F8 and be there?
Jan 12, 2018 20:51:10 #
Curious about this expression. Since a lot of lenses have a sweet spot two Av higher, eg, my f2.8 is best at F5.6, does it really boil down to DOF?
Jan 12, 2018 20:54:21 #
Jan 12, 2018 20:58:24 #
Jan 12, 2018 21:00:45 #
Arthur Fellig aka ”Weegee” is said to be responsable for this quote. He used a press camera. Most of the lenses used with press cameras have a max aperture of f/4.7. They were usuall 127mm, 135mm or 152mm lenses. Focus is achieved either by a rangefinder or distance scales. An aperture of f/8 would gurantee that most of the scene or the important parts are in focus.
Jan 12, 2018 21:02:17 #
Jan 12, 2018 21:03:01 #
Jan 12, 2018 21:03:20 #
RichardE wrote:
Curious about this expression. Since a lot of lenses have a sweet spot two Av higher, eg, my f2.8 is best at F5.6, does it really boil down to DOF?
When a famous photojournalist, street photographer, maker of photo documentaries/essays who worked mostly in the 30's and 40's was asked how he got so many great photos and photo stories the reply given by Arthur “Weegee” Fellig was “Simple. f/8 and be there.”
To me it means have your gear ready and be in places where what you are photographing can be found. Also for good DOF f/8 was then and is now a good choice when you want sharp images and don't really have time for fiddling with and calculating settings.
Here is an article about "WeeGee" that shows one of his selfies: http://www.shutterphoto.net/article/f8-and-be-there-what-we-can-learn-from-weegees-philosophy/ Unless her used a second camera I would say this one involved a large mirror.
Some dispute that he said it first, but most seem to agree that he made it famous.
Jan 12, 2018 21:39:34 #
Exactly it was more of a retort— the gist of which was that great pictures begin with taking pictures. Nothing happens without our actions. In other words, get off your butt and be where you need to be when pictures “happen”.
Jan 12, 2018 22:18:07 #
wdross
Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado
RichardE wrote:
Curious about this expression. Since a lot of lenses have a sweet spot two Av higher, eg, my f2.8 is best at F5.6, does it really boil down to DOF?
The short answer is yes. But as the others have provided the information, there is more to the simple phrase than just DOF. If you have had a teacher that has taught you this, and has helped to understand its potential, you have had a teacher that really cares about you and photography.
Jan 13, 2018 03:06:08 #
robertjerl wrote:
When a famous photojournalist, street photographer... (show quote)
If I may, I'd like to expand on WeeGee's comment. He was reputed to have a police band receiver in his car (in that era, one frequency was sufficient). He was also reputed to be an "assertive" driver. He drove the town constantly and frequently arrived at crime scenes before the police. Thus the "be there" part of his comment."
Jan 13, 2018 07:38:20 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
RichardE wrote:
Curious about this expression. Since a lot of lenses have a sweet spot two Av higher, eg, my f2.8 is best at F5.6, does it really boil down to DOF?
NO. My basic goal is a sharp center of interest, not DOF. My sweet spots vary on each lenses from 1/3 stop to more than 5 stops.
Jan 13, 2018 09:00:15 #
Oh the good old days. Back in the 50s and 60s all I had were cameras that were fixed at f/8 and 1/60th shutter speed. At night you used a flash bulb or maybe a flashcube. A good example was the old but very popular Kodak Instamatic. Remember those? I guess the thinking was to market a simple, easy to use do all camera that required no thinking, no settings. Just load the film and shoot. The results? Fair. Mainly because of the lousy cheap lenses but the exposures for the most part seemed to be OK. For that medium focal length f/8 worked well. Good DOF. But not true at all now. In general most lenses will do best in the range of f/5.6 to about f/11. And for the most part the hardware today is MUCH better than back in the 60s even for the so called budget cameras. So if you have nothing to go (meter is out) on or the batteries are dead (camera still functions), use the default at 1/60 and f/8. Interesting subject.
Jan 13, 2018 09:23:58 #
I remember the Kodak Instamatics. Came out in the early 1960's. Fixed aperature and shutter speed. The instruction booklet said that in low light situations where you did not want flash, put a used flashbulb in place. The camera would detect a bulb and lengthen the shutter speed. When people would ask why I did that, it made me feel like a "real" photographer when I told them. I was 13 and didn't know how much I didn't know.
Jan 13, 2018 09:30:53 #
billnikon wrote:
NO. My basic goal is a sharp center of interest, not DOF. My sweet spots vary on each lenses from 1/3 stop to more than 5 stops.
But "Weegee" wasn't an artist - he wanted to be able to lift his camera and take a picture before it was gone; with his manual focus camera, that meant lots of DOF.
Jan 13, 2018 10:00:40 #
gvarner
Loc: Central Oregon Coast
A pro in our camera club ties the sweet spot to sharpest focus rather than optimum DoF. It's determined by using a properly set-up focusing test at various apertures. Each prime lens has a different sweet spot, as does each focal length in a zoom. Most sweet spots lie around F8 to F11, or so he says. My personal tastes aren't that refined.
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