jeff@tesla.UUCP (06/29/84)
From: jeff (Jeff Frey) A recent correspondent objected to the ME Super because, he said, it had no DOF preview. Actually, DOF preview on a camera is more misleading than useful, and therefore is dangerous. DOF is a relative matter that depends on degree of enlargement and viewing distance, so it takes an awful lot of experience in looking at prints or slides to be able to convert what you see as "DOF preview" to what the actual exprience of viewing the print or slide will be. I hardly ever use the DOF preview on my OM2 (and then am always mislead). The ME Super can be had nowadays for about $130 with f2 lens and rebate; that's a really fine camera with excellent Pentax-made accessory lenses and seems like a good buy to me. Jeff Frey
rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (07/10/84)
>Actually, DOF preview on a camera is more misleading >than useful, and therefore is dangerous. DOF is a relative matter that >depends on degree of enlargement and viewing distance... There are two sides to the use of DOF preview. You should be pretty cautious about assuming that an object will be in relatively sharp focus in the final print just because it looks in focus in the little viewfinder. You can probably judge for a 3R print; maybe up to a 5x7 if you're really lucky, but forget it for large prints (or substantial enlargement due to heavy cropping). On the plus side for DOF, you can use the preview to see what happens to a background you're trying to drop out by leaving it out-of-focus. This is a much less stringent judgment - what you're trying to decide is whether the background of a picture will be sufficiently out of focus that it won't be distracting - and you want to see the scene when stopped down to judge this. -- Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303)444-5710 x3086 ...Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity.