in the end … the M9 got me - celebrating with some first shots ;-)

[menos I M6]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I resisted a very, very long time and told myself "It's not worth the money, shooting a M8.2 already mostly for normal and long lenses!".

 

I got my hands another time on a demo, tested especially the high ISO sampling from 1250 up against my M8.2 and have been sold within a few minutes, to buy my own one.

 

I took it for a spin to the Le Mans 24h race, planning, to use it little as of the new confusion with focal lengths, but ended up using it most of the time ;-)

 

A few first shots with my very own brand spanking new black paint (who want's any other finish - seriously?) M9 - all shots taken with my beloved motor sport lens, the 135 APO-Telyt, except the spectator shot, which is @ f1:

 

"Signatech Nissan - Oreca 03-Nissan" bigger on flickr

 

"spectator" bigger on flickr

 

"BMW Motorsport - BMW M3 GT" bigger on flickr

 

"the winning Audi Sport Team Joest - Audi R18 TDI" bigger on flickr

 

More on my blog and surely more later from the M9.

I am truly grown within a few hours to it - what a sensor!

 

The only strange thing is the file naming and the 999 folder ???

Have to have a look into fixing that later.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[kkochheiser]

Wow! Great pictures. Good work with the 135, I'm afraid you may be driving me to get one myself. I agree about the M9, addictive stuff.

 

Kent

[Steve Ash]

Congrats to both the new camera and your great series. Wonderful.

 

Steve

[Rona!d]

Indeed the M9 is good for Le Mans, had one with me last year and got some nice snaps at the track and in the pits during the race. Used wideangles most of the time and teles on the DSLRs.

 

Enjoy!

[pauledell]

A stunning set. The M9 is a great acquisition for you with your 135mm lens. These are terrific shots with fantastic tones and sharpness. If I weren't so old and broke, I'd be tempted to get the M9 myself. This may be the world's best.

 

Paul

[menos I M6]

@Kent

Thank you very much ;-)

 

I do loooove racing, photography with anything about it comes natural then.

The 135 APO-Telyt is in book one of Leica's 10 best lenses - easily.

 

I am one of the people, who are saddened by the fact, that it almost fell through with a stepchild treatment during the M8 production by Leica, which slowly is corrected.

 

Does the new firmware make a APO-Telyt code fully functional, as it should now?

 

I tried other long lenses for Leica M mount, and yes, there are a few very descent options, much less costly than the APO-Telyt, some of them even real bargains, but to me, that is in fact like arguing, that buying a 35 Lux ASPH makes no sense, as the Voigtlander 35/1.4 and 35/1.2 are so much more affordable and offer not much different performance, depending on what one would want from a 35mm lens.

 

The APO-Telyt is the best, modern looking tele lens. older lenses are not as extremely high resolution, less practical design (longer focus throw, fiddly lens hoods, more bulk, etc…).

 

If you shoot regularly telephoto and do crop (resolution is important here), this lens is Leica's best offering.

 

@Steve

Thanks Steve, I truly enjoyed the race and will do so with the M9. The difference above ISO640 is in fact amazing.

As I shoot mainly black & white, for me, ISO 2500 AND pushing is finally really usable with the M9! Shooting like this with the M8 sensor needed a lot more careful shooting and processing.

Just for this, the price for the M9 is made up for.

 

@Ronald

I am very interested in what you did with both the M9 and the DSLRs at the track.

Do you mind, to share some of your photographs and (very much interested) your experience @ the track (worked on assignment, for enjoyment, …).

After my 3rd year, traveling to the greatest race on the planet, I am checking all options now, to get better track access.

I got lucky last year, but have been locked behind fences completely this year, which I plan to change.

 

@Paul

Thanks a lot Paul - the 135 is one of my favorite lenses, right there with the old f1 Noctilux ;-)

I find the M9 files easy and robust on processing - quite a bit less finicky than the M8 files, when it comes to imaging issues like banding and noise.

The highlight recovery and shadow detail is astonishing, especially, when using lower ISO speeds - there IS a difference.

 

Thank you Leica for this camera - my film shooting options look less and less valid, as I use the M9 more (I mused to shoot highly pushed BW film for low light so far @ ISO3200/6400).

 

Old and broke doesn't count Paul - I myself really sat down and rethought my gear, planning, to sell of quite a lot, which I use very, very little or not at all.

I actually sold a 28 Cron ASPH recently, as I didn't like it anymore on film or the M8.2 (I might regret this move, as the M9 gives some interesting options for this lens now, as my widest fast lens is a 35 Lux ASPH now).

 

I got poked, why I don't do colors by some people. In a long time, I didn't, but the M9 in fact does some really nice colors.

 

You can find a color version of the No Audi R18 TDI on my website in the blog and the galleries here:

Blog

 

For some reason my web software, building the galleries gives me issues recently, showing up the thumbs at very, very low res and the single shot view pretty mushy.

The slideshow is best for quality.

[kdriceman]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Nice photos. Getting low light shots right is my biggest challenge with the M9. Can you share your settings from "Spectator" (lens, shutter, aperture, ISO, etc...). Maybe it wasn't as dark as the photo makes it seem, but this looks like a very nicely done low light shot.

[menos I M6]

@kdriceman

Thanks - strangely, the exif is stripped, when linking to the LUF mandatory ridiculous post stamp sized flickr photo.

 

The original photo on flickr has the exif data intact.

 

It has been shot @ ISO1600, f1, 1/90.

It was pretty dark.

 

All light, that illuminates the scene is stray light from a flood light on the other side of the track (~80m behind me) and the hundreds of small lights from the camping site in the background, which illuminate the surrounding sky, increasing the illusion of heavy vignetting.

