The usual minimum object distance for these devices is 3ft or 1 m. Most scales are in feet, but it is possible to find rangefinders calibrated in meters. The rangefinder is simple to operate: simply look though it and turn the distance scale until two displaced images merge, the focus distance is then read off the scale.ĭistance scales are fairly standard across devices. Two basic rangefinder designs were used: a horizontal and vertical design as shown on the top and side of my Horseman below. Eight rangefinders are discussed here, but there are others, most notably made by Leica.Īccessory rangefinders can be handheld or mounted directly on the camera. I had researched these devices when looking for a focusing aid for my Horseman SW612 panoramic camera. The accessory rangefinder helped increase the accuracy of that process. But many cameras in the 20th century required the photographer to estimate object distances and set the focus manually. Most contemporary rangefinders are incorporated into the camera’s viewfinder, such as found in the Leica M series cameras, and are known as coupled rangefinders. Before the use of autofocus, accessory rangefinders were quite common: a rangefinder is a device to determine object distance.
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