Ever wonder how a rangefinder camera focuses? I found a video on YouTube that shows exactly how that happens. As you’ll see, certain areas line up with one another. When they’re all perfectly lined up, you know you’re in focus. We reviewed the Leica M9 and Leica M7 cameras here a while back: both are rangefinders. When I say that rangefinder focusing really helps when you’re visually impaired the way I am, I’m not joking. Try focusing with a rangefinder, and then try it with a DSLR: without your glasses. See which one will be more accurate. Yes, there is autofocus, but sometimes it isn’t reliable.
This posting is dedicated to all the rangefinder lovers, those curious about Leica, and to our very own Educational Director Sander-Martijn; who like me is experiencing vision problems. I talked to him about rangefinder focusing the other night.