Ryan, nice street shots! I like #4, #5 & #6. The techique HCB used often was to find a spot, compose the shot and then wait.. I've heard him described as a 'big game hunter', which is probably appropriate.
Joe, love the shot with the kid on the floor!
Phil, nice vintage look shots, and nice portrait!
Ron, cool capture.
Charles, excellent portraits! Congrats on the 90 Cron Pre-ASPH! We seem really to have a revival going on here Which version is yours (V3 with the built in hood or earlier?).
There is a construction site not far from me where they are building a new residential block. The site basically cuts off the beach route around the island (Stockholm consists of a bunch of islands) to the great annoyance to everyone. Subsequently there has been a war going on between the construction crew and joggers who like to run by the shore. People have been finding all sorts of ingenious ways into the area while the construction company has been putting up bigger and more extensive barriers trying to prevent people from wandering in on the site. As the lake froze over there was suddenly no stopping it as you could simply walk a bit on the frozen lake and circumvent all fences and walls they put up.
I was there today and it looks like the construction crew has given up. They have not even bothered to lock the main gates. Of course for a photographer, it's like Christmas has come early. Construction sites are awesome, there are so many interesting patterns and textures one can find in the complete chaos.
Joe. in that street shot is that all SEP2 or was there some additional processing ? I love the ultra smooth tonality and the background has this sort of surreal sketched effect to it, but far less overdone than the Dave Hill/Lucis Art type of effect.
If SEP2 has that much control over midtones and the overall tonality its going to be a must buy for me
Ryan, Luka ... thank a lot
Luka, amazing shots! I love the composition and the powerful colours!!! This lens closed down, reminds me of the ZE 100MP. My 90 Cron is V3, came with no case or box, but was in EC, not a scratch or wear mark, and best it focuses perfectly, and was about 40% less than normal.
Ryan, great shots! My favourites are #4 and 5. That 50 Lux just has that beautiful rendering. Yes the 35 Lux II, was shot wide open Also the shots with the 90 Cron V3 were all shot wide open too, as I was testing any front or back focusing issues.
charles.K wrote:
Ryan, Luka ... thank a lot
Luka, amazing shots! I love the composition and the powerful colours!!! This lens closed down, reminds me of the ZE 100MP. My 90 Cron is V3, came with no case or box, but was in EC, not a scratch or wear mark, and best it focuses perfectly, and was about 40% less than normal.
Ryan, great shots! My favourites are #4 and 5. That 50 Lux just has that beautiful rendering. Yes the 35 Lux II, was shot wide open Also the shots with the 90 Cron V3 were all shot wide open too, as I was testing any front or back focusing issues....Show more →
Crap, I was hoping you weren't going to say that . I bought a CV 35 1.2 (got a good deal) to play with at f/1.2 - f/2. Its ok....certainly not anywhere in the same league as what you just showed. I could get rid of the Nokton + Cron and spend just a couple hundred dollars and pick up a 35 Lux. Looks to be well worth it from what you, Luka and Joe are all putting out.
Thanks Phil, Ryan & Charles Construction sites are fun
Ryan, cool shots with the Lux II. There's really something about those old Mandler designs. Great rendering. In some ways I prefer it to the look of the ASPH version.
charles.K wrote:
This lens closed down, reminds me of the ZE 100MP.
My 90 Cron is V3, came with no case or box, but was in EC, not a scratch or wear mark, and best it focuses perfectly, and was about 40% less than normal.
Great catch! That shop wouldn't have some 0.95 Noctiluxes lying around for 40% of the normal price?
I agree with you that the rendering is reminiscient of the Zeiss 100 MP - one of my all time favorite lenses. The 90 Cron may actually have an edge in color rendition. The 100 MP is cleaner optically and probably sharper (difficult to tell when comparing the non-AA M9 to the 5DII). I'll try to make some comparisons at some point.
My M9 is going to Solms on tuesday. I decided to send it in for them to fix the slight vertical misalignement of the rangefinder that was the consequence of its drop to the floor. I have to fix it sooner or later, so I might as well do it now. The guy in Stockholm I had hoped could fix it refuses to touch digital M:s.
So it will be Solms and two day express repair service (they charge an extra of €200 for that but I don't want to play their "wait a week or six months" lottery.)
rsolti13 wrote:
Crap, I was hoping you weren't going to say that . I bought a CV 35 1.2 (got a good deal) to play with at f/1.2 - f/2. Its ok....certainly not anywhere in the same league as what you just showed. I could get rid of the Nokton + Cron and spend just a couple hundred dollars and pick up a 35 Lux. Looks to be well worth it from what you, Luka and Joe are all putting out.
Luka, couldn't agree more getting the RF calibration 110% correct. Having come across the 90 Cron V3 yesterday by chance, I had full confidence fully testing out the lens. I think if the calibration of the lens/M9 is off, you really don't have the opportunity to really see what the lenses can do.
