M for weddings?

[frogfish]

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A M9-for-wedding treat - again.

 

I shoot weddings, I use Nikons with primes and a M9 with the Summilux FLE.

 

I love to use the M9. It is just pure fun, but:

 

After a long day (12 hours or more) and about 1500 frames with the M9 the manual focus gets on my nerves... The N. is just so much easier and safer to use.

 

The viewfinder. Love to see the whole scene which speaks in favor of the M9 although I also love to shoot through things (ähm don´t know how to explain, see below for examples...) and sometimes I feel I need the through the lens precision.

 

 

There are great photographers who may have similar problems that they can´t decide what to use. I remember a Twitter comment from David Alan Harvey where he speaks about this.

 

What is about you? Had anyone gone through this and found a solution for himself?

Please share (o:

 

 

Thank you ,

Heiko

 

These pictures are from my Nikon:

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[frogfish]

these are taken with my M9 and the Summilux 35 FLE:

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[erl]

Frogfish, you are really asking about a 'choice' I reckon. A choice of what you want to achieve (the assignment) and which tools (camera) is best for the job, all in the context of 'workability'.

 

Looking at your posted pics, I would say the M9 is ideally suited as much as any camera can be. The limitation you have already discovered is when you shoot through objects. Parallax is the problem. I overcome that by consciously moving the cam a 'nudge' to the right just before shooting. Not ideal but it works. You will already know the image quality of the M9 is more than up to wedding standard and the great bonus is the the compactness of the kit. I used to shoot weddings in the early days with a huge Hasselblad outfit, three studio lights and stands, tripods etc. so I appreciate what Leica can do do for far less physical effort.

 

If you can be confident to leave the Nikon at home, or at least in the car, your fatigue levels will improve. You will have to persist with the manual focus, it ain't that tiring. These days I shoot 'real' theatre with M9's, in the dark and just as many exposures as your weddings. The manual focus is a technique you need to live with and it is not difficult, just a discipline. I am sure you know that anyway. The trade off, if you leave the Nikon behind is a nett gain in 'fatigue failure' despite manually focusing all the time.

 

I am sure you know the battery capacity of the M9 is far less than the Nikon, so spare batteries are mandatory. Still lot easier than changing films, like we used to!

 

All this is just opinion. I hope it is useful for you.

[*j-w-m*]

I used the M9 on a paying shoot yesterday. I have done so before but not when I needed fairly quick turnaround from one shot to the next. Not high speed shooting, just about a shot every 2-5 seconds for about 60 shots. The M9's buffer kept filling up while writing to the SD card, delaying the shoot while I waited for it to finish writing. I guess it depends how you like to shoot weddings whether or not this issue would affect you.

[erl]

I used the M9 on a paying shoot yesterday. I have done so before but not when I needed fairly quick turnaround from one shot to the next. Not high speed shooting, just about a shot every 2-5 seconds for about 60 shots. The M9's buffer kept filling up while writing to the SD card, delaying the shoot while I waited for it to finish writing. I guess it depends how you like to shoot weddings whether or not this issue would affect you.

 

Hopefully one would not shoot a wedding like that.

Sounds more like sports photography, for which Canikon is better suited.

[FlashGordonPhotography]

I'm more of a 50mm person myself...

 

L1010389.jpg by Flash Gordon Photography, on Flickr

 

L1013324.jpg by Flash Gordon Photography, on Flickr

 

L1013460.jpg by Flash Gordon Photography, on Flickr

 

For me, the M9 is my primary camera, but I still need a DSLR for macro and telephoto shots. However, I've gone from carrying two "pro" Canikons to one Sony a77 and from 7 AF lenses to three. And I've gone from 16kg of gear to 6.5kg.

 

I love shooting primes with the rangefinder as I never found the 1.2 lenses had accurate AF anyway. And in a dim reception the M focuses much faster than any AF lens. It did take some time for me to really adapt to using (and trusting) the Leica. Now, almost a year on, I prefer and trust the M. If it weren't for the need for macro I'd just use only my two M9 bodies. As it is I'm very tempted to get the new compact Sony and just have a 50 and 90mm over each shoulder and a 21mm in a pocket.

 

The other advantage is that my shot count is falling. It's down nearly 50% after a year with the same keeper rate and just less junk.

 

Gordon

[*j-w-m*]

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Hopefully one would not shoot a wedding like that.

Sounds more like sports photography, for which Canikon is better suited.

 

Not sports at all, a commercial shoot in which I needed to capture a variety of reactions from the talent. Not as fast as a fashion shoot or sports shoot. 2-5 seconds between shots is not all that fast. But still too fast for the M9.

[erl]

Not sports at all, a commercial shoot in which I needed to capture a variety of reactions from the talent. Not as fast as a fashion shoot or sports shoot. 2-5 seconds between shots is not all that fast. But still too fast for the M9.

 

2-5 seconds between shot is not too fast for the M9, but as you will be aware it cannot maintain that shoot rate for a sustained period of 60 seconds as you required. A Canon or Nikon is better equipped for that shoot. I hope you got what was required anyway.

