gauge directly to the camera lens, so that when the rangefinder is in focus so is the camera. Uncoupled rangefinders merely give you a distance reading which you must then transfer onto the camera lens. |
+Light |
- Usually manual focus. |
Great for street, straight, and available light photography. |
| Type | System Description | Pros | Cons | Executive Summary |
| Scale / Zone |
A focusing aid on the lens body that indicates the distance to the subject. The photographer guesstimates the distance and dials the lens to that position. Often found in very wide angle cameras; in point and shoot cameras (typical sequence is: head, head and shoulders, group photo, single tree, many trees); disposable cameras; polaroid cameras, etc. |
+Light +Usually quiet +Very Reliable +Focusing wide-angle lenses is a cinch. |
-Hard to focus without a tape rule -Cannot be used with large aperture lenses -Cannot be used with telephoto lenses |
Used in superwide angle lenses (< 20mm), disposable cameras, and other situations where the depth of field is greater than any concerns on the part of the photographer for selective focus. Some people attach an accessory rangefinder to their scale focus cameras, thus turning them into uncoupled rangefinders. |
|
Fixed Focus |
Focus is fixed at the lenses' hyperfocal distance. User cannot change focus or lens aperture.
|
+ You don't have to focus. + No focusing mechanism to make/break + Cheap, cheap, cheap |
- Cannot focus more closely than the short end of the hyperfocal distance (usually 6 feet) - Focus is not the sharpest possible - Lens aperture is usually set at f8~f16, making it difficult to shoot in dark environs. -Lens is also on the wide side, telephoto fixed focus cameras are rare. |
You get what you pay for. Most commonly found on point-and-shoot cameras. |
| Direct View | Focusing is made directly on the focal plane on a sheet of ground glass. Most commonly found on large-format cameras. |
+ Extremely accurate + Can be used on lenses that shift the focal plane (tilt/shift, etc.)
|
- Difficult to focus on small format cameras - Image can be dim with small apertures. Black cape over head can get hot and stuffy - Only for the patient |
The only realistic option for large format. A great option for tilt/shift lenses on medium format. Useless for small format 35mm. |
| Type | System Description | Pros | Cons | Executive Summary |
The Great Rangefinder vs. Single Lens Reflex Debate
Ever since single lens reflex cameras became popular and eclipsed rangefinders in the 1970s, there has been a debate over which is better. Well, I think Dante Stella's page on the debate ("Does a Rangefinder Make You A Better Photographer") puts it eloquently and concisely: No.
Cameras are artistic tools. Pick the tool that you like the most.
Size and Weight: Now getting to the oft-said remark that rangefinders are lighter than SLRs. Rangefinders are a bit lighter than most pro SLRs, but no rangefinder is as light as the 365 gram Canon Kiss 5 (Rebel Ti to Americans). Sorry, chrome + brass is just heavier than polycarbonate + plastic. Granted, your Leica M3 will last another 50 years, but it is heavier. With a contemporary inexpensive rangefinder like the Voigtlander Bessa R, you could get a rangefinder set that just weighs about 550 grams, but it's still heavier than the Canon Kiss 5, and it has a slower lens.
Except for the smaller fixed-lens rangefinders (Canonets, Yashica GX, etc.), rangefinders also aren't significantly smaller than the compact 35mms. The Canon P is only about 1 cm (0.5") shorter and is the same width as the Nikon FE. They are about the same weight (790oz). With 50mm lenses on both, the FE is only 1cm deeper than the P as well. Of course the P is more solid (it feels like it's made of solid brass; you could pound nails with it) and the P will work without batteries, but the FE has a meter and aperture-priority.
That being said, one thing is that despite being made of solid brass or other metals, rangefinders lenses are much smaller and usually lighter than SLR lenses. This is because rangefinder lenses do not need auto-diaphragms or auto-focusing motors. See the chart below.
Sound: The Yashica GSN/GXs with their Copal SV leaf shutters are the quietest of the rangefinders. The Leicas with their cloth focal plane shutters are quiet, much quieter than the Canon EOS 7e, the quietest of the SLRs. The Leica shutters make a "SLURCH" sound that is lower in frequency and subjectively quieter than the "CLACK" sound of metal blade shutters and the "CLISSHIRP" of motor-drive SLRs. The solidity of the metal Leicas also helps dampen the sound. Robert Monaghan has an excellent page detailing the sound quality/quantity of various medium format and 35mm cameras.
Mirror Blackout: The one thing that you can say about rangefinders is that there is no mirror blackout so you can see exactly what you took. The shutter delay on a modern Leica M7 is only 13 msec. (about 1/75 sec). Granted, the shutter delay and mirror blackout on a Canon EOS 1v is only about 75msec (less than 1/10 sec.) so it's not a big deal, but it is nice to see the exact moment (what Cartier-Bresson called the decisive moment) the film was exposed (and whether the flash went off or not). However, most of us do not have EOS 1v or EOS 3s, regular SLR mirror blackouts are about 150 msec or 1/6th sec. In comparison, the fastest digital point-and-shoot camera has a blazing 300 msec (1/3 sec.) shutter delay.
SLR mirrors these days are fairly well damped, so mirror slap is no longer a significant issue (much of the vibration with SLRs you feel is shutter recoil, the mirror coming down, and the winding motor) except with long lenses on flimsy tripods.
Executive Summary: You don't need an excuse to use rangefinders over SLRs any more than a painter needs an excuse to use oils over pastels. Both have different feel to them. The lenses are also made differently, because the rangefinders have more back focus space so the lens do not have to use what is called a retrofocus design. So the quality of the pictures are different (not better, different). So use what moves you.
Bonus Section: The Great Leica/Zeiss and Nikon/Canon debate summarized!
This is a vast simplification and is based in part on camera/lens designs of the 1950s-1976s. Currently, the differences betweeen manufacturers is slimming (everyone is producing technologically innovative; planned obsolecent; and high contrast camera systems).
| Leica | Canon | Zeiss | Nikon | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flagship Model | M3 / M7 / MP |
Canon 7 | Contax II/IIa | SP / F4 |
| Technology vs. Ruggedness | Very conservative about new technology until it is proven in the field. All efforts are made to improve ruggedness through simplicity of design. | On the cutting edge of technology. Quickly implements new technologies. Uses new materials and new techniques, sometimes before they are proven reliable. | (Was) on the cutting edge of technology. Vastly overdesigned and overengineered both its rangefinder (Contax) and SLR (Contarex) systems. | Uses new materials and technologies to improve the ruggedness of its cameras, but rarely to add new features. |
| Left vs. Right focusing | Right | Right | Left | Left |
| Lens design: contrast or resolution | Resolution | Contrast | Contrast | Resolution |
| Optimized Distance | Close Distance | Moderate Distance | Moderate Aperture | Close Distance |
| Optimized Aperture | Full aperture | Moderate Aperture | Moderate Aperture | Full aperture |
Links
-
- Erwin Puts on Rangefinder Accuracy
- Erwin Puts on Choosing an M Leica
- Leica FAQ on Rangefinder Baselengths
- Leica M3 Fan Page
- Mike Johnston on the Benefits of the SLR
- Mounting Zeiss/Contax/Yashica lenses on Canon EOS bodies
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