kschwarz Posted July 25, 2011 Share #81 Posted July 25, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) The answer is YES, the M-series are fantastic landscape cameras, and the M9 with a FF sensor and no AA filter is the best of the bunch. That said, the lack of live-view can be crippling when trying to obtain critical focus in some specialized situations, and the lack of tilt-shift lenses are the two most important limitations of the M-cameras compared to a full-featured SLR system for landscape photography. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Hi kschwarz, Take a look here Is the M9 a serious Landscape Camera?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
kschwarz Posted July 25, 2011 Share #82 Posted July 25, 2011 The answer is YES, the M-series are fantastic landscape cameras, and the M9 with a FF sensor and no AA filter is the best of the bunch. That said, the lack of live-view can be crippling when trying to obtain critical focus in some specialized situations, and the lack of tilt-shift lenses are the two most important limitations of the M-cameras compared to a full-featured SLR system for landscape photography. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwolf Posted July 25, 2011 Share #83 Posted July 25, 2011 If, as stated above, chimping is considered a good method for checking landscape subject composition, I suggest that live view would be an ideal addition to the digital M line. That's about the only feature I really miss from my 5DII. With the camera just above ground level, it's pretty tough to lie on your side and see through the M viewfinder. Not to mention 10x focus magnification. Not sure if live view is technically possible with the M, but that would make it a significantly better landscape camera. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwolf Posted July 25, 2011 Share #84 Posted July 25, 2011 If, as stated above, chimping is considered a good method for checking landscape subject composition, I suggest that live view would be an ideal addition to the digital M line. That's about the only feature I really miss from my 5DII. With the camera just above ground level, it's pretty tough to lie on your side and see through the M viewfinder. Not to mention 10x focus magnification. Not sure if live view is technically possible with the M, but that would make it a significantly better landscape camera. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
denoir Posted July 25, 2011 Share #85 Posted July 25, 2011 +1 I know it's a controversial subject here and I don't want to start the whole debate all over again. However personally I think the only way that stands in the way of the M9 being the best (small format) landscape camera is the lack of live view. For traditional landscape photography exact framing is very important. Framelines are very inaccurate which means that you often need to take a couple of shots before you get it exactly right. Handheld and in good light conditions this isn't a big problem. You shoot - chimp - shoot - chimp and get what you wanted. However when working from a tripod, and especially when working with long exposures it becomes a major PITA. A 30 second exposure becomes 60 seconds with the mandatory noise reduction and you waste a lot of time before you get the perfect composition. Parallax compensation also adds to the difficulties as the framelines move when you adjust the focus. Live view would solve all that. As it is I usually have to resort to using a DSLR when doing night time photography. Also for those that feel that T/S lenses are important for their landscape work, the inclusion of LV would allow for such lenses. In fact it would allow the use of just about any SLR lens. The only reason why you can't use say a Canon 17 TS-E on the M9 is because you have no range finder coupling. With live view it would not be needed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
denoir Posted July 25, 2011 Share #86 Posted July 25, 2011 +1 I know it's a controversial subject here and I don't want to start the whole debate all over again. However personally I think the only way that stands in the way of the M9 being the best (small format) landscape camera is the lack of live view. For traditional landscape photography exact framing is very important. Framelines are very inaccurate which means that you often need to take a couple of shots before you get it exactly right. Handheld and in good light conditions this isn't a big problem. You shoot - chimp - shoot - chimp and get what you wanted. However when working from a tripod, and especially when working with long exposures it becomes a major PITA. A 30 second exposure becomes 60 seconds with the mandatory noise reduction and you waste a lot of time before you get the perfect composition. Parallax compensation also adds to the difficulties as the framelines move when you adjust the focus. Live view would solve all that. As it is I usually have to resort to using a DSLR when doing night time photography. Also for those that feel that T/S lenses are important for their landscape work, the inclusion of LV would allow for such lenses. In fact it would allow the use of just about any SLR lens. The only reason why you can't use say a Canon 17 TS-E on the M9 is because you have no range finder coupling. With live view it would not be needed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted July 25, 2011 Share #87 Posted July 25, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) lousy landscape camera: Mountainscape, Fuerteventura: Photo by Photographer Carsten Ranke - photo.net Cloudscape, Floezlingen: Photo by Photographer Carsten Ranke - photo.net