To buy M9 ?

[HeinzX]

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I use a 1 D IV and a lot of lenses (prime and zooms) and a M 9 plus a 18 mm, a 28mm, a 50 mm, and a 90 mm. The M 9 is a great camera for travelling and other purposes, where you need a focal length in this range and when you need no extreme high ISOs. I just had it with me on a private trip within my own country and I have not missed my DSLR. Even architectural photos are possible in very good quality , if the very exact proportions are not the point and you do not mind to work a little bit afterwards with Photoshop, Shift N etc. If you need very exact proportions of the buildings the only solution is a DSLR or even a bigger sensor type with a tilt/shift lens. In case of Canon a TS E 24 or a TS E 17 mm plus advisable a tripod. But always keep in mind the weight and the volume of the total equipment - small is beautiful and sometimes photographing with a DSLR is not allowed or too eye catching to get good pictures.

[tedyong]

A friend just recommended me the Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 ASPH and a Summicron 28mm for indoors. Any advice please ? Thanks.

[ns_ng]

A friend just recommended me the Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 ASPH and a Summicron 28mm for indoors. Any advice please ? Thanks.

 

 

To me the Noctilux is a specialized lens. I have the earlier version f1.0 and it is not a lens I would use for everyday shooting. The dof at f1.0 is very narrow. Not all subjects benefit from shooting at f0.95 or f1.0. If you intend to have very narrow dof and smooth bokeh in you photos, the Noctilux at 0.95 or 1.0 is the choice. I bought this lens many years ago, but it stays in my dry cabinet now as I find shooting at f1.0 is not really my genre of photography. If you need a 50mm for everyday use, the current Summilux Asph is your best choice.

 

I have the 28'Cron Asph and it is a great lens. Here is an example of a photo taken with this lens, 1/32s, f2.4, IS01250 Zenfolio | N.S. Ng | Namibia | Photo 78 This Himba girl was in her hut with just some side light from an opening.

 

If you are serious into architectural photography, then using a T&S lens is the best solution. Sure the M9 is a very capable camera, but it is not user friendly for using T&S lens. Moreover, no such lens is available in M mount. My advice is go to the Leica showroom in KL and try out the M9. But at the same time visit Canon or Nikon dealers to see if they have any T&S lens. Here is a link on using T&S, Using Tilt-Shift Lenses to Control Perspective

 

 

N.S. Ng

[Guest]

Thank you very much for the link N. S. Ng .

Have a good week-end,

Simon

[jaapv]

not much

look at dxomark, they are all abmismal

 

Problem being, that DXO measures camera output, not sensors. So an overcooked file coming from camera a may score far better than a pure file from camera b.... In this case they may well be right, but the method of proof is lacking.

[tobey bilek]

M cameras travel better than anything else, size factor.

 

If you are really serious, a full frame Nikon or canon with proper shift lenses to eliminate the keystone effect. Or lose some quality and let photoshop correct it.

 

If you primarily want wide lenses, the colored edge problem never has been fully explained.

It is a pain to correct. I would suggest you look into "corner fix."Learn all you can about this.

 

It comes down to if you want to become a photoshop guru or not.

[tedyong]

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Mr Ng,

 

Thanks for the advice. Your gallery is beautiful. Are they mostly shot with M9? I will go to the Leica showroom in Singapore as it is more convenient for me.

[ns_ng]

Mr Ng,

 

Thanks for the advice. Your gallery is beautiful. Are they mostly shot with M9? I will go to the Leica showroom in Singapore as it is more convenient for me.

 

 

For most landscape shots, I am using R lenses that have been adapted to alpha mount with the Sony A850. Previously, I had the DMR. I still use my M8, but usually for people, streets, and city photography.

 

N.S. Ng.

[jaapv]

M cameras travel better than anything else, size factor.

 

If you are really serious, a full frame Nikon or canon with proper shift lenses to eliminate the keystone effect. Or lose some quality and let photoshop correct it.

 

If you primarily want wide lenses, the colored edge problem never has been fully explained.

It is a pain to correct. I would suggest you look into "corner fix."Learn all you can about this.

 

It comes down to if you want to become a photoshop guru or not.

The alternative being, of course, to upload recent firmware. And/or buy Capture One. One-click corrections.

[tedyong]

I just bought the M9 and the 35mmf1.4 Summilux recently. I must say it feels good and I like the sound of the 'click' . I have not spend much time with it yet.

 

I downloaded my shots to Aperture and I am surprised that I cannot track the different aperture of the shots I took. I am experimenting the different shutter speed and aperture of the same shot to understand who the camera perform. Any advice ?

 

Thanks.

[jamesk8752]

I just bought the M9 and the 35mmf1.4 Summilux recently. I must say it feels good and I like the sound of the 'click' . I have not spend much time with it yet.

 

I downloaded my shots to Aperture and I am surprised that I cannot track the different aperture of the shots I took. I am experimenting the different shutter speed and aperture of the same shot to understand who the camera perform. Any advice ?

 

Thanks.

 

Unlike modern DSLR lenses, the Leica M mount lenses have no communication with the camera body other than the lens identification code, so the camera has no way to know the actual aperture information to imprint in the image file. The camera does do a rough estimation of aperture using a small sensor on the front of the camera and this info shows up in some PP programs.

 

Regards, Jim

[rsa212]

Aperture doesn't record the f stop used in the metadata but there is a work around for this. Just search the forum. Lightroom however does record the f stop but as mentioned above it is just an approximation.

[jaapv]

I just bought the M9 and the 35mmf1.4 Summilux recently. I must say it feels good and I like the sound of the 'click' . I have not spend much time with it yet.

 

I downloaded my shots to Aperture and I am surprised that I cannot track the different aperture of the shots I took. I am experimenting the different shutter speed and aperture of the same shot to understand who the camera perform. Any advice ?

 

Thanks.

Moleskin?

[wattsy]

Or Moleskine.

[Pitchaya_r]

as an architect here myself and also M9 / 5D II+ t/s lens user, I strongly suggest to go 5D route for architecture.You just can't be precise with M9 and RF cameras.

 

For achitecture, what you need is precise composition ,straight vertical/horizontal lines. Pluse you'll have to work with small aperture most of the time to get whole buiding in depth of field (at least in most case).that means you need camera with better high ISO noise performance. You also frequently fall in the situation where you need to take shots in low light to capture the artificial light that has been designed. Which M9 is falls shot (at least high ISO noise wise) 5D ii is spectacular in this regard. Sometime I can just taking tilt-shift photo hand-held at iso 3200 and can expect great results!.

 

The new 17 and 24 tse are just absolutely perfect for these application....period.

 

I found M9 and its lens are good for walkaround photos , when you need maximum portability and absolute sharpness wide open. Loose and quick composition.a bit more dynamic photography.

 

Thats my 2 cents.