90mm Elmarit-M, Street Photography

[mknaidu11]

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Dear novice would be experts:

 

Anyone using it for street photography with Leica M9/ME?

I have been using it for the last three weeks. Finding it difficult to keep steady for street photography. I miss many good shots. Still learning with this.

 

Requested suggestions from experts and seniors for a good practice please.

 

Thanks in anticipation.

[DigitalHeMan]

Try and keep the shutter speed above 1/180s. I find the 1/focal length rule is a little bit sensitive for this lens

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[wda]

It depends on what you want. A 90 requires distance unless you want details. Not the ideal lens for street in my opinion. 35 or 50 would be much more useful in many situations.

[mknaidu11]

Thanks to you all for valuable suggestions.

 

Looks like Elmarit-M is good with tripod.

 

Will take time to acquire 50mm lens.

 

By the way which 50mm would be better, 50mm f2 or 50mm f1.4??

 

Thanks again.

[250swb]

For people keep shutter speed high, pre-focus on a fixed point and wait for people to intersect it, use higher ISO to allow smaller aperture and more DOF. But street photography can be about so much more than 'people walking about'.

 

Expectations of failure rate is a good lesson to learn. If a good 'keeper' rate is normally 1 shot in 36, call it 3 in 100 for digital, it may be less with a 90mm just because of the more critical focus and narrow DOF. So don't be disappointed, when you find the recipe this will increase and become a regular 3 per 100.

 

Then look at what other photographers have done with the sort of compression a 90mm focal length will give, for instance Saul Leiter

 

https://www.lensculture.com/articles/saul-leiter-saul-leiter-1950-60s-color-and-black-and-white#slide-1

 

who if he didn't use a 90mm for all his shots certainly uses a 50mm to compress the image in the same way a 90mm would. Take as many lessons from looking at other photographers images as you can, copy them, and before long you will see in your own way.

 

Steve

[timde]

I use this one sometimes. Generally I need around 5-10 meters distance from the subject to get reasonable framing and then perhaps more importantly I try to prefocus on something in frame ... and wait for the subject to move into position. The subject in my case is normally my kids, and I prefocus on some part of the playground equipment they are using.

 

The lens is a little slow to focus, and DOF is narrow, but I'm happy with the results when using Film. Perhaps digital is less forgiving. A 50mm and moving 2 meters closer would be easier ... but I don't have a 50mm :-)

[timde]

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The subject in my case is normally my kids, and I prefocus on some part of the playground equipment they are using.

 

If these attachments work, then this is an example on Film. With the prefocus technique and an aperture of around f5.6-8 I get a focus hit rate above 75% (and I'm short sighted). Actually its a nice way to take photos of people, since you don't really get in their face, and often they don't even notice.

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[MarkP]

Looks like Elmarit-M is good with tripod.

 

Tripod and street don't necessarily go that well together. If you must, then a monopod may give you the stability, mobility and discretion you will need. Otherwise just push the ISO as the subject is still more important than ISO-determined IQ.

[adan]

Taken with 90mm Tele-Elmarit - Place de Madeleine, Paris. Saw it, raised camera and focused, shot it. Round blur circles indicated f/2.8 was used.

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[gpwhite]

Yes, I think it works well, but a high shutter speed is necessary. For 90mm, particularly at a distance, 1/250 or even 1/500 are probably best.

 

It is just my style, but the Elmarit-M 90mm is really good at closest focus, which can be interesting in street photography.Even ~1m and f/3.4, the images retain 3D.

[CaptZoom]

Dear novice would be experts:

 

Anyone using it for street photography with Leica M9/ME?

I have been using it for the last three weeks. Finding it difficult to keep steady for street photography. I miss many good shots. Still learning with this.

 

Requested suggestions from experts and seniors for a good practice please.

 

Thanks in anticipation.

 

 

Can you say more about the type of shot you are trying to frame?

[Guest]

...

 

Perhaps this is no more street photography, but it is beautiful to sit in a sidewalk cafe to be able to support the Leica sometimes with the elbows on the cafeteria table and to photograph people promenading at the opposite side of the street with the 75- or 90-mm-lens.

Edited July 16, 2014 by Guest

[wda]

Thanks to you all for valuable suggestions.

 

Looks like Elmarit-M is good with tripod.

 

Will take time to acquire 50mm lens.

 

By the way which 50mm would be better, 50mm f2 or 50mm f1.4??

 

Thanks again.

