Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

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joakim
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p.603 #1 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Ryan, very nice photos with. The portrait of the kid with the 21 lux is my favorite.
Allen, great portrait.
Edward, great color and presence in your photos.
Ron, superb photos from the Cloud. I am most impressed with your photos using the CV 12mm.

Dec 11, 2012 at 09:27 AM

airfrogusmc
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p.603 #2 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Thanks...

Dec 11, 2012 at 01:30 PM

joe88
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p.603 #3 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Edward, very nice colorful set with the 35Biogon. The color feels like I'm looking at some Velvia shots.
airfrogusmc, nice portrait with the Mono.
ryankarr, nice shot with the 21Lux.

Ron, more excellent shots with the 28Cron and CV12. The details really pop on those barn shots. Also, thanks for the lens summary. You've really grown your collection of M lenses! I tried the 21 SEM once at a Leica store and loved the IQ and was really tempted but then I though about it, I shoot 21mm less than 5-10% of the time and decided to pocket some change and kept my ZM21/2.8. The 21Lux is however very very tempting because of f/1.4. This will probably be something to add to the kit in the future. I think at some point, you ought to try the 35Lux FLE if you do sell the CV 35 1.2.

After acquiring the Mono, it really amplifies the weakness and strength of each lens when pixel peeped. I'm at times having a bit of difficulty pairing the ASPH glasses with the older lenses such as the 50Cron. So I might have to rethink my lens selection again at some point. For instance, I love the rendering of my 50Cron but I've always had a problems with veiling flare especially in controlled lighting situations with strobes, and the Mono makes it so much more noticeable. I'm thinking of giving the ZM50/2 Planar a try. The 50Cron APO is compelling but is on the expensive side. Maybe the 50Lux ASPH is a good compromise. I've seen used prices on many Leica M lenses dropping past few months but prices for R lenses seem to be heading up.

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Dec 11, 2012 at 03:11 PM

airfrogusmc
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p.603 #4 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Joe the 35 lux was almost 1K more than when I bought and yes the new 35Lux is truly amazing. Nice shot BTW and thanks for the kind words.

So do ya like the MM as much as I do?

Dec 11, 2012 at 03:48 PM

joe88
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p.603 #5 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Thanks Allen.

Yes, I really like my MM like you do. I just wish I had more time for photography right now. I might end up selling the M9 when the Type 240 arrives, but I cannot imagine separating from my MM. And I appreciate the 35Lux FLE even more, now that I have the MM.

Dec 11, 2012 at 04:03 PM

edwardkaraa
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p.603 #6 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Joakim, Joe, thanks!

Joe, lovely shots of your baby as usual. Great tonality from the MM.

Dec 11, 2012 at 04:34 PM

joe88
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p.603 #7 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Thanks Edward!

Dec 11, 2012 at 06:44 PM

joakim
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p.603 #8 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Joe, nice photo.

Three photos from this morning on my way to work. 35 Lux.

2013 © joakim

Dec 11, 2012 at 07:13 PM

zhangyue
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p.603 #9 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Haven’t be able to post on this thread later. Was busy with Leica R lens on my D700

Andy, I like the 2nd one from 50lux.
Dalegaspi, I like the first one: you son by window.
Charles, another set prove you can see in the dark with MM and f1.

Ron, I really like your Cloud series. Like Joe said, you are a wide angle master. Perspective is nice and model is beautiful too

Your barn shots have impressive color and wonderful composition. As for 21mm, with the same argument with Joe, the percentage usage hold me getting 21 SEM, the same reason I did not get 90AA. In terms of 35mm, You will not disappoint with 35cron V1 if you know what you are expecting. Resolution wise, it is nothing short of excellence. Only problem is back lit, the flare is the craziest I have ever seen on any lens. (maybe I don’t have enough old lens to beat it

) Most time at backlit, I have to use hyper focal focus with one hand put on top the lens to shield light.

