Questions on Leica M

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16942248
Also a little sump'm from Meyerowitz . Also a great piece on framing.

About a min twenty three sec in but watch the entire piece, It's really good.
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=Xumo7_JUeMo

Interesting video....but I was thinking....when you focus with a Leica, do you keep the other eyes open? I can hardly imagine it. Pretty much the same thing as with DSLR, no? To focus, you anyway have the other eyes closed.

Most of the time on the streets I am pre focused using the DoF scales on the lens. So I have I am watching the world outside the viewfinder with my left eye and framing/composing with my right which is in the viewfinder. And if you have to focus it is a million times easier than with a autofocus DSLR.

Try and find useful DoF scales on a DSLR lens. Even on my prime Ls they SUCK. And there is no auto focus in the world faster than being pre focused. My work has gone ot an entirely different level since getting the Leica. I no longer miss shots because the auto focus wan't fast enough or it focused on the wrong something else.

I have to remind folks every now and then, among weapons marksmen, the best shooters in the world keep both eyes open. That works also in photography as the video above mentioned. Depending on your eyes, of course, you can shoot with one eye open with SLR cameras. I tend to put the left eye on the viewfinder, however, just to keep my nose grease off the monitor.

advaitin wrote in post #16942658
I have to remind folks every now and then, among weapons marksmen, the best shooters in the world keep both eyes open. That works also in photography as the video above mentioned. Depending on your eyes, of course, you can shoot with one eye open with SLR cameras. I tend to put the left eye on the viewfinder, however, just to keep my nose grease off the monitor.

Strange Im in the military and have a perfect score on the m16, I only use my right eye lol.

In shooting both eyes open is definitely the best option. For some though eye dominance issues can make it difficult to do without using a small blinder to mask the front sight/muzzle. Personally I am centrally dominant and have to use a blinder with iron sights or a shotgun. For shotgun that is just a little smear of vaseline on the correct spot on the left lens of my safety glasses. With a rifle after a while you can actually train your eyes to work independently so that you can aim with right eye and watch a variety of wind flags etc with the other eye all at the same time.

Alan

J_TULLAR wrote in post #16942987
Strange Im in the military and have a perfect score on the m16, I only use my right eye lol.

I'm left eye dominant, so I have to close my left to shoot any kind of right handed long gun or else I do not see the sights.

I shoot cameras with my left eye, which means the large 1D bodies block my right eye when used vertically but the standard bodies do not. So in some ways the smaller standard bodies are better for me to shoot vertically over a 1D.

RF and Leica M in particular are at their best on the street, documentary and reportage.
The space around frame lines is big advantage and both eyes open are same advantage as well.
It is completely different from portraits, but close to sports and action with DSLR, where I keep both open as well to see it approaching and else.

Old jarhead here and shot with expert from 200, 300 & 500 yards with only one eye open.

But when working on the street I am watching both eyes open and reacting to everything.

light_pilgrim wrote in post #16940843
How is it possible that these cameras sell at this price tag?

For the label "Leica".

Apart from the expense, which is a problem that is never likely to go away, I would love to be able to shoot a digital monochrome only camera. Unfortunatly for my normal subject matter a rangefinder is not ideal. Mostly it's the lack of really long telephoto lenses, and the difficulties with dealing with the addition of all that extra magnification to the viewfinder. I beleive 200mm is the longest focal length in an M mount, and I really need 600mm or longer a lot of the time.

I must say that when I have used cameras with separate viewfinders I really like the oversized window with brightline frame. I like the way it makes you think about what is and isn't in the frame, even if it is on a subconcious level.

Maybe I should dig out my old Olympus XA2 and run some Ilford FP4 through it. I know it is only a compact, but it's still a nice little camera and very discreet to use. Only minor issue is no way to add colour contrast filters, and I do like the way a yellow filter gives the sky a bit of a boost contrast wise.

Alan

The way I see, Leica is good for street photography or some dialogue-type of portraits.....story-telling in other words. I am an amateur photographer and I do portraits 60% of my time, landscape 30% of my time and street about 10% of my time. Do not see myself doing photography as a business, so for me it will always be hobby. The Monochrome with 35 or 50 mm lens is appealing to me and at some point of my life I would love to have one, on top of my normal DSLR system. For this to happen, I will need to be very-very-very reach as it would cost about 25.000$ for a body and 2 lenses. I should probably be earning 5-7 more than I do now to be able to afford with a blink of an eye. This is the reality. Sadly...it is something that it outdated after 5 years....might be not the lenses, but the body.
I guess Leica will be the benchmark....but I only hope other system will dramatically improve...like Fujifilm with their X-Pro line or Sony. When I will be able to afford Porsche or Ferrari....it means I can afford Leica

I think it was better during films days. You get a body and a lens and 10 years later it is still using same film Today 10 years in like eternity....everything changes and improves so fast. Especially sensors, LCDs, other things.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16943425
Old jarhead here and shot with expert from 200, 300 & 500 yards with only one eye open.
But when working on the street I am watching both eyes open and reacting to everything.

