Who actually uses the distance gauge on their lens?

I got a 50 1.8 that arrived DOA. I went on a search to see if it is a common problem. I found a old thread on another forum. It was about the age when they went to version 2. One of the posters stated he would stay with version 1 only because of the distance gauge. Now I have been shooting since the mid "80's And I don't recall ever using the gauge. Not even once. And I dont ever recall seeing someone with a SLR useing a tape measure to find their focus. Plus the scale is so coarse I would never call it precision.

So I am wondering... Who uses the distance gauge? And for what?

I consider it pretty useless.

i wouldn't know how to use it if i wanted to .

ed rader

You compose your photograph. You then tell your subject(s) to stay perfectly still (maybe mark some tape on the floor?), then grab a tape measure to measure the distance from the subject's eyes to the sensor plane. You then write down this measurement. Put the pen down (and the tape measure if you're still holding it), and then while looking at the distance gauge, move the focus ring until the distance in the window matches EXACTLY what you wrote down on your notepad.

ed rader wrote in post #7032905
i wouldn't know how to use it if i wanted to .

ed rader

It was more useful on prime lenses, in fact it's rarely if ever available on zooms. More for DOF than anything. Just assume you were shooting at f/11, if you put the f/ll mark against the infinity symbol then the other end of the scale would show you the nearest point of focus that would be acceptably sharp. Useful in it's day.

cheers

I do to set the focus when take self portraits at long distances (beyond the reach of the remote shutter release).

It can be very handy for when you are doing landscapes and using the Hyperfocal distance.

Have shot manual using the viewfinder with focus confirmation, but have not used the viewfinder yet.

Is that what it was? I thought it was some sort of compass.

nicksan wrote in post #7033667
Is that what it was? I thought it was some sort of compass.

As far as you're concerned, it is.

Duuuuuude...

nw85887 wrote in post #7033786
As far as you're concerned, it is.

I use distance gauge when AF and MF(human eyes) is not possible due to low light and low contrast condition.

Usually the actual distance is measured by a range finder then dial in the distace for the gauge in combination with a small apature.

nicksan wrote in post #7033807
Duuuuuude...

I just calls'ems likes I sees'ems.

The OP has obviously not shot a rangefinder. I played with a Leica IIIf recently and found the rangefinder so dim, I had to guess at the distance and bump up the DOF to compensate. It was actually a lot of fun. But i don't see a use on a modern camera.

The scales are theoretically handy in determining DOF and in setting the best focus distance for deep DOF shots.

But the scales on EOS lenses are so coarse they are pretty close to useless.