Joe, I really enjoy your street set. What kind of event that is? Your baby shots also have artistic compose and lighting. As for old lens for MM, Since I don’t have MM, I can only guess. but my feeling is: they will perform beautifully. Their weakness is color and flare, but their strong point to me is resolution and low to medium contrast, which is the exact strong point to use on MM. none of modern leica lens I used so far have that (low to medium contrast). If you are unsatisfied with 50cron, I doubt Planar 50 will bring anything extra on the table. 50AA is my dream lens/length too. I have a feeling sooner or later, one of you guys will put a picture from it suddenly

Airfrog, I like your last two upload. Especially the man with dog under bridge.

Edward, 18mm looks impressive. Also like the cat shot very much. The last two 35 shots show impressive sharpness and vivid color.

Ryan, impressive set with Noct and 21 lux, I seems remember you also have many great Nikon lenses and you never short of fancy glasses

Jokim, the first one is beautiful. Nice composition.

50cron Rigid flare

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35cron Train station from Qingdao

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Time say goodbye

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A 50lux ASPH portrait

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Dec 11, 2012 at 08:03 PM

joe88
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p.603 #10 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Thanks Joakim, Michael

Joakim, nice set and I like the composition with the smooth bokeh balls on the first shot. Also like the framing on the 3rd street shot, well done!
Michael, excellent series of shots from your trip to China since I last posted awhile back. This last set with the flare on that 50Cron rigid shot adds to the artistry look. Excellent.

zhangyue wrote:
Was busy with Leica R lens on my D700

So, you're part of the reason R lenses prices are going up? Which lenses do you have now?
I'm also looking at one or two R lenses, mostly for shooting videos on a GH2 and possibly for use with the new M. While I love the rendering of some of my M glass for video work (especially the 28Cron which is superb for videos on m43), the short focus throw and especially the focus tab makes some of these M lenses not really ergonomic for follow focus. While many of the older R lenses are not as sharp as the newer M glasses, they do look very cinematic and have a nice long focus throw.

zhangyue wrote:
What kind of event that is?

Provincetown Carnival Parade

zhangyue wrote:
Since I don’t have MM, I can only guess. but my feeling is: they will perform beautifully. Their weakness is color and flare, but their strong point to me is resolution and low to medium contrast, which is the exact strong point to use on MM. none of modern leica lens I used so far have that (low to medium contrast).

Yes, old classic glass looks great on the MM. I actually enjoy using lenses like the 50Cron, 90 Tele-E, etc with the MM. The problem I have (its not really a problem, its more nitpicking), is that if I make a set or series of pictures combining shots with both ASPH and older Leica glass, the ASPH shots looks more contrasty and sharper than the older lenses, ie the difference seems more apparent on the MM than the M9, even if I convert M9 shots to B&W. So it takes a bit more work to match the pictures in a series. Does that makes sense?

zhangyue wrote:
If you are unsatisfied with 50cron, I doubt Planar 50 will bring anything extra on the table.

I'm thinking of the Planar 50 mainly for flare suppression for studio/strobe pictures, otherwise I am very happy with the current 50Cron. With the 50Cron, any bright light source from the rear or sides will cause veiling flare across the center of the frame. Its fine for artistic shots, but when I want to make a technical "sharp" shot with minimal flare, ie studio portraits, the 50Cron is really showing its age.

Here's an example. This is with a strobe left and reflector right but no other light source at the rear. As soon as I add a hair light or background light, the situation gets complicated and I need to think of barn doors, etc. From what I read, the 50 Planar has better flare suppression? Else maybe I should just cancel my order the the new M and get a 50Cron AA instead

This is another example with the 90 Tele-E with just a pocket strobe & umbrella left and reflector right. I really like this lens for portrait use but as with the 50Cron, I have to be very careful with flare. Even with the older 90 Tele-E which is approx 1/10 of the price of my 90Cron AA, the M9 still resolves really well for a 3 year old camera, don't you think? I actually had to dial down clarity in LR4 for this shot.

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Dec 11, 2012 at 09:23 PM

rscheffler
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p.603 #11 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Thanks Allen - I probably won't be back until next fall, assuming I have another Bears game to do next season, but will keep the offer in mind! Love the portrait - it feels so clear!

