Greetings from Singapore

[chiamad]

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Hello to all,

After years of savings, I have finally got my M8 with 50/2 cron

Have been reading a lot of articles from all of you and will continue doing so

 

A few questions if i may:

1 ) I will travel for business purposes to Maastricht, Netherlands around second half of November. Is there a place nearby Sittard/Maastricht where i can look around for camera stores which carry Leica/RF stuff; i don't mind second hand items too. .

 

Primarily, i'm looking at original battery, IR filter (B+W/Hoya/Tiffen), Thumbs Up/Thumbie, and perhaps a used wide angle lens.

 

2) I'm quite interested to try out infrared photography with M8; Wood effect always gives me the surreal feeling.

* Should i go for B+W 092 or 093 as i have no experience in IR photography? is the exposure and focusing really difficult using 093?

* In terms of the filter itself, is it better to get a screw-on like B+W or get a P series like Cokin P007?

 

Best,

 

Dominic

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[Tyranoquake]

Hiii..

 

Welcome to the forum Dom.. and of course, welcome to Leica world

 

mmm.. my opinion, you should buy "basic stuff" first on singapore, the price between singapore and netherland is about same..especially brand new item..

 

for Wide angle lens, UV-IR filter, and thumbs-up, you can get it at Chiff's Camera (located @ Excelsior Shopping Centre next to Peninsula Shopping centre) he sell many stuff for rangefinder such as M-lenses filters, films, leather cases, straps and many more of them..

 

For original battery, you should go to Leica Store Singapore @ Raffles Hotel Arcade.. normal price, because this is an only authorized Leica Store at Singapore...

 

hope this helpful...

 

 

Cheers,

 

Brian Mo

[StephenPatterson]

I absolutely agree with Brian that you should buy your basic stuff at home. For instance, while not common, battery packs sometimes fail right away. You want to give yourself time to try everything out and make sure there are no issues (exchanging the items if there are) before you travel half way around the world.

 

Enjoy your new M8 and have fun exploring the camera stores in Europe. Who knows, you might come home with another lens!!!

[Edwin Ho]

Dominic,

 

Congratulations! I know the feeling as I have just got my M8.2 with a 28mm Elmarit f2.8 ASPH only last week. I've got the thumbsup too; gives me a sense of security when shooting at lower shutter speed.

 

Regards,

 

Edwin

[martha]

Hi there:

 

No one seemed to answer your question about infrared filters.

 

I use a B&W 93 (deep red) and find the results very satisfying. It's not quite what the old kodak IR film was as far as halation effects, but satisfying nonetheless. There is no problem focusing because you will be using a rangefinder. However, after you find the focus, move that spot on the focus ring to be in line with f5.6. That way, you will be in focus.

 

In PP, you will have a magenta cast on your images made with the 93 filter. I use Lightroom and use the eyedropper white balance selector to determine a medium gray. Then, I can proceed to adjust the image to my liking.

 

Hope this answers your questions.

 

--martha

[martinmessage]

1 ) I will travel for business purposes to Maastricht, Netherlands around second half of November. Is there a place nearby Sittard/Maastricht where i can look around for camera stores which carry Leica/RF stuff; i don't mind second hand items too. .

 

In Maastricht you'll find Foto Rembrandt.

Adres:

Grote Staat 46, 6211 CX Maastricht.

Phone:

0031(0)43 321 39 03

Email:

 

Hours:

Maandag 11.00 - 6.00PM

Dinsdag 09.00 - 6.00

Woensdag 09.00 - 6.00

Donderdag 09.00 - 6.00PM (no late night shopping)

Vrijdag 09.00- 6.00

Zaterdag 09.00- 6.00

Fotozaak - Foto Rembrandt Maastricht - Winkel - Leica kopen

 

I bought my ThumbsUp in Amsterdam, Foto Nivo Schweitzer.

About 2,5 hours from Maastricht

Leica Shop - nivo-schweitzer.nl

 

 

Greetings from Amsterdam.

Martin.

[chiamad]

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Wow, many thanks for the kind welcome.

 

Brian, thanks a lot for the suggestion on SG vs. NL. Yup, i went to Chiif's place and tried the CSEP1 there too, but decided not to get one immediately. Almost got a C Sonnar 50 or Biogon 35 from him too.

 

Tinggal di mana di Bandung, Brian?

 

SFD,

Thanks I followed both you and Brian's suggestion: i just got the original battery from a shop who sells mint Leica items. Works like a charm (i'm still testing the battery as i type now). I had an OEM battery which didn't work so i'm left with one batt - definitely not a good thing in cold place.

 

we'll see about the last sentence soon enough (still pixel-peeping 28 elmarit-m recently) =)

 

Edwin,

yup - the magical feel is there. haven't got the thumbsup yet, but most probably will get one within this year. (did you get the one with the hotshoe or the one without? any difference in feeling if you have compared both of them on the M?)

 

Martha,

yes indeed - thanks for noticing.

 

093 is my original thought. a local RF guy is selling his 092 but i was still doubtful. glad that you confirm my gutfeel. i heard about the 5.6 tip too; i'm still not sure on how to do it, per se, so i'll try to get one first and ask you later - hope you don't mind.

 

for PP, not there yet but i used LR 1.3 few years back when i'm still using Digilux 2.

 

LR3 is also on the watchlist, but for now, i'm still testing the camera pics as it is. So far, both me and my wife are hooked on classic

 

Martin,

Vielen dank für Ihre Hilfe will try to schedule the saturday to pay a visit to this store. May not be able to go to Nivo Schweitzer as i believe the company car is only for weekdays.

