How to process M8 photos?

[op133]

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I've been a Leica film shooter for quite a while. For the convenience, I bought a 2nd hand M8 a couple of weeks ago to work with my 35 and 50 LUX A. M9 is difficult to buy and the price is too high on the local market. I saw some pictures right out of M9 look quite close to the film, with a typical leica finger-print in the way it renders the color. However, it seems the pictures out of M8 (DNG) is not the case. It looks more digital, colors need to be adjusted in C1.

 

Now I'm using Capture One V5 to process the DNG to TIFF and use the Photoshop CS4 to do some more adjustments. I find it's not easy to get a "leica looks", while M9 seems to be easier. On the internet, many users reduce the saturation, increase the contrast, etc. It gives a great look, a big sepia, faded-away, old-time feeling. (Street Photography in Paris) (this guy is doing some great Paris pictures) However what if I need a more vivid, positive film, leica-color looking? I saw some pictures on the internet taken by M8 have that kind of look.

 

Anyone who can share with me some tips on how to do it? I'm open to use Lighroom, or any other softwares. Thanks.

 

Shawn

[01af]

Can't speak of the M8 as I don't have one of those ... but to get nice, non-digital, film-like look with M9 files, I do the following in Adobe Camera Raw (same raw conversion engine as Lightroom):

 

• Switch Camera Profile from 'Adobe Standard' to 'Embedded'.
  
• In the White Balance settings, increase Temperature from 4,700 to 5,000 .. 5,200 for daylight shots (I always shoot with the camera's white balance set to 'Daylight').
  
• Also in the White Balance settings, increase Tint from -7 to -2 .. +2.
  
• In the Basic settings tab, reduce Blacks from 5 to 2 .. 3.
  
• Increase Brightness from 50 to 60 or thereabouts.
  
• Reduce Contrast from 25 to 20.
  
• Set Clarity to +10, Vibrance to +5, and (most important setting!) Saturation to -10. Don't overdo desaturation unless you're after an obvious effect.
  
• In the Sharpening section of the Detail settings tab, reduce Amount from 25 to 15 .. 20 (sensor with no AA filter requires less-than-usual capture sharpening); reduce Radius from 1.0 to 0.7; increase Detail from 25 to 40 .. 70 (except for portraits or high-ISO shots).
  
• In the Noise Reduction section of the Detail settings tab, dial in a bit of Luminance smoothing (5 .. 10); reduce Color smoothing from 25 to 10 .. 20 (except for high-ISO shots).
  

That's it. Starting with ACR's default settings, tweak the settings as described above, then save them as the new Camera Raw Default which will make the current settings the default for this camera model. While the settings outlined above are for the M9, I guess they will also make a good starting point to find your own M8 settings (provided you're using Lightroom or ACR). Different cameras can, and will, use different sets of default settings; Lightroom/Camera Raw will handle the association between a camera model and a set of default settings automatically. I guess other raw converters offer similar functionality too.

 

After that, further tweak the settings as required for the individual image.

[op133]

Thank you 01af. I'll try this.

[jaapv]

Rough and ready recipes won't work; each image is different. You really need to understand what you are doing. I suggest you start reading up on Lightroom. The books by Scott Kelby are an excellent starting point in my experience. The colour of M9 photos is totally different from the M8 too, as the Bayer filter is different, so M9 settings are sure to be wrong.

The very first thing to do, of course, is to calibrate your monitor. Get a Color Spyder and follow the instructions

[op133]

jaapv, thank you. I just found that lightroom is doing a very different job than Capture 1 (i downloaded a trial version today). yes I agree with you that each photos are different and M8/M9 sure are different. My eizo CG222w is well adjusted with red spyder. I'm looking for some sharing experience on how to set the parameters within LR or C1 just to get close to the M9 color that I prefer. Thanks anyway.

[jaapv]

That is a good monitor. I think you'll find it is just a steep learning curve to get the M 8 files exactly where you want them to be; but once you are there, it will be very good

[Jamie Roberts]

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It all depends what you want to do...

 

In C1 V5, you can play with the built in curves (film looks) (standard, extra shadow, etc). and styles (BW Yellow Filter is particularly impressive). If you have the white balance correct, that will get you very far along the path.

 

Make sure you're using the right profile for the M8. The default profile is for use without IR filters, so remember to apply the IR filter profile if you use them.

 

From there, the biggest thing people forget to do is set a white and black point, which will dramatically affect the quality of your shot. Go to the levels slider and pull both "ends" in towards the "middle." Shifting the middle slider will adjust "density" but remember it also shifts colours, too, so you'll need to compensate.

 

So: 1) profile 2) white balance 3) film look / style 4) whitepoint, blackpoint and density. That's really all it takes for many M8 shots.

 

I'd suggest forgetting Lightroom for now, actually. C1 has always given me the best saturated colour with the M8, especially with skin tones. LR has some nice management functions, and the newest beta is better for colour, but if you do these things in C1 (and don't forget you can copy and paste them to mulitple files) then you won't be disappointed, IMO.

[op133]

Jamie,

 

Thank you for sharing. I didn't find the "profile-white balance-...-black point", however I found the level sliders. I guess it's the same as "blacks" in LR. By moving the bars, the photo really looks differently.

 

Shawn

[Jamie Roberts]

Hey Shawn, I'm suggesting you do your adjustments in a certain order:

 

1) set the right camera profile: by default, it may be wrong for the M8--the default is for NOT using IR filters. On the Q (Quick) tab under Base Characteristics, set the profile to ICC PROFILE: LEICA M8 GENERIC UV-IR. Then copy that adjustment to all your files (if you used IR filters)

 

2) then set the White Balance (under White Balance) on the Q tab

 

3) then set film look curve... it's under Curves on Base Characteristics (right underneath the ICC profile). "Film standard" is my favourite but there's also "Film Extra Shadow" and "Film High Contrast." You can also set a "Style" from the Styles pull-down (also on the Q tab)

 

4) Then go to Exposure Tab and set the exposure (if you need to) but also, under levels, pull the black point and white point in towards the middle (till you're not clipping detail you want in the highlights or shadows. Use the middle slider if you want to change the overall density of the image; remember though you will also be shifting colours. Levels actually is really different from "blacks" in LR /ACR and it's one reason I stick with C1. You can actually adjust that shadow or white point individually by colour channel, and you can't do that (to my knowledge) in ACR as easily.

 

Hope that helps!

[op133]

Thank you very much, Jamie. It's helpful. I tried it out and got amazing pictures, although different photos need different adjustment parameters. In the first 2 weeks owning M8, without knowing how to digi-process the DNG, I almost regret the investment although I got a good deal for this like-new 2nd hand M8. Now the "Leica" in the M8 talks and brings more "Leica" feeling and draws me closer to the good old days with my MP.

 

Here're 2 pictures I processed:

 

M8 with Summilux 35A

 

M8 with Summilux 50A

[Stealth3kpl]

I love the colours. Is that with LR or did you go back to C1?

Pete

[op133]

The 1st one is processed by c1 and the 2nd with LR 2.7.

[Jamie Roberts]

Shawn,

 

After awhile, you'll get so fast with that simple workflow I posted you won't believe it.

 

And once you start getting more consistent in the camera (with white balance, exposure and so on) you'll find you can do a whole set of images in C1 in virtually no time at all (as long as the light doesn't change, you can make one adjustment for all your shots).

[BshopB]

Nicely done...appreciate this thread and the advice given.