shooting with the M 9 - a new experience in digital photography

[gtan]

hi i have been shooting with the canon 5D and 5D mk 2 with L lenses and honestly have been spoilt by these wonderful cameras. everything i do seems to turn out right from the marvellous electronics. recently i bought a leica M9 and have to admit its a very different [ to me at least] kettle of fish! i grew up on the R6 and R 7 and then the M4 and M6 hence the actual function and feel of the M9 was not new . my experience comparing the M9 with the canon 5D mk 2

leica much less obtrusive. great fun using the 35 mm f1.4 , estimating distance and shooting from the hip. got away with some banned photos in " no camera allowed " places [ heh heh]
colours more natural and
with the 50 mm at f1.4 i got superb bokeh

on the flipside, the M9 was inferior to the 5D in low light.
focussing also meant that some spontaneous shots were lost if i was unprepared

my purpose of writing this thread is to seek the advice of M niners out there as to their shooting style [ or tricks] to improve picture taking results. all said, i find shooting with the M9 fun as a barrel of monkeys. quiet, inconspicuous and great colour from german glass. thanks

 

[magicianhisoka]

Zone focus and pre empt the moment. Bests depending on fickle mindede technology

 

[nordleadx]

Those Magnum shooter used them mainly becos they zone focus .

Compare a nikon wide lens to pre asph RF lens and clearly and feel the different.

The digital m is not really crap and Kodak makes great sensor .

The details and resolution actually very nice and good.

 

[edftwin]

Those Magnum shooter used them mainly becos they zone focus .

Compare a nikon wide lens to pre asph RF lens and clearly and feel the different.

The digital m is not really crap and Kodak makes great sensor .

The details and resolution actually very nice and good.

Totally agree with you, Kodak actually makes good CCD sensor but too bad they are out of business now, guess the next digital M will have a CMOS sensor.

 

[NazgulKing]

Totally agree with you, Kodak actually makes good CCD sensor but too bad they are out of business now, guess the next digital M will have a CMOS sensor.

Theoretically, they could go to Dalsa.

But if they wanted to be practical, CMOS.

But I wouldn't bet on them being practical...

 

[hydroburn249]

what's the use of a summilux if u are just gonna f8 (or any larger aperture) and be there the thing? never understood this. why spend huge chunks of cash on a fast lens and then use it exclusively at large apertures? seems like such a waste to me.

i think that is just a limitation that you need to practice and improve on. a DSLR i think with it's auto focus would make it easier to shoot at wide open apertures for really quick grab shots. i may be just blowing smoke out my ass as i've never shoot long enough with an RF, but the idea is the same when i'm shooting with my manual focus SLR. at wide open apertures, to accurately focus a lens on a moving subject etc will be harder than autofocus. though AF can misfocus too sometimes, but all things being equal, its just a limitation of manual focusing.

Zone focus and pre empt the moment. Bests depending on fickle mindede technology

 

[magicianhisoka]

what's the use of a summilux if u are just gonna f8 (or any larger aperture) and be there the thing? never understood this. why spend huge chunks of cash on a fast lens and then use it exclusively at large apertures? seems like such a waste to me.

i think that is just a limitation that you need to practice and improve on. a DSLR i think with it's auto focus would make it easier to shoot at wide open apertures for really quick grab shots. i may be just blowing smoke out my ass as i've never shoot long enough with an RF, but the idea is the same when i'm shooting with my manual focus SLR. at wide open apertures, to accurately focus a lens on a moving subject etc will be harder than autofocus. though AF can misfocus too sometimes, but all things being equal, its just a limitation of manual focusing.

Well, there's nothing wrong with using zone focusing at the end of the day. And when you see a shot that you need to grab immediately even auto focus might miff it up that's all. The TS asked for an opinion on how to improve his results and I provided an opinion. If you're fast enough to catch a spontaneous moment at a razor thin DOF then good on you!

 

[crispy12]

Zone focus and small aperture in general makes me think a lot more about composition too. Cannot just blur out distracting stuff... Sometimes can be quite challenging yet quite satisfying when I get a good pic

 

[hydroburn249]

haha true that! to be able to focus in lightning quick speed at razor thin DOF would be a godsend!

