Is it still necessary...

R

Rocksteady

Active member
Do you guys think it's still necessary to use a tape measure to measure focuss anymore? With the magnification function on the dslrs it doesn't really seem necessary to me. I just "zoom" in on my subject and make sure their sharp. I ask because a friend and I had an argument about it last night.
 
Magnification is fine for your first focus point, but what about when you are shooting a scene and has multiple marks? Your 1st AC still needs to know how to pull focus, whether on DSLR, video, film, etc. And that means knowing the throw of your lens and distance from subject to lens.
 
The problem with using tape on a DSLR is that SLR lenses usually aren't anywhere near marked fine enough (enough gradation or distance between markings), nor are they guaranteed accurate, nor do they have witness marks.

SLR lenses are not made for pulling focus.

Measuring works great for cinema lenses, because they are designed for the task. But the distance markings on an SLR lens are usually, at best, rough guidelines.

To the OP, I would suggest using the magnification and visual confirmation to get the markings, and mark those markings on the lens barrel with tape, or on your follow focus. So the workflow NextWaveG is still of course proper, but you should be using visual confirmation of the focus points, rather than tape measuring, when using a lens that isn't guaranteed to have accurate measure points.
 
A follow focus will help. Magnify, get focus at both points, mark them on the follow focus, mark the floor, go nuts.
 
If you can't trust your lens markings, or if you need better markings on your lens (as in 1", 3", 5" vs. .24 meters, etc.), get yourself some lens tape and make your own markings on the barrel.
 
The 1st Ac that usually works for me, just uses the monitor to look off to focus and will use marks when theres a lot of moving but he's been able to get some really hard focus pulling shots just by using the monitor and knowing the distances on the lenses for when the actors move back and forth.
 
JesseAnthony said:
The 1st Ac that usually works for me, just uses the monitor to look off to focus and will use marks when theres a lot of moving but he's been able to get some really hard focus pulling shots just by using the monitor and knowing the distances on the lenses for when the actors move back and forth.
Click to expand...

Then your 1st AC should click here and watch "The Art of Pulling Focus". An experienced 1st AC should only use a monitor when shots are unscripted or in extreme handheld moments.
 
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