LL on the M9 as landscape camera

[Jeff S]

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Landscape subject matter can be broad or narrow (a leaf, a tree or a mountain vista). And, the resulting print can be small or large. To say the M9, or the M8, can be effectively used for landscapes seems obvious to me.

 

My prints are usually US letter size, sometimes to A3, and landscapes of many types can be terrific with the M8.2, when this user is up to the task. I've used MF, 4x5 and 8x10...different tools can yield different results...but the portability of the M has always been one of its great strengths. I've never found it to be a limiting factor (even in my film days) for shooting a huge range of subject matter...including landscapes.

 

Usually no tripod needed. But, occasionally a light tripod can't hurt. Never tried a monopod.

 

Jeff

[proenca]

Monopod ? erm...

 

As someone said, its 1/3 usefull as a tripod.

 

For me landscapes , if I need stabilization is because I want to do a 10 seconds or longer exposure.

 

And for that a monopod is useless. For less than 1 sec I can hand hold it or against a tree or something.

 

So I really dont see a use of a monopod : either tripod or nothing.

 

And Im used to carry nothing

[Steve Fines]

That's such a sweet shot, Steve.

 

Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff.

[gwelland]

I'm not too proud to admit that I'm an M/tripod shooter.

 

For the vast majority of landscape shooting I do use a Gitzo traveller & RRS BH-25 which seems to me to be a complementary scale of outfit. For general travel shooting it's handheld but I simply can't shoot sunsets, HDR's or other really long exposure images without using a tripod of some type - it's a crapshoot otherwise. When I go tripod-less I do typically pack a small manfrotto table pod that I can use as a brace against a wall, table, wall etc.

 

Kudos to you folks who can pull off real landscape work handheld ... it's just too limiting for me.

 

As regards the monopod - I've tried this and it's certainly helpful at times but is definitely an acquired skill to use effectively unless it's just to extend the slowest exposure 3 or 4 stops compared to handheld. Beyond that and I find myself back in blurry image territory again.

[markhout]

I love that Benro carbon tripod. Picked one up from B&H a year ago and it works great (and not too expensive).

 

Would like to have a reallyrightstuff L-plate for the M9 to shoot portrait oriented panos though...