it's called RANGE FOCUSING. Zone focusing is not a thing. Someone confusaed it with the zone system -- Ansel Adam's technique, to determine the correct exposure.
Finally, an explanation that doesn't just gloss over the subject. I've watched probably half a dozen videos on zone focus and this has been the best I've seen.
I love vintage folding cameras where zone and hyperfocal focusing are my beat friendx. For decades, Rollei 35's have been a favorite camera and all they have ia a viewfinder and a lens with distance markings. Very good video! Thanks!
I'm very late to this video but really like it and learned things I didn't know. I found it interesting because I'm thinking about buying a used Leica Q camera and getting into street photography. I shoot mostly architecture and landscapes so do shoot mostly manual everything but this system seems like a very quick way to set focus and forget about it when walking the streets. Thank you very much for sharing this knowledge.
10th video I watch, and finally in 5 minutes zone focusing and hyperfocal are clear to me. Thanks for making it clear what I need to do for street photography and also what is hyperfocal (which I believe is more useful in landscape photography).
These settings only apply for modern digital cameras. When shooting film, you cannot have auto-ISO and so I think aperture priority is the only move. f/11 is quite dark and is only really viable (if you need 1/125th sec) on bright and sunny days. You'd have to pull back to f8 or even f5.6 on cloudy days or golden/blue hour to achieve 1/125th of a second. You can forget about night photography when zone-focusing at f5.6 or higher.
Have you tried Ilford Delta 3200, developed in Kodak T-Max or Ilford Ilfotec DD-X, and then made prints of a moderate size? You could also try Delta 400, expose it at a higher ISO, and then develop it accordingly?
These are great starting tips, but motion blur and camera shake can be fantastic ways to create interesting images and should not be dismissed as "incorrect"- Just look at Robert Frank or William Klein's work.
Good video - auto ISO is great with the 'clean' sensors in modern cameras. If you use vintage lenses with manual focus then zone focussing is perfect for old-style street pics. The old lenses have depth of field scales too ;-)
Since the autofocus revolution, of cameras with interchangeable lenses during mid 80's, most professional photographers don't really bother with manual focusing. However the small legendary Leica M-mount rangefinder cameras is a great exemption. The full frame Leica M-mount lenses are the only lenses with small size and great optical quality.
Nice video! You explained the subject clearly and I will try it out.Focusing by touch screen as on my Olympus can be extremely fast and accurate and it means I can hold the camera at different heights. It is also not always so obvious to the subject that you have just photographed them.
Buena información David, gracias por este video! Cuál f stop recomiendas para una Fuji X100 que tiene un lente de 23mm y sensor APS-C? (assuming you still know Spanish)
thank you for the effort and the sharing. i am shooting with a ricoh gr2 which also has a snap focus mode which is their version of zone focusing. i am still trying to work on my ability to estimate the distance. your six feet = the width of a parked car is a helpful visualization. thumbs up.
Is that a Leica? if yes, why that camera instead of for example the Sony A7iii or A7Riii? I like the look of your camera but wondering what is better than the sony or lacking. Thanks.
I'm using cropped sensor on my XT4 - prefer my 27mm f2.8 lens what would you recommend for a good zone focus setup for this which i believe is 40mm full frame?
it's called RANGE FOCUSING. Zone focusing is not a thing. Someone confusaed it with the zone system -- Ansel Adam's technique, to determine the correct exposure.
I use AF servo on Canon and what is this? Just kidding, I've heard about zone focusing and this was very helpful, thank you. I'm going to try focusing to cut my response time down even more. I actually miss focus on a percentage of the shots because of over-reliance on AF.
really interesting video can't wait the 2 days i have to wait to test it out , i don't have the equivalent of a 35mm full frame so i'll use my 35mm APS-C , 50mm still look good for street photo , i just wonder how my photo will look with that technique and how fast i'll adapt to it :D i also need to work on my shyness and the fact that i have hard time being close to peoples ^^ thanks for the video it's very clear , fast and you don't waste time like always the elders have the answers :D btw i'm using a normal lens and not a manual one so is it actually interesting to use zone focusing with a normal lens or should i just go auto focus , f8/11//16 with single middle focus point ?
