An homage to the alt forum love for benches. Mama bench, papa bench and baby bench
I'm actually quite pleased with that shot despite the moire as it's the first shot with the 25 where I got the framing exactly the way I wanted. I was bound to get lucky some time I guess
I'm still catching up on the images on the thread. Very nice post everyone from the past few weeks!
Charles, very nice set of portraits and street pics from your trip Thailand. Those hospitals there do know how to attract patients
Luka, congrats on your M9! think we all knew it was just a matter of time for you. I like the pics you took with the Sonnar lens and the non-denoir style most. Good to see a different perspective to your shots with the M9. Can't wait to see more
VladiD, very nice captures at the Broklyn terminal. I like the wheelchair shot a lot!
Joe, nice shot!
I have been revisiting the 90 Elmarit without prejudice, as it is such an easy lens to use. After recent focusing calibration issues with the 90 Cron AA, which will be repaired, I have resorted to using the 90 Elmarit. Excellent lens and so easy to use and better still it can be bought for a bargain
Ok, sort of a side bar here as I am considering an m9... Doesn't it bother the heck out of you all that there are so many issues with calibration and leica?
I bought certain gear early on thinking I'd be doing one thing, but have gone a different direction. I want to go full frame, and I'd like to get an m9. In my life a couple of lenses and then body is a lot of money right now..and I can swallow it, but with all of the quality control issues it really puts me off..between this thread/calibration and lcam users reporting m9 body issues. Sorry to stray from pics only, but id appreciate the well thought out assertions I'm sure you can all offer.
The last thing I want is to spend $10k plus and then have camera/lenses/both in solms for months. That leads me to think a 5d mk2 would be a much better idea...but for example tonight, I didn't take my camera(7d and sigma 30/1.4) because it was too much of a pita, the 5d is going to be even more cumbersome)
Maybe I should add a used m8 and cv lens to test the waters, but by the time I add filters and sort out time on higher iso stuff...is it worth skimping?
@Charles that's a nice pic of a subject that is common, it just looks..pleasing. I chalk that up to skill level more than gear. Thank you all for the great shots.
Thank you h00ligan!
The commentary here, is for people to make informed decisions. Personally I love the M9 and its quirks, but I hopefully shared almost a journal for others. You are right, it is a heck of a lot of money, to spend on gear, and you may be better of starting with the M8 as Carsten and Jeff have suggested earlier, and see whether the RF system is for you. If in doubt, I would skimp until you are comfortable
As an aside, tonight I was asked to take shots at a dual 40's function, where there is a pro photog, but the host asked if I would also take some shots. It will be fun to take the M9 to an evening like this. Intended gear for the evening M9 and 50 Lux, with a SB 58 flash if needed for very low light. Lenses in the bag, 35 Cron and 90 Elmarit.
h00ligan, buy local, open it in the store, take lenses with you that you know are in calibration (something long without focus shift preferably) test the camera in the shop and outside and if it's out then give it back and get another one.
That being said, my rangefinder drifted out of alignment but I am now proficient at calibration all but vertical alignment.
joe88 wrote:
I actually prefer the Pentax film shot compared to the M9 version.
So do I.
Nice shots - I especially like the ceiling abstract.
charles.K wrote:
I have been revisiting the 90 Elmarit without prejudice, as it is such an easy lens to use. After recent focusing calibration issues with the 90 Cron AA, which will be repaired, I have resorted to using the 90 Elmarit. Excellent lens and so easy to use and better still it can be bought for a bargain
Nice cat.
Have you considered the 90 Summarit? It's a bit faster than the Elmarit and with a bit poorer build quality. I considered it for a tele but I've been a bit put off by the busy bokeh it produces. After looking at some Elmarit examples however I thinkg they seem to have roughly the same rendering. The 90 Cron is a no-go for me due to the size. The 75 Cron APO on the other hand looks very appealing although I'm not sure it's long enough for me though...A Zeiss 85/2 is of course an option but I'd rather get a Leica.
h00ligan wrote:
Ok, sort of a side bar here as I am considering an m9... Doesn't it bother the heck out of you all that there are so many issues with calibration and leica?
You have to understand that a digital M is essentially a primitive mechanical device whose design has changed little from the 1950's. Everything is mechanically coupled and thus subject to mechanical rather than electronic levels of tolerance. Having said that, almost all my Canon lenses required some degree of micro focus adjustment before the AF was spot on. The mechanical nature of the Leica has both its advantages and disadvantages. As a photographer is very much a physical being interaction with the camera is much more pleasant when the camera has a superb construction. When it comes to precision and repeatablity a mechanical solution is inferior to an electronic one.
The last thing I want is to spend $10k plus and then have camera/lenses/both in solms for months. That leads me to think a 5d mk2 would be a much better idea...but for example tonight, I didn't take my camera(7d and sigma 30/1.4) because it was too much of a pita, the 5d is going to be even more cumbersome)
A 5DII is identical in size and weight to a 7D so there should be no difference there.
Now, I've had the M9 for less than a week so I may change my opinion in the future but if I had to choose between the M9 and the 5DII I would not hesitate for a second to pick the 5DII. This is because I'm primarily a landscape/nature shooter and typically 70-80% of my photos are shot from a tripod. If I was doing more handheld photography and more social/snapshots/steet I'd choose the M9. The only really good thing about the M9 for landscape photography is its sensor which has a superb resolution. A modern DSLR with high end glass is a far more versatile and reliable tool for that kind of photography. So if you can't have both you should ask yourself what type of photography you enjoy most. To me changing to the 5DII with manual focus Zeiss glass was a revelation. It had a very significant effect on my photography - for the better. The M9 is rather more a liberation than a revelation. I can bring it along when I wouldn't bother with a DSLR. Although the camera itself isn't very small, the lenses are really tiny.
