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focus finder

French translation: contrôleur/loupe de mise au point

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:focus finder
French translation:contrôleur/loupe de mise au point
Entered by: Kévin Bacquet

04:57 May 22, 2012
English to French translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Photography/Imaging (& Graphic Arts) / agrandissement photo
English term or phrase: focus finder
Bonjour

Il s'agit d'une liste de mots sans contexte. On en trouve une définition ici : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_finder

Merci de votre aide
Kévin Bacquet
France
Local time: 01:56
contrôleur de mise au point
Explanation:
Had trouble finding any bilingual refs, since very many FR sites I found just use the EN term, which is the product name used by many manufacturers.

However, this one does mention this FR term in association with a (micro) focus finder:

http://montreal.kijiji.ca/c-acheter-et-vendre-appareils-phot...

I don't know if this is the 'official' term or even a standard translation, but it certainly describes correctly its function!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 52 mins (2012-05-22 05:49:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I speak as an experienced photographer, both amateur and professional. This was really quite nostalgic for me, since I used these things a lot back in my darkroom days!

It is vital to note that the term "focus finder" is used in (at least) two quite distinct ways in EN:

1) In a camera, it is some kind of device that helps you achieve the correct focus — usually by helping you concentrate on one part of the image and/or indicating when the focus is optimal

2) In a darkroom situation, for enlarging, this is a kind of free-standing magnifying glass (almost a little microscope!) that enables you to study the image projected onto the paper and see when it is correctly in focus; some of them are more sophisticated, and actually use the virtual projected image for the same purpose.

It's vitally important not to confuse EN 'focus' > FR 'mise au point' with FR 'focale', which means the 'focal length' of a lens, not the focusing distance! To the lay person, the linguistic nicety might seem unimportant, but technically there is a world of difference. All this is not helped because many of the FR resources you can find out there on the 'Net are unfortunately translated from EN originals — and not always well translated!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 59 mins (2012-05-22 05:57:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'contrôle' in FR can so often be a faux ami trap for the unwary, as even though 'control' is similarly used in two quite different ways in EN, there is less opportunity for confusion.

'contrôle' in FR sometimes has the sense of 'vérifier' (this is the sense used in the 'contrôleur' here)
but it can also mean 'commander', even 'maîtriser' — just as it can in EN; and just as in EN, the wider context usually makes it clear whether the situation involves checking something, or commanding it.

This is colloquially called a 'focus finder' in EN because its function is to help you find the point of optimum focus.

I have found over 1500 Google hits for this FR expression, associated specifically with the context of photographic enlarging, and all the ones I looked at were referring to products of the type I have been describing — many of them quoting actually manufacturers, so it would be easy to cross-check.
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 01:56
Grading comment
Merci beaucoup !
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3contrôleur de mise au point
Tony M
Summary of reference entries provided
Scoponet contrôleur de mise au point
FX Fraipont (X)

  

Answers


42 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
contrôleur de mise au point


Explanation:
Had trouble finding any bilingual refs, since very many FR sites I found just use the EN term, which is the product name used by many manufacturers.

However, this one does mention this FR term in association with a (micro) focus finder:

http://montreal.kijiji.ca/c-acheter-et-vendre-appareils-phot...

I don't know if this is the 'official' term or even a standard translation, but it certainly describes correctly its function!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 52 mins (2012-05-22 05:49:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I speak as an experienced photographer, both amateur and professional. This was really quite nostalgic for me, since I used these things a lot back in my darkroom days!

It is vital to note that the term "focus finder" is used in (at least) two quite distinct ways in EN:

1) In a camera, it is some kind of device that helps you achieve the correct focus — usually by helping you concentrate on one part of the image and/or indicating when the focus is optimal

2) In a darkroom situation, for enlarging, this is a kind of free-standing magnifying glass (almost a little microscope!) that enables you to study the image projected onto the paper and see when it is correctly in focus; some of them are more sophisticated, and actually use the virtual projected image for the same purpose.

It's vitally important not to confuse EN 'focus' > FR 'mise au point' with FR 'focale', which means the 'focal length' of a lens, not the focusing distance! To the lay person, the linguistic nicety might seem unimportant, but technically there is a world of difference. All this is not helped because many of the FR resources you can find out there on the 'Net are unfortunately translated from EN originals — and not always well translated!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 59 mins (2012-05-22 05:57:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'contrôle' in FR can so often be a faux ami trap for the unwary, as even though 'control' is similarly used in two quite different ways in EN, there is less opportunity for confusion.

'contrôle' in FR sometimes has the sense of 'vérifier' (this is the sense used in the 'contrôleur' here)
but it can also mean 'commander', even 'maîtriser' — just as it can in EN; and just as in EN, the wider context usually makes it clear whether the situation involves checking something, or commanding it.

This is colloquially called a 'focus finder' in EN because its function is to help you find the point of optimum focus.

I have found over 1500 Google hits for this FR expression, associated specifically with the context of photographic enlarging, and all the ones I looked at were referring to products of the type I have been describing — many of them quoting actually manufacturers, so it would be easy to cross-check.

Tony M
France
Local time: 01:56
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 94
Grading comment
Merci beaucoup !

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  GILLES MEUNIER: Finder, ce n'est pas contrôler, ça indique une recherche.....: correspond à Focus Controller : http://www.jimsmobile.com/pdf_docs/smart_focus_specs.pdf
0 min
  -> 'Fraid not, Gilles — this is specialist terminology, I've used these things for years! It's not as simple as 'mot-à-mot' / Your ref. is something quite different; here, it's 'contrôle' in the sense of 'vérifier'
agree  FX Fraipont (X): exactly - http://www.photostock.fr/controleur-de-mise-au-point-paterso...
1 hr
  -> Thanks a lot, F-X!
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Reference comments


1 hr peer agreement (net): +1
Reference: Scoponet contrôleur de mise au point

Reference information:
Scoponet contrôleur de mise au point - grossissement 20 X. "Le" puissant vérificateur d'agrandissement des professionnels avec son grossissement 20 fois sur ..


    Reference: http://www.mx2.fr/acatalog/Accessoires_Labo.html
FX Fraipont (X)
Belgium
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 218

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Tony M
29 mins
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