Focus distance scale on Pen-F

[Lobbamobba]

Hello,
I used to have a Pen-F and really liked it but had to sell it when buying another camera.
Now Im considering getting one again.

One question I have though that I can't remember nor find the answer to is,
Does it have a focus distance scale on the display when using for example Panasonic lenses?

Or is the only really good way to zone focus to use lenses like the 17mm f1.8 or focus at a object at a known distance?

 

[pdk42]

No - there's no focus distance on the display. Can't see the point really... I know I'd never use it anyhow

 

[GarethB]

I can see the point. If you're indoors in poor light the Pen-F struggles to focus, and usually the contrast is too low for focus peaking to work - in this case after a bit of practice you'd probably be able to roughly gauge your distance from the subject and use the scale to focus to. It might not help for super sharp focusing on every shot, but you might get a usable shot quickly where the camera AF would just be hunting around for focus.

 

[Giiba]

I dream of hacking the e-m1 firmware to add a distance readout. Further I'd love a dof readout too, there is no reason these things couldn't be there, my exif data includes focus distance information so it exists in the programing already. The dof would be gravy.

 

[GarethB]

A 'Magic Lantern' style firmware hack for the Olympus cameras would be great, get some extra features and user adjustable tweaks in there.

 

[Lobbamobba]

No - there's no focus distance on the display. Can't see the point really... I know I'd never use it anyhow

I can see the point. If you're indoors in poor light the Pen-F struggles to focus, and usually the contrast is too low for focus peaking to work - in this case after a bit of practice you'd probably be able to roughly gauge your distance from the subject and use the scale to focus to. It might not help for super sharp focusing on every shot, but you might get a usable shot quickly where the camera AF would just be hunting around for focus.

Thanks for the replies,
I use the scale on every single shot. I never ever use AF or any other type of focus.
I know I can estimate and that works nice, but for my A-camera that I spend a lot of money on and a function I use 100% of the time... no, then its to much of compromise and a deal breaker.

I will get a Fuji or Canon instead and maybe get one of the cheaper Pens or a Panasonic as a small backup where the issue doesn't bother me as much.
Thanks again!

 

[saladin]

If i NEVER used AF, ever, then I'd save up for a Leica. The RF viewfinder and scale on the lenses are ideal imo.

As it is, i have the front button on my PenF set to toggle MF. With peaking and magnified view it works a treat.

 

[pdk42]

Thanks for the replies,
I use the scale on every single shot. I never ever use AF or any other type of focus.
I know I can estimate and that works nice, but for my A-camera that I spend a lot of money on and a function I use 100% of the time... no, then its to much of compromise and a deal breaker.

I will get a Fuji or Canon instead and maybe get one of the cheaper Pens or a Panasonic as a small backup where the issue doesn't bother me as much.
Thanks again!

What's wrong with AF?