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why do so many M8 users shoot......


due163

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Those IR shots are kind of cool. How do you shoot them? Serious question. I'm probably going to order a UV/IR filter to fit my Summicron 50 and I'd like to try taking some shots like that. Will this filter do the trick? Or do you need a specialist filter for IR only?
Yes you do. Use B&W 093 or 092. 092 transmits some deep red as well. You need to misfocus your lens, use the 4.0 or 5.6 DOF mark and experiment, or focus bracket. (very concise manual, I fear :()
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If you Google IR and the M8 you will find that the M8 is a very bad choice as IR camera, many other cameras are easily freed of their internal AA filter pack and much better results are possible, the Nikon D200 is one of the best options I know of, I will recommend to join NikonGear.com if you are into UV or IR photography, some of the most knowledge people in this field can help you go further into the invisible world.

 

Erik, I think it is time we start agreeing. This is the post I challenged. As you demonstrated, a dedicated camera is the best tool for IR photography, and I think nobody would disagree with that. But, amongst general use cameras I am convinced the M8 is the best choice for IR photography for four reasons: 1. It only needs a filter swap to convert to IR, 2. The viewfinder will remain in function when doing so. 3. It is the most IR sensitive camera around " out of the box" . 4. Apart from some focus twiddling ( and not even that if you use the 90 mm AA) the camera will function normally and handheld when in IR mode.

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Thanks, I completely agree!

Have a nice weekend, off to Potsdam, Berlin, Germany with my M8

BTW just ordered 92 IR B+W for the 40/2 Leitz,,,

Don't screw it in all the way or use an adapter There is a slight mismatch in threads!
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As an objective historical fact most significant photography was and for the most part still is black and white. One could discuss or even argue the nuances of B&W film vs. digital, wet darkroom vs.inkjet etc.--and this is absolutely not the same discussion that would apply to color. The fact is the best way to see or present many images is in B&W. It goes without saying there is a noble and venerable guild of Leica M photographers that have elegantly done this over many decades.

 

Speaking to objective historical fact, I suppose we could digress to the virtues of cave wall painting. The historical fact of the matter is that color was expensive to shoot and print for publication until the CRT and Internet liberated color to the masses. When photography is about information, color is preferred because the world is color and B&W negates that information. Today B&W is a personal interpretation of color without hue, so doing B&W is largely a personal, possibly artistic statement. It was not always that way.

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Anyway, what is stopping you from having the IR filter removed from the M8 (or M9 for that matter) ? I can tell you - these cameras are too expensive to muck about with - that is the real reason midrange Canons and Nikons are used in this field.

 

It would be less expensive yet to get one of Fujifilm's forensic cameras, such as the FinePix S3 Pro UVIR.

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Thanks, yes I have ordered the 'set' from Heavystar with fixed hood and step ring :)

 

I recently began using the Heavystar set on my 'Cron 40 and it works well with my E39 filters. My only issue is that the step ring is a bit larger in diameter than the front of the lens and can interfere with making rapid aperture adjustments until you get used to it.

 

Regards, Jim

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Re: My comments regarding the statement that historically most significant photography was and for the most part still is B&W. I would state that collectibility based on values either in galleries or at auction overwhelmingly illustrates this. The "art photography" market is inarguably and predominantly B&W. A survey of gallery inventories and prices as well as auction results clearly supports this.In many galleries it is uncommon to see any color work at all. One could also use either presently available or out of print photography books which again are overwhelmingly B&W. If one were to compile a list of the worlds greatest photographers, both past and present, it would be dominated by those whose body of work was or is predominantly B&W. Is there great color work being done?---absolutely. but for the most part the marketplace does not value it to the degree it does significant B&W.

 

We need to consider a very basic fact in photography: Every image we produce is forever two dimensional. These two dimensions are basically expressed in light and shadow and light and shadow are never better expressed than in black and white. Thus it is no wonder, that b/w grants us the most dramatic translation of reality - which is the basic aim of photography.

Obviously this dogma is not universal. Art photography for example DOES need the third dimension: color and would be lame without it.

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In the Nov. 2010 issue of the LFI, there is an article on B&W with the M8. Without the UV/IR filter, the M8 appears to capture better b&w, although the difference is subtle. Erwin Puts mentioned this as well in one of his articles. Could this be the reason, M8 users prefer to shoot b&w?

 

I may just do some tests and see if this is the case.

 

 

N.S. Ng

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As an objective historical fact most significant photography was and for the most part still is black and white. One could discuss or even argue the nuances of B&W film vs. digital, wet darkroom vs.inkjet etc.--and this is absolutely not the same discussion that would apply to color. The fact is the best way to see or present many images is in B&W. It goes without saying there is a noble and venerable guild of Leica M photographers that have elegantly done this over many decades.

 

 

I love these kinds of statements, sure they are often basically correct but they are about as meaningful as saying, by far the greatest number of significant inventions in the 20c were made by smokers.

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  • 3 weeks later...
In black and white? I see a lot of m8 shots that are black and white , especially on flickr

 

is it a deficiency of the camera at a higher ISO (film like grain?) , or is it because the tonal range really suits the black and white format?

 

thanks

 

 

For me it was a deficiency.

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http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/tutorials/SplitYourChannelsForImprovedB&W.pdf

 

Save this in your computer. It will look like way too much work and too hard and too much trouble at first. You will eventually appreciate it.

 

If you change to greyscale in photoshop, you can adjust the tones of resulting images by adjusting the color sliders. Say you want a darker blue sky, well adjust the blue luminosity slider down. It is like applying a color filter after the fact. LR should have similar controls in develop module. I am not a LR fan, but the develop module is the same as PS raw converter, ACR.

Look for a place to convert to greyscale, the a place to adjust hue, saturation and lightness.

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