Well, there's nothing wrong with using zone focusing at the end of the day. And when you see a shot that you need to grab immediately even auto focus might miff it up that's all. The TS asked for an opinion on how to improve his results and I provided an opinion. If you're fast enough to catch a spontaneous moment at a razor thin DOF then good on you!

 

[alantcs2010]

Zone focus with a wider lens will create a more dynamic results with your full frame M camera. Set it to b&w snapshot mode with manual exposure setting, the result is fantastic. 35mm is not wide enough for a good zone focus as compared to 24/21/18/15mm. I mainly use a 15mm for serious street shot and down to 35mm when I want to take my time to compose.

See 15mm sample on digital M9P


Watch Out - Here They Come by Alantcs2010, on Flickr



A Busy Street at Istanbul by Alantcs2010, on Flickr

 

[dtohs]

what's the use of a summilux if u are just gonna f8 (or any larger aperture) and be there the thing? never understood this. why spend huge chunks of cash on a fast lens and then use it exclusively at large apertures? seems like such a waste to me.

i think that is just a limitation that you need to practice and improve on. a DSLR i think with it's auto focus would make it easier to shoot at wide open apertures for really quick grab shots. i may be just blowing smoke out my ass as i've never shoot long enough with an RF, but the idea is the same when i'm shooting with my manual focus SLR. at wide open apertures, to accurately focus a lens on a moving subject etc will be harder than autofocus. though AF can misfocus too sometimes, but all things being equal, its just a limitation of manual focusing.

Summilux, and other fast lens are not just about bokeh, isolation or dof, its also about details and encirclement. I am no master, but I do enjoy seeing others’ photo of zone focusing and others with great details, lots were probably shot at f16 or more, its just diff pursuit, nothing too complex to understand.

Moreover leica is always an emotional upgrade (I speak for myself); its more a shiok thing than anything else, we buy em hoping they could turn us into magicians.

Also if u happen to do big prints, you may see a diff indeed on your prints shot thru a leica modern lens and other lens, but I may be bias.

---

www.dtohphoto.com

 

[artspraken]

what's the use of a summilux if u are just gonna f8 (or any larger aperture) and be there the thing? never understood this. why spend huge chunks of cash on a fast lens and then use it exclusively at large apertures? seems like such a waste to me.

Haha. Why use rangefinder if you do not zone focus? Why spend huge chunks of cash on summilux at all?

I'm not any good myself, but i've come to learn that the really good photographers do not require big aperture lenses (eg F1.4). Truth be told i know many great photographers who cannot afford leica lenses and use more economical F2.8 or F3.5 small aperture lenses. their pictures are still better than mine.

The main reason one would prefer big apertures is for bokeh. But since i encountered Two Cute Dogs (C kirk), i am inclined to agree bokeh is cheese. Too much of it is "ooohhhh wooooow, watch me creeaamy bokeeeeeh". Remember Kai drooling at bokeh on DigitalRev? You get the idea. Bokeh is fun when one is new to the hobby, but the communal drool gets old quickly when you realise everybody is oogling the same stunt.

A wise man told me: the way to improve your photography is to quit fussing over the camera and its specs, & focus on shooting. Forget what camera you are using - think about the picture. To achieve this, you must become familiar with your camera until it becomes an extension of yourself, but at that point you must forget it and use it without thinking about it.

So said, my advice to the OP is that yes, i know you are enjoying the comparison between M9 and SLR for now, but u should avoid thinking too much about comparisons coz they distract you

 

[virtualme78]

IMO, shooting wide open on lux and crons only when shooting under low lighting conditions or you need that creamy bokeh to isolate subject. When it comes to street photography, we do not have the luxury of time to focus. With Zone focus, all we need to do is concentrate on capturing that decisive moment.

2cts from a noob.

 

[artspraken]

But since i encountered Two Cute Dogs (C kirk), i am inclined to agree bokeh is cheese.

Upon rereading my post, i realise my statement above was badly written and can be read to mean i am criticising Charlie Kirk. I would like to clarify what i meant is i agree with Mr Kirk's dislike of bokeh shots, as professed in one of his documentaries.

Sorry for miscommunication.