Leica Got my M240, could do with some advice on using a RF

Funny, I just started to do the same in Amsterdam for the first time. After each shot I focussed at infinity so as to be somewhat ready. I'm a sucker for wide open lenses so narrow f stops don't help me much.
 
I like the effect of a fast lens too, but thought I'd start with a 35 f2 due to the generous DoF. It's demoralising seeing Thorsten Overgaard using the 50 f0.95 and acquiring focus, and spot on too. However when you see videos of him shooting, he seems to use an EVF a fair bit. That's cheating, isn't it!
 
I like the effect of a fast lens too, but thought I'd start with a 35 f2 due to the generous DoF. It's demoralising seeing Thorsten Overgaard using the 50 f0.95 and acquiring focus, and spot on too. However when you see videos of him shooting, he seems to use an EVF a fair bit. That's cheating, isn't it!

Prior to the M240 he was working the .95 magic on his M9 too. No EVF help there.
 
Prior to the M240 he was working the .95 magic on his M9 too. No EVF help there.
I can see a gradual improvement in my own focusing ability the more I use the rangefinder, plus a degree of confidence helps which comes with practice. But using a .95 would be a step too far, apart from the ticket price of course.
In the case of Thorsten Overgaard, he's probably been using a Leica range finder since Adam was a lad, and of course he only publishes his good shots, both technically and in terms of content/composition.
 
I found that it takes practice to acquire focus consistently. I still miss the focus too many times mostly from shooting wide open at f1.4 with the 50mm 'Lux. I too used to shoot with the M43 Oly and Pany cameras, but I find I get more "keepers" with the Leica M.
Lately I take the Leica Q with me as well when I go shooting. That way I have a wide angle 28mm and the 50mm ready to go. I think that it's good to be mindful of the aperture settings with any camera. I often set the Q at f1.7 and the 'Lux at f1.4, I find that I often fail to get the shots I want because the F stop is not set to suit. Not only can you get better depth of field with a smaller aperture, but the focus is much more forgiving...
For what it's worth, I do tend to use the exposure compensation to keep from blowing out highlights. It's relatively easy to do it with either the M or the Q and I think it's a great tool.
 
When I'm using manual focus lenses and don't want to have to mess with focusing (street / travel shooting), I tend to place the infinity marker on the f-stop I've set on the lens (on the right side of centre when looking down on the lens) and then read the distance shown above the f stop on the other side of centre. That gives me an idea of the DOF. Clearly, wider apertures provide shallower DOF but at f5.6 or f8 it's normal to have a few feet to infinity in sharp focus. So long as the shutter speed is sufficient to avoid blur (you can always crank up the ISO to achieve this) the camera almost becomes a "point and shoot".

Apologies to anyone who knows this technique but I hope it's of benefit to others.
 
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