Carsten, specifically the rendering that I find superb is at medium distance (1-4m) and the sharpness-to-blur transition fits my taste. I like the blur/bokeh a lot as well. If we choose the 50 Lux ASPH as a reference for Leica rendering, I'd say the 35 Lux ASPH I has some attributes in common with it but not many. There is a hint of the slightly thicker blur and faster DOF falloff, but only a hint. The 50 Lux ASPH as well as my 75 Cron have a too steep DOF envolpe kicking the background out of focus too fast for my liking. The 35 Lux is in my opinion just right in that respect, giving volume to the image. In fact I think it's quite close to Rollei 35/1.4 Distagon rendering. At f/2 the Lux and the Rollei are I think closer in rendering than the ZM35 and the Rollei are.
Interesting. I think I know what you mean with the speed of the rolloff, but I would be interested to see some demo shots, if you have them. Specifically, I don't suppose the 50 Lux ASPH stopped down a 1/2 stop would change anything here. I guess you like the sharpness where focused, the blur in the background, but have issues with how it gets there?
Essentially, yes. The 75 Cron has a bit too neutral background blur (too plain Gaussian) but the primary issue for me is how the transition from the focal plane to the background looks. I think a good demonstration would be a comparison between the 75 Cron and the 100 MP or 85 Planar but I don't have my 5DII here so I can't perform the test.
As for the 35 Lux, of the shots that I've posted here the ones that best show the DOF-falloff rendering quality I like would be these:
Joe, nice shot! Adding to the collection of airport shots
Luka, again very nice shots! I feel this must be a favourite lens on the M9 now
Beautiful rendering! The weight and ergonomics of the 35 Lux with the M9 is brilliant. Very fast lens for low light, but not too heavy either.
Adam, I tend to agree with you. The 35/50/75 combo is excellent with the M9. Maybe too close, but all three lens work very well with the RF system, not too wide or long to cause issues with focusing. I must admit I do like the WA's too, with the f stop set at f5.6 to 8, basically the M9 is a P&S, with an external VF. My 90 Cron is still in Solms, and there is a five week delay, so turnaround will about 12 weeks for this repair! Nice image of you walking down the isle with the M9, while your bride is walking towards you
Joe, Kidtexas and Shaun you may convince me yet to try film again
Thanks Charles Yep, although it might be a bit early to say, I think the 35 Lux will be my most used M9 lens. My favorite walkaround lens for the 5DII is the 35/1.4 Distagon. The 35 Lux ASPH seems to be as good - and I can't think of a higher compliment that I could give a lens. Add to that the superiority of the M9 when it comes to casual handheld photography and you really get a winning combo...
Anyway, as I'm visiting my parents I have been doing more people photography than usual. Also the extreme cold has prevented me from any landscape photography.
Here's a shot of my dad:
As you can see, he is also an MBA fan - he was the one who convinced me to get one.
Joe: it's not advisable to take photos in the customs and immigration areas. They are extremely sensitive about that and at least when arriving in the US there are plenty of signs warning you not to, in addition to not using your phone, etc.
However, in the general boarding areas there should be no problem taking photos and so far, other than that one time in Toronto, I've never been questioned. And even then it was more her wondering what I was doing than telling me to stop. She didn't and I continued on making photos.
BTW, your airport images has a better film-like feel to it than the earlier one, though again, opening the shadows is un-film-like. The saturation though kind of reminds me of NPH 400.
I agree, a true silver photographic print from the darkroom is a thing of beauty. I just don't have the patience to go back to it now. I never liked the inconsistency when having to print batches of images that needed burning & dodging, etc., plus factors like tonal changes between wet and dry prints... It's why I have a backlog of probably hundreds of processed rolls that have yet to have anything done with them. Winning the lotto and hiring someone to scan them all also hasn't happened, so I might have to get a scanner. I was leaning more towards one of the high end Epson flatbeds so I could scan an entire roll in one pass, rather than having to deal with manual feed...
