proper focus

[bringer_of_light]

hey guys...
i'm a complete newbie, though i have shot a couple short animated films on super8. i've gotten lucky in the past and guessed as far as focusing goes. how do i tell whether the shot is in focus or not? i know there's some formula or something but i can't find it anywhere. if anyone could clear this up i'd greatly appreciate it. thanks

-the light bringer

[mattias]

how do you tell if it's in focus or not? if it's sharp, it is. if it's blurry, it's not. :-)

if you're asking how to set focus the best way, i suggest you take a tape measure, get the distance from the film plane to the subject and then set your focusing ring to this distance. another option if tape is inconvenient is to zoom in, focus visually and zoom back out. a third option is to light to an f-stop of 11 or so, and pretty much everything will be in focus due to the increase in depth of field.

the formula you're after might be for calculating depth of field? the easiest way to avoid having to bother about this is to pretend depth of field doesn't exist, and pull focus as necessary.

[bringer_of_light]

thanks but if it was that easy, i could've done it myself... should've clarified. i have an old kodak and the "view finder" always looks like it's in focus. that's why i asked... how ever, the tape measure method works too... thanks.

[ekoe]

in that case, i'd suggest getting a super8 reflex camera so you're seeing the image coming through the lens. as opposed to the sort you have now, which i believe is a rangefinder. you're viewfinder is separate from the lens. so you'd have to estimate distance or use a measure.
in regards to the zoom-in method (critical focus method) referred to above: this will only work if your camera possesses a 'true-zoom', i.e.- a zoom which will hold focus from telephoto to wide. the older zooms do not hold focus after zooming wide. this was a point of confusion for me as well.

[IndieFilmsOnline.com]

November 26, 2000

FOCUS

1. Eye Adjust
The key to proper focus on a
motion picture camera is to
adjust the EYEPIECE for
YOUR EYE.

2. Then you focus the lens.

But, maybe your Kodak camera
does not have the abiltiy for
you to focus through the lens,
and maybe it does not have
an eye adjust.

3. Maybe you could buy another
Super 8 camera on eBay.

4. Super 8 Cameras
Canon makes some very good
super 8 cameras that focus
very well.

Best regards,

JOHN LONGENECKER

------------------
JOHN LONGENECKER |
Cinematographer |
www.IndieFilmsOnline.com | [email protected]

[bringer_of_light]

thank you everyone for all you help. i appreciate it. i think what i'm gonna do is move up in the world and buy myself a better camera. that's what happens though, when you get your stuff for free... can't complain in that respect. thanks again.

[phillipx1]

If you need a better camera, I have a Canon 814 that I'm selling. I've been using a Nizo for a while now and don't need the Canon. I have a bunch of stuff with it. If interested, e-mail me.

[#Pedro]

hi bringer of light!
I think the costs of S8 film are worth to use good equipment to get good results! The best way to enshure exact focusing controled by the viewfinder is to use a camera with ground glass focusing. The view finder frame hasn?t any center dots to guess the focus, it?s whole area allows to set the focus very precisly and rapid. Unfortunatly there are few cameras which are supplied with a ground glass viewfinder. I know, that the Beaulieu 4008, 5008, updated 6006, all 7008 and 9008 models have one. The Leicina (Leiz) has a interchangable viewfinder glass, incluiding a ground glass. The Beaulieu-models are the best choice, especially the 7008/9008, as they have a very very fine-grained ground glass. With all other viewfinder systems I worked with I always had had problems with the focus!
Pedro