Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

Sports Corner Rules
Sports Corner Resource

FM Forums | Sports Corner | Join Upload & Sell

Archive 2023 · Sports shooting with Leica?

svthec
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Sports shooting with Leica?

Anyone tried shooting sports with a Leica? I know the lenses are slower and AF isn't ideal but I was wondering if anyone has tried of has any shots. I tried searching but only 1 photo came up. Contemplating buying a Sony just for my sports photography but if I can get away with it I might as well use my M10.

Feb 02, 2023 at 10:49 AM

brian_f2.8
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Sports shooting with Leica?

If you are trying to shoot action shots with the Leica, it's going to be a challenge but it's possible. You might be able to do more candid shots, players on the bench, scenery etc... I have seen motorsports photographers use a M9 to pan cars and definitely shots in the pits. I guess think of street photography at a sporting event.

The Sony A1 or A9 will be a great sports camera as the AF is elite level.

The real question is what sport, what is your access and who is your client?

Feb 02, 2023 at 01:16 PM

JRobertson
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Sports shooting with Leica?

Feb 02, 2023 at 01:47 PM

carl_g
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Sports shooting with Leica?

I'll go out on a limb and say, No.

Feb 02, 2023 at 05:50 PM

kreegerk
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Sports shooting with Leica?

It's a great camera, just wrong use case for sports... but back in the manual focus days, I saw one local news guy who was a Leica fanatic, who used a Visoflex with his M4P + winder, and the 400 F6.8 Telyt. One for sale on eBay right now.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/114616502575

Feb 02, 2023 at 10:38 PM

osv2
Offline
• • • •
[X]

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Sports shooting with Leica?

svthec wrote:
Anyone tried shooting sports with a Leica? I know the lenses are slower and AF isn't ideal but I was wondering if anyone has tried of has any shots. I tried searching but only 1 photo came up. Contemplating buying a Sony just for my sports photography but if I can get away with it I might as well use my M10.

people have shot sports with worse gear than that.

for instance, i took this photo of x-games gold medal winner kisa nakamura with a clunky old a7r/pentax 28mm lens, using manual focus.

so, which sports and what kind of keeper rates are you looking for; some sports will be much easier than others.

Feb 02, 2023 at 11:22 PM

TooManyShots
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Sports shooting with Leica?

I think people care more about the action shots then knowing the shots were captured with a Leica... Using Leica for sports photography is as much sense as shooting in film with a manual focus lens and body....Is not 50s anymore...

Feb 04, 2023 at 11:32 AM

Daniel Smith
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Sports shooting with Leica?

If we can shoot sports with 4x5 speed graphics we can do so with Leica gear.
Some sports you can zone focus and shoot the action that comes into the zone. Others you follow the individuals on the court/field/pitch.

Leica SLR's do well. Rangefinders more limited if you are a long lens shooter. Plan on working with the strengths of the type of body & lens(es) you have. Either way peak action is workable. If you are a spray and pray shooter most Leica gear is not for you.

Have shot news coverage of basketball with a 4x5 monorail camera and Polaroid film. Three frames, instant feedback with the Sports Editor sitting beside me, then he ran it to the paper for deadline coverage. Basketball is a sport where one knows where a lot of action happens. Same with a number of other sports. Learning to anticipate and then trip the shutter just befor peak action happens can result in some fine images.

Nothing quite like the older Boxing images from 4x5 graphics & camera mounted flash bulbs.

Feb 09, 2023 at 07:12 PM

fotoactvst
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Sports shooting with Leica?

Put the electronic viewfinder in place and use an adaptor for different brand telephoto, pick a spot and prefocus. Depending on your eyes and the resolution of the e-viewfinder it might be possible to manually focus a moving subject.

Many great sports images were made by manual focus.

EDIT: The only problem with the above suggestion is the micro lens array on the M sensor. It may be so specially designed that off brand lenses may not work.

Feb 10, 2023 at 08:47 AM

fotoactvst
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Sports shooting with Leica?

osv2 wrote:
people have shot sports with worse gear than that.

for instance, i took this photo of x-games gold medal winner kisa nakamura with a clunky old a7r/pentax 28mm lens, using manual focus.

so, which sports and what kind of keeper rates are you looking for; some sports will be much easier than others.

https://live.staticflickr.com/8766/28658762575_5e380cef31_h.jpg

Great image!

Feb 10, 2023 at 08:54 AM

henry albert
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Sports shooting with Leica?

If you're not serious about shooting sports well, then the Leica is fine.

Feb 10, 2023 at 06:10 PM

pinoymamba
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Sports shooting with Leica?

The most sports I did with my Q was a sled day with the kiddo and a few naps on bicycle ride. I couldn’t imagine trying to capture any sports that need a significant amount of reach. Give it a try and let us know how it goes 🙃

Feb 11, 2023 at 12:29 AM


FM Forums \| Sports Corner \| Join Upload & Sell

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.