adamdevilde,i have M9,i love sharpness,maybe CCD better than CMOS,but see comparison steve huff and M240 a little sharper and colors are little warmer.So I am selling my M9 for M240,as A7r not really good works with rangfinder lenses
Amazing Gary, I scrolled up from the bottom and something said 'Looks like one of the Lake communities here' and when I got to the top of the post there was your name.
Good thing you know all about the movement of the Zamboni, cause that first shot the driver just doesn't see you, but I see you placed yourself beyond the turn. Nice pictures.
Having a 28 now, do you think a 24 is too close similarly? whereas the 21 might be a better choice? I know some people have a set of lens with the 3 preferred focals (i.e. 28, 50, 90 or 21, 35, 90 etc…..)
I am aware the 28 and 24 are different focal lengths and there is a difference esp. for wide angles, but trying to make a choice here, so any advice would help
Thanks all for your past advice and thanks Charles for recommending the 21 SEM , your making me think to much
Phil
I felt my 28cron and 21SEM were close (but I love them both).. Though when I looked for lenses I'd like to try the 21lux and 24lux caught my eye, and after careful review, I think the 24lux is more what I'm looking for in a lens.
So despite the fact that 21 and 28 are close, I'm seriously considering the 24lux.
Funny Also thinking about buying a secondary M240 (although originally was going to buy two M9 cameras, see post above for reason why I'm leaning towards 2x M240) and giving it a serious go wedding photography wise. I'm kinda getting sick of DSLRS and I've only had the Sony A99 setup for a couple of months (already sick of Canon and Nikon), and already using my Leica for a lot of other corporate client work. I'm just at the point where I think I can slow down dramatically, and still get shots clients would be happy with. Never been much of a machine gunner anyway.
SOOO I think I'll be in LA in March, if anyone in the area wants me to tag along as a second shooter on a wedding assignment, I'll bring my Leica, just PM me
If I do decide to ditch DSLRs, then here's to hoping my Leica gear doesn't have any more major issues!
leonasj wrote:
adamdevilde,i have M9,i love sharpness,maybe CCD better than CMOS,but see comparison steve huff and M240 a little sharper and colors are little warmer.So I am selling my M9 for M240,as A7r not really good works with rangfinder lenses
I don't think it has anything to do with CCD or CMOS.. The colors are just different straight out of camera, even when shooting raw with the same exact color balance (at near base iso values). The problem goes away once you calibrate the cameras/lenses together. Save for the DR which can be adjusted in curves.
So the only other visual anomalies seem lens dependent, which is why I think it's actually the coating on the sensor that creates the visual differences, something to do with the way the senor reflects light perhaps? I'm not an engineer, I couldn't tell you honestly, hence just a theory of mine.
Anyway, both cameras are great, just slightly different if you don't have the time/patients to calibrate properly.
I had the CV 21 ultron w/vf and did not like the focal length, never really was not that excited for my style of shooting, it sat in my closet for 2 months before I got rid of it. Maybe so, also I just never took the advantage of it, will have to re-think on the 21 or just take one out and force myself to use that lens only for the day.
I am really leaning towards the 24 3.8 elmar asph for it's great sharpness WO, contrast, and compact size, and lens filter size to accomadate many of my ND and colored filters I have now. Also with the very good high iso of the M and MM, I could use indoors in decent light, not candle light
Gary that 2nd shot is incredible, I bet it sounds amazing to be there!
Leon those colours are amazing with thw M8! Thats the reason why I love leica colors, thanks for sharing it, out of all the M's I have/had, the M8 creates the best preffered color tones for me, then the M9, after that the M
If your basing your decision on the fact that you had the 21ultron, I'd suggest you not.
I had both the 21ultron and the 21/f4 ZM, and they both "tainted" my 21mm user experience. Not saying that they aren't good lenses, just didn't give me the WOW I was looking for, so they never got used.. Getting the 21SEM was a whole new ballgame.
edwardkaraa wrote:
Well, Charlie, as long as your M9 works, enjoy it. It seems Leica ran out of some spare parts including sensors. The latest sensor batch has a problem with the coatings that will delaminate. They have used the bad batch also on ME and MM cameras. My understanding is that they have changed the entire sensor toppings, so those who get new sensors may get different results than before.
I am also quite puzzled by their lack of courtesy. After I've heard only nice things about their customer service, I am shocked by the way they treat me. After it took 6 weeks for my camera to reach Solms, all what they can tell me is that they will replace the sensor as soon as new sensors are in stock. Since that, I have sent 2 emails asking when do they get the new sensors, they just ignore the emails. I imagine the new policy is if you have no good news for the client, keep quiet.
The problem is I have spent 7K on a new camera on which I have evidence it was delaminating already when I bought it, and now after one year of use, it has to be serviced for 4-6 months and they don't even apologize for the inconvenience or offer me any loaner or an upgrade option. So IMHO, just pray your camera won't need servicing ...Show more →
YEP.. It's this lack of customer support that has me annoyed as well. And has stopped me from investing in an S-system for serious business use (funny, now I'm on the verge of using the M system for that!).