Not at the airport, but at a friend's place with their young son:
Nice shot Ron, I always like the context of these type of pictures, not revealing everything.
I haven't tried printing but scanning bugs me. I hesitate to pull the trigger on a nice Coolscan with auto load, just yet. Shooting digital M slowed me down a lot but shooting film really slows it down another notch, also makes me feel like a kid all over again, you can soup it up however you want it or send C41 it to the local store. Since you've worked in the darkroom and printing press, you probably won't like the output of the flatbed for 35mm, probably not sharp enough. You might be happier with a dedicated film scanner.
Since your M9 is in N Jersey, why not get a film M and give those ZM lenses some workout?
I just got an email from Leica NJ. My M9 will be overnight to me tonight All in, it took them 2 1/2 weeks to turnaround. Not too bad, no complains.
Thanks Joe. That's great news about your camera. Lucky you... I'm envious
I've researched the Epson V700 and V750 flatbed scanners. While not as good as a dedicated film scanner, they're pretty close and I think would be good enough for most of my needs.
I'm kind of in the same frame of mind as Charles about shooting film. Just not interested. I haven't shot a roll since sometime in 2002 and have no desire to return to it. While film does offer certain character, it's baked into the emulsion. Digital offers me more flexibility. And if I'm going to end up scanning the film anyway, I might as well digitize the images at the point of capture and be done with it. But that's just me.
Another M body is a good idea, it's just that it would be an M9
A little OT, but I seem to be having a string of bad luck with cameras requiring repair. Both of my 'vintage' 1D Mark IIIs were damaged in separate flights in the span of the past month. I blame roughshod handling by the Newark gate check baggage handlers, though can't be 100%. But both were damaged during travel to or from Newark. In one camera the diopter adjustment lens inside the eyepiece has detached itself and is rattling around, resulting in a blurry view. On the same flight another normally very durable item in the Pelican case was damaged, indicating that there was a very intense impact. I seriously wonder if someone threw the case with force off the plane onto the tarmac. The other camera is much more seriously damaged, with a crack running halfway through the glass covering the sensor (it still works, but images look like there is a hair on the sensor). The initial estimate is in the range of $1900 to replace the sensor. I think I will pass and live with it. I'll dedicate the camera to shooting only with fast glass wide open where the crack is no longer visible in images I might earmark that money towards another Leica instead of finding a used 1D replacement... I just have to find the rest of the money for one, haha... Funny that I'm thinking this. Even though I have somewhat mixed feelings about the M9 for client use I'm finding it more fun to work with than my Canons.
Luka: I'm enjoying your 35 Lux images, but there is one thing I see that bothers me, and I see it in a lot of wide to normal M mount glass (and I've mentioned it before): field curvature. I simply don't like that the plane of focus appears to bend towards infinity at the picture edges, resulting in a greater background blur in the center compared to the edges. If there is field curvature I'd prefer it was in the opposite direction.
Adam, I tend to agree with you. The 35/50/75 combo is excellent with the M9. ...
I've been looking into getting a longer lens as well for my M9 kit and while the 90mm focal length makes more sense because it is further apart from my 50mm I keep coming back to the 75mm lenses all the time. Seems like a better fit I think but since it is such a big decision money wise even when buying used I can't make up my mind.
Joe, nice film shots! Glad to hear that you're getting your M9 back '
Ron, nice capture with the 21. Sorry to hear about your Canons. I always take my cameras with me as hand luggage. This is not without problems due to weight but I prefer not to leave it to the apes that hande the luggage.
Regarding field curvature, there is some but typically before the edges of the frame. I don't mind it too much. It usually adds a bit of volume to the image when you shoot 3D subjects. Not ideal for flat subjects of course, but thouse should not be shot at f/1.4 anyway. The field curvature goes away when the lens is stopped down.
Thanks Morten! It's about -20 here, and not the nice dry type of cold but with a lot of humidity. Nice to look at but not so nice to experience for longer periods
