M9 Wedding pics?

[stunsworth]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I thought the M9 was released in September.

 

It was, that doesn't mean that Brett wasn't using one before then.

[Advertisement]

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

[percepts]

It was, that doesn't mean that Brett wasn't using one before then.

 

Hadn't considered that.

[percepts]

So as I understand it, most of the wedding images I have been looking at online are highly stylised images created in post processing and I will get all the shadow and highlight detail I can handle in normal lighting.from a raw file.

That begs the question of how much time do you guys and gals spend doing post processing on a wedding shoot?

[bybrett]

I've only shot one wedding with M9 (in August 2009) then I finished off the season with M8 and 50mm in my tried and tested style. I've not decided whether to shoot M9 or M8 for this year which starts in May for me. The main difference for me in weddings between M9 and M8 is the full frame v crop factor.

[Jamie Roberts]

So as I understand it, most of the wedding images I have been looking at online are highly stylised images created in post processing and I will get all the shadow and highlight detail I can handle in normal lighting.from a raw file.

That begs the question of how much time do you guys and gals spend doing post processing on a wedding shoot?

 

How about "zero"--apart from RAW conversion?

 

In truth, the answer is that it's always taken a lot of time to get a fabulous print. I spend less time in photoshop than I would have in the darkroom

 

But for wonderful, colour corrected shots, the digital Ms take not much time at all IMO, provided you know what you're doing with a raw converter.

 

These are straight out of the camera through C1 from M8 RAWs... no photoshop whatsoever, and almost at random. They're all the M8 though...

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

 

 

 

Can they be better for a specific print or monitor workflow? Yes. Did they take much time at all? No

[zlatkob]

Riccis — Thanks!

 

Percepts — I'm not sure you'll get all the shadow and highlight detail you can handle. It depends very much on the lighting and on your ISO, as well as on your metering. My initial impression is that the Canon 5D2 offers much better highlight recovery, but that is because I often shoot at higher ISO settings. This is also shown by the dynamic range chart on DxOMark.com which indicates that at base ISO both cameras offer about 11 stops, but at ISO 1250 the 5D2 offers about 10 stops while the M9 offers about 8 stops. A two stop difference is very noticeable. The potential for shadow recovery on M9 files is definitely very impressive, although I haven't done a direct comparison with the 5D2. I spend a lot of time on post-processing, regardless of which camera I am using.

[leffe]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Here we go, all shot with a M9.

 

Miri und Daniel

[Jamie Roberts]

{snipped}

 

Percepts — I'm not sure you'll get all the shadow and highlight detail you can handle. It depends very much on the lighting and on your ISO, as well as on your metering.{snipped}

 

But I guarantee you'll get more than you can print And once again, for practical purposes, 8+ stops at high ISO is outstanding, given what I used to have with film pushing beyond 800 I have issues with the DxO stuff that we don't need to go into here, but in light of producing a final print or output, yes, the M9 delivers all the shadow and highlight detail you can handle.

 

Zlatko--the Ms meter totally differently than the Canons. They are heavily center weighted and the M8 will retain recoverable and printable highlight detail (so maximum highlights of 242/242/242 in RGB lingo) about 1.5 stops over the meter's OE indicator. I'm sure the M9 is the same. So if you treat it like a spot meter, and meter the OE off the bride's dress, you can have every confidence you're getting all the highlights and enough shadows for printing, even at very high ISOs (of course, you may need post NR processing at ISO2000+....).

[SJP]

another example, you can argue about high ISO but low ISO DR is unsurpassed AFAIAC, the M8 deals with textures (skin, clothing etc.) better that anything else I have seen - maybe skin color is a point of (minor) concern. The M9 is better than the M8 in that respect.

 

[michael_b_elmer]

So as I understand it, most of the wedding images I have been looking at online are highly stylised images created in post processing and I will get all the shadow and highlight detail I can handle in normal lighting.from a raw file.

That begs the question of how much time do you guys and gals spend doing post processing on a wedding shoot?

 

Percepts - I think the only person who is able to give you a thorough answer to your many critical questions on the ability of the M9 in this respect is yourself.

 

Being - as it seems - a professional wedding photographer, it should not present too big difficulties for you to lease or rent a M9 camera and a couple of lenses and then make the tests necessary to convince yourself of this camera's abilities with regard to the photographs you wish to take and the working flow you wish to apply.

 

In my opinion, even during the Easter, it is too demanding to expect that your colleagues would voluntarily spend a lot of their leisure time answering questions of the sort that you, in my opinion, rather impolitely, put to our kind friends on this thread without even showing any form of gratitude for the time and effort people have used in trying to comfort you.

 

Happy Easter! Michael

[SJP]

So as I understand it, most of the wedding images I have been looking at online are highly stylised images created in post processing and I will get all the shadow and highlight detail I can handle in normal lighting.from a raw file.

That begs the question of how much time do you guys and gals spend doing post processing on a wedding shoot?

Never really measured but I guess I can process files at ISO 640 or less very quickly by now, depends on lighting etc. but typically 100 images can be done in 30' to 1hr, and I am not a professional photographer. If it was my daily job I would be (much) faster I expect. EDIT: ISO 1250 and especially 2500 are more time consuming to get acceptable, so I tend to avoid using that unless in dire need.

[percepts]

Thanks all for posting images, they have all been looked at.

Maybe I'm naive about how the output from digital cameras looks. I've never owned one so this will be my first. I guess the biggest worry is the amount of post processing required to get to final image. I'm not worried about the technical skills to do that but rather the tedium of doing it. I'd rather be printing B+W images in the darkroom. But needs must and if brides want colour then digital is the way to go. I guess as much because the labs all seem to use digital nowadays so it doesn't make sense to use film and then scan to print.

[Rolo]

All M9. Maybe, the only M9 wedding pics on this thread.

 

Hope these help encourage you.

 

Many more available.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Jamie Roberts]

Thanks all for posting images, they have all been looked at.

Maybe I'm naive about how the output from digital cameras looks. I've never owned one so this will be my first. I guess the biggest worry is the amount of post processing required to get to final image. I'm not worried about the technical skills to do that but rather the tedium of doing it. I'd rather be printing B+W images in the darkroom. But needs must and if brides want colour then digital is the way to go. I guess as much because the labs all seem to use digital nowadays so it doesn't make sense to use film and then scan to print.

 

There are a number of people I know who still shoot film, but of course for colour all the issues with lighting come into play (not to mention the physical issues of carrying enough film around )

 

As for post-processing, there are two things I've found... first, it's slower at first but once you get your head around a workflow it's very fast. The slowest part of any proof set for me is actually selecting what I want to proof

 

Next, I've found a workflow with increasing quality (and time spent) = decreasing number of shots to process. I might "proof" (at the quality I showed above) hundreds of images; a final album though, probably only has 100 images tops, and those are the only ones that get a full-workup. Colour in this regard is more time consuming than BW, though good BW is still time-consuming too

 

Just like in the film days, though, you can pay people to process for you if you like. Lots of labs do that these days.

[felipe-m]

Not sure if you guys have seen this alreay, but some very nice pics in there and interesting comparisons.

The M9 wedding shots and text are almost half-way down. I like the first M9 shot a lot, as well as the last D3X one...

 

There are also some film M shots at the beginning, but not of weddings.

 

http://photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00V98v