So you are using a wide angle lens, 35mm, since the sensor is full frame? They have more depth of field correct? What about a 50 mm standard lens? Enough dof for zone focusing? If apsc sensor and 35 mm then not full frame correct?
Sylvester, rotate the manual focus control ring until the focal plane (white line) is at 6 feet or 2 meters. Set your aperture to f/5.6. Now you have a zone between 4 and 12 feet on that camera. Set ISO to auto with a minimum shutter speed set to 1/250. Good luck.
Hi! Great video. I’m beginning to learn photography through film. One of your tips is to set iso to automatic but with film, i can’t do that. Would that affect the focusing in the photos if its not automatic? Also, I’m using a rangefinder camera (with auto exposure feature), do you have additional tips to improve my zone focusing? Thank you in advance!
Angela Carig as you said, with shooting film your iso cannot be automatic, so set an appropriately fast shutter speed to freeze any subject you might photograph and see how small you can get the aperture to allow the deepest depth of field. If you have automatic shutter speed setting on your camera then you can allow that to be the setting that changes depending on how much light is in your frame and keep your aperture small enough to allow deep depth of field. If you have a digital camera with auto iso you can lock the aperture and shutter speed (in manual mode) and allow the iso to adjust for the correct exposure.
Hi Angela. Thank you for watching. As Daniel mentioned the ISO is fixed with film. When I shoot film I shoot 400 ISO. I set my Aperture to f/11 (when using a 35mm lens) and f/5.6 (when using a 21mm lens). So stay with an Aperture between f/11 and f/5.6. The shutter speed set it between 1/60 and 1/250. Make sure you check out my other videos that will help you with street photography.
Hi David, with the most common settings on my Ricoh GR-3 F-11, 125s and Auto ISO make my photographs queit grainy. Can you help me which setting I should go with sweet spot (5.6) or f11 to avoid grains. I could not find any video on youtube which can clarify on settings for Ricoh GR-3.
good video. However, if Hyperfocal means that you extent your sharp/focal area to infinity (and beyooooond, sorry, couldn't resist) then why wouldn't you always use Hyperfocal? Then you have always sharpness. Or is it because you want to create some Bokeh? Thank you for the trouble of making this nice and informative movie.
Hi Joshua, Yes, but you run into the risk of the camera setting the shutter speed lower than 1/125 causing blurred images due to camera shake. Av mode is fine if you can set a minimum shutter speed of 1/250.
A clear way to explain but this way only works with a digital camera and auto iso. Shooting film with 1 iso you have to change your shutterspeed and you can not always avoid lower speeds. Making a good choice of film/iso to fit the conditions of that day are important
Please help me. I have been passed down my grandfather’s Canon canonet QL17 GIII and want to use it for street photography. The lens has a 40mm focal length and has the markings for distance on the focus ring in feet and meters. The lens DOES NOT have a hyperfocal distance graph to line up with however. How do I use zone focusing with this in mind? I don’t know how far to turn the focus ring depending on distance and do not want to use the viewfinder as it can lose the decisive moment. Please please please let me know your step by step in depth answer to this problem as if you were a beginner with no knowledge at all. Thank you so much for your time and assistance and I wish you the best day!
Hi Julian. The Canon canonet QL17 GIII is a wonderful camera. It is often compared to the Leica M6. Set your camera focal distance to 6 ft (2 meters). Aperture to f/16 and Shutter Speed to 1/250. That will give you a near limit of 4ft and a far limit of 12ft. Meaning everything between 4ft and 12ft will be reasonably sharp. You may want to shoot with 200 ASA film (Sunny 16 Rule). Let me know how it works out. Good luck!