[bybrett]

/Looking at your posted pics, I would say the M9 is ideally suited as much as any camera can be. The limitation you have already discovered is when you shoot through objects. Parallax is the problem. I overcome that by consciously moving the cam a 'nudge' to the right just before shooting. Not ideal but it works. You will already know the image quality of the M9 is more than up to wedding standard and the great bonus is the the compactness of the kit. I used to shoot weddings in the early days with a huge Hasselblad outfit, three studio lights and stands, tripods etc. so I appreciate what Leica can do do for far less physical effort./

 

Agree, not ideal, but the best method available... and it quickly becomes second nature tto nudge the camera before shooting so that the lens is in the position of where the viewfinder just was!

[wattsy]

Not as fast as a fashion shoot or sports shoot. 2-5 seconds between shots is not all that fast. But still too fast for the M9.

 

Yes, it is a legitimate point to raise and I do wish some here wouldn't immediately respond with the unhelpful advice that the Leica M isn't for sport photography or "machine gunning", etc. It is not unknown during a short period of sustained action during an event (where you need to capture a series of reactions and expressions) for the buffer to fill and the M9, to all intents and purposes, to then lock up. It actually hasn't happened to me all that often – maybe 4-5 times – but when it happens it is very unwelcome to say the least. One of the things you come to rely on with a Leica M (and one of it's defining characteristics) is that when you press the shutter release, the camera takes the shot – no delay, no focus hunting, no viewfinder blackout, etc. – so when you encounter the full buffer problem it is very disconcerting and not M-like at all.

[Peter H]

I took this photo last Saturday, not at a wedding needless to say!

 

Not a great photo by any means, but it demonstrates that it is perfectly possible to use an M9 for photos where split-second timing is critical.

 

But of course it wouldn't be much use for a sequence of photos within fractions of a second of each other, or even 2-5 seconds apart over a period of time. Though I've never wanted to do that myself. I find more drama is conveyed when all your concentration is focussed on catching the key moment, which tend not to occur every other second at weddings.

 

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[andybarton]

You boys know how to have fun up there, that's for sure

[erl]

Yes, it is a legitimate point to raise and I do wish some here wouldn't immediately respond with the unhelpful advice that the Leica M isn't for sport photography or "machine gunning", etc. It is not unknown during a short period of sustained action during an event (where you need to capture a series of reactions and expressions) for the buffer to fill and the M9, to all intents and purposes, to then lock up. It actually hasn't happened to me all that often – maybe 4-5 times – but when it happens it is very unwelcome to say the least. One of the things you come to rely on with a Leica M (and one of it's defining characteristics) is that when you press the shutter release, the camera takes the shot – no delay, no focus hunting, no viewfinder blackout, etc. – so when you encounter the full buffer problem it is very disconcerting and not M-like at all.

 

Can't find anywhere in this thread that anyone said, "that the Leica M isn't for sport photography or "machine gunning", etc. "

 

However, I am on record above as saying, "Sounds more like sports photography, for which Canikon is better suited."

 

Perhaps you were misunderstanding what was actually said, especially the context.

[wattsy]

[/i]Perhaps you were misunderstanding what was actually said, especially the context.

 

I neither misunderstood what was written nor the underlying message.

[Peter H]

You boys know how to have fun up there, that's for sure

 

Indeed.

 

Especially when there's a dram or two involved!

[wattsy]

demonstrates that it is perfectly possible to use an M9 for photos where split-second timing is critical.

 

I don't think anyone has suggested otherwise - why would they? The absence of shutter lag has always been one of the defining features of a decent rangefinder.

[Peter H]

I don't think anyone has suggested otherwise - why would they? ......................................

 

Simply a response to the idea that it might be necessary to use rapid-fire techniques to capture the moment. No big deal Ian.

[wparsonsgisnet]

I shoot only an M9 or M8 and do not have an SLR, so the OP will have to take my comments with his own grain of salt.

 

I use the 24 f2.8 for this purpose, merely getting closer if I need to. Then I crop. I also use flash most of the time, so focus is not much of an issue. I mostly zone focus. And, of course, because of the wide aspect of the lens, I can't get in too close.

 

I use a monopod, as well. This reduces the fatigue problem.

 

With regard to the 2-5 second shot availability, this is not necessary. Using Compressed DNG, and no jpg, even when the buffer is full, the next shot is available in 2 seconds.

 

I have yet to find the buffer size a problem in wedding shots. It's just not like movement photography.

 

With regard to the battery, I get about 700 shots per battery in the M9 or M8.

 

Speaking qualititatively, this rig is much less noticeable. Also, with the monopod and zone focus, it is much easier to relate to the subjects, thereby putting them at ease.

 

I second the suggestion to go cold turkey for a gig and see how you do with the M9.

 

Regards,

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[frogfish]

Agree, not ideal, but the best method available... and it quickly becomes second nature tto nudge the camera before shooting so that the lens is in the position of where the viewfinder just was!

 

Yes, of course, but it all depends on the precision necessary to get the shot.

The first one for example is shot through a keyhole.

 

Try this with a M (o:

 

 

Heiko

 

 

(shot with D700)

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[bybrett]

Yes, of course, but it all depends on the precision necessary to get the shot.

The first one for example is shot through a keyhole.

 

Try this with a M (o:

 

Heiko

 

I'm pleased to say I don't do keyholes.