wolfloid wrote:
So you are working at 1-1.5, perhaps 2m away from your subject with a 40mm lens?
No, it's more like 3 or 4 meters with a 280mm lens.
wolfloid wrote:
A 400mm lens at f5.6 at 20m has 64cm, at 10m only 16cm, but at 30m, 145cm. At f8 or f 11, it is of course, much more.
I am MUCH closer than 20m and I'm often working at f/4 or f/5.6. The DOF I have available is much less than a 40mm lens at 2 meters. I often use an extension tube on the 280mm lens because sometimes its minimum focus distance of 2m is too far away.
edwardkaraa wrote:
The worst was when I switched from A900 to Minolta 7. I couldn't stop myself from looking at the back of the camera after each shot. The fact that the Minolta 7 has an actual LCD at the back didn't really help
No, it's more like 3 or 4 meters with a 280mm lens.
Ah, so it's a sort of sniper situation, lying in wait for the right moment. Are you in a hide, or a boat? How, exactly do you work? Shoulder strut, monopod or tripod?
I'm usually working around a subject, looking for the right angle/light, a particular movement/gesture/expression etc. They are also often moving around. If there is more than one person they move in a more complex pattern. It seems to me to be very different situations.
The way I see it chimping is only done because there's an incompetence in the shooter (don't trust their abilities, not familiar with the equipment) or the tool itself is lacking (doesn't focus correctly at times which requires babysitting, exposure can be all over the place). I'd honestly love to reach a point where I do not worry about each.and.every.frame and let the creativity flow through. It actually felt good when I turned my LCD off for a few days. Plus transferring and looking through your photos at home feels good when you haven't analyzed them beforehand.
wolfloid wrote:
Ah, so it's a sort of sniper situation, lying in wait for the right moment. Are you in a hide, or a boat? How, exactly do you work? Shoulder strut, monopod or tripod?
I'm usually working around a subject, looking for the right angle/light, a particular movement/gesture/expression etc. They are also often moving around. If there is more than one person they move in a more complex pattern. It seems to me to be very different situations.
I'm usually in the open, working around the subject, moving with them, waiting for the right expression/movement/behavior. I've worked out how to get close without alarming them. I see very little difference in the situations. I use a shoulder stock & monopod for mobility.
280mm APO-Telyt-R with extension tube, just over 1 meter from the camera.
I maneuver to get spatial relationships I want between the subject and background objects, to place the plane of focus on as many important elements as possible, and to get the lighting angles I want. I also maneuver to place the plane of focus not only on the animal's eye but also on as much of the rest of the creature as I can, as with this Mountain Bluebird (2 meters away, 250mm lens):
250mm Telyt-R, 1/90 sec @ f/4, shoulder stock & monopod.
I followed this Mountain Bluebird for a couple of hours as it fed, typically 2 or three meters away from me. The camera's focussing screen allowed me to see with precision where the plane of focus intersected with the bird (Leicaflex SL).
Mobility and an extension tube was the key to this photo of a Wild Turkey chick:
280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R, extension tube, just over 1 meter from the camera.
After a couple of hours of following this jackrabbit it allowed me within 4 meters then when another jackrabbit started harassing it, this one came within 2 meters to get away from the other:
180mm f/2.8 APO-Elmarit-R, 1.4x APO-Extender-R, shoulder stock & monopod, 1/90 sec @ f/4. As is my usual technique I was maneuvering in the open for the best lighting and backgrounds and the owl was fully aware of me. About 2 meters away.
I've edited the photos in the previous post with exposure info as well as I can remember it. In all cases the animals were wild, unrestrained and fully aware of my presence. In most cases I was moving with them for a number of hours to make the photos.
Okey, so this topic went from the actual subject to money, snobbery, watches, cars, way's to focus, LCD's and now bird photography.
I don't hope for leica there is as much interest in the new products as shown here..
Trough bird photography, actually having non to less to do with a rangefinder camera, its closer to the subject than watches so there might be a happy ending, in about 40 to 50 pages..
Ontopic, anyone seen the M9-M DNG's from the L forum?
Very impressive detail from those DNG's! The girl's hair in the second shot looks a bit "crunchy" or digital. I'm guessing some underexposure might benefit the highlight roll off and result in a less digital look (very important for B&W imo). I would love to see some DNG landscapes posted.
Tariq Gibran wrote:
Very impressive detail from those DNG's! The girl's hair in the second shot looks a bit "crunchy" or digital. I'm guessing some underexposure might benefit the highlight roll off and result in a less digital look (very important for B&W imo). I would love to see some DNG landscapes posted.