Unless shooting at night, you don't need a lens any faster than the Summicron or modern Summarit. Usually you want to stop down to give you a safety margin with focusing accuracy.

Edited July 16, 2014 by wda
added extra lens

[algrove]

Just looking over the crowd at 70th D Day anniversary overlooking Omaha Beach and found this chap looking directly at me. Focused and click. Had preset exposure as best I could using EVF on M240. I am no longer as steady as years ago so I use 1/1000 minimum with this lens these days. Still a lovely lens and it packs well for long trips. Have the Tele-Elmarit, but seems to flare too much for me even with long Leica clip-on hood.

 

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[macrobernd]

I own a Summarit 90 but normally I don't use it for street. I use it for portrait photographs.

Street photographs should tell a story that usally needs context. That means people are intetacting with their environment. For this purpose you need a wider lens, e.g. 35 or 50mm to include the environment that make the story. I prefer 35mm, Ralph Gibson an old 50mm Summicron dual range. There are other photographers who like 28 or 21 mm lenses for street.

If you have the chance try to borrow a wider lens. Go on street and get closer to your subject. You will be rewarded.

 

Which 35 or 50mm lens? It doesn't matter. You have to be fast. Try to prefocus and shoot with f5.6 or f8.

That means a Summilux makes no sence. An older lens may have a more classic rendering.

 

Good luck and show your results!

[algrove]

And an older lens might be smaller helping you move fast and be less noticeable. The old 40/2.0 C is an example. But macrobernd is correct-- get closer not farther. Wider lenses offer a nice DOF which helps immensely, however nothing beats focusing on the main subject if at all possible. For many a 50 is more difficult than a 35 or wider. I know we are off your main question, but that's the way it is.

[philipus]

I really like the 90 Elmarit-M for street photography. Then again, I am normally a 50mm photographer so 90 comes much more naturally to me than wider focal lengths, including 35mm which I struggle with. I also find that the Elmarit-M has a just long-enough focus throw, plus a very pleasantly damped focusing ring and an aperture ring with very distinct stops (I have the black version).

 

I didn't know Saul Leiter used a 90mm lens but I find him one of the most, if not the most, inspirational street photographers, especially for colour photography. I just love his photographs. I know he's shot b&w too but his colour work is the best. "Early color" is a necessity for any photographer's bookshelf imo.

 

I only shoot film and use this lens outdoors with 100 or 400 film. Shutter speeds of 1/60 are no problems at all. Then again we're all different, both in terms of ability to hand hold steadily and in terms of what we expect from the image. Puts stated in his Chronicle (2012) that this lens "is, even with current standards, an outstandingly good lens” and that at "maximum aperture the lens produces a high-contrast-high-definition picture from center to corner. Stopped down the image quality becomes outstanding. Close-up performance is as good as at infinity.” I certainly agree with this (and incidentally here's his comparison with the current 90 APO among others).

 

Here a few examples for no real reason at all except to say that I like this lens a lot.

 

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Entrance to the right | Flickr

Velvia 100F

 

Fork | Flickr

Gold 200

 

Gangster cyclist | Flickr

Superia 400

 

Runner | Flickr

Superia 400

 

Rear view mirror | Flickr

Gold 200

[TheGodParticle/Hari]

On the M9:

 

http://forum.mflenses.com/userpix/20129/2221_L1031192_1.jpg

 

http://forum.mflenses.com/userpix/201210/2221_L1035334_1_1.jpg

 

http://forum.mflenses.com/userpix/201210/2221_L1035390_1.jpg

 

http://forum.mflenses.com/userpix/201210/2221_L10353923_1.jpg

[mknaidu11]

If these attachments work, then this is an example on Film. With the prefocus technique and an aperture of around f5.6-8 I get a focus hit rate above 75% (and I'm short sighted). Actually its a nice way to take photos of people, since you don't really get in their face, and often they don't even notice.

 

Nice photos, thanks for sharing.

 

I do agree. I am fond of people photography and would like to catch them with expressions. I find this more interesting. Most often I miss shots with 90mm. However I love this lens for the way it renders and can do selective subject. I am trying hard. Thanks for your suggestions, I will practice this.

This one taken with 90mm.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[mknaidu11]

Taken with 90mm Tele-Elmarit - Place de Madeleine, Paris. Saw it, raised camera and focused, shot it. Round blur circles indicated f/2.8 was used.

 

Nice capture! In deed a wow shot. Thanks for sharing.

Edited July 17, 2014 by mknaidu11