Ryan - looks good - did you apply the lens profile to that image? The lens has a fair amount of mustache distortion that doesn't show in your image..

Thanks Joakim! I particularly like the first of your commute series.
Thanks Edward - more barn photos to come...

Michael - interesting set and very nice portrait of your daughter. I saw your post in the Leica R thread... so did you get the 21-35 & 80-200? I'm kind of in the market for the 180/3.4 and have missed out on a couple recently.. one was local for only $500 and it was gone in a flash.
Joe - very nice, both the color and B&W.

I totally understand you guys (Michael and Joe) about the 21 SEM. I just had a look at my M9 image stats and my breakdown is "21mm" = 35%, 28mm 12%, 35mm 18%, 50mm 28%, 90mm 6%. That's also why I've been holding off on the 90AA. 35mm is 3/4 the ZM35C and the rest with the CV35/1.2, but since getting the 28 Cron earlier this year, I've hardly used the 35s. 50 is about a split between the ZM50P and 50 Lux ASPH, but again, since getting the Lux, I've hardly used the Planar. 21mm is in quotes because it actually includes CV12 and 15 images coded as the 21/2.8 non-ASPH... but so is the ZM21/2.8... in any case, as you can see, I shoot 21 or wider a fair amount and it's one justification for keeping the SEM and Lux.

I want to chime in about the ZM50P and flare. It also suffers from this in set-ups similar to what you described in your images above, Joe. Actually, I think most 50s suffer from this due to the basic optics of this focal length, as I've also seen it from the 50 Lux ASPH, though somewhat less than the Planar. Probably about 1.5 years ago I posted some samples in this thread illustrating the issue with the Planar at an event I covered where I had set up strobes around the banquet hall.

OK, I found my old post:

One thing I have recently noticed is that of the three Zeiss lenses I own (ZM21 2.8, ZM35C and the 50P), the 50 is the most prone to flare. While the ZM21 will flare with the sun out of the frame, as I illustrated recently for Kyle, the 50 will flare with a bright background (not necessarily specular in nature) out of the frame, often in the following manner:

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Note that the sun had already set and this was just twilight glow in the western sky that caused the flare. Therefore I highly recommend using a hood with the 50P with any kind of stronger backlight. I didn't buy the hood for the 50P and am now reconsidering. I might instead adapt the hood that came with the CV75 1.8, which I've tried hand held, and it works. Other than the cost of a step ring, it will save me about $80..

Here's another image - it's a light test outtake from a recent event. I had a strobe off to each side at the stage to give some side light for edge separation of dark clothes against the black curtain. At certain angles to the light (both of which were bounced off white walls) just out of the frame, the 50P would flare:

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Joe - maybe it's worth trying an absurdly deep hood with the Cron? You know, one of those Rainbow Imaging cheapies with a step ring? Or, you'll just have to break down and get the 50AA to find out.

Dec 11, 2012 at 10:56 PM

douglasf13
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p.603 #12 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

The thing about the 50 Summicron V, in regards to flare, is that there can be flair issues likely due to the reflective nature of the rear of the lens. I've read that some shooters send their lens in to have the rear of the lens repainted, because the original paint that Leica used is too reflective and creates a flare hotspot.

When I owned both the Zm 50 and 50 Summicron V, I held them both up to light and studied the rear of the lens. The Summicron had a lot more light reflected around the rim of the lens, compared to the Zeiss.

Dec 11, 2012 at 11:04 PM

joe88
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p.603 #13 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Thanks for the comments Ron and also thanks Ron & Douglas on the flare info. The ZM50P looks as bad as the 50Cron in that aspect. Saved me the hassle of buying and reselling one.

I recalled my copy of the 50Lux ASPH performed better flare wise, but alas I have sold my copy to Ajay sometime back

Dec 11, 2012 at 11:57 PM

airfrogusmc
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p.603 #14 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

great stuff everyone!!!

