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Laser distance finder

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Okay some folks have some camera's that need to guesstimate about distance . The Horseman, Cambo's and Alpa do not have a way to focus except for replacing the back with a ground glass which is fine but slow. So i would think what we are looking for is something small, cheap and works at distances at 2 ft to about 50 ft than infinity settings takeover . This could also be handy for M8 shooters as well to test lenses and such. So what is out there that would work really well but I would like to see one under 200 dollars and really small like shirt pocket small.
 

LJL

New member
Nothing to suggest, Guy, but there may be some caveats to consider. One is how accurate the setting on the lenses are to which you are dialing in the distance? At smaller apertures, where DOF may make up for some slop, it is not as much an issue, but I would think that on MF, where the DOF is already getting skinnier, larger apertures are still going to require something a bit more precise.

LJ
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I bought one of the laser tape measures at OSH for $35. Only problem is it needs something solid to bounce back at you off of, and even then it isn't accurate :ROTFL: An alternative would be the Leica RF binoculars, but they will set you back about as much as another lens for your Alpa :D
 

Jim Stone

Workshop Member
Guy

The gal I've chatted with a number of times who uses an Alpa uses one made by (I think ) Hilti. They are NOT cheap however, but look on Ebay. You are going to beat me to the punch again !!

Cheers

Jim
 

Terry

New member
Just be careful if you are trying this with street. Some people don't take kindly to having red laser beams pointed at them.....:ROTFL::ROTFL:
 

jlm

Workshop Member
the way the hilti works is you put the back of the device against your zero and aim the spot at the target. once on target, push a button, wait a sec or two, it beeps and reads out the distance to the 1/32", up to at least 100ft (longest i have tried) you have to hold it steady and you have to be able to see the spot on the target. a very handy gizmo. it is a bit limited in bright light or if you let it wiggle
 

PeterA

Well-known member
How do you match the laser rangefnder's indicated distance to the lenses scale? How much more accurate is the laser to the lens - given aparture focal length distance combinations?

Now look at the scales on the lens...a laser rangefidner is NOT going to help in any meaningful way. You are shooting wides at F8-16 - you do not have a focusing issue. For anywhere between 1 meter and infinity anywhere in between for tighter acceptable focus is easily achieved by reference to lens distance scale.

I will say this again - read a DOF chart and relax.

I think too many of us have been addicted to auto everything on cameras - much of which is a waste of time for a photographer.

If you feel you need one of these laser distance measures - you dont need an Alpa.

Also as an aside the Leica rangefinder binoculars are not accurate - I tried a pair to use for marking distances out in golf course and prepare my cheat sheet for Yearly Competition - NOT accurate to within 10 meters from 200 meters out - useless. Maybe it was the pair I borrowed.
 

Terry

New member
Peter,
for golf in the US there is sky caddy which is a hand held gps with the course mapped out and all distances to key areas (bunkers, center of green, etc). A friend of mine maps the courses. Cool stuff although for me I like figuring out the distance and thinking about what the shot looks like rather than a precision level that seems sort of unfair.
 
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