Wow Andrew, those look really great. Thanks for posting them - it's a lens that doesn't get much attention. Do you have a Hawk's adapter for the NEX? Wondering how much closer than regular minimum focusing distance of 1.5m/5ft you would get?
Could some of the focusing difficulty be due to the short focus throw?
Thanks Ron I agree about the focus throw, and maybe this is the heart of some of the focusing issues.
Andrew, really nice shots! Great lens, and it is a shame it is hard to use on the M9. Really the strength of the M series, are the lenses with a decades of lens styles and renderings. The newer designs are great, but now after almost 2 years, I am reverting to some of the older style lenses for their unique look.
Ron I should be getting my adapter this week, will report how it performs.
I think it's difficult to focus because of the very shallow DOF.
I don't know how to explain it, but it seems shallower than the Zeiss 100 MP.
I will be shooting with it more and learn this great lens.
The resolution is insane. But the rendering is a pure beauty to me.
BTW guys, last call, because the new 35 Lux FLE is staring at me and I want to pass.
I prefer the 35 Cron look and I really don't need another 35, but I know how hard it is
to find it and there is one still available!
charles.K wrote:
I am reverting to some of the older style lenses for their unique look.
Charles I like both. I really like the 28 Cron, this is the best look to me.
I like 50 Lux for the clarity. Both 90 APO-Cron and 135 Telyt are crazy sharp,
but still beautiful to me. It's a beautiful journey
I think we shoot different things and that's why probably we have a little different view...
I am starting to appreciate that point of view too Charles. There's definitely a lot of great older glass out there to explore. It's somewhat unfortunate though that prices have gone up so much recently.
In the excitement about Andrew's photos, I forgot to look farther up the page:
Ryan, again another great set. 2, 4 and 5 (in color) for me.
Luka, love #2 and the brickwork is great to see. Looks like an interesting city.
Joe, the rendering is very nice for such a 'bargain' of a lens! I see you also got the Sony 50mm for your NEX. I found it to be a good performer, I think optimized for softer bokeh, at least compared to the 50 f/2 Planar.
Here are a few from late last year...
CV35 f/1.2 II, the first one probably was wide open, or f/1.4:
Andrew - I've casually followed your posts on various threads here on the alt forum and it seems like you've gone through a number of systems and lenses. What's your opinion of Leica glass compared to what you've used previously? Does it live up to the hype? What attracted you to it?
My background is primarily Canon with a lot of L series lenses. It's fine for the kind of work I've done, but this foray of mine into the M system, first with ZM/CV lenses and now with some from Leica, has been revealing.
Ron, your question requires a long answer and I'might be up to it at some point
But let me just say I was not considering Leica before as 95% of pictures I saw
I didn't like. It wasn't my style at all and it wasn't really that good to be honest.
Then you guys here showed me that it's not Leica, it's the photographers who use it.
I slowly started trying some R glass out and one lens which opened my eyes
was Leica 28 R ver2. I was and still am absolutely blown away by it.
So I decided to go full swing. I think my path is similar to that taken by Boris and Luka.
So far I have no regrets except I don't really trust Leica as a company,
I hope M10 will be as good as I hope...
Andrew, nice example with the 135. Looks sharp. Hope you enjoy your Leica journey.
Charles, nice shots with the Nocti. How do you like it so far?
Ron, nice shots and colors with the CV 35 ii. The NEX 7 is nice, I get files that are d-SLR like, it has AF for when I need it and also lenses are comparatively cheaper but still decent, but most importantly, it weights much less especially for travel. The E mount 50 OSS is sharp when stopped down. I just hope the X2 is as small as the X1... can't wait till the news is out later this afternoon.
Excellent shots Joakim, the 50Lux is still a stunning lens, even with the new 50APO out today.
Ron, what is even more remarkable is that they kept the 50Cron AA the same size as the current one.
I'm quite interested in the M9 Mono since I shoot mostly B&W, but just worried that the M10 is round the corner and then the chase starts again.... decisions decisions.
Until Leica updates the screen and the rangefinder adjustment mechanism, I am not planning to buy another M. These two components are not up to the standards of the M9/M-M sensors.
Joe, thanks The 50 Nocti IV f1.0, is a brilliant lens. It is a 16 year old lens, perfectly calibrated on M9's, so this was one of first big obstacles, having great accuracy for focusing. Love the rendering of this lens, which is destined for portraits of course At the moment still playing around with it, and seeing how to integrate the different settings for PP'ing in LR 4.1 RC2. Love your shot with the 50 Cron PreAsph! This is one of my favourite 50 classic lenses.