I should add that I have been positively surprised by the M9 in almost every respect, but that is probably because I was very aware of its shortcomings before I bought it.
Maybe I should add a used m8 and cv lens to test the waters, but by the time I add filters and sort out time on higher iso stuff...is it worth skimping?
My answer to that would be: probably not. Apart from the more compact size the big selling point of the M9 is the image quality. While you may get some rangefinder experience from it you will most likely be disappointed by the resulting images - a 10 megapixel cropper with cheap optics will be a definite step down from your 7D. Or X1 for that matter.
--
Alright, time for some images. I have been trying to learn to operate the 50 Sonnar wide open. I've found these shots quite informative. Ignore the EXIF - it's incorrect. All are shot at f/1.5
At this distance, the rendering reminds me strongly of the Zeiss 85/1.4 Planar - which is pretty cool for a 50 mm lens. It does have some quirks though. Check out the absurd field curvature. In the upper corners it's almost sharp at infinity while the lower corners are blurry. The bokeh is OK, but not brilliant. In some cases it even takes a disturbing "donut" form.
Two shots at a similar distance:
They confirm the findings from the first shot.
At closer distances the rendering is much more even, but less interesting:
It's a quirky little lens wide open. I definitely like it wide open at medium distances and stopped down it is optically superb. Close up I find it relatively boring and the bokeh can be a bit harsh in high contrast situations. Of my three ZM lenses it's definitely the most interesting. The 35/2 is the most even and reliable performer while I have yet to really bond with the 25/2.8 - although it is optically very good stopped down a bit.
denoir wrote:
The 90 Cron is a no-go for me due to the size. The 75 Cron APO on the other hand looks very appealing although I'm not sure it's long enough for me though...A Zeiss 85/2 is of course an option but I'd rather get a Leica.
<the sound of Carsten falling off his chair>
<recovering, unsteadily...>
The 90 Cron AA looks large compared to other M lenses, but it is very compact compared to any modern Canon, Nikon or Zeiss DSLR lens. It is smaller than the ZF50/1.4, although maybe a tad longer. It is really quite small, just a little bit bigger than a Nikkor 105 AI-S.
So, why would you prefer a Leica short tele?
Nice shots, and interesting discussion of the 50/1.5.
The current 90 Cron is twice as heavy and large as my 50/1.5 Sonnar. Comparing it to a DSLR lens is beside the point. In the M world it is enormous. Both the 90 Summarit and the 75 Cron which are significantly shorter and smaller are already IMO actually too large but perhaps tolerable. I'm not going to get large and heavy lenses for the M9 - I'd rather abstain from tele lenses in that case.
As for why I want a Leica tele. Simple - I stated from the start that I wanted one good quality Leica lens in order to try it for myself. I've filled out WA with Zeiss so what remains is UWA and tele. I'll go with Zeiss UWA so the only thing that remains is a tele lens. There is actually one Leica lens whose rendering style I mildly approve of and that's the 75 Cron. Although I am by no means blown way by what I've seen in samples, I am not offended by it either. On the whole I think I like it. The only problem is that 75mm is a bit too short for an only tele. A 90mm would have been nicer. So the choice will probably stand between the 90 summarit and the 75 cron.
Edit: Damnit, the status of the 75 Cron seems to be the same as of the 50 lux - not available.
thrice wrote:
h00ligan, buy local, open it in the store, take lenses with you that you know are in calibration (something long without focus shift preferably) test the camera in the shop and outside and if it's out then give it back and get another one.
That being said, my rangefinder drifted out of alignment but I am now proficient at calibration all but vertical alignment.
How do you calibrate it?
Isn't Vertical alignment just a matter of popping off the red dot and twisting the screw?
I've been away for awhile, but congrats on the M9, Luka! Lots of great shots by you and others. Interesting read about your thoughts on the differences between the M9 and 5D2 as well.
I'll have to give this some thought. It may make more sense to get a good l prime for the 7d, keep the x1 and save up for an m9 when it can be added rather than replace. I'll definitely think about things and continue to enjoy the wonderful shots here.
Maybe the pending x1 firmware update will surprise me but doubt it. I took the x1 last night and like a moron at the end when I got there I thought..it is way too dark..I wound up being wrong..so more discipline on keeping it with me is in order too.
Part of the weight thing and the dslr problem for me is a bad knee right now, pending surg next year in Jan. I was sore just walking let alone carrying more weight or trying to get low for good angles :/ but there is no excuse for me taking the x1 then leaving it in the car, it weighs nothing. I thought it would be to slow last night, I just totally misjudged the environment.
Btw, the place I went is outside of Anthem..pioneer living history museum..all old west stuff. Just reopened two weeks ago. If anyone is passing through Phoenix, it's pretty interesting (i'm going back during the day shortly and will hopefully have some results to share).
I definitely will think long and hard about what to do. Cheers for the help and patience!
Nice cat shot Charles. The Elmarit 90 seems like a fine lens to me.
Luka, I like the bench shot. Seems very 3-D to my untrained eyes. Thanks for sharing your findings of the 50 Sonnar. Very interesting lens.
Here's a few shots from my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur with my 90 Tele-E thin version. I'm quite happy with this lens if I can avoid shooting into the light, else it flares wildly. Its also extremely compact and fits into the pocket nicely. M9 90 Tele-E wide [email protected]
