the International Rollei Club

Often people ask "how can you set the right distance by guessing? " , well maybe it is because I grew up with cameras that had no accurate measurement system. But I'm rarely off, my long by gone teacher tought me a simple trick: Learn the legth of your arm, memorize that and use that as your close-by scale, half it or double it; Learn the span-width of both your arms, the spread of your fingers , the length of a firm pass or step, and after a while you'll be very accurate with measuring any critical distance. After about 3 - 4 meter ( 10-13 feet ) it is not critical anyway anymore. Set hyperfocal ( make maximum use of depth of field ) and very very rarely you will have an unsharp image with the great little 35.
J.

Seeing distance is definitely harder for some than others. I got pretty good at it by doing a lot of building. I know the look of 4 feet from working with plywood. And I am pretty good at 20 feet from working with lumber. I shoot nearly straight down a lot at stuff on the ground and I have learned the amount of distance depending on how bent over I am and how far out in front of me I shoot. And as you say, I can tell 3 feet because I can't quite reach it.

I used a similar technique when I owned my 35. I know my height and used to visualise myself lying down toward the subject. I then asked myself how many 'me's' are there between myself and the subject. Half a 'me' would be about 3 feet, One and a half 'me's 9 feet etc.

Then, of course, you can pace; learn to gauge a yard or metre step. Handy if there are no obstacles between you and your subject. Difficult if there is a large hole in your way; can make a mess of your expensive camera kit! I used pacing with my old folders.

An old italian guy named Leonardo da Vinci gives away some good tips on distance guesstimates on a book (used to be a best seller at XV century) named Codex Urbinensis. You can also use a pocket rangefinder too. Regards: Ossain