Joe and Marc, thank you
Deang, love the first two shots!
Marc, nice effect!
Shots from yesterday at my young horse trainer's wedding at Tamrookum in Queensland, all with the M-M, 50 Nocti f/1.0. The camera was so easy to use, seamlessly working up to 10000 ISO for night shots.
This shot is at 3200 ISO
Rather than posting too many shots, all the photos are linked here:
Looks really good Charles! For the outdoor shots here, did you stop down a bit?
Marcsery - very nice from the difficult on M9 CV15, and really like the 50 pre-ASPH image as well.
swoop - great angle.
Dean - love the details. I could spend all day at temples.
Bruno - great set!
WeeSin - I really like the B&W image!
So, I've been slacking off in terms of posting images...
I went for a walk today in the woods. Nothing much really came of it. Then I turned the corner along this fence and was confronted...
They didn't seem all that afraid, so decided to pester them a bit by following them around. It's a predominantly residential area, so there is a lack of natural predators and these guys seem pretty comfortable with people, so I wanted to see how far I could push my luck.
The adult deer above, the one in the middle, (and there were more in another group) were pretty timid and skittish. I didn't have much luck approaching them. Actually, there were a couple males, one with nice antlers, and they approached me, but kept about a 10m distance.
But there was one juvenile who ventured on its own for a while, and I guess hasn't yet developed a solid fear of humans. So I followed it...
The above four were all with the 50 Lux ASPH on the M9, at around f/2 or f/2.5...
It was letting me get pretty close, so I thought I'd test my luck with the 28 Cron:
Generally I was following it around. Then it started to approach me instead...
And showed off those big puppy/bambi eyes, haha....
That was about it. I also tried some with the 21, but never got quite as close... people with dogs wandered by and that was pretty much the end of it...
Charles, excellent work. Impressive to see the rendering and tones in both the white and the dark dresses being so good at the same time.
Ron, great set. Interesting how much the rendering and colors differ between the 50 Lux and the 28 Cron or did the light change? Yet again I am tempted to get the 28 Cron
Last weekend there was a half-marathon race in Stockholm. I wasn't around for the actual race but got some photos while people was warming up. Shot with the 35 Lux and then I used a negative Contrast in Lightroom to handle the very harsh light, using negative Contrast in a situation like this is a new concept to me but it certainly has its merits now that the Contrast setting works so differently in Lightroom 4 compared to earlier versions. As a matter of fact, I use the Tone Curve so much less now in Lightroom 4 because the Contrast slider is so much better.
Yup, next stop - Africa! The plan is for a longterm 21 Lux environmental portrait study of lions and cheetahs in their natural habitats... this was just a warm-up
Joakim - I agree with you that LR4 is certainly different and I've also done the same at times to tame contrast. I also find the clarity slider is way more powerful, it seems. I generally leave it along now . I've been finding for some images I can do massive shadow lifting and highlight recovery in the same image and not get the nasty edge artifacts/outlines I would see in LR3. Though not to say it looks 'natural' as I can still see halo effects... but it's better than it used to be. Here's an example with the 50 Lux:
Sometimes I'm applying -100 shadows, to darken them somewhat. So, like you I find I'm using the curves somewhat less. And I'm still working on getting what I would like out of LR4, but overall, do believe it offers a lot more flexibility. As a 21 Lux owner, and I would expect it to be the same for 24 Lux users, just the defringe feature is worth the upgrade. It totally eliminates purple blooming around high contrast backlit transitions (at least in the images I've tried so far).
As for the difference between the 50 Lux and 28 Cron deer images... the 28 is a higher contrast lens, but the lighting changed dramatically between the two sets. There was some nice setting sunlight in the first 50 Lux images, but then a weather front moved in and everything went very gray. I think most of the Cron images were at ISO 640, and at higher ISOs the M9 applies less vignetting and edge color correction, which I can see in these.
