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Originally Posted by osera
I had used film M's for years, and like using them. But now I have the oppurtunity to explore the lenses more quickly and more thorougly. I can examine the images more closely and with more processing tools than I ever had access to before. And I can observe and participate (to a small degree) more readily in the technical discussions of those more expert.
And so I see myself at the start of a new era (for me) of understanding of what this equipment can do.
Reportage in all its forms was the main "thing" for the M, but I think there were a good number of people doing other artistic imaging with film M's  . |
Some 30 years ago, I was into photography, and systems. With a full Nikon setup, and all that. I walked into a photo dealer in Europe, traded it all for an M2 and a 35 mm Summicron. That was the only camera I shot with for some 20 years - until medium format work caught my attention.
I gave up on the M2 because of two reasons - with glasses, I got tired of trying to see the composition through a rangefinder. Also, the print output was a bit thorny - contact sheets didn't do the trick, larger prints didn't have the refinement I wanted, and slides (favored way) were sitting on the shelf.
But it had a tremendous advantage for manyyears - with ISO 200 film, you could travel anywhere with it, handhold it in dark interiors (1/8 or 1/15 worked) and have a "one camera for all". Travelling, you could record, reportage if you will, but also art shots because of the wonderful qualities of the lenses.
I'll confess to a love of medium format, with that big screen to compose off of and big negatives. But in a digital world, MF gets too expensive ( for serious amateur) and its still big stuff to haul around.
The DMR has opened up the Leica way once more, with its superb lenses and color rendition. Its like an old friend, refound, where you get amazing things from it.
The M8 suggests (promises? delivers?) even more of the same. Imagine getting that quality of the DMR with the portability of an M. And that ease of focus, easy handheld shots....It seems a bit unnatural, even. Can such a small thing give such quality?
Well, for many years the M2 did just that. In a new world, the M8 seems like it is just the ticket. I don't think its reportage, or any of the things exactly as we used to do - except it kind of is. It takes that edge, which we used to explore with the M - to get the moment, in the world, out and about, and capture it well - and allows us to go further.
Now we can go deeper into those moments - into what was once impossible. Finding quality images where the light was not enough, or where we used to find unacceptable image trade-offs of portability, low light, conspicuousness, etc. We are able to go where we couldn't go before.
What this gives us is a new avenue, no, maybe its just an older avenue rediscovered and rebuilt. It won't replace the DSLR's and their speedy autofocus and huge lenses. But it will (for those of us interested) get us out and about, and help us find new images again in places we thought we had already plumbed.
Imagine, handheld work, small camera, and this quality.
For that, a hearty thank you.
Now for that eyeglass problem....
Geoff