focusing a H16 reflex

[Neil Stubbings]

so I have a few non-RX lenses plus a c-mount to nikon adapter with some nikon lenses.

When I am focusing through the viewfinder, the funny thing is that with the lens on its infinity setting isnt really sharp, it is sharp a little bit before the infinity mark and slightly defocuses again at the infinity mark.

 

whats the deal with this, i suspect its due to the prism. But what does this mean for me now. Is it sharp on film on the infinity mark and just unsharp due to the different distance from the prism to the groundglass.

Or is it sharp on film when its sharp on the groundglass?

 

maybe this has been discussed 100's of times. I tried to read alot here in the Forum, but I am a beginner in film shooting.

So any pointer would be greatly appreciated.

 

I am planing to take my newly aqcuired H16 with me on my trip to california in two weeks, so i need to sort this stuff out beforehand so that I not waste 100's of valuable swiss francs on film thats out of focus, over/underexposed or generally crappy. Its not for a project or job or anything, just for fun and to get to know film shooting.

[Jean-Louis Seguin]

Assuming your camera's groundglass is correctly set to equal the film plane focus and that the diopter is set correctly,you can rely on what you see in the viewfinder. With non-RX lenses, do not pay any attention to the distance scale setting, it will likely be a little off.

 

However, you must remember that even if it looks sharp in the viewfinder, you may still get soft images with these non-RX lenses at wide apertures. To be safe, never use an aperture larger than two stops down from the maximum.

 

Cheers,

Jean-Louis