Indeed full calibration is very important. The problem with mine is though in the vertical alignment and very slight. It still allows for accurate focus (I've had very few misses with the 90 Cron) but the overlapping pictures aren't 100% clear. It's an annoyance but I have to fix it sooner or later so I might as well do it as soon as possible.
I forgot to post this yesterday - several people seemed to like the "mini horse" (it's called a pony guys ), so here are a few more shots:
I've never seen a horse do this - roll around on its back like a dog:
Is this a normal horse pose? (missed focus there by a bit):
I kept my distance though. Last year one of the crazy horses slobbered all over my Canon 16-35. Fortunately it is weather sealed as it was covered in horse slime. I took this shot just before the "incident":
joe88 wrote: I learned a bit from watching HCB and Winogrand. Watch this, although your shutter speed has to be at least 1/125 or 1/250. If you are not patient, start at 3:30 on the first video. With HCB, its similar but he is quintessential Parisien, he moves with such poetry and grace, really smooth.
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It helps with f/8 and zone focusing, this way I can quickly bring the camera up and shoot fast, but not to the level of the maestros. I'm quite comfortable with the 35FOV and I can frame it quite accurately before lifting the camera to the eye. I'm not a pro but I think the key is to know what you want to photograph/frame beforehand, the rest is, well some say luck, some say providence, and some say AMEN.
Joe, just watched the videos...great stuff. Winogrand videos were very interesting in particular. Good tips, too....will give it a shot again next weekend hopefully
Charles, if you see a 50 Noct going for cheap in Bangkok, let me know . Congrats on your new 90Cron. Excellent set of pictures, but my favorite must be the 35Lux ASPH, so sharp and smooth!
Hey Phil, nice to see you shooting some "street" stuff. This one is excellent. Like the framing and expression very much!
Luka, another excellent set with the 90Cron. Very nice colors and love that "Vatten" shot. Hope you get the M9 back soon.
edit: I missed the pony shots and the second set first time round. All very nice!
Ryan, very nice set. I want that 50Lux II, love the classic rendering on this lens. Plus points for the bench shot. The 3rd shot with the flare and the 4th shot are my favorites from this set.
---- millsart wrote:
Joe. in that street shot is that all SEP2 or was there some additional processing ? I love the ultra smooth tonality and the background has this sort of surreal sketched effect to it, but far less overdone than the Dave Hill/Lucis Art type of effect.
If SEP2 has that much control over midtones and the overall tonality its going to be a must buy for me
Thanks! All done in SEP2. This release really improves the control of the entire tonality, not only on the midtones but also for highlights and shadows. There are separate sliders for contrast and clarity for both shadows and highlights, plus they seem to have improved the algorithm for the selective tool. Much more "intelligent" with dodge and burning, and definitely speeds up my workflow.
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Ryan, just keep shooting and you will get the hang of it.
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Sorry guys, but it time for my 90 Tele-Elmarit to fight back all the 90Cron shots posted.
So, I went out for a haircut in Boston Chinatown on Sat morning, brought the M9 along but this time, instead of the 35Cron or Lux, I shot with the 90 Tele-E. Its nowhere near the 90Cron on performance but its very compact. 90FOV is definitely my weakest and least practiced lens so here goes. I find myself stepping back for almost every shot.
First, the "FM-forum" or "denoir" style shots. SEP2.
#1 At the parking lot.
#2 "denoir style" - I love the B&W tonality with SEP2.
#3 . Textures? Processed in SEP2 and added additional clarity in LR3. The clarity tool in LR3 seems to have more pop than SEP2. The longer FL definitely suits this style of photography.
NEW SEP2 shot with closer match to LR3 (in terms of highlights)
I don't know SEP2 well enough to be able to make it look exactly like LR3 conversions. LR3 conversions are still very convenient as you can rewind the clock anytime. With SEP2, once you 'save' it's a redo even if you just one to adjust one control point.
Test it first. Some copies front-focus quite badly, and Leica has been known to send them back saying that they are within spec. The design is really not meant for digital, so you need to get a good copy to get the full performance.
Put the camera on a tripod, and focus at about 1.5-2m. Then take shots at f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, and f/5.6. The focused point should always be within DoF, or at least very close. On some copies f/2.8 and f/4 are way out.
KL - the SEP2 upgrade sure does make our old 'great' SEP1 conversions look a little less 'great' now Great job with PP
Good idea Carsten, though it will be literally IMPOSSIBLE to find one within hundreds of miles of me so I will be relying on someone else doing the testing for me. But yes, that will need to be a requirement as I have heard vastly different experiences with the 35 Lux
Which version is yours (V3 with the built in hood or earlier?).
. I bought a CV 35 1.2 (got a good deal) to play with at f/1.2 - f/2. Its ok....certainly not anywhere in the same league as what you just showed. I could get rid of the Nokton + Cron and spend just a couple hundred dollars and pick up a 35 Lux. Looks to be well worth it from what you, Luka and Joe are all putting out.