I was told that now that they are shifting to the new HQ, and even though the productivity won't really increase, they do have a lot more offices for administration/CS/etc, and they are going to be vastly more organized as far as spare parts cataloging etc are concern. SOO what I've been told, and time will tell, is that although they won't be able to produce lenses/camera bodies much faster.. If there is a problem, the response time will be faster, and the communication channels will improve vastly. So the expected "pro-level service" will be realized.
I was told the reason behind this was, Leica realizes it's a luxury brand, and they're trying bring up their level of customer service to match the brand. That and I guess it's easier to hire secretaries then skilled laborers.
Again, I was told this by Leica, but who knows until it happens.
Phil, the second from last with the shadows on the wall is great.
Ryan, I like the lines and also what you've done in post with #1
rirakuma, great portrait.
Jud, I really like that are right in the middle of the action in that set.
Charlie, nice work with the ZM 18. My favorite is #3
Gary, very nice photos with the ZM 25.
From a gloomy Stockholm this morning, M9 and 35 Lux
Did some different processing on these, as they are going to be on a card with text, and are supposed to be "pretend", so I was okay going kinda far with these.
Leica M-E and Nokton 50 1.5 (seem to be using this 50mm lots lately)
By the way, I did some infinity comparisons between M9 with ZM 35/2 and 50/2, and A7 with FE 35/2.8 and 55/1.8.
Without boring you with meaningless test shots and 100% crops, I found out that overall the ZM 35/2 is clearly superior to the the FE 35/2.8, except in the very extreme corners where the ZM is known to have a weakness. The FE 35 is a pancake lens and it seems some compromises have been made. Not too bad but the ZM really sparkles.
As for the ZM 50/2, unfortunately it doesn't compare favorably as it has no way to compete with the superb resolution of the FE, which is considered one of the best standard lenses currently, slightly behind the Otus. Only at f/8 I may have found a slight advantage for the ZM but only in the very center of the frame (probably the FE is already suffering from some diffraction), everywhere else the FE is just amazing.
PS: I have to revise my comments about the FE 35. With a very slight sharpening, the FE files are comparable to the ZM 35. The initial difference could be due to the AA filter on the A7, but in any case, the difference is not night and day as I thought initially.
edwardkaraa wrote:
By the way, I did some infinity comparisons between M9 with ZM 35/2 and 50/2, and A7 with FE 35/2.8 and 55/1.8.
Without boring you with meaningless test shots and 100% crops, I found out that overall the ZM 35/2 is clearly superior to the the FE 35/2.8, except in the very extreme corners where the ZM is known to have a weakness. The FE 35 is a pancake lens and it seems some compromises have been made. Not too bad but the ZM really sparkles.
As for the ZM 50/2, unfortunately it doesn't compare favorably as it has no way to compete with the superb resolution of the FE, which is considered one of the best standard lenses currently, slightly behind the Otus. Only at f/8 I may have found a slight advantage for the ZM but only in the very center of the frame (probably the FE is already suffering from some diffraction), everywhere else the FE is just amazing. ...Show more →
How about close focus distance? I know the FE55 is great at infinity but I almost never reach infinity. How is it at more close distances compared to the ZM50 planar (and in my case 50 cron V5)
Still heavenly debating if I add the FE55 only for my A7 in addition to my M9p with 50cron, or if I keep using the 50 cron on both and add a 90 elmarit-m. Which also can be used on both.
I'm a little afraid I'm gonna miss the close focus range of the FE when used with the A7.
Bijltje wrote:
How about close focus distance? I know the FE55 is great at infinity but I almost never reach infinity. How is it at more close distances compared to the ZM50 planar (and in my case 50 cron V5)
Still heavenly debating if I add the FE55 only for my A7 in addition to my M9p with 50cron, or if I keep using the 50 cron on both and add a 90 elmarit-m. Which also can be used on both.
I'm a little afraid I'm gonna miss the close focus range of the FE when used with the A7.
I haven't done any comparisons up close, but from my experience with both, I would say the same comments are valid except for the bokeh, that I really prefer on the ZM. The Sonnar bokeh while being very good on its own is not as smooth as the planar. In fact, the amount of detail I am getting from the Sonnar in portraits is just unbelievable. I can count facial hair and every pore if I wanted to.
Katie, interesting processing with those portraits. The 50/1.5 Nokton is quite a sharp lens, isn't it? The only thing I can't get used to is that sharp, knurled focusing rings... it gets uncomfortable after a while.
Everyone else, great shots. I haven't had time to post or comment this past week because I was on vacation, back in my hometown of Penang (Malaysia) for the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays where I mainly just lurked and Liked on my mobile.
