My M9 is back and life is good again
I've only had a bit of time to check it around the house, but it's holding the time correctly and Leica USA did it at no charge.
Luka: regarding the photo of the triangular snow pile... what I meant, perhaps too subtly, was that the details in the building look so perfectly mirrored left side vs. right side, as well as the small bit of fence in the bottom corners, that one might think it was very carefully done in photoshop.
No matter, I like it a lot.
Joe - I'm leaning more to the color image. The b&w version is a bit too extreme in tones for my preference.
Ryan, nice demonstration of the rendering of the 50 Lux pre-ASPH. There's a slight tendency towards spherical aberrations in the bokeh, but much less than I get from the 50/1.5 Sonnar. I like it. #1 in the first series is definitely my favorite.
Charles, cool cross processed shot!
Joe, nice shots. I like the b&w version best.
Ron, as I said, I use photoshop for all my images and that one was no exception. I don't remember exactly all I did to the shot in PS but I gave up before getting it entirely symmetrical. The angle of the roof is not equal as I did not shoot it precisely straight on and did not managed to compensate for it completely with geometric transformations in PS. Anyway, PS, like the camera is a tool that I use to get the end result that I want. I'm not interested in documentary photography.
Good to hear that you have your M9 back and nice shot - I like the texture of the building and the reflection in the window.
Anyway, a few more 'alternative' shots, this time in color.
Ron, glad that your M9 is back, can't wait to see you put it to good use again! You have a very consistent "vision" to your pictures. Very nice!
Luka, #3 for the abstract and textures and #4 for the symmetry and almost monochromatic look. The cigarette butt is a plus. Very nice compositions!
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The B&W look I was going for was for a push processed look of Tri-X and Rodinal, more like what Mario Giacomelli does. http://www.mariogiacomelli.it/index.html
I kind of like both depending on my mood
I'm starting a "project" to take pictures of objects or interesting lighting in and around my house. Don't know how long it will take but it should be interesting. I do miss shooting abstract pictures, still life with a DSLR. The M9 makes framing or lining up parallel lines extremely difficult.
Ryan, I love the second photo. One hand holding the camera the other hand in the pocket, now that's a real photographer
Great photo Steve and the whites looks good to me. I know you didn't ask for it but what about adding a little vignetting to darken down the corners and make the photo more framed.
Joe, it is a liberating for sure. Could always carry less on one body, but with DSLRs it never seems to work out that way. Getting quality images without lugging all the gear around, does make sense on so many levels.
I am now struggling with the decision how much further in sales of my nikon kit do I go. Ok, I need to sell one or two items to finish paying for camera, but looking past that, there are several decisions to make.
Luka, I'm noticing that on your 35 Lux, you shoot wide open for most of your shots. Assuming that you have the version 1, do you notice any focus shift from f/2-5.6? I know everyone's experience with this lens varies widely, but I found a mint V1 for $3600 and I'm wondering if you had the choice between your current lens or the new V2, would you pay $1400 more?
Basically, I'm just trying to determine whether you shoot wide open because you like the look or if stopping down causes some heartache?
joe88 wrote:
Luka, #3 for the abstract and textures and #4 for the symmetry and almost monochromatic look. The cigarette butt is a plus. Very nice compositions!
Thanks Joe As for the cigarette butt - my first automatic impulse was to clone it out but I realized that it actually contributed to the image.
Dameon wrote:
Luka, I'm noticing that on your 35 Lux, you shoot wide open for most of your shots. Assuming that you have the version 1, do you notice any focus shift from f/2-5.6? I know everyone's experience with this lens varies widely, but I found a mint V1 for $3600 and I'm wondering if you had the choice between your current lens or the new V2, would you pay $1400 more?
Basically, I'm just trying to determine whether you shoot wide open because you like the look or if stopping down causes some heartache?
I was lucky with my copy and there are no focus shift issues. There is focus shift but it falls within DOF even at MFD. Would I like to have purchased the V2 instead? No - for two reasons. One is that I prefer the rendering of the V1 and the other one is that I got my copy for a ridiculously good price. It was like new, barely used, less than a year old and I got it for $3000.
So the reason I'm using f/1.4 a lot is because I like the rendering at that aperture and/or need the speed in low light situations.
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Ryan, nice shots with the 50 Lux. I really like the rendering - probably more than the 50 Lux ASPH.
Thanks for your perspective Luka. Finding any Lux glass right now is proving to be extremely difficult, so I went ahead and snatched up the version 1 copy that I found. Now I just have to wait patiently for it to be delivered
Thanks Luka. It is definitely a unique lens and does not resemble any prior lens I have used.
One more with 50 Lux for now
Time for some 35 Cron ASPH
All wide open. Unbelievable how sharp this lens is. I bought the ZM 35 Biogon last year after reading Diglloyd's report comparing it and the Leica Summicron 35 ASPH. I was never happy with the Biogon and it went...but the Cron is in a totally different world. I can't believe his comparison favored the Zeiss so much b/c I have not seen that at all. Another reason why not to pay attention to all the internet talk
I think what you may have experienced is called "Bias" Ryan. Lloydis very much pro Zeiss I think. How can you keep personal preferences out of reviews? No one can be that objective hardly.
