kidtexas wrote:
Back to lenses. Denoir, I seem to recall that 35 is a favorite of yours. Supposedly the new Leica 35 ASPH has busier bokeh than the recently replaced 35 ASPH. While some Leica shooters are annoyed by this, you might like it. I've only seen one or two examples of this, but the pictures did back up that statement in that scenario. Something to consider.
You might also look into the 75 Summilux if you want a bit more going on in the background. Might be too big for you though. And you'd have to buy used.
Thanks for the link kidtexas! From the samples there I actually prefer the shots from the old version. I think however that's mostly because of the stronger vignetting. The bokeh in those copies seems to be similar in nature but the new one is a bit more contrasty and with harsher bokeh. My personal preference is for lively but soft bokeh.
As for the new 35 lux ASPH, I have not yet made up my mind. I would love a fast 35mm but I'm not entirely sold on the Lux and much less on the CV 35/1.4. So I don't know yet. If I do get it though it will be with eyes wide open. I know what I'm getting. Ideally I would like to wait a month or two in order to fully get to know the 75 Cron and the 35 Biogon. Leica bokeh/DOF transition style may be an acquired taste so perhaps I need to use the Cron a bit more before I also start to like that aspect of the lens. Then the Lux will be a no brainer choice for me. Alternatively I may get to know the 35 Biogon better. I've seen some very nice things from that lens but I simply don't know it well enough to be able to fully use it. The only pressure for getting the Lux now is that it is likely to vanish from stock pretty soon and I have no idea when it might be back in stock.
joe88 wrote:
Thanks Luka and nice shots! Love the neutral rendering of the 75Cron. #1 & #3 are my fav from this set
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I kind of expected someone to mention HDR at some point.. I'm finding that the M9 dng files are very rich in color. Coupled with the excellent shadow detail, its quite fun to play around with pp in LR3. I'm getting some HDR like look with a single exposure by adding fill, blacks, contrast, clarity and desaturation. The recovery tool is the finishing touch... or maybe it partly some magic of the 35CronIV.. I don't know ... not an expert ... just having fun taking pictures!
Here's another with M9 35CronIV, almost at the same spot where I took the earlier picture. This was midday sun, if you look at the shadows. ...Show more →
Thanks Joe! Yep, usually when you add fill light, clarity and recovery you get some variety of HDR/tonemapping. Nice demonstration of it in this last shot. It's IMO a bit overcooked compared to your previous ones but nevertheless interesting.
Now here's something interesting from a technical standpoint:
This is the first instance of very obvious moiré that I've seen (his trousers) from the M). More confounding however is the color of his trousers. I'm pretty sure they were black in reality. That means IR leakage, which I thought they had fixed on the M9. I have not noticed it before. This was in direct sunlight so it might have helped it along.
Though the M9 is better with IR sensitivity than the M8, it still has some. Many cameras do though. More was written about that around the release of the M9; I forget where.
Some interesting things going on there in the bokeh of that last shot. Look at the windscreen on the mic and the hand of the videographer. Also on his coat and the tripod legs. Maybe its just the way they were processed or something...
It's just the way it was processed. I nuked it with fill light and noticed the effects later and did not bother to correct it. This is the original image:
Yes, I have also noticed that the M9 still seems to be sensitive to IR light. However, what we perceive as black in reality often isn't, and a second, more critical glance can sometimes even reveal it with the bare eyes. I am guessing that this gentleman's pants weren't atually pure black to the critical eye, but perhaps I am extrapolating too far.
Diglloyd also noted the thing about possible IR sensitivity of the M9. http://diglloyd.com/diglloyd/2010-11-blog.html#blog20101107LeicaM9Infrared
The D3x doesn't record the same purple cast, or at least FAR less strong. Maybe it's actually "metameric failure" instead of IR leakage, because the purple cast was still there on the M9 with an IR blocking filter.
Aside from the purple cast, I find the coloured moiré in his trousers quite objectionable in that last shot, btw.
Carsten, difficult to say but he does not strike me as a person to walk with purple pants Plus I think it would be too much of a coincidence that a guy otherwise dressed in black has pants exactly the color that IR sensitivity on the sensor would produce.
But, as I said, it's the first time I see it and it's the first time I see such an obvious moiré pattern.
I have a fleece sweater which I am pretty sure was black when I bought it, and it was very much purple to the M8, without IR filters. This was how I personally found out there was something odd about the M8 colours. After I had washed it several times though, it was no longer quite black, and the M8 isn't the only camera to have seen it as slightly purple. It is slightly discernible with the naked eye, although not nearly as much as with the M8 without IR filter.
I think that many "black" clothes aren't really black. There are different things which can turn the colour slightly (like the detergent used!), and some materials reflect a lot more IR than others. Anyway, I have no science to give you here, just some observations.
carstenw wrote:
I have a fleece sweater which I am pretty sure was black when I bought it, and it was very much purple to the M8, without IR filters. This was how I personally found out there was something odd about the M8 colours. After I had washed it several times though, it was no longer quite black, and the M8 isn't the only camera to have seen it as slightly purple. It is slightly discernible with the naked eye, although not nearly as much as with the M8 without IR filter.
I think that many "black" clothes aren't really black. There are different things which can turn the colour slightly (like the detergent used!), and some materials reflect a lot more IR than others. Anyway, I have no science to give you here, just some observations....Show more →
I have a security camera in my apartment that is supposed to give a good image under invisible IR light, so it is very IR sensitive. As a result the view though it is quite ludicrous. Almost everything black turns to pink.
Not everything though. To me it seems like it needs to be some form of synthetic material involved. T-shirts, coats, bags etc all turn pink but sofas that are in black leather don't. So my theory for the image on the previous page is that it's a combination of the reflectance of the material of his trousers and the very strong direct sunlight.
Interesting shots with the 75Lux. DOF is so thin, this looks like a specialty/portrait lens to me?
I have not closed the lens down for shots yet, as I making sure the focusing is accurate. My understanding once you close the lens down, it becomes a very different lens. For the moment I am just playing with the rendering at f/1.4. From what I have seen briefly the lens is quite different at f/2.8 and f/4
Thanks Charles! I really love the images from the ZM 50/2 Planar. My only minor complaint is that doesn't seem to mount on the camera quite as easily as the Summicron. It takes a little more attention to make sure it clicks into place.
I'm debating now whether I want to add something wider and longer or just be happy with my 35/50 combo for the time being (those are my favorite focal lengths).
Steve Sprang wrote:
Thanks for the earlier comments everyone. Here are some shots with the Zeiss 50/2 Planar. Despite hearing that the build quality was inferior to Leica, I can find no faults with it. In fact, I prefer the aperture ring to the one on my Summicron 35 ASPH (which has a little play at both ends).
Ideally I would like to wait a month or two in order to fully get to know the 75 Cron and the 35 Biogon. Leica bokeh/DOF transition style may be an acquired taste so perhaps I need to use the Cron a bit more before I also start to like that aspect of the lens. Then the Lux will be a no brainer choice for me. Alternatively I may get to know the 35 Biogon better. I've seen some very nice things from that lens but I simply don't know it well enough to be able to fully use it. The only pressure for getting the Lux now is that it is likely to vanish from stock pretty soon and I have no idea when it might be back in stock.
I'm finding that the M9 dng files are very rich in color. Coupled with the excellent shadow detail, its quite fun to play around with pp in LR3. I'm getting some HDR like look with a single exposure by adding fill, blacks, contrast, clarity and desaturation. The recovery tool is the finishing touch... or maybe it partly some magic of the 35CronIV.. I don't know ... not
