carstenw wrote:
Don't forget to multiply by 1.33x. The 25 will be slightly wide, the other two tele. Are you sure you don't want to shift down the range a bit?
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Not to start another debate. Just my opinion - Come to think of it, if I were to go back to the M8, my first choice would have to be a 35mm lens. This is probably the jack of all trades for me on the M8. Also, the frame-lines with the 35mm lens is least distracting to me and I enjoy the 35Cron too much to give it up. I actually still miss the 35Cron on my M8. On the wide end, a 15 or 21mm and on the tele a 50 or 75. Again, it all depends on what you shoot.
Thanks Charles, denoir and joe - I have popped over to the film forum you suggested - it does indeed contain some dauntingly good work.
Charles - will do.
the extraordinary clarity of the Summicron 50 on an M4 - taken before I sent the body to Golden Touch for new shutter curtains (you can see a bit of a pinhole) and the Cron for a cleaning - both had been in a cupboard for about two decades!
would appreciate a bit of advice: cannot now get images from photobucket to post in messages - seemed to work earlier, but those have now disappeared.
I read the FAQ on posting images. It did not seem that joining Image Upload was absolutely necessary, but maybe I mis-read it?
thanks
P.S. Blow me down! I see it in Safari but not in Firefox. Wonder why?
Perhaps, but let me give an alternative interpretation. That's a film shot taken with an M4. As it is not an M8/M9 or X1 shot it does not technically qualify for the thread and should be considered an auxiliary graphic - such as the smiley images. So it doesn't count
Not the world's most exciting bench shot, but it is indisputably a bench and shot with a sanctioned camera
Sorry for interrupting the flow guys - bench shot herewith (it has some challenging features! don't look too closely)
Cron 50 on M4 (hey thanks for the hint about the film forum - I have put some stuff up there - non Leica)
Ryan, I'm very happy with my copy of the Nokton 50/1.5. I bumped up the contrast in post as this is a low-medium contrast lens. Its sharp and definitely bang for the bucks! Keeps me from having to upgrade to the 50 Lux (for now).
Found one in my vacation archives, quite boring I guess, but technically still qualifies. M8 35CronIV.
It stinks that a) we had to shoot in ridiculous light, I wish they could have worked it out to go into evening. B) my first time using a rangefinder, in worrying about focus so much, I basically forgot everything else. C) aside from a small amount of time with the noctilux .95 indoors, I didn't really shoot any fast lenses...I couldn't anyway, given how bright it was.
I came away with mixed feelings...the potential is there, but I need to get a whole lot better before spending that kind of money. About the only shot I liked all day was taken at the end of the day with my x1, proving good light is more important than good gear.
Final thought, I still feel my x1 is soft and have a contact to whom I can send a sample.
Good light is unimportant? Really? Flat midday desert sun isn't going to lead to flat images? I certainly think shooting at the right times is right up there at the top of the list, this thread is basically an entire supporting argument. Ridiculous light to me is straight overhead when you leave near the equator. But by all means, show me some desert mid day shots that wouldn't have been much better at either an earlier or later time.
The x1 I have seems soft compared to other x1’s the leica tech rep agreed with that btw, speculating that something may have shifted in transit..but yah compared to the rest, it was better..for many reasons but mostly relating to light and familiarity.
Tobin, I really only shot a couple of pedantic things..but I'll look for the fire extinguisher pic, which I think was at 1.2.
Overall I felt the academy was certainly worth attending for those new to and considering a rangefinder. I shot for about 3 hours total...and certainly things improved s I became more familiar. I'd love to have one for two weeks to get more used to it. And certainly zone focusing is very easy.
The rangefinder is a strange way of doing things at first. People will say that it grows on you. But that is just a guess really. 'If' it does, then you will find it very rich and rewarding.
Focus is a worry, I agree. A Nikon Dslr will snap in on the eyes at f1.4 no problem at all. With the M you will have to be lucky, or have lots of time when working at that aperture in reasonably close.
However there are a couple of workarounds. You can open up to f2 or 2.8 and the zone of focus gets a bit better (of course it depends - don't want to get too technical). Another thing I find useful is to adopt the discipline of returning the focussing tab of the lens to the infinity position after each shot. Then you just have to pull it in the one direction every time to acquire focus. That makes things much easier. As you are rotating, the image will 'snap' into focus. You might be able to get to the point where you can trust yourself, and just squeeze the shutter when that happens, without doubting and rotating back and forth to check.
These Leicas are funny things. I grew up on Nikons and I still have them and digital Nikon. An M4 came into my life by chance when a lovely old guy passed away. I've not found it easy at times, but now I can even load film without having to take a tablet! You may reach the point where the form factor, the quiet shutter (I have not shot an M9) and the peculiar quality of the image on your screen will suck you in.
I have until today had my doubts about the colour quality of the M9. The posts on this forum however went a long way towards reassuring me about that. Then this morning a colleague who has recently purchased an M9 showed me (on his huge iMac screen) shots he had taken with the M9 using my 1951 vintage 90mm f4 Elmar lens - and I nearly choked with excitement! They were amazing. He shot all of them wide open with this 60yr old lens, and the clarity at the focus point, the colour rendition and the bokeh of the out-of-focus areas were to die for.
I see an M9 in my future
read some of the Leica material on the net (for example, google "Dr Paul Wolff") and you will see the artistry the old stagers were able to display with rangefinders, and you may want to pursue the matter further