From the walk in the woods:
90 Summarit at around f/5.6 - just liked the light here:
50 Lux ASPH wide open:
50 Lux at around f/8 and focus set at infinity in 'P&S mode.' Probably could have focused slightly closer, but looks fine even at 100%. I did bring down blue luminance somewhat to darken the sky a bit:
Continuation of my 'safari'... a huge wasps nest, 50 Lux ASPH wide open:
And more deer with the 50 Lux ASPH wide open:
21 Lux wide open, cropped a bit:
BTW, I also 'shot' some of the deer with the GXR and 90 Summarit, and posted those here.
Joakim, thanks Nice captures! I love LR4, as I now have no need for C1 Pro, and it speeds the work flow immensely. Getting the shots now downsized and on the web is a breeze, and you have a direct link for formatting books, directly into Blurb books, which is a really neat feature.
Ron, stunning captures... literally Love the mood and feel to #2 and the bokeh in #5
Thanks Hilmar, great to see some from you as well. Love the first one especially . Great to see you also made it to the High Line, and it wasn't packed full of tourists?
WeeSin - Is there perhaps an interesting story behind what those two guys are doing in the water?
Port Dalhousie, Ontario. Again, I've lived in the area for decades, but am constantly surprised at how much stuff I have not seen within an hour's drive from home... These were 'discoveries' made on a drive back from a job when I decided not to take the highway.
Ron, I very much like the blue tones in the last two pictures. Excellent composition in all four photos.
Yes, the High Line was crowded. However, I took the early bird tour at 7 a.m., which was fairly easy since I was awake anyway (due to the time difference between Central Europe and the U.S. East Coast). The weather could have been better though.
Thanks Hilmar. Not being a morning person, it's an aspect of traveling 6 time zones east that always does me in. But at least when returning home I have no trouble getting up early for a few days.
Here are a couple more, both with the 21 Lux at f/1.4:
There's something about the 24lux that I like!!! Although Ron, you're shots with the 28 also make me want one, and I have one, so perhaps it's your skills at work more then anything.
Oh boy, I really don't want to have to use an external viewfinder (I buy the 24lux, I will then need the M10).
Charles, I haven't had a chance to edit anything yet. I'm busy stuffing my face with Korean grilled meats, mostly fatty pork!
Great shots guys!
seekuh - great timing on the guy in the last photo.
Question anybody shoot with the 24/2.8 asph lens? Happy with it? whats your opinion of it?
Thanks! Phi
The 24/2,8 ASPH is an excellent lens. The optimal performance of the lens is between f=4 to f=4.5. At open f stop, the 24/2,8 ASPH is not as crisp as the Zeiss 25/2,8 Biogon ZM. I finally sold my 24/2,8 ASPH after I purchased the Zeiss Biogon.
Phil: I believe Paul Yi, the OP, has the 24 Elmarit, and has posted image with it here over the last couple months or so.
Adam: I use 21mm without any accessory viewfinders and it works pretty well, as I'm quite familiar with that focal length and can guesstimate the composition. I think for 24mm, just use the 28mm lines and remember that there will be a bit more. With experience it becomes second nature. IMO, the M system isn't about super precise framing anyway, so I don't try to fight it or get upset about the inevitable framing inconsistency. For sure, once the new M starts shipping it will change that to some degree....
A fellow, whose name I didn't ask, and his very friendly and inquisitive Collie pup Rootbeer , pause at a lookout at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area on the Niagara Escarpment to enjoy the view over Grimsby and Lake Ontario in the distance. M9 & 50 Lux ASPH around f/2.8:
Another view from a different lookout, this time looking east along the Niagara Escarpment towards Niagara Falls (you can see the mist from the falls in the full-rez image). Also 50 Lux ASPH, beween f/5.6-8:
Thanks Gary! Yes, I plan to get the new M barring any disastrous early release user reviews. It pretty much addresses everything I dislike about the M9 and will be even more confidence inspiring as a DSLR replacement for many of the jobs I photograph. The flash sync socket in the add-on grip is also welcome, though I wish Leica would have added an electronic shutter release socket as well. Depending on funds, I'm hoping to keep my M9 as a second camera/back-up. It's quite well used and I doubt I'd get a very attractive price for it anyway.
Amazing captures