@@davidcolemandc You sir are a phenomenal instructor and gentleman. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I apologize for the delay in my response, work caught me for a couple weeks. I am going to a graduation to test out these settings and I will let you know how it works out. I'm using hp5 400 asa film so I upped the shutter speed to 1/500. Thank you again David!
@@julianshowalter7001 My pleasure and don't hesitate to contact me with any questions. I wanted to add: for cloudy days you may want to shoot with 400 ASA film but the rest of the settings remain the same.
Hi Joe, Yes, it will work great in that scenario. You can figure the near limit (closest part of the boxing ring to you) and the far limit (farthest part of the boxing ring to you). Then use an app such as www.photopills.com to calculate the widest aperture needed for that zone and the focal plane distance. For instance 4ft to 10ft. You might be able to use 5.6 or even 4.0 with a 21mm lens. Your ISO will be fairly high but you will be able to capture just the story. I've never had good results with Auto-Focus photographing sporting events. Hope this helps.
Thanks for viewing. Please let me know what you think and please subscribe.
Hi. I am already subscribed.
Definitely the best tutorial about zone focusing on RUclips rather than some vloggers showing off their Leica.
Thank you Caldera!
it's called RANGE FOCUSING. Zone focusing is not a thing. Someone confusaed it with the zone system -- Ansel Adam's technique, to determine the correct exposure.
Finally, an explanation that doesn't just gloss over the subject. I've watched probably half a dozen videos on zone focus and this has been the best I've seen.
Thank you Steve!
Steve Caputo yeah! This was done very well!!
I just found a born teacher! Thank you, David.
Thank you pixelgenau!
@@davidcolemandc How to do it on a Rollei 35 t
One week ago I got my first Leica: a M3! Now I learn how to focus exact without Autofocus after 30 years with this hobby! Thank you!
Thank you for watching. Check out my other videos too.
The best video on zone focusing on RUclips period. Thank you David!
Thank YOU Akshay Y R!
Clear and concise. Thankyou. The best I've heard. No waffle.
Beginner here! What I did was measure my arm as a reference on how many meters. This is amazing technique!
Great to hear!
This is the best and most informative video I’ve seen on zone focusing
Finally a simple and complete explanation!
Excellent, fed up of hearing other you tubers insisting zone and hf dist are the same. thanks for making this a clear difference.
Excellent explanation from you and the animations really helped too. Thanks.
I love vintage folding cameras where zone and hyperfocal focusing are my beat friendx. For decades, Rollei 35's have been a favorite camera and all they have ia a viewfinder and a lens with distance markings. Very good video! Thanks!
wonderfully explained. Just strting out with street photography, great video.
Thank you Lortz2610!
Now I finally understand about manual lens concepts.
Just got a Leica, been watching videos on zone focusing, focusing a Leica and so on...your video was the absolute best and most helpful! Thank you!
Thank you Steve!
Thank you - that was the clearest explanation I have heard on this topic!
Thank you Andre 1,000
You are an excellent teacher. Thank you for being so helpful with this video.
I'm very late to this video but really like it and learned things I didn't know. I found it interesting because I'm thinking about buying a used Leica Q camera and getting into street photography. I shoot mostly architecture and landscapes so do shoot mostly manual everything but this system seems like a very quick way to set focus and forget about it when walking the streets. Thank you very much for sharing this knowledge.
That is great! You won't regret buying a Leica Q or Q2.
10th video I watch, and finally in 5 minutes zone focusing and hyperfocal are clear to me. Thanks for making it clear what I need to do for street photography and also what is hyperfocal (which I believe is more useful in landscape photography).
Thank you Giorgio!
Really informative video. Gonna try this technique. Thanks for sharing
Clear and very useful for the novice photographer!
This was very helpful, thank you very much for the video!
Excellent demonstration of zone focusing. Subscribed.
Very nice clip and carefully summarizing the information.
Hi Ahmed. Thank you for your review.
Thanks a lot. This is eye opening. No pun intended!