Looks like the DoF is just starting to roll off in her bangs. Either way, I agree about the detail. You could literally crop 1:1 and not worry.
telyt wrote:
I maneuver to get spatial relationships I want between the subject and background objects, to place the plane of focus on as many important elements as possible, and to get the lighting angles I want. I also maneuver to place the plane of focus not only on the animal's eye but also on as much of the rest of the creature as I can, as with this Mountain Bluebird (2 meters away, 250mm lens):
Nice that the bird is so patient while you're doing all that maneuvering. What if the bird moves? Won't even small movements force you to do more maneuvering? My dog, seemingly, isn't as cooperative as that bird.
telyt wrote:
I followed this Mountain Bluebird for a couple of hours as it fed, typically 2 or three meters away from me.
and
After a couple of hours of following this jackrabbit it allowed me within 4 meters then when another jackrabbit started harassing it, this one came within 2 meters to get away from the other:
and
I initially found this Burrowing Owl mid-day but didn't like the lighting so I returned at sundown
and
In most cases I was moving with them for a number of hours to make the photos.
Who are you?! Hours following a bird? Maybe I shouldn't be questioning the bird patience but yours. You must have a lot of time on your hands, or are absolutely fanatical. Not sure I could follow anything patiently for a few minutes, let alone hours. Can't do it for television, much less a bird or rabbit. Not sure whether I should congratulate you or pity you, but it certainly seems amazing to me. I guess that's probably why I don't do birds or jackrabbits.
@Lotus: Are you a city guy? Can't imagine getting "absorbed" into nature? I think there are plenty of people who spend hours bird watching (not even taking pictures but just observing with their binoculars/spotting scopes). It can be very enlivening to enter into the life of animals in their natural habitat. Think Steve Irwin, except in a quiet and inward way. People who love nature can get very strongly engaged by it -- what's wrong with them spending some hours to experience it? People do all sorts of useless things with their time but I consider connecting to nature one of the healthier pursuits.
I live in New Mexico, just outside of Santa Fe. Coyotes, bobcats, jackrabbits, antelope (not to mention bunnies and gophers) run through and around my property, and hawks, crows, vultures, hummingbirds, and many, other species of birds fly overhead. None of them wait around long enough for me to maneuver so as to optimize the plane of focus. ;-)
Its absolutely amazing BW camera. It doesnt need sharpening at all (its unsharpened btw.), its noise free at base ISO (which at 320 is pretty high). You can crop 100% and its still amazing. Yea and DR seems pretty impressive too.
So far I know only one camera that is comparable, but thats APS-C and base ISO only unlike this.
Only downside (somewhat) is that you will need color filters.. again. I think it will be fun, would buy it in second if I could.
FlyPenFly wrote:
If only I had about $13,000 US to spare on more fun photo equipment.
I suppose if I sold all my gear, I would be about 70% there.
I think Leica should start Leica - Camera Leasing.. afterall price isnt much different from new car. I think I would be bit scared to even use it (at least not without insurance).
Mescalamba wrote:
I think Leica should start Leica - Camera Leasing.. afterall price isnt much different from new car. I think I would be bit scared to even use it (at least not without insurance).
The Munich Leica store's website indicates financing is available, though it's unclear if it's something directly from Leica or a 3rd party. Anyway, the MM is 298 Euro/month, the 50AA is 263 Euro/month...
I'm thinking the MM will be something to pick up maybe in a couple years on the used market, though I guess resale value will depend on how many are out there and whether Leica releases an M10-based MM...
BTW, nice conversion on the fisherman photo - looks like it was subtly split toned as well?
OK, here's my interpretation of Mr. Slack's samples:
At base ISO at least, you can crank LR's sharpening to insane levels if you want, and it will still look reasonable, certainly in print.
The ISO 10,000 image is quite pliable. There is a lot of grain/noise, but it is fine. At the LR default sharpening setting when you first zoom in to 100% the image seems to explode with noise, but you just have to turn off the sharpening and the image will still be plenty sharp. Much, much different from a high ISO colour image.
As already mentioned in various reviews, you don't want to blow highlights. The one of the woman had a lot of blown highlights on the right side background. I found the image too bright for my tastes and wanted a lower key look, but pulling down the mid tones resulted in some not so nice transitions to the highlights, so I cropped them out instead.
While none of the samples were underexposed, I messed around with the fisherman image and cranked it up to +4 exposure, pulled the recovery over to 100, and messed around a bit in the curves to keep from totally blowing it out, but opening up the darkest areas considerably. What you see here, is that the file is very pliable with minimal noise in the darkest shadow areas.
Yup, bit split-toning, but I made mistake in using ProPhotoRGB (and conversion shifted colors somewhere where I didnt want them) and then apparently I shouldnt create something at 4 AM as its not that contrasty as it should be. (pitch black around and shining LCD isnt best way to judge contrast/brightness)