 

In low light, I use manual exposures more often, as I know often better than the meter, what I want to expose for.

I always start from a manual ISO speed, I judge will net appropriate shutter speeds.

I choose an aperture and shutter speed according to the subjects nature and the look I want.

 

I always try, to go as low an ISO speed, as possible, until I hit ISO 320, at which I prioritize aperture and shutter speed needs.

The longest lenses in low light, I use are actually 50mm lenses as of the needed slow shutter with the Leica M (no ISO6400, that looks actually clean available ;-) ).

 

That's pretty much it. I think, low light is easy (no, evening light @ ISO400 f2 1/60 is surely NO low light). Low light makes decision making very simple, as you constantly just find compromises, surfing at the edge of exposure values - highest ISO, slowest shutter, widest aperture, which you can manage.

 

I like that. I find most day light boring and uninspiring. I love the nights.

The M9 (or any Leica M) makes low light shooting both challenging at first and much quicker, intuitive and easy later on, than doing so with a modern DSLR.

At first, you fight the limitations in ISO speed, lack of lens stabilization and nature of simple meter with the M.

Than later on, you realize, that the M actually is A LOT more accessible, quicker to set exposure, easier, to react to light changes with and all around a much simpler, nimble camera, which actually elevates low light shooting and your abilities over an automated evaluative metered, lens stabilized, high ISO DSLR camera. I like that about the M and can't remember, when I took the DSLR for a spin the last time in the night.

[kdriceman]

Thanks. That's pretty much what I have been doing with mixed results. I guess my biggest problem tends to be with moving subjects slipping in and out of my depth of field. My fastest lens is the Zeiss 50 f/1.5 which is good with smooth easy focus, but I have trouble tracking focus in the dark. You know what they say... Practice, practice, practice.

 

What noise reduction post processing did you use?

[menos I M6]

Yes, the manually focussing needs practice indeed. It is funny, to flip through my lightroom catalogue and follow the pattern of fire hydrants, fenceposts, empty cityscapes and alike during my first weeks and months of M camera usage to more alive subjects later on.

 

This is a fully normal pattern, one can find again and again on the internet as well ;-)

 

I use exclusively Adobe Lightroom 3, while seldom going into photoshop, if more difficult processing, preparations for prints or alike are needed.

[The Kevster]

Gorgeous pictures!

[menos I M6]

Gorgeous pictures!

 

Thank you certainly ;-)

 

Really enjoy shooting these.

Just Today, as further testing the new camera has been allowed, I found, that (not surprising to me) the new M9 has a misaligned Rangefinder.

 

I have to sit down and do an all around check and setting with the lot of lenses.

This is annoying, but has to be expected.

[Rona!d]

@Ronald

I am very interested in what you did with both the M9 and the DSLRs at the track.

Do you mind, to share some of your photographs and (very much interested) your experience @ the track (worked on assignment, for enjoyment, …).

After my 3rd year, traveling to the greatest race on the planet, I am checking all options now, to get better track access.

I got lucky last year, but have been locked behind fences completely this year, which I plan to change.

 

Sorry, I cannot post the good shots as they are commercial/archive/magazine stuff.

 

During the day I used both systems plus tested the X1 for some snaps. During the night I used the bigger Canons because of high-ISO and less stuff to carry around.

Only wideangles on the Leica. For tele the DSLR is better (85 - 400 mm + 1.4x converter).

 

What do you mean with better track access?

 

As a visitor you need to stay in the "save" areas. As a pro photographer you get the access which is allowed for the pros. This year we could see that these places can be VERY dangerous, we sign for that.

There are some spots nobody is allowed (except officials like rescue, police, etc.), sometimes you get lucky to know one of these guys and they can be helpful. But THIS you have to find out on your own

 

Enjoy next year!

[stuny]

Dirk -

 

A superb series, individually and as a set.

[elansprint72]

.......... This year we could see that these places can be VERY dangerous, we sign for that.........

 

I think the McNish accident illustrated that, even with the huge gravel trap (which the car literally flew over) you really need to keep alert. I was amazed by the slow reactions of most of those photographers, it was obvious that the car was not being slowed down and they should have legged it. Things could have been VERY nasty.

 

I've got a few photos from the Le Mans Classics on my site- many last year were taken using a18-35 zoom on the D700, must get around to uploading some more.

www.petetaylor.org: Galleries

 

I particularly like your Audi shot, the huge fin is perfectly illustrated here. The aerodynamics of some of this years cars has been questionable, with several low-flying and flip-over incidents is testing.

[Rona!d]

Pete,

 

I wrote a long PM which explains the dangers. Remember the 1999 flying CLRs, so many dangerous situations, even NOT directly at the track. The place the Audi crashed was one I used to hang around the last years. I´m SO happy I wasn´t there this year. Even when you are "only" saying "hello" to a small-shot charge of big stones, you are happy you only lost a lens and camera, instead of your own eyes.

 

In Le Mans there are so many other photo-opts you can cover without risking your life!

[menos I M6]

@Pete

Thanks for the comment Pete!

 

The McNish accident was horrifying!

Only after seeing it on tape later was it, that reality sunk in.

It was pure luck, that the flying debris didn't kill someone or that even the car itself was tumbling over the barrier, which looked like it for a split second.

 

You have some wonderful photographs of racing action on your site Pete - great, to watch through, and as one can see quite a few decades of shooting those races on your back ;-) !

 

@Ronald

Thank you very much for your PM!

 

Indeed safety is an aspect, that seems only to enter our minds, when being reminded of what could or indeed is happening from time to time. :-(

… glad, everybody got out unharmed this year.

The moment, Alan McNish left the car on his own legs was very relieving indeed.