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# Focusing - Does the Camera Matter?
- URL: https://journey.davidknoble.life/focusing-does-the-camera-matter/
- Published: 2026-07-24T17:25:24.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-24T18:01:22.000Z
- Description: Is the camera model or type of focusing system the most important for focusing an image? I suggest two things more important than the camera.
- Author: David Knoble
- Tags: das Wesentliche

It would make sense that whether an image is in focus or not depends solely on the camera. After all, the camera is what one looks through before pressing the shutter! Yet, is the camera really at the end of the decision-making process, or does the camera really determine what one will focus on?

### Thinking Through the Image First

I propose that the camera is at the end of the process and has little bearing on the focus of an image, except in very certain circumstances. 

Think about the image of the red flower bouquet I made with the Leica R DMR and the Leica R Summilux 80mm lens. I wasn't holding the camera with the lens attached and then just decided to make the photograph. In fact, I saw the bouquet and loved the various types of red flowers with the brightly lit background. The front rose beside a spot of purple and green seemed to beg me to make an image.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/28/88/28888718-3151-40e0-92e4-bf1a38db79a2/content/images/2026/07/Journey-R9DMR-L5660570-1.jpg)

The choice of framing and focus to set the mood.

I thought that the red flowers could represent love, lust, blood, a whole host of emotions depending on how I took the image. I chose to single out the front rose but still make sure the varied red flowers were noticeable. I wanted the bright light all around to show the idea of a single love, white for purity, and the rose for love. The green and purple just broke up an otherwise monochromatic theme.

### Second, the Lens and Camera Combination

With that decision made, I wanted a longer focal length to get rid of the background detail and let it blur to white. I also needed a fairly shallow depth of field, but a lens that would still hold the shapes of the other flowers and not simply create a busy background. The Walter Mandler lens, which comes in a Leica M Summilux 75 and Leica R Summilux 80, draws this way. So that was my lens choice.

Those who know me well know how much I love film, so I decided to use the Leica R9 but put the digital module on the back. The DMR sensor was made by Imacon and has beautiful colors. You wouldn't know by this image that it is only 10 megapixels.

I could have just as easily used a Leica M11 or the Leica M EV1 and attached the Summilux 75, probably getting the same image. I also used the Leica R with an old digital technology to show that the camera doesn't matter so much.

### Third, Setting the F/Stop and Framing for Focus

After getting the lens and camera combination I wanted to use, I had to determine an f/stop and framing so I could obtain the depth of field I was after. I know this lens is very soft wide open and incredibly sharp by f/4\. I also know the lens has incredibly soft falloff in front of and behind the focal plane. I decided f/2 would be sufficient to get the top petals of the rose in sharp focus and maybe the purple and green at least close to sharp focus.

Framing was easy because I only had to back up far enough to get the top of the bouquet in the image. The vase or container was irrelevant for the image I was after. Because the f/stop decision was made and I prefer to shoot at low ISO's, the shutter speed setting was rudimentary to complete a proper exposure.

### Final Focus and Taking the Image

After going through all these decisions, I finally turned the focus ring while looking through the viewfinder. As with all SLR's, I focused back and forth, settling on the sharpest view. Back and forth, less each time, until it looked right to me. I pressed the shutter and the image was made.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/28/88/28888718-3151-40e0-92e4-bf1a38db79a2/content/images/2026/07/Journey-R9DMR-L5660572-2.jpg)

Another bouquet and a similar process with decisions made before the camera focusing was used - **Leica R9 with DMR and Leica R Summilux 80mm lens at f/2*

### Does the Camera Matter - Yes and No.

The camera should be at the end of the decision-making, regardless of whether the subject is still life, sports, documentary, street, landscape, or any other type of photography. Think about this for a minute. Sports requires getting close while shooting far away, with a shutter speed to freeze the action. Landscapes may require high dynamic ranges and very large depths of field, leading to a tripod to hold things still. Documentary work may involve getting close in both physically and in the image. It may also need a depth of field that is sometimes very deep and sometimes shallower.

All these decisions then point to a lens or lenses. I would argue further that the light anticipated also determines the ISO needed. This was true for me with film and is just more flexible with digital. Depending on the camera system used, there may be a choice of body types. For example, an M lens might require an M body (ignoring adapters, of course). But then, is the choice a Leica M film camera? Is the choice a digital system? Now, the choice also involves the rangefinder or EV1? It depends on what equipment is available and the medium used.

These decisions would all be the "No" portion of whether the camera matters. Clearly, the camera helps determine if the lens is focused where it needs to be. This is the "Yes" portion of the answer and is rather small in the grand scheme of things. The Camera is the tool; the decisions are already made by the point in time that the focusing ring is turned and the shutter pressed.

### Das Wesentliche - The Creativity and then the Tool

For me, the best part about photography is the freedom to be creative regardless of where I am, what the light is, and how I see what is around me. The next best part is the choice of incredible tools I have from Leica. The camera matters, just at the end of the process.