Crosshairs

[chris valkenburg]

Does anyone use the crosshairs on ground glass for anything? Since we rarely place a person in the centre of a shot, of what use are the crosshairs in the middle of the frame?

 

[Phil Holland]

These days they serve as a good reference point to where center from is. You can use that information however you'd like. I know I find it useful for a few things most dealing with lens specific tests and it's decent reference for symmetrical framing.

 

[Satsuki Murashige]

Center crosshairs are good for checking if your zoom lenses are tracking.

I also tend to use them as reference when I'm operating long lens on talking heads, just to make sure my frame isn't drifting over the course of a long interview.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

I've put them up for shots where you want to arrange everything in the frame to be symmetrical.

 

[Andrew Gentle]

I use them for practising operating my stabiliser. It's also nice to know where the magnify function will punch in if AF Confirm is switched off. You can always hide them from your overlay if you don't like them.

 

[Justin Chin]

Yep, on a long lens it's great to use as a way to target your subject. I find it much easier to frame up someone when I look to the center, and gestalt the rest of the composition to the frame edge. That's mostly for live shows or documentary work. Otherwise I try to plan composition when blocking and during rehearsals.

 

[Eric M Hurt]

I always use them. They are a good reference for framing.

 

[chris valkenburg]

Thanks for your replies! Much appreciated.

 

[Satsuki Murashige]

Another framing reference trick that I use when operating b-cam long lens interviews for a really picky DP - I use china pencil to trace eyes, nose, mouth crosshairs on my on-board monitor in their line of sight. Keeps them from telling me to pan or tilt up/down a fraction of an inch every few minutes. ��