These settings only apply for modern digital cameras. When shooting film, you cannot have auto-ISO and so I think aperture priority is the only move. f/11 is quite dark and is only really viable (if you need 1/125th sec) on bright and sunny days. You'd have to pull back to f8 or even f5.6 on cloudy days or golden/blue hour to achieve 1/125th of a second. You can forget about night photography when zone-focusing at f5.6 or higher.
Have you tried Ilford Delta 3200, developed in Kodak T-Max or Ilford Ilfotec DD-X, and then made prints of a moderate size? You could also try Delta 400, expose it at a higher ISO, and then develop it accordingly?
Este sí es un excelente tutorial y no chingaderas. ¡Gracias, Coleman!
Ja Ja Ja. Gracias a tí! Sin chingaderas verdad?
@@davidcolemandcJajaja ¡Claro!
Fantastic explanation, David! Such an informative tutorial. I finally comprehend the distance scale thanks to you. You've won a subscriber here.
Wonderful tutorial, thank you.
Thank you! Please Like and Subscribe.
Best tutorial on zone focusing! Thank you! Subscribing!
So helpful! Best video covering zone focusing!!
These are great starting tips, but motion blur and camera shake can be fantastic ways to create interesting images and should not be dismissed as "incorrect"- Just look at Robert Frank or William Klein's work.
Good video - auto ISO is great with the 'clean' sensors in modern cameras. If you use vintage lenses with manual focus then zone focussing is perfect for old-style street pics. The old lenses have depth of field scales too ;-)
Since the autofocus revolution, of cameras with interchangeable lenses during mid 80's, most professional photographers don't really bother with manual focusing. However the small legendary Leica M-mount rangefinder cameras is a great exemption. The full frame Leica M-mount lenses are the only lenses with small size and great optical quality.
on digital*
Wow I just learned so much from this short video! Thank you!
Super clean explanation, thanks David.
This is what I am looking for, thank you very very much for sharing.
Great to hear. Thank you! Check out my other videos too.
@@davidcolemandc Of course, I'm your big fan now.
Thanks very much ….the best practical explanation about this subject !…..
Thank you Salvador. I'm glad you liked it.
So good. Well done and thank you.
Oh my gosh, this is so amazing, thank you!
Thank you!
Nice video! You explained the subject clearly and I will try it out.Focusing by touch screen as on my Olympus can be extremely fast and accurate and it means I can hold the camera at different heights. It is also not always so obvious to the subject that you have just photographed them.
This is the best explanation of zone focusing on youtube. Hats off to you sir.
Thank you sir!
Good info presented in a easy to follow format. Well done.
Thank you Joe!
I was looking for some tips on this for street photography. Just what I needed. Thanks. 👍
Thank you James!
Well thought out!
Many thanks for sharing
Awesome video, very well explained!
Thank you Matheus
Best explanation I’ve deen
Buena información David, gracias por este video! Cuál f stop recomiendas para una Fuji X100 que tiene un lente de 23mm y sensor APS-C? (assuming you still know Spanish)
Hola tremolo3. Claro que sí! Yo tengo el Fuji X100F. Con f/8.0 es suficiente para lograr lo mismo. Saludos.
very good. tx for sharing your experience.
thank you for the effort and the sharing. i am shooting with a ricoh gr2 which also has a snap focus mode which is their version of zone focusing. i am still trying to work on my ability to estimate the distance. your six feet = the width of a parked car is a helpful visualization. thumbs up.
Thank you Smalltalk.Productions
Excellent! Thank you! I don't use zone focusing on my Fuji X100 but maybe I should. I thought it's limited to Leica cameras but obviously I was wrong
The beauty of zone focusing is that you can do it with just about any camera.
A very good video, clear and without al the smug. Keep on going.👍🏻
I really like your videos and focusing tips.
Thank you JE!
