How often do you shoot with RF at wide open aperture?

[aomoon]

wide open e.g. f1.4 is for choice of shallow depth of field (if the photo calls for it)...so it will depend on what you want the image to convey.
I understand after shooting wide open for most of the time for convenience of speed and realize the above.

 

[ZShutter]

Misconception here I believe. The shutter speed just needs to be "fast enough". From the SLR world it was 1/focal length. For rangefinders, even 1/15 is possible if your hands are reaaally steady. Using a tripod with a rangefinder seems like a true waste when you have such a light camera but to each their own

Sure, I can even do 1/4, but at f1.4 I'm just not too confident when I'm isolating a subject, if I'm hyperfocusing maybe it's fine at lower speeds, otherwise I'll still use a tripod. Street shooting I normally use f5.6 for optimal sharpness in the centre + hyperfocus so no probs in hand holding.

 

[NazgulKing]

I shoot in low light conditions a lot so shooting wide open is normal. Yes the depth of field can be a pain, but something of a balancing act has to be done. 1/15 is theoretically ok, but the trouble is if you want to shoot with minimum motion blur (your target itself might be moving), 1/60 is the minimum shutter speed. You could try 1/30 but that'd be pushing it.

 

[kentwong81]

For shooting still object should be ok. For fast moving object it will be difficult.

Below is the image I shot at f1.4, 1/15s and ISO400 by handheld:

 

[skybala]

35 nokton wide open @ 1.4, portra 400, 1/4s

 

[newghost]

Lux wide open, a relative's wedding recently, 1st march in

m7 - lux 50/1.4 - delta 32 hundred

 

[fuwen]

I prefer shooting at f5.6 to f8, and as far as possible 1/125.

Will only shoot wide open and below 1/60 when situation calls for.

 

[crispy12]

I used to shoot wide open but recently I've been using f8-f11 for hyper focal because it's so quick. Sometimes I need to focus in one second, it's really hard at f1.4. Feels really good when you capture the right moment. Also recently I've been using lower shutter speeds like 1/30 and 1/15 to convey the sense of motion in my shots (like HCB) so no choice but to close the aperture all the way in daylight.

 

[leicashot]

Shooting wide open is often an overused and misused technique. Shooting wide open doesn't make a bad picture great. It can make it less bad, but all the elements of an image need to be in place for it to be great. I am often guilty of misusing it, where I eliminate important background elements that are better left in the picture to tell more of a story.

 

[artspraken]

for the sake of discussion and debate, there actually are some pros out there who prefer to shoot wide open. i guess its down to personal taste.

leica.overgaard.dk - Thorsten Overgaard's Leica Pages - Leica M9 Digital Rangefinder Camera - Page 12: My Leica M9 best practice as of April 2010

From Thorsten Overgaard's Leica M9 best practices. Extract for easy reading. Pls visit Thorsten's page (link above)

People have asked me if I use the Aperture mode, and I've always said I use the Auto mode. Frankly, I didn't know it was called the Aperture mode in the Leica manual. It's the red A on the shutter speed dial on top of the camera and for me it is Auto.

But it's led me to clarifying how I actually shoot. Because I don't shoot Aperture mode. And let me be very specific here, because I feel this is very important to grasp for any Leica shooter.

The fact is that Leica lenses are quite unique. They're developed and produced to perform optimum fully open. Meaning, a Leica 50mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4 is developed to perform optimum at f/1.4. It's at that aperture value that is needs the least light, has the most unique and pleasant bokeh (how the out-of-focus areas take shape), the most interesting and playful depth of field (or selective focus if you will: only a thin layer of the image is in 100% focus while the rest is blurred and unsharp; forming the sought after bokeh).

From lens test of the 70ies I remember that most lenses was tested as "this lens performs best sharpness at f/5.6" when it was a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens. It's true that if you read some of Erwin Putts splendid reviews he will tell how contrast and corner sharpness improves at f/2.8 or f/5.6 on some Leica lenses. For landscape that might be considered optimum but for portraits and atmosphere photos, which is what I do the most, the quality of the narrow sharpness along with the play with light and the bokeh is what makes my day.

Hence, I always use Leica lenses fully open. The only reason I could ever think of for stepping down to f/2.0 or f/5.6 would be if there is too much light. I'm so fortunate to live in a Scandinavia where it's dark most of the year, so I don't have that problem. Those who live in Quatar, California or India must use ND filters (and often do so) in order to stay with wide-open lenses while shooting in sunlight.

Another reason to stop it down would be to do for example a group portrait of three persons or more where you want to make sure they are all sharp. Though if you're not going to use the f/1.4, save some money and start with a f/2.0 or f/2.8 lens.

 

[anerjee]

Shooting wide open is a one trick pony (portraits). It is interesting at first, but becomes boring very soon.

Imagine traveling through a foreign city, and chance upon a great shot. Would you rather capture a glimpse of the city, or just another shot to show off bokeh balls?

 

[kentwong81]

Shooting wide open is a one trick pony (portraits). It is interesting at first, but becomes boring very soon.

Imagine traveling through a foreign city, and chance upon a great shot. Would you rather capture a glimpse of the city, or just another shot to show off bokeh balls?

I don't find shooting wide open can become boring very soon. The photos in my Flickr here Flickr: kent|wong's Photostream are all done in wide open f1.4. Whether the background ca become bokeh balls or not depend on the distance of the subject, background and the photographer. The tricks are where to stand, how to play with available lightings and how to compose the frame.

I always like to choose a subject to focus for story telling rather than make the whole picture sharp and clear. And able to nail a subject sharp and clear at f1.4 by focus and recompose technique with the lovely 50mm Summilux make my day.

 

[obfuscate]

Interesting thread. Having used a 35L and PL25, I decided to invest only in Summicrons because I struggled with shooting at f1.4 even with AF. For stationary subjects, it isn't too difficult. But since the majority of my subjects are my kids, I gave up the idea and settled for max aperture at f2.

 

[New2digital]

Interesting thread. Having used a 35L and PL25, I decided to invest only in Summicrons because I struggled with shooting at f1.4 even with AF. For stationary subjects, it isn't too difficult. But since the majority of my subjects are my kids, I gave up the idea and settled for max aperture at f2.

What camera are you using with these lens?

 

[raytoei]

here is a test i do with my lenses,

i put a newspaper on the wall, and focus from 45% angle, from about 1.5 meters.

i try to locate a headline letter and then try it at different aperture, usually starting from the widest aperture.

very often, not all lenses focus properly, whether it is the body or the lens, there are usually some focusing issues.

here is an example, taken from my sonnar at 1.5, i find that it is very slightly focused at 1.5, and sure enough, when
i ran this test it tells me that it is just slightly out of focus at f1.5

i was focusing on the 'i' in Reunion. notice that the smaller letters below aren't really visible.
The letters "REU" or even "N" has sharper images. This is a cropped image, the whole
image is much bigger, so a slight miss on this WWII lens isn't a problem, in my opinion

raytoei

 

[hookonclassic]

Yes. I shoot wide open quite often...and sometime not often...