tools for zone focusing

[barnninny]

Have you tried a magnifier loupe on the ground glass?

Yes.

[Jim Noel]

"That would be okay if you're working with sufficient DOF, but that's pretty limiting. What have you guys used to get accurate subject distances? Are there devices like this that are designed for photography? (Googling any combination of "rangefinder" and any photography term produces RF cameras, of course.)"

Yes there are such things. When rangefinders began to appear on 35 mm cameras, the demand for unmounted ones grew. They were made by many companies. There are still many around which are clean and working well because they generally came in some kind of small case. Put in a search. I wish you success.

[premortho]

If you are focusing past 50 feet, I would use a hunters lazer rangefinder. For focusing closer than fifty feet, one of the old rangefinders for 120 roll film cameras will work very well. The main advantage to the Kalart type rangefinders used on Speed Graphics is that they are coupled to the lens. With a view camera, that is really no advantage as compared to the un-coupled rangefinders mentioned above.

[ataim]

Easy and darn near free. I've never used it, but in concept it looks pretty sound. http://tomchuk.com/misc/rf/

[barnninny]

Easy and darn near free. I've never used it, but in concept it looks pretty sound. http://tomchuk.com/misc/rf/

I dunno how accurate it would be, but it's clever as hell. Thanks, ataim.

[Drew Wiley]

Decent laser distance meters can not be obtained for as low as about $150 from outfits like Bosch, Stabila, or Spectra. These
all share the same Leica mechanism internally. Don't go cheaper, and avoid anything that says Stanley on it like the plague.

[Drew Wiley]

Sorry... misleading typo .... should be, can "now" be obtained for around $150. It wasn't too long ago that a decent meter
cost more like $750, but they're quite affordable now as long as you stick with a reputable brand.

[barnninny]

Thanks, Drew. I'll look those up.

[Drew Bedo]

There is/was a guy in England who did church interiore in LF with hyper-focal techniques and he was legally blind ("Registetred Blind" in England). He pre-figured the hyper-focal parameters for his lens and cut a stick to separate the front and back standards the correct amount. In use, the stick is placed on the bed rail and the front standard racked back till the stick is held firmly between the standards.

With some calculation and trials, one could make a set of focusing jigs for several combinations of focus and f-stop . . .for a selection of lenses.

Would this work for you?

[barnninny]

He sounds like a remarkable man.

Yes, I assume it would work for me, too. At this point, though, my eyes aren't that bad; I'm hoping for a simpler solution.