Beautiful 🙏🏽
Grt.speech nice information 🌷🌷🙏
Is that a Leica? if yes, why that camera instead of for example the Sony A7iii or A7Riii? I like the look of your camera but wondering what is better than the sony or lacking. Thanks.
Very clearly explained, thank you.
Thank you!
Thanks. A very understandable explanation.
Thank you for watching David!
Nice video thanks.
I'm using cropped sensor on my XT4 - prefer my 27mm f2.8 lens what would you recommend for a good zone focus setup for this which i believe is 40mm full frame?
Great video!
Thanks for the info. How do you set a focusing distance?
Best video about this
Nice Video!
What if my lens is at 45 mm ? What should be my settings ? Thanks appreciate the help 🙂
this is great. thank you!
Thank you Meynard Macol!
Good info, thanks.
it's called RANGE FOCUSING. Zone focusing is not a thing. Someone confusaed it with the zone system -- Ansel Adam's technique, to determine the correct exposure.
Great video. Thank you for the useful tips
Thank you!
I use AF servo on Canon and what is this? Just kidding, I've heard about zone focusing and this was very helpful, thank you. I'm going to try focusing to cut my response time down even more. I actually miss focus on a percentage of the shots because of over-reliance on AF.
What if the camera you have has a crop sensor? How will your suggested numbers change?
This channel is really good im suprised you dont got more subs
Thank you photomorti
Zone focussing in the Subway platform and subway cars?
Thank you!
Helpful video. Are you turning off your auto focus after setting it for 6 feet?
Yes, I tell students to focus at 6 feet and then turn off auto-focus.
How does this work at night when you need that slower shutter and higher aperture??
nice .....so...when I set the zone focus.....my camera will be in manual focus...correct ?????
Correct. Manual focus focused at 6 feet
really interesting video can't wait the 2 days i have to wait to test it out , i don't have the equivalent of a 35mm full frame so i'll use my 35mm APS-C , 50mm still look good for street photo , i just wonder how my photo will look with that technique and how fast i'll adapt to it :D i also need to work on my shyness and the fact that i have hard time being close to peoples ^^ thanks for the video it's very clear , fast and you don't waste time
like always the elders have the answers :D
btw i'm using a normal lens and not a manual one so is it actually interesting to use zone focusing with a normal lens or should i just go auto focus , f8/11//16 with single middle focus point ?
So you are using a wide angle lens, 35mm, since the sensor is full frame? They have more depth of field correct? What about a 50 mm standard lens? Enough dof for zone focusing? If apsc sensor and 35 mm then not full frame correct?
More depth of field than what? APSC is not full frame. Correct. But it does have more depth of field (apparent) than full frame.
thank you for the lovely video. appreciate if you can help zone focusing with a fuji x70
Sylvester, rotate the manual focus control ring until the focal plane (white line) is at 6 feet or 2 meters. Set your aperture to f/5.6. Now you have a zone between 4 and 12 feet on that camera. Set ISO to auto with a minimum shutter speed set to 1/250. Good luck.
David Coleman tyvm. ur the best. subscribed.
Thanks, learning a lot
Thank you for watching Adreas!
Dose the carmer and lens matter. Or just any carmer and lens
Hi. What if I am using 42mm lens, which f and shutter should I set ?
Hi! Great video. I’m beginning to learn photography through film. One of your tips is to set iso to automatic but with film, i can’t do that. Would that affect the focusing in the photos if its not automatic? Also, I’m using a rangefinder camera (with auto exposure feature), do you have additional tips to improve my zone focusing? Thank you in advance!
Angela Carig as you said, with shooting film your iso cannot be automatic, so set an appropriately fast shutter speed to freeze any subject you might photograph and see how small you can get the aperture to allow the deepest depth of field. If you have automatic shutter speed setting on your camera then you can allow that to be the setting that changes depending on how much light is in your frame and keep your aperture small enough to allow deep depth of field. If you have a digital camera with auto iso you can lock the aperture and shutter speed (in manual mode) and allow the iso to adjust for the correct exposure.