I started out that way myself, off the farm, and don't recall that I learned to do things differently during Basic or Infantry AIT. My first platoon sergeant in Korea was an pistol enthusiast and had been a competition shooter for the Army. He taught me to use both eyes and it served me well in both rifle and pistol, subsequently.

My eyesight has changed over the years, the left becoming more nearsighted than the right. Shooting a Leica RF was always a pleasure because of that contrasting and relatively large focus block. Focus confirmation in other cameras has proven more and more useful as time goes by.

light_pilgrim wrote in post #16943802
The way I see, Leica is good for street photography or some dialogue-type of portraits.....story-telling in other words. I am an amateur photographer and I do portraits 60% of my time, landscape 30% of my time and street about 10% of my time. Do not see myself doing photography as a business, so for me it will always be hobby. The Monochrome with 35 or 50 mm lens is appealing to me and at some point of my life I would love to have one, on top of my normal DSLR system. For this to happen, I will need to be very-very-very reach as it would cost about 25.000$ for a body and 2 lenses. I should probably be earning 5-7 more than I do now to be able to afford with a blink of an eye. This is the reality. Sadly...it is something that it outdated after 5 years....might be not the lenses, but the body.
I guess Leica will be the benchmark....but I only hope other system will dramatically improve...like Fujifilm with their X-Pro line or Sony. When I will be able to afford Porsche or Ferrari....it means I can afford Leica

I think it was better during films days. You get a body and a lens and 10 years later it is still using same film Today 10 years in like eternity....everything changes and improves so fast. Especially sensors, LCDs, other things.

I don't know where you are, in terms of having lots of pawn shops, camera stores around, but a good used Leica and used lens from virtually any era will give you the experience you want. I had a reasonable shot at a used M9 a couple of months ago, but bought Zeiss ZE glass instead. The photography school I attended back in the '70s is still going strong, here in Daytona Beach (and considered one of the best in the country) and has a web site for its students and graduates where people can list stuff for sale. But I keep my eye on KEH and look through the listings at Adorama, B and H, Roberts Camera in Indiana.If it is still in business, Central Camera in Chicago used to have a healthy used business. Samy's in LA could be another.

light_pilgrim wrote in post #16943802
The way I see, Leica is good for street photography or some dialogue-type of portraits.....story-telling in other words. I am an amateur photographer and I do portraits 60% of my time, landscape 30% of my time and street about 10% of my time. Do not see myself doing photography as a business, so for me it will always be hobby. The Monochrome with 35 or 50 mm lens is appealing to me and at some point of my life I would love to have one, on top of my normal DSLR system. For this to happen, I will need to be very-very-very reach as it would cost about 25.000$ for a body and 2 lenses. I should probably be earning 5-7 more than I do now to be able to afford with a blink of an eye. This is the reality. Sadly...it is something that it outdated after 5 years....might be not the lenses, but the body.
I guess Leica will be the benchmark....but I only hope other system will dramatically improve...like Fujifilm with their X-Pro line or Sony. When I will be able to afford Porsche or Ferrari....it means I can afford Leica

I think it was better during films days. You get a body and a lens and 10 years later it is still using same film Today 10 years in like eternity....everything changes and improves so fast. Especially sensors, LCDs, other things.

HMMM I would put Phase one and Hasselblad in the really high end price range and Leica M is great for portraits but If you need long lenses then Leica M is probably not the right choice. Leica M is no more expensive that top of the line Canon and Nikon which I wouldn't call a Ferrari.

The 90 Summicron APO is maybe hte best tele in that range. Surely beats the stuffing out of the 85L. I own the 85L BTW and it is a great lens but certainly not in the 90 Cron league.

There is a current rumor that Sony is working on mono A7? Could really be interesting. Again if you don't buy all the stuff you will be surprised what you can afford.

I just finished paying off the MM and 35 lux a few months ago. I had 18 months no interest so I used the CC's money for a year and a half.

advaitin wrote in post #16943861
I don't know where you are, in terms of having lots of pawn shops, camera stores around, but a good used Leica and used lens from virtually any era will give you the experience you want. I had a reasonable shot at a used M9 a couple of months ago, but bought Zeiss ZE glass instead. The photography school I attended back in the '70s is still going strong, here in Daytona Beach (and considered one of the best in the country) and has a web site for its students and graduates where people can list stuff for sale. But I keep my eye on KEH and look through the listings at Adorama, B and H, Roberts Camera in Indiana.If it is still in business, Central Camera in Chicago used to have a healthy used business. Samy's in LA could be another.

Central is still going strong. Don is the man...(he's the owner and it has been in his family since opening IIRC)