LUF Admin Posted January 29, 2015 Share #1 Posted January 29, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Photography with a Leica M is fundamentally different from working with an SLR. In this video Street Photographer Craig Semetko shows during a*NYC photo trip *... Why Leica M design and rangefinder are so special What the Leica M*requires from the photographer And what is unique about it Enjoy the video! neN2QxYWj_w Question to you: What is special about the Leica M for you? 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 Hi LUF Admin, Take a look here Craig Semetko Video: What is so unique about the Leica M?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Ron Kennett Posted January 29, 2015 Share #2 Posted January 29, 2015 Photography with a Leica M is fundamentally different from working with an SLR. In this video Street Photographer Craig Semetko shows during a*NYC photo trip *... Why Leica M design and rangefinder are so special What the Leica M*requires from the photographer And what is unique about it Enjoy the video! neN2QxYWj_w Question to you: What is special about the Leica M for you? £££s! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Kennett Posted January 29, 2015 Share #3 Posted January 29, 2015 £££s! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adespen Posted January 29, 2015 Share #4 Posted January 29, 2015 The manual nature, a return to thinking before shooting. A slowing of action rather than a shutter scatter machine gun approach to taking photographs. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Pop Posted January 29, 2015 Share #5 Posted January 29, 2015 It's a good video clip; there's lots of stuff out there discussing the differences between rangefinder and SLR shooting (Joel Myerowitz also talks about it in his great video "What You Put In The Frame Determines the Picture". I started shooting in the later 70s, with an Olympus Trip 35, then to a Pentax KX, then to a Leica M6...now firmly in Leica addiction. I still enjoy a high quality film SLR (such as a Nikon FE or F2, etc.); while I recognize the difference between SLR and rangefinder (the framing, the binocular vision, it's all true), I think I notice the differences even more between a Leica such as the M9 and a modern DSLR. These would be related to handling, feel, build quality, simplicity. Modern DSLRs have some great qualities, but for me they're just too much...waaaaaaaay too many menus, ability to shift the AF point, etc etc. This isn't intended to argue the application of those bells and whistles, more that I just don't desire them and they distract me. Since I always used cameras with MF lenses, it's just what I'm used to and I'm glad Leica keeps making their lenses the way they do. People complain about the 'Leica mystique' and 'rich dentists' and so forth. Sure, there's some of that - but I'd like to remind the haters within and outside the Leica community that those kind of things exist in every field where there's a high end product, and I don't just mean the 'luxury trinket' market either. A parallel would be in the music field - there are hard-working pro guitar players who use a Ramirez or a Martin guitar, or a baby grand piano, and there are also amateurs you'll never hear of, quietly enjoying the feel and handling and sounds of a beautifully crafted instrument. We also need to understand the meaning of the word 'amateur'...it speaks nothing of the competence of the individual, although it's come to mean that these days. In the end, Leica is unique to me for so many reasons. HCB talked about the pleasure in doing things a certain way, his way, and the Leica was part of that. I raise it not because it's HCB, but because he has a point. I find my film MP, for example, to be such a wonderfully crafted object. In the end, they work superbly when I rise to the challenge, they feel wonderful (different from other cameras), they are an absolute pleasure to use. 13 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted January 29, 2015 Share #6 Posted January 29, 2015 Semetko spoke at the LHSA annual meeting last fall, and I was impressed by his work, as well as his fondness for Leicas. Many of us have a similar fondness but few can produce such excellent work. That doesn't mean we don't get a huge kick out of photography in general and using a Leica in particular. That is why we keep at it. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheshireCat Posted January 31, 2015 Share #7 Posted January 31, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) I expected more. The examples photos are just random shots anyone could take. Craig has much better photos to show. And the usual story "I can see things before they get into the frame" makes sense only for cyclops There are much better reasons to prefer an M to a DSLR. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodies Posted January 31, 2015 Share #8 Posted January 31, 2015 He could have said "I'm not restricted to SEEING where the frame is, I'm free to IMAGINE it" given the fuzzy nature of frame lines in a rangefinder. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torgian Posted January 31, 2015 Share #9 Posted January 31, 2015 Not bad. I enjoyed this more than some of the other videos. The Leica is my first full frame digital camera, and the camera I really learned photography on in the past year. Street, portrait, and couple photography so far,and I hope to get into boudoir and nude photography as well with it. I love its manual use, its intuitive ease, and the rangefinder mechanism. The DSLR "binocular" view never bothered me though, when I do use those cameras. SO what makes Leica unique to me? It's my best gateway into the world around me. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted January 31, 2015 Share #10 Posted January 31, 2015 I came to the M during the auto SLR film period, for me what was special was the input required from me and that I felt part of the process rather than just using a tool as a means to an end. I must admit the look and mechanical quality or feel was all part of the process as well. I do however struggle with this now we are in the digital era but that is a different story, regards Rob 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted January 31, 2015 Share #11 Posted January 31, 2015 I expected more.The examples photos are just random shots anyone could take. Craig has much better photos to show. And the usual story "I can see things before they get into the frame" makes sense only for cyclops There are much better reasons to prefer an M to a DSLR. CC: why are you always so unhappy? This stuff (photography) is supposed to be fun. So what if Craig has better photos to show (he does). So what if he describes how he works differently than you would? I found the passion to be engaging (and even more so when you see him in person). 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheshireCat Posted February 1, 2015 Share #12 Posted February 1, 2015 CC: why are you always so unhappy? This stuff (photography) is supposed to be fun. So what if Craig has better photos to show (he does). So what if he describes how he works differently than you would? I found the passion to be engaging (and even more so when you see him in person). I am a very happy person, and photography is fun ! The "problem" is I always speak my mind, because I am passionate, and strive for the best. Companies and professionals pay to get a honest opinion. I am giving mine for free 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted February 1, 2015 Share #13 Posted February 1, 2015 £££s! Das nennt man den "Leica Haarschnitt." Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted February 2, 2015 Share #14 Posted February 2, 2015 I am a very happy person, and photography is fun !The "problem" is I always speak my mind, because I am passionate, and strive for the best. Companies and professionals pay to get a honest opinion. I am giving mine for free When I was practicing law, I learned this truism: "Free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it". 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted February 2, 2015 Share #15 Posted February 2, 2015 I like that he makes the point more than once about the Leica demanding more knowledge and thinking on the part of the photographer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted February 2, 2015 Share #16 Posted February 2, 2015 When I was practicing law, I learned this truism: "Free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it". That's a more optimistic version than the one I heard. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheshireCat Posted February 2, 2015 Share #17 Posted February 2, 2015 When I was practicing law, I learned this truism: "Free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it". The truism is actually: A lawyer is one whose opinion is worth nothing unless paid for. So, are you a lawyer ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted February 3, 2015 Share #18 Posted February 3, 2015 The truism is actually: A lawyer is one whose opinion is worth nothing unless paid for. So, are you a lawyer ? Yes, I am a lawyer, retired after 40+ years. The saying, whatever the syntax (I prefer mine), is only part true, I spent a good deal of time on some pro bono cases that were without fee for clients who were not in a position to pay our fees. They were quite grateful for the results, so I wouldn't say that was worth nothing. I understand your that you freely give your opinions here, as do most of us. That does not make them (or anybody else's) correct. One of the things a good lawyer learns is to separate opinions from facts. Sometimes that is hard to do. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted February 3, 2015 Share #19 Posted February 3, 2015 I liked the video. We hear a lot about the big difference between a dSLR and rangefinder being that you can see the area surrounding the framelines. This is undoubtedly true - I get tunnel vision looking through SLR cameras; but I'm not really sure this is the whole picture. One of the big differences is that since the 1960s, people have got very used to the idea that cameras are SLR cameras, typically with a zoom that goes to 210mm, or further. Similarly, on TV and in movies, these cameras always zoom in to invade someone's privacy. Conversely, rangefinders are viewed as being somewhat quaint or anachronistic, associated with film, parents or grandparents photography, and somehow far less threatening because they don't have the zooms etc. As a tool, I love the rangefinder (no, I'm not a tool - the camera is). When I first got my M9, I recall wondering how I was going to cope with it - that has proved to be very far from being a problem. The other huge advantage is having direct control of aperture, shutter speed and focussing - I find that fast and intuitive. Anyway - liked the video. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheshireCat Posted February 3, 2015 Share #20 Posted February 3, 2015 I understand your that you freely give your opinions here, as do most of us. That does not make them (or anybody else's) correct. One of the things a good lawyer learns is to separate opinions from facts. Sometimes that is hard to do. Opinions are just opinions. I understand your professional bias: lawyers are paid to turn client's opinions into "facts" But hopefully, there is no trial here. And freedom of speech. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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