Corposant, yes there are many great M lenses out there and the 50 Cron Preasph is a classic
Joakim, really nice shots! The 50 Lux is tough lens to beat!
Ron, Joe, the 50AA looks to be an amazing lens! The sample shots, I have seen of the M9-M, at 10,000 ISO, look outstanding. I just hope the they have improved the electronics and processor speed, to be on par with the latest offerings. The depth and DR at the lower ISO's look amazing too. Having an older M9, as a backup, I would trade it in for the M9-M, as an updated backup.
Thanks Charles. So you are thinking of a new M-M as backup? I do like the older Nocti, the rendering is beautiful as can be seen in some of the shots you and others have posted. The one you have is a keeper.
I read on LL website that with the bayer layer removed, the resolution of 18Mpix is more like a 24Mpix sensor. Very tempting plus the high iso shots looks really impressive (for a digital M). Time to dig out those old red orange and yellow filters?
For me, the most disappointing news from today was the X2, the screen resolution looks like it has not been upgraded, and no video.
Congrats on the Noct F/1, that's my favorite M lens by far... I love the rendering, truly unique and no other lens like it... Not as perfect as .95 or Summilux 50 ASPH but I like it that way
The M-M is really growing on me, it would be great to try with the Noct and ISO 8000 for sure....I just wish the price was lower...
Charles, from a logical point of view, I highly doubt the M9-M has been upgraded internally in any considerable way other than changing the sensor. I would guess such additional changes would be substantial and perhaps difficult to integrate with existing M8/9 era components and software, which likely required minimal change to support the monochrome functionality. It may also make the M9-M more serviceable over the longterm if it doesn't require too many unique parts.
If indeed an M10 is coming for Photokina, would it make sense for Leica to add some of its capability to the M9-M? Such a move would give an encouraging glimpse at the future and reassure many digital Leica users that the company can produce a camera with modern capabilities. But, it would steal thunder from the M10 (if such a camera is actually cutting edge, which is now in doubt among many). The M9-M is a niche product and an opportunity for Leica to get a little more mileage out of the M9 platform before it's replaced.
I know Andrew and others are feeling uncertain about the M10's prospects. I remain hopeful, keeping the S2 as a reference for how Leica can successfully develop a sophisticated electronic product in-house. If the M10 doesn't at least have a fast processor, buffer and very responsive operation, let alone live view and some other more daring (for Leica) features, then I will join those lamenting Leica's squandering of the momentum brought by the M9.
It's easy to get caught up in all the latest camera developments and lose sight of the fact that the M9 is still a very good 18MP camera, especially if one takes the time to learn its quirks and weaknesses.
Joe, probably wise to wait until Photokina. If the M10 is substantially higher resolution, it could offset some of the gains made by the monochrome sensor over the color version... And it could always happen that Leica releases an M10-M as well, though honestly I doubt they would release it at the same time and so soon after the M9-M. It would probably be a 1-1.5 year later release schedule.
Joakim - great to see you back and very much like the first one.
Quote: "Everything that you love about the M9 is there in the M Monochrom. Everything that annoys you about the M9 is also there in the M Monochrom – the same lethargic write speeds, the same low resolution LCD, and so forth."
Juano and Joe thanks! Yes the 50 Nocti is a keeper
Ron, I have just read Reid review on the M9-M, and it appears the electronics and processor is the same as the M9, so it does make sense, to keep the parts simple and universal, though this was high on my personal wish list!
I agree the M9 is still an excellent 18MP camera with its quirks, and I would be quite happy for another year. The only limitation of getting better shots is me!!! Of course, the real strength is in M lens array, both old and new.
I do hope the M10 is announced at Photokina, or shortly after, resolving some of the existing quirks. I have a feeling, designing a FF M10 is not so easy, from an engineering perspective, and still keeping the cost to something less than stratospheric. There has been a lot of new releases with APS and M43 sensors, close but not quite there yet! But I do think designing sensors for FF, is another quantum leap.
Quote: "Everything that you love about the M9 is there in the M Monochrom. Everything that annoys you about the M9 is also there in the M Monochrom – the same lethargic write speeds, the same low resolution LCD, and so forth."
Interesting review Still I feel the MM's will be in great demand, and continue the momentum for Leica for a while longer!
I agree about the focus throw, and maybe this is the heart of some of the focusing issues.
At the moment still playing around with it, and seeing how to integrate the different settings for PP'ing in LR 4.1 RC2. Love your shot with the 50 Cron PreAsph! This is one of my favourite 50 classic lenses.