Advice for an M8 rangefinder newbie

[jaapv]

A good definition. It is just that it get my hackles up when I read on a forum "Which lens is sharper?", implying "Which lens is better?" Utter nonsense....

[Daniel Ortego]

My apologies, since I believe I started this mess so perhaps “sharp” is the wrong descriptive term. The 28-cron was rich with a warm tone and remarkably clear. The files from my 24-Elmarit are very bright and crisp. In fact, they are so bright that the images look (to me anyway) to be somewhat anemic, transparent or slightly bluish (cool). It’s so different from the 28-cron, that I initially concluded it was… the “S” word. I really like the look, although I “preferred” the look of my 28 a little better.
Regards,

[delander]

I like 'sharp', however we define it. Soft and blurry images just make me wish they had at least something to focus on. It is interesting to note that most soft and blurry images are also B&W. When I look at all the 35mm film images I have taken over 30 years, none of them appear really sharp anymore.

JMHO

Jeff

[pthompson]

Originally Posted by jaapv

A good definition. It is just that it get my hackles up when I read on a forum "Which lens is sharper?", implying "Which lens is better?" Utter nonsense....

Wholeheartedly agree! A few years ago, in response to a similar discussion at Fred Miranda, I offered that when I thought about what I liked about Cartier-Bresson or Alvarez Bravo, the word sharpness did not even come to mind. Well, the explosive reaction was incredible - you would have thought I had spoken ill of the Pope! One of the appeals of the rangefinder is that in everyday shooting that issue doesn't really apply - you often have to be able to guestimate whether you are four or seven feet away (or whatever) and shoot. If you get good at it, most of your pictures will be reasonably in focus...the word 'tack' rarely appies. I'm sort of surprised to see the issue come up in the M8 forum. The nice thing about being here is that you almost never have to look at children with oversharpened eyeballs....

[V64]

Google's translation of Japanese reviews of lenses uses the term 'Sweet' as the opposite of 'Sharp' - I think that just about sums it up.

[elviskennedy]

pthompson; you spoke too soon!

[pthompson]

Elvis K - Nice clean photo...but a long way from the crunchy little rascals I had in mind

[suden]

Thanks so much for everyone's input-you all have been a great help so far! I think I'm finally "getting" it!

Here are some test shots I took around town yesterday...some of these I didn't even really set focus-just used depth of field settings and zone focus! All were shot in RAW/DNG and post processed in Aperture. Haven't tried Capture One yet-so far I've been happy with the way Aperture has been rendering the images.

M8 test shots - a set on Flickr

Lots of dust on the sensor as you can see in one of the shots of the riverfront-that was the only one that I didn't retouch. Couldn't blow it off with my Rocket blaster air pump so I have some Sensor wipes and Eclipse E2 on the way!

I did decide to go ahead and order the hand grip...I think that might help in keeping the camera steady and be a bit more comfortable for me since I'm used to one with my 5D.

Really loving this camera and looking forward to participating on this great board further!