After lurking for some time on this board and following the M9 Picture Thread, I finally took the plunge and purchased an M9 and a 50mm Summicron. It's dark when I go to work and when I get home, so my experience so far has been limited to practicing focusing on objects around the house.
So far so good, my accuracy is improving but I'm still pretty slow. Wondering if a 1.25x viewfinder magnifier will help or hinder. I've read comments both ways. Perhaps I just need to practice a bit.
I'm excited to jump in, although I admit I'm a bit intimidated; so many of the shots in the forums are amazingly good... hopefully after a bit of practice (and some nicer weather) I can contribute!
kkcsm wrote:
It's dark when I go to work and when I get home, so my experience so far has been limited to practicing focusing on objects around the house.
if you had bought a proper modern camera you'd just crank up ISO to 6400 and shoot in low light
(joking)
I think the photo of your daughter is very good, good eye contact and colour, smooth oof transitions.
If you're not very experience with rangefinders try to remember this: because you can only focus in the centre, once finished focusing most people just press the button and they end up centered compositions which are not always the best. Particularly with portraits you can tell a new RF shooter because the head is usually in the middle of the photo and there's a lot of dead space on top. So when shooting people always remember to tilt your camera down once you're finished focusing, get a bit more subject in the photo.
As for the magnifier I guess it's one of those things you have to try for yourself.
kkcsm, congrats on the new M9
Very nice shot of your daughter. With the 50 Cron, there is no need for the magnifier. Just make sure you have the correct diopter, and then ensure the 50 Cron is calibrated for MFD, mid and far distances with the M9. Once you have the confidence knowing you see the focusing patch well, and your gear nails the focus, there is a very quick learning curve and a lot of fun in the meantime!
Spyro P. wrote:
... Particularly with portraits you can tell a new RF shooter because the head is usually in the middle of the photo and there's a lot of dead space on top....
Hell, I've been "rangefinding" for years and sometimes the grab shots are so quick, my images STILL look like precisely what you describe.
Kkcsm, enjoy the M9. It isn't sexy on spec, but once you "meld" with it, the confidence grows and it feels like a reductionist tool...which it is.
I have had M9 for about 3 month. One thing I learned is M9 file usually require some tweak color and hue in PP. It is not very stable compare to Nikon I have, or I should say in some light condition problem get easier to show up. WB is also easily get off, so manual WB may be a better idea. I have find I need turn down yellow and green saturation and sometimes red as well.
In terms of focus, if you are using 1.4 lens, then focus and recompose within 2M range is not an option unless you slightly compensate with moving your body. it will be a less problem for Summicron I guess. Since you have 18M to deal with, you can always crop
My experience on rangefinder Manual focus is slower than DSLR, but I love the handle and size of it. Also the file is very crispy if treat well.
It is totally brand new experience for me, and it also force me to improve my PP skill. It seems a lot harder to make it looks right than Canikon raw file. Don't know if other people echo this finding
Hope someone like Luka and Ron in leica thread can join in to help you/us how to treat those Leica CCD file
BTW, nice portrait with good detail on eye and hair.
charles.K wrote:
kkcsm, congrats on the new M9
Very nice shot of your daughter. With the 50 Cron, there is no need for the magnifier. Just make sure you have the correct diopter, and then ensure the 50 Cron is calibrated for MFD, mid and far distances with the M9. Once you have the confidence knowing you see the focusing patch well, and your gear nails the focus, there is a very quick learning curve and a lot of fun in the meantime!
Never heard of the 50 cron could be calibrated for MFD. I thought this was only needed with lenses with have focus shift?
Mine is good from shorts to far, doesn't have any problems with shift whatsoever.
Bijltje wrote:
Never heard of the 50 cron could be calibrated for MFD. I thought this was only needed with lenses with have focus shift?
Mine is good from shorts to far, doesn't have any problems with shift whatsoever.
There is always some room for adjustment if a lens is slightly back or forward focusing, and can be done by most authorised repair centres. Any more substantial adjustment, needs a visit to Solms.
I'll echo Charles's suggestion about the diopter. Even if your eyes are good enough that you normally don't wear glasses, but if your eyesight could be improved with glasses, it would be worth trying diopters. This was the case for me - I'm nearsighted at night and only wear glasses for nighttime driving. I ended up going with the -1 diopter. The biggest problem will be figuring out which one you need if you don't have a Leica dealer nearby with the diopters in stock. That was the case for me, but luckily I was able to visit a Leica store during a recent trip. What I found was that there isn't a single diopter that stood out as the obvious best choice, rather there were somewhat subtle differences until you were definitely going in the wrong direction. I could have settled on the -0.5 or I think even the -1.5, but the -1.0 seemed like the best fit. So there is some range to play with if you think you have a good feeling which way to go, but aren't able to try them out in person. Also, a diopter will be of limited help if you have astigmatism. If that's the case, there's a guy in South Africa (I think) making custom diopters for Leica M cameras to completely correct specifically for your shooting eye. Based on reviews I've read, his diopters work extremely well: http://walterrxeyepiece.com/
I opted for the 1.4x magnifier because I wanted to primarily use it for 90mm, however, it is still possible to just barely see the 50mm cropping marks with it (might be different if you wear glasses while shooting). That said, it will probably feel very claustrophobic using it for 50mm, though it will give the most magnification for best accuracy. But if you're having trouble focusing, try a diopter first. And also practice a lot.
The magnifier is something that you just have to try yourself because there are diametrically opposed views on this: many people swear by them, but I find that it darkens the viewfinder image enough to counteract the magnification, which for me defeats its purpose.
