How I am working with my cameras

Photography is not done in just one way and there are no universal rules to obtain a result. Also because what you want to achieve is often very personal.

Made with Olympus Pen EP5 using my zone focusing technique

One of the problems felt by many photographers is that of correct exposure and above all focusing correctly. You have no idea how many people struggle with focusing. And, on the other hand, it happens sometimes even to professionals that they are unable to focus, let alone to those who are less experienced. And it is also evident from the proposals of the various camera manufacturers that have done nothing but continue to increase the number of ways to focus and are pushing hard with a huge number of focus points in modern cameras.

I believe that we don’t need 425 selectable autofocus points. Leica M series, even in their digital editions are designed without autofocus. So how I work with my “old” cameras? Currently I work with Olympus Pen and Canon DSLR Cameras.

My way to work with my Olympus Pen

With my Olympus Pen EP5, I prefer shooting in manual focus. This choice is all about precision and the tactile connection I have with the image-making process. The Olympus Pen EP5 is compact and versatile, allowing me to slow down and focus on composition, light, and moment. Manual focus gives me complete control, allowing me to pre-focus and anticipate the shot, which is particularly useful in street photography where I might want to capture a specific scene with precise clarity. The process feels more deliberate, and I find it enhances my creativity by allowing me to experiment with different focal planes and depths of field. It is important to say that Manual Focus is crucial with a camera very slow when just turned on in wake up of the autofocus so the manual focus gives me a immediately reactive camera.

My Alternative Zone Focusing with the Olympus Pen EP5 explained

Recently someone with a Leica Q3 observed that by using the shutter speed I am not really using the zone focusing technique. I need to clarify on this point.

Zone focusing has long been a fundamental technique for street photographers, especially those using older lenses with distance scales directly on the lens. These scales allow for precise control over depth of field, making it easier to ensure that your subject stays within the desired focus range. But what about modern lenses, which often lack these helpful scales?

With modern lenses, especially those on mirrorless cameras, we might not have the traditional distance scales, but we do have new tools that can be just as effective. One of these is focus peaking, a feature that highlights the areas in focus directly on your screen or viewfinder. By using focus peaking in combination with manual focus, you can effectively adapt zone focusing to your needs, even without the old-school distance markings.

Personally, I often use a 14mm lens on my micro four-thirds camera, shooting with manual focus while in shutter priority mode. I set my ISO and control the shutter speed, allowing the camera to choose the aperture. However, I make sure that the aperture doesn’t go below f/4, which on a micro four-thirds sensor gives me a depth of field equivalent to f/8 on a full-frame sensor. This setup ensures that a large portion of my scene remains in focus, perfectly aligned with the principles of zone focusing.

While this method might not be exactly the same as the traditional approach, it’s just as effective. The key is understanding how to adapt the technique to your gear, making informed decisions about exposure and focus settings to maintain control over the depth of field.

In the end, whether you're using vintage lenses or the latest mirrorless technology, zone focusing remains a powerful tool in the street photographer’s arsenal. It’s all about adapting the technique to fit your style and equipment, ensuring you get the shot you envision.

My way to work with my Canon DSLR cameras

On the other hand, with my Canon Rebel T7 and Canon 5D Mark II, I utilize Autofocus. These cameras are my go-to tools for situations where speed and efficiency are crucial, such as portrait sessions or fast-paced street photography. The Autofocus on these DSLRs is highly reliable, helping me to capture sharp images quickly without missing crucial moments. The Canon Rebel T7, though an entry-level camera, provides a solid autofocus system that’s perfect for when I need to shoot on the go. The Canon 5D Mark II, with its advanced autofocus capabilities, allows me to maintain focus even in challenging lighting conditions or when the subject is in motion. It is so easy and effective that I can concentrate myself just in compositions.

In essence, my choice of focusing method aligns with the unique strengths of each camera and the specific needs of the shooting situation. Manual focus on the Olympus Pen EP5 provides me with artistic control, while Autofocus on my Canon cameras ensures I can react swiftly to capture the moment.

Manual, Aperture or Shutter Speed Priority?

My experience makes me say that any camera requires to the photographer to adapt the way to work. Because any camera system is different. With Leica X2 for example I was working on the street using zone focusin but the camera did have a barrel visible on the LCD indicating the focus distance. I can’t believe I nailed most of the time with that dated system. And I was using most of the time the camera in full manual exposure.

In general my experience makes me say that Aperture priority is more for portraits and Shutter Speed priority is the one I prefer using for street photography. Yes, I know what you are thinking about this last thing. Many photographers go more with Aperture priority in order to avoid the camera going under f5.6 or even f8. Well, there is a way to dominate the camera to control this most of the time. And this is effective when we can control 2 parameters of the exposure triangle. I prefer to select the ISO and, in that case, the shutter priority because in my experience and due to my way to photograph on the street, by using the aperture priority raising the camera quickly at the very last moment, I could find the camera selecting a slow shutter speed and the result would be a blurry image.

Most of the time I am photographing people moving fast in front of me and I need to control the shutter speed.Usually I am between 800 and 1600 ISO. By controlling the shutter speed, usually between 1/320 and 1/500, sometimes going more fast to 1/1000. this affects also the aperture priority that the exposure meter chooses.

And no, I never played with the expsosure compensation: II think that's a big trap for photographers: it is a way to make errors most of the time, if you have to control the exposure compensation, why not going full manual that will be better?

How with Canon cameras?

After a lot of experimentation, in my opinion, there is only a way to work with Canon DSLR cameras: AI SERVO + ONE SHOT.

Conclusions

I think the way to work needs to be reduced in options as much as possible, in order to focus on the essential: to capture the moment, with the camera always ready. Today the new cameras are promoted with a lot of options, but most of the time we don’t need of them.