Hi Angela. Thank you for watching. As Daniel mentioned the ISO is fixed with film. When I shoot film I shoot 400 ISO. I set my Aperture to f/11 (when using a 35mm lens) and f/5.6 (when using a 21mm lens). So stay with an Aperture between f/11 and f/5.6. The shutter speed set it between 1/60 and 1/250. Make sure you check out my other videos that will help you with street photography.
Hi David, with the most common settings on my Ricoh GR-3 F-11, 125s and Auto ISO make my photographs queit grainy. Can you help me which setting I should go with sweet spot (5.6) or f11 to avoid grains. I could not find any video on youtube which can clarify on settings for Ricoh GR-3.
good video. However, if Hyperfocal means that you extent your sharp/focal area to infinity (and beyooooond, sorry, couldn't resist) then why wouldn't you always use Hyperfocal? Then you have always sharpness. Or is it because you want to create some Bokeh?
Thank you for the trouble of making this nice and informative movie.
Thank you
thanks for explaining zone focusing to us!
it always gets abit confusing for me! :P
Thank you ACID SNOW
Congratulations! Excelent video. Thanks.
Thank you João Martins!
Beautiful
Thank you!
this is a nice video ... very informative ... thank you for sharing :D
Thank you!
I assume this won't work well in low light or night street photography..?
Excellent
SUBBED. THIS IS SUPERB.
By putting your camera body into Av mode, won't most camera bodies then automatically change the shutter speed?
Hi Joshua, Yes, but you run into the risk of the camera setting the shutter speed lower than 1/125 causing blurred images due to camera shake. Av mode is fine if you can set a minimum shutter speed of 1/250.
A clear way to explain but this way only works with a digital camera and auto iso. Shooting film with 1 iso you have to change your shutterspeed and you can not always avoid lower speeds. Making a good choice of film/iso to fit the conditions of that day are important
Please help me. I have been passed down my grandfather’s Canon canonet QL17 GIII and want to use it for street photography. The lens has a 40mm focal length and has the markings for distance on the focus ring in feet and meters. The lens DOES NOT have a hyperfocal distance graph to line up with however. How do I use zone focusing with this in mind? I don’t know how far to turn the focus ring depending on distance and do not want to use the viewfinder as it can lose the decisive moment. Please please please let me know your step by step in depth answer to this problem as if you were a beginner with no knowledge at all. Thank you so much for your time and assistance and I wish you the best day!
Hi Julian. The Canon canonet QL17 GIII is a wonderful camera. It is often compared to the Leica M6. Set your camera focal distance to 6 ft (2 meters). Aperture to f/16 and Shutter Speed to 1/250. That will give you a near limit of 4ft and a far limit of 12ft. Meaning everything between 4ft and 12ft will be reasonably sharp. You may want to shoot with 200 ASA film (Sunny 16 Rule). Let me know how it works out. Good luck!
@@davidcolemandc You sir are a phenomenal instructor and gentleman. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I apologize for the delay in my response, work caught me for a couple weeks. I am going to a graduation to test out these settings and I will let you know how it works out. I'm using hp5 400 asa film so I upped the shutter speed to 1/500. Thank you again David!
@@julianshowalter7001 My pleasure and don't hesitate to contact me with any questions. I wanted to add: for cloudy days you may want to shoot with 400 ASA film but the rest of the settings remain the same.
David, would zone focusing work for a lower light shoot like a boxing match if you were ringside?
Hi Joe, Yes, it will work great in that scenario. You can figure the near limit (closest part of the boxing ring to you) and the far limit (farthest part of the boxing ring to you). Then use an app such as www.photopills.com to calculate the widest aperture needed for that zone and the focal plane distance. For instance 4ft to 10ft. You might be able to use 5.6 or even 4.0 with a 21mm lens. Your ISO will be fairly high but you will be able to capture just the story. I've never had good results with Auto-Focus photographing sporting events. Hope this helps.