Street photography was on my 2014 new year resolution, and I had the opportunity to give it a shot during my vacation. I have to admit that I picked a very easy target for my first time out: Armenian Street, which is a very heavy tourist spot, and I was shooting hyperfocal at 28mm f/16 which pretty much took care of focusing.
Everyone: thanks for your comments and likes. I've been absent again and have gone through the last couple pages and added my likes. Please excuse my brevity of comments at the moment.
Peter: thanks for your additional feedback. That's pretty much my feeling of how the M9 will work in the cold based on my experience with it last year. This year it's definitely different and it can't just be firmware related, as I believe I've been using the same firmware for over a year. I have five batteries and can use them all in one day, such as at weddings. It's an aspect of the M240 that should be an improvement, as noted by Adam. Three batteries should last forever. I was out a couple more times since last posting. Once over the weekend during a snowfall where temperature was just below freezing, and the camera worked fine. Yesterday I was out during a blizzard during which the temperature was lower by a few degrees, but it was very windy. And the camera started locking up again from pretty early on. I was using my 'best' newest battery too... Basically, if I shot more than one image while the camera was writing to the card, there was a high probability of losing all but the first image. So, for the rest of the outing, I would only shoot one image, then wait until the red activity light turned off before making another image... I still haven't tried the latest firmware, or my hand warmer theory. To me at least, something doesn't seem right with the camera if this is happening now, but wasn't a problem last winter in similar conditions, same firmware, etc..
Adam: thanks for your thoughts and agree the reasons you mention as advantages for the M240 are also attractive to my style of shooting. Regarding CCD vs. CMOS rendering: I agree here too! When the M240 started shipping and people were posting side by side M9 and M240 DNGs, after playing with a few sets, I found it to be relatively easy to equalize each to the other. Yes, they each require different settings, but it is possible. I've been a Canon shooter for ages, and having recently tried a number of Sony cameras, I find both have similar qualities to their files as starting points, and therefore am used to the supposed flatter 'CMOS look' which likely will also be the case for the M240. I believe this might actually be a good thing for the wedding work I have coming this year, which will all be processed by someone else used to processing Canon files.
Interesting observations and theory about sensor reflectance affecting lens rendering. I can believe this could happen, as it's been known a long time that light reflecting off the sensor and back into the lens is a cause for image degradation. I would think Leica's lens designers would compensate for this in their latest designs, but one wonders about somewhat older lenses such as the 28 Cron...
edwardkaraa wrote:
By the way, I did some infinity comparisons between M9 with ZM 35/2 and 50/2, and A7 with FE 35/2.8 and 55/1.8.
Without boring you with meaningless test shots and 100% crops, I found out that overall the ZM 35/2 is clearly superior to the the FE 35/2.8, except in the very extreme corners where the ZM is known to have a weakness. The FE 35 is a pancake lens and it seems some compromises have been made. Not too bad but the ZM really sparkles.
As for the ZM 50/2, unfortunately it doesn't compare favorably as it has no way to compete with the superb resolution of the FE, which is considered one of the best standard lenses currently, slightly behind the Otus. Only at f/8 I may have found a slight advantage for the ZM but only in the very center of the frame (probably the FE is already suffering from some diffraction), everywhere else the FE is just amazing.
PS: I have to revise my comments about the FE 35. With a very slight sharpening, the FE files are comparable to the ZM 35. The initial difference could be due to the AA filter on the A7, but in any case, the difference is not night and day as I thought initially. ...Show more →
Ed, I always enjoy your images in this thread, as well as in A7/A7r thread. But overall, I much prefer the look, color and rendering of your images taken with M9 and ZF lenses. I am interested in your thoughts.
Rory, excellent moment caught!
Ryan, really nice B&W shots!
Jud, powerful street captures! Love them all
Gary, great shots with the ZM 25!
Joakim, wonderful capture of the mood in your image!! I really like the framing and toning of the last shot
Edward, great stuff! So glad Leica came to assist. Very nice street captures
Katie, very nice PP'ing and shots
Adrian, love the street compositions!
Charlie, love the 28 Cron on the M9! The CV 75 is a great lens too.
Bijltje wrote:
How about close focus distance? I know the FE55 is great at infinity but I almost never reach infinity. How is it at more close distances compared to the ZM50 planar (and in my case 50 cron V5)
Still heavenly debating if I add the FE55 only for my A7 in addition to my M9p with 50cron, or if I keep using the 50 cron on both and add a 90 elmarit-m. Which also can be used on both.
I'm a little afraid I'm gonna miss the close focus range of the FE when used with the A7.
The FE 55 is a superb lens, and I can only speak with respect to the A7r, I have not seen such an amazing lens. Wide open and close is probably the strength of the FE 55. For portraits at close to medium are excellent combined with the high DR. I have added a recent photo at a function. I apologize for posting a A7r/FE55 image, but I do know a lot of people who now using the A7/A7r as a backup. Does not take away from the simplicity and ease of using the M system, but for traveling I will have both with me.
, your making me think to much 
