Thanks Luka Really like your shots, especially #1, 4 & 5.
Really nice shots Ryan Really like #1,3 & 4.
I see what you mean about the Voigtlander 75, lacking contrast and bite. I am liking your conversions to B&W. What are PP secrets? I am using Alien Skin Exposure 3 now as it supports fully 64 bit, whereas Silver Effex Pro are in process of being updated, so I will wait until they do.
Thanks Charles. Funny, I am using what Rod sent me for LR3 . I heard such great things about the Voigtlander and have found lack of contrast/VERY soft/hard to focus/infinity sucks/no Zeiss look..... I may have a bad copy, who knows. I want a 15-18 wide and am having a hard time thinking about the Voigtlander 15 after using this one
Let me know if you want me to forward Rod's email to you....as long as Rod is ok with it
I have the Voigtlander 50/2.5 Color-Skopar and it is similar, plenty of micro-contrast but very low macro-contrast. It's detailed and resistant to flare but it lacks a certain bite. Post processing helps a lot though! eg. wide open
I got my 75 APO-Summicron yesterday, took a couple of shots and thought "oh no it's front focusing!" but I tested all my other lenses and found they're all front focusing and I just didn't notice because of the way I recompose was pushing the focal plane back a little. Well after a lot of effort with a tiny allen key and tiny screwdriver my camera is back in spec hope to have some reasonable shots from this lens soon!
Ryan, that would be great if you could forward it on, of course with Rod's permission
Having the M9, it has been an eye opener, coming to the grips with which lenses really work and are keepers for the long haul. Ideally I like to keep it simple, and only a max of 4 lenses, and really understand how to get the best from them. That way I am back concentrating on taking shots.
Really nice portrait Dan I like PP on your shot. Congratulations on the 75 APO Summicron. Make for an excellent portrait lens. I have seen instructions on adjusting the M camera, but I did not want to attempt this yet, as the camera is still under warranty.
Agreed, I wouldn't have attempted it if I wasn't going to New Zealand in 4 weeks and there being no authorised service agent for M cameras in Australia. I would have had to send my camera to Solms and it would have taken longer than 4 weeks to be serviced. Impossible to tell I made any adjustments anyway
4 lenses for me at the moment would be 18 Distagon, 35 C-Biogon, 50 C-Sonnar and 75 APO-Summicron. I still have 25mm ZM, 50 CV and 90 Elmarit. The 90 will sell tomorrow morning (currently on the bay) and I will likely sell the 25 ZM and buy a IIIg to put my 50 CV on as a screw mount lens
Neat lens lineup Dan
Camera Clinic in Collingwood in Melbourne are authorized Leica repair agents for Leica. They recalibrated my M9 under warranty, and turnaround is 3 - 5 days. They were referred to me by a number of Leica dealers around Australia. I would say this is only recent. They will check your lenses for $30 each fully testing resolution, and focusing accuracy, and they have a collimater, to recalibrate any lens if needed.
Luka, it seems to me you are getting (even) better at getting the most out of the X1. Those shots are defintely DSLR-class.
Ryan, great Corvette, and great shots, including the one on the other thread! I prefer the colour version.
Sorry guys. I've been busy. Sure go ahead and forward the LR3 presets.
Great shots Charles, Ryan, Denoir and Tobin. I really like the comparison of the color to the B&W versions of the same or nearly the same image. Sometimes, it's hard to decide to which I like the best although I usually tend to go for the B&W.
I haven't gotten to shoot anything very interesting the last few days. I did get the replacement Sonnar and this one front focuses too. Not as bad as the first one but it's clearly the lens. My Lux 50 is right on wide open. I did a series of shots with this lens, first taking the apparent focus point and then back focusing slightly. In every case, the back focused image was sharper. When the focus is correct, it's very sharp. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, send it back or not. I think I'm going to contact Tony and see what he thinks. Anybody have any thoughts?
Thanks Rod Good question!!! Even after sending it away and being checked out, I have the same problem with 50 Sonnar too. I think it is inherent in the design of the lens. At f/1.5 by focusing on the eyes, the nose and cheeks are in focus, probably about 1-2 cm forward focus at 0.9m or near MFD. This is fine as you compensate for this being mindful of it. By f/2.0 it is fine.
At about 2 or 3 metres, this shift is no longer there, at f/1.5.
I like the look of the Sonnar Charles. You and Dan have almost convinced me. My Planar was lost by UPS so I need to find another 50 to purchase. I need (want) a faster than f/2 lens somewhere in my lineup and maybe the Sonnar should be what I look into. I think for the time being I am going to go with 15 (VC)/25 (ZM)/50 (ZM....which one though) lineup for my M8. I would like a 75 to essentially give me a 100 but the framelines just aren't accurate and I don't feel like spending $1,500 (Summarit) on a lens that will be my least used. I see you put your 35 up for sale and I probably will too...just too close to the 25 when there are other focal lengths I would rather have
Great link Ryan Interesting lens! Make for an excellent portrait lens with the narrow DOF with f1.8 and affordable. Voigtlander is making some excellent gear.
Nice shots Ryan I really like the storm feel to the shots. I assume it is ZM 35. I definitely prefer your shots with ZM 25, contrast and rendering is very different.
charles.K wrote:
Nice shots Ryan I really like the storm feel to the shots. I assume it is ZM 35. I definitely prefer your shots with ZM 25, contrast and rendering is very different.
Yes....35 is almost perfect as far as sharpness/distortion goes but is very clinical and lacks character. The micro contrast just doesn't seem to be there
Rod....colors weren't there so I had to convert to B/W. I prefer color for storms such as yours. How do you like the 15?
I had the same problem with ZE 28/2 compared to the ZE 21/2.8, both zeiss and I was assuming very similar rendering. The ZM 35/2.8 is meant to be gem, the pick of the ZM 35's. Interesting...!
Ryan, do you use the 25 with a viewfinder? The dealer I am talking to regarding my possible purchase of a M9 says that anything wider than an 28 requires that.
Really like #1,3 & 4.
