How to Use a Scale Focus Camera

Film Cameras

• 1

  Open the camera back and place a roll of film into the film cassette holder. Stretch the film end, or leader, across the opening and insert the end into the slot in the take-up spool. Manually advance the film once and close the back.

• 2

  Advance the film two more times to move the exposed portion past the exposure opening.

• 3

  Use an exposure meter, either the one built into the camera or a hand-held meter, to get the correct exposure for the scene. Set the exposure on the camera. Keep the aperture, or f-stop, as small as you can, while maintaining a shutter speed of at least 1/60th of a second.

• 4

  Frame the subject in the viewfinder. Estimate the distance to your subject as closely as you can. Set that distance on the scale focusing ring on the lens or the focusing scale in the viewfinder.

• 5

  Hold the camera steady and squeeze the shutter release button.

Digital Cameras

• 6

  Insert a memory card into the card slot of the camera and close the cover.

• 7

  Frame the subject in the viewfinder and adjust the exposure, if in manual mode, to get as small an aperture as possible, while keeping the shutter speed up to at least 1/60th of a second.

• 8

  Estimate the distance to the subject and set that distance on the zone focusing scale in the viewfinder or on the focusing ring on the lens, if one is supplied.

• 9

  Hold the camera steady and squeeze the shutter release button.