Leica M9 Noctilux f 1: Photo by Photographer Mattia Zaldini - photo.net Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted July 25, 2011 Share #88 Posted July 25, 2011 lousy landscape camera: Mountainscape, Fuerteventura: Photo by Photographer Carsten Ranke - photo.net Cloudscape, Floezlingen: Photo by Photographer Carsten Ranke - photo.net Leica M9 Noctilux f 1: Photo by Photographer Mattia Zaldini - photo.net Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Muller Posted July 26, 2011 Share #89 Posted July 26, 2011 Hi Salim, Nice images, and I couldnt really tell which was which.......and here I thought that the 9 was so much more superior to the 5.......!!! Seriously though anybody that judges small images on a monitor after goodness knows how many degradations to finally end up as sRGB jpegs should go sit in the corner:) I did notice a bit of purple/magenta vignetting on the last image, maybe just my specs that need cleaning....or was it your pp? Also did you crop the images a bit? If so then maybe the 35mm format is not for you. You might as well go for the big babies, ie phase one etc etc. I know, I know they are big heavy and bulky but if you can afford a 9 then you can afford to hire an assistant to carry all that stuff around..... Uncle Ansel had a donkey( or was it a mule) to help him, and if he needed help...... Goodluck, post some more images of that beautiful landscape and enjoy all your nice toys! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDH_Prague Posted July 26, 2011 Share #90 Posted July 26, 2011 First of all...what is a serious landscape?...second, what is the criteria of a landscape camera....I shoot landscapes with expired film in my Holgas and an old hasselblad 500c with a pinhole bodycap for a lens...its all about what you're trying to achieve and say. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted July 26, 2011 Share #91 Posted July 26, 2011 With the camera just above ground level, it's pretty tough to lie on your side and see through the M viewfinder. Not to mention 10x focus magnification. Not sure if live view is technically possible with the M, but that would make it a significantly better landscape camera. John Leica makes an adjustable modern right-angle finder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_R Posted July 26, 2011 Share #92 Posted July 26, 2011 Thanks Paul, diogenis. Most of the shots were between f/5.6 and f/8 to get the best performance out of the lenses. By f/16 diffraction seriously compromises the image quality. The general principle I use to have enough DOF is only to include foreground objects when I shoot with wide angle lenses. When I use normal or tele I try not to include any objects that are close enough for DOF to become a problem. Sure. I import the DNG to Lightroom and make any necessary adjustments (such as curves, fill light etc). Then I open the modified image in Photoshop and make fixes there if necessary (such as removing dust spots should there bee any). Finally I run a resize & sharpen for web script (if that is my intended output) that looks like this for landscape mode pictures: [attach]269800[/attach] Luka, your landscapes are really among the best I have seen. Thanks a lot for revealing your resize-and-sharpen technique. I replayed the steps with one of my M9 files and could not reproduce the excellent results - is the screenshot complete ? Thanks again Carsten Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
denoir Posted July 26, 2011 Share #93 Posted July 26, 2011 Luka, your landscapes are really among the best I have seen. Thanks a lot for revealing your resize-and-sharpen technique.I replayed the steps with one of my M9 files and could not reproduce the excellent results - is the screenshot complete ? Thanks again Carsten Thanks Carsten Yepp, it's complete. The final image should be 1200px wide. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim sink Posted July 27, 2011 Share #94 Posted July 27, 2011 Most of the difference is in the glass. I've used Nikon and Canon and I can tell you without doubt that the Leica glass produces the best landscapes. Over and out. Not open to discussion. Case closed !!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluton Posted July 27, 2011 Share #95 Posted July 27, 2011 Uh, does a camera take landscapes or do you do? One could make a landscape with a Holga also. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted July 27, 2011 Share #96 Posted July 27, 2011 BTW your pics are breathtaking being cheeky, it would be great if your site showed which camera took which picture Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
denoir Posted July 28, 2011 Share #97 Posted July 28, 2011 Thanks You can actually. If you are looking at them as a slideshow you can move the mouse to the top of the screen and you'll see an options menu. There you can choose for the EXIF data to be shown. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mah Posted August 5, 2011 Share #98 Posted August 5, 2011 M9 shots: Boston | Flickr - Photo Sharing! Through the fence | Flickr - Photo Sharing! Damascus | Flickr - Photo Sharing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mah Posted August 6, 2011 Share #99 Posted August 6, 2011 M9+ New leica 35mm f1.4 shot: Boston | Flickr - Photo Sharing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swanny66 Posted August 11, 2011 Share #100 Posted August 11, 2011 I was wondering if anyone has tried a polarizing filter on an M9? It is a little difficult without liveview but just curious. I am going to give it a try and was curious if anyone has had positive results? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.