 

Oh by the way, on yellow filter with 39mm thread - any recommendation for black and white photography?

 

Warm greetings from humid, rainy S'pore

 

:: dominic

[FlorianM]

 

2) I'm quite interested to try out infrared photography with M8; Wood effect always gives me the surreal feeling.

 

If you can't find B+W, the Hoya R72 works very well.

[jaapv]

092 and 093, though the effects differ slightly, are equally satisfying for IR photography on the M8.

[WestMichigan]

Note: if you're just experimenting with IR photography in general: The el cheapo IR filters on flea-bay are equisitely less expensive than the high grade brands (Hoya, B&W, etc) and are a legitimate avenue to explore the field. IF you find it just a passing fancy, the money saved can come in handy buying batteries, thumbie's, etc.

Richard in Michigan

092 and 093, though the effects differ slightly, are equally satisfying for IR photography on the M8.

[chiamad]

Note: if you're just experimenting with IR photography in general: The el cheapo IR filters on flea-bay are equisitely less expensive than the high grade brands (Hoya, B&W, etc) and are a legitimate avenue to explore the field. IF you find it just a passing fancy, the money saved can come in handy buying batteries, thumbie's, etc.

Richard in Michigan

 

hi all,

finally, the b+w 093 arrived yesterday from amazon. went through a number of places before i can get one on my hands.

 

Florian,

Thanks for the tip on Hoya

 

Jaap,

noted. the one in singapore was 092 but was a bit on the expensive side.

as i'm not sure if IR is my thing, wasn't keen to spend too much yet...

 

Richard

Thanks for the tip too. i'm quite keen to learn IR actually, and the shipping/handling cost from USA to SG is another consideration if i need to get another one from the US. It wasn't that easy to find such filters around here, and if there is, normally it's going to take more greenbacks.

 

Martha,

will start using it soon, but weather report shows heavy rain over the next few days (during Chinese New Year holidays will try your tip on the f5.6 too. thanks again.

[wda]

Dominic, Welcome to the Forum!

 

Lots of good advice. May I ask whether you have considered the Leica hand grip instead of the ThumbsUp? I am very keen on the grips and have one for each of my M bodies and X1. The hand grip gives added security with camera in hand. They do not add significantly to the bulk or weight.

[WestMichigan]

hi all,

 

Richard

Thanks for the tip too. i'm quite keen to learn IR actually, and the shipping/handling cost from USA to SG is another consideration if i need to get another one from the US. It wasn't that easy to find such filters around here, and if there is, normally it's going to take more greenbacks.

 

Hi Back Atchya!

It might take a click or two, but the low cost IR Filter sellers on eBay include a number of 'asian' sellers (mostly in china I suspect) who ship everything from their home country to a wide range of countries around the world. Unless there is something specific about Singapore Customs, shouldn't be all that expensive or slow to have a package come through from Mainland China, but I am not an expert in international shipping norms! :-)

 

One further thought on Batteries. I consider 2 batteries mandatory whether you'll be in cold weather or not! The M8 is simply a camera that gets flaky when battery levels dip past a certain point - My EOS dSLR ran ok to the point of depletion as a point of comparison - my M8 doesn't. Sooo if you have 2 batt's you get protected from that and protection from forgetting to charge up your camera consistently! Not that I have any experience whatsoever with forgetting things. Nope. None. ;-)

 

Peace and good Images!

Richard in Michigan

[chiamad]

Dominic, Welcome to the Forum!

 

Lots of good advice. May I ask whether you have considered the Leica hand grip instead of the ThumbsUp? I am very keen on the grips and have one for each of my M bodies and X1. The hand grip gives added security with camera in hand. They do not add significantly to the bulk or weight.

 

hi David,

thanks for the kind wods

 

yup, considered both and actually tried both already. still like the thumbsup, to be honest. i haven't got it till now, but i'm starting to get used to it already. if it's going to be CSEP or the EP1 if it comes down to it. (i really like the feeling of the TU)....

 

Brgds,

Dom

[chiamad]

Hi Back Atchya!

It might take a click or two, but the low cost IR Filter sellers on eBay include a number of 'asian' sellers (mostly in china I suspect) who ship everything from their home country to a wide range of countries around the world. Unless there is something specific about Singapore Customs, shouldn't be all that expensive or slow to have a package come through from Mainland China, but I am not an expert in international shipping norms! :-)

 

One further thought on Batteries. I consider 2 batteries mandatory whether you'll be in cold weather or not! The M8 is simply a camera that gets flaky when battery levels dip past a certain point - My EOS dSLR ran ok to the point of depletion as a point of comparison - my M8 doesn't. Sooo if you have 2 batt's you get protected from that and protection from forgetting to charge up your camera consistently! Not that I have any experience whatsoever with forgetting things. Nope. None. ;-)

 

Peace and good Images!

Richard in Michigan

 

Hi Richard,

Didn't consider those vendors in the first place, to be honest. Travelled to China quite often on business to accumulate enough guts not to get anything lens/rangefinder-related via mail from them. The amazon order was also shipped via something like borderlinx to singapore, by the way.

 

On juices, yep, fully agree Richard. Got 3 batts. 1 OEM and 2 original. The OEM didn't work well in many cases, so it's shelved at home. normally i only carry 2 fully charged batteries when i take the M. The M performed well for a hunting in Maastricht, at that time, i'd say. I got a few tips here and there from this forum too =))

 

Best,

Dom