Jaimiepeeters Posted September 28, 2011 Share #1 Posted September 28, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi Who has experience with the Leica Minilux (not zoom!). I find it hard to get really sharp images. Also cant see what the shutterspeed is. Maybe somebody knows which combination of film, F, distance gives the best results? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 Hi Jaimiepeeters, Take a look here Help me with Minilux (not zoom). I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
masjah Posted September 28, 2011 Share #2 Posted September 28, 2011 OK I'll have a go. Hello Jaimee and welcome to the Forum. The shutter speed and lens aperture are displayed (alternating) in the LCD display on the top of the camera, but only while the shutter button is in the "half pressed" state. A couple of possibilities about the focus if the camera is new to you. If you are intending to use autofocus, check that the focus wheel is indeed set to autofocus, as it's possible to knock it round to one of the manual settings (for example when taking the camera out of it's case). At the risk of stating the obvious the autofocus is really quite basic, in that it focuses only on what is in the very small display box in the centre. If the part of the image on which you want to focus isn't in the centre, and is at a different distance to what is in the centre, then you have to do the "half press and recompose" technique. The Minilux lens is superb, and gives good results at all apertures (apart from a bit of vignetting wide open). So the usual rules apply - shutter speed needs to be reasonable for hand holding, and depth of field is less at wide apertures - same as for any camera. In default auto mode, I think the flash cuts in if the shutter speed is less than 1/60s. Do you have the instruction manual? All the details are in there, including a depth of field table, and the various flash/exposure modes which can be set. Apologies if all this is totally known and self-evident to you, but I don't know exactly where you are coming from! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted September 28, 2011 Share #3 Posted September 28, 2011 As John says, the lens on the Minilux is superb. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbretteville Posted September 29, 2011 Share #4 Posted September 29, 2011 No direct experience with the Minilux, but I have been using it's younger sibling, the CM since February. The Minilux and CM share the same lens and, as mentioned by John and Steve, is excellent. In all types of lighting condidtions. The AF can be a bit eclecltic, but in my experience it is the same for all AFs of this type. Getting to know the feel of the shutter's half-press point is essential. As is getting into the habit of verifying the distance settings wheel is set to AF with your thumb. In case you haven't got a manual, here is a link to an electronic one: Leica M3 instruction manual, user manual, free PDF camera manuals Enjoy your camera. Carl Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimiepeeters Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted September 29, 2011 Hi Masjah thanks for the welcome and the time you took to reply to my post. I am familiar with all the technical aspects of making a sharp image, but I guess I was too eager shooting with my recently purchased Minilux. As I didn't take notice of the shutterspeed indicating on the top LCD screen and therefor did not take into account that it was slow whilst I took the shots. Does anybody know of a sweet spot? Meaning. On my SLR lenses I know that some lenses have a sweetspot at let's say F8. I was just wondering if there was a certain setting that would give the sharpest results. Oh and I want to upload images so you can tell me if I'm shooting and scanning it correctly (Minolta Dual Scan II). I do have a decent amount of experience with digital (I am a semi pro fashion/lifestyle photographer) but absolutely ZERO experience with film. Thanks again guys! Much appreciated! OK I'll have a go. Hello Jaimee and welcome to the Forum. The shutter speed and lens aperture are displayed (alternating) in the LCD display on the top of the camera, but only while the shutter button is in the "half pressed" state. A couple of possibilities about the focus if the camera is new to you. If you are intending to use autofocus, check that the focus wheel is indeed set to autofocus, as it's possible to knock it round to one of the manual settings (for example when taking the camera out of it's case). At the risk of stating the obvious the autofocus is really quite basic, in that it focuses only on what is in the very small display box in the centre. If the part of the image on which you want to focus isn't in the centre, and is at a different distance to what is in the centre, then you have to do the "half press and recompose" technique. The Minilux lens is superb, and gives good results at all apertures (apart from a bit of vignetting wide open). So the usual rules apply - shutter speed needs to be reasonable for hand holding, and depth of field is less at wide apertures - same as for any camera. In default auto mode, I think the flash cuts in if the shutter speed is less than 1/60s. Do you have the instruction manual? All the details are in there, including a depth of field table, and the various flash/exposure modes which can be set. Apologies if all this is totally known and self-evident to you, but I don't know exactly where you are coming from! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimiepeeters Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share #6 Posted September 29, 2011 thanks so much! As is getting into the habit of verifying the distance settings wheel is set to AF with your thumb. In case you haven't got a manual, here is a link to an electronic one: Leica M3 instruction manual, user manual, free PDF camera manuals Enjoy your camera. Carl Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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