Dec 12, 2012 at 12:21 AM

douglasf13
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p.603 #15 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

joe88 wrote:
Thanks for the comments Ron and also thanks Ron & Douglas on the flare info. The ZM50P looks as bad as the 50Cron in that aspect. Saved me the hassle of buying and reselling one.

I recalled my copy of the 50Lux ASPH performed better flare wise, but alas I have sold my copy to Ajay sometime back

I might consider getting one again and save some $$ over the 50AA. Else, maybe I might try a large hood as Ron suggested or maybe a makeshift matte-box on the 50Cron. I do like how these older glass renders for portraits over the more clinical ASPH lenses, especially for women and children.

Although I didn't really do flare comparisons when I owned the ZM 50 and 50 Summicron together, most anything that I've read in regards to flare between the two lenses says that the ZM is better in this regard, so it might be worth checking out. It was one of the reasons that I nearly kept the ZM over the Leica.

You might check into getting the rear of your lens repainted from someone like DAG or Sherry Krauter.

Dec 12, 2012 at 12:22 AM

charles.K
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p.603 #16 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Thanks Michael

Ron, missed your shots from your Aunt's farm. Love this set, particularly with the 28 Cron

Airfrog, great portrait!!
Ryan, very nice shot with the 21 Lux

Joe, wonderful shots! Love the second set with the M9.
I have noticed with M-M and M9, that the lenses behave very differently, and comes down to the lighting each is used for. With M-M, for low light, I have now been using the 50 Lux Asph, over the 50 Nocti f/1.0, and with the M9, my favourite still is the 50 Nocti f/1.0. The two lenses behave very differently with the M-M and M9 in PP'ing. It is almost like having a new lens again! It is not only the sharpness, contrast and detail, but more the way the lens renders subtle colours with the M9. Of course with the M-M, it is only luminescence but I feel there is more at play with the LR4 PP'ing that still needs to be developed with plugins!

Joakim, that first shot is beautiful! Such a contrast to our side of the hemisphere!!

Michael, love the shots with the 35 Cron

Edited on Dec 12, 2012 at 05:53 AM · View previous versions

Dec 12, 2012 at 12:38 AM

zhangyue
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p.603 #17 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

rscheffler wrote:
....
Michael - interesting set and very nice portrait of your daughter. I saw your post in the Leica R thread... so did you get the 21-35 & 80-200?
...

Not yet, he ask for $1800 for 80-200 make me hesitate even ask 21-35mm. I like what I see from Leica R lens very much. mainly the rendering in color and in/out of focus transition. The price might keep rising, but for those good stuff like X0lux and APO, they are already gone pretty high. I don't expect them to go further much. I guess, if you patient, you can always get good price sometime, somewhere

How about some long APO like 180 f2, 280 f4

I really love what I see from 35cron R. a really surprisingly good lens with extremely please Bokeh. So, Joe, I have to agree here that Leica R lens are dream for video. I think that attribute already insane price we have here instead of exciting news of M240

Somehow, they don't have as good reputation as their M brothers. But to me, if you like character instead of technical, R is even better for some lens I have tried and seen.

Dec 12, 2012 at 01:32 AM

airfrogusmc
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p.603 #18 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Dec 12, 2012 at 02:59 AM

edwardkaraa
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p.603 #19 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Zhangyue, Many thanks for your nice comments. Love the flare shot, as well as the say goobye and your daughter's portrait. Beautiful tones in the last one.

Joakim, the 1st shot is outstanding. You must work very early

Allen, very good catch in the 1st one

Joe, beautiful portraits. I like the inclusion of the bed cover in the 1st.

Dec 12, 2012 at 04:26 AM

ryankarr
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p.603 #20 · Leica M8/M9/X1 Picture Thread

Ron, love the 28 Cron shots @ cloud gate. Tell me your getting some of those printed! I did apply the LR lens correction to the 21 LUX shot.

zhangyue, love the colours and composition of the first one

Different crop, no shooting today as the whole family is sick:

L1002134-3 by ryankarr, on Flickr

Dec 12, 2012 at 04:53 AM

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