Creative Destruction Posted October 2, 2012 Share #1 Posted October 2, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) So I've just sold all my Nikon gear and bought an M6, M9, 35mm lens and a 90mm. All and any advice is welcome, seems to be a bit of a steep learning curve... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 2, 2012 Posted October 2, 2012 Hi Creative Destruction, Take a look here Rangefinder virgin. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
giordano Posted October 2, 2012 Share #2 Posted October 2, 2012 The biggest single difference is that the viewfinder still works when the lens cap is on. And you're lucky to have the M9 and get the instant feedback that digital offers. And the 35mm / 90mm combination is classic (and my favourite). Beyond that, very much depends on how you used your Nikons. If it was always multipoint autofocus, matrix metering and P mode you have a lot to learn and unlearn. But if you're used to thinking about exposure, focus and depth of field the adjustment will be much easier. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted October 3, 2012 Share #3 Posted October 3, 2012 Advice for someone in such a transition is like trying to teach someone via teletype on how to drive a 24 gear, 18 wheel tractor when they have only driven an automatic VW Bug. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
azzo Posted October 3, 2012 Share #4 Posted October 3, 2012 I personally, wouldn't take any notice on the post above! ... Had someone told me that, I probably wouldn't have bought my first M6TTL + a 50 Elmar-M back in 2001.Never seen nor held let alone used this system ever before but went along and ordered it. Loved it immediately and was out shooting as though I had for a long time. Photography, at least for me, is not about which type of equipment you're using but, what you are seeing! ps My guess is that pico was only kidding. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil U Posted October 3, 2012 Share #5 Posted October 3, 2012 Welcome to the forum. Lots of useful tips here - Leica M9 FAQ's This is a useful little article to have a read of if you are new to rangefinders - Shooting Fast With A Leica by Robert Boyer | STEVE HUFF PHOTOS Of course, the usual caveats apply. Don't take everything as gospel, just use the advice as a starting point, try it for yourself and experiment a bit, find what works for you. Godspeed. p.s. I read this on the forum today and it's a a great reminder of what it is all about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted October 3, 2012 Share #6 Posted October 3, 2012 IMHO a Leica M is a much more simple camera to operate than a Nikon DSLR system, but some people like to pretend that it's very difficult and complicated, and takes a huge degree of skill. The two key differences over your DSLR are focussing and exposure. You 'see' differently through a rangefinder as everything appears in focus and only the frame lines change when you swap lenses, unlike focussing/composing on a ground glass screen and seeing TTL. The exposure meters in your Leicas are like fat spotmeters - download a user handbook if you don't have one and read up on how they work (the meter patterns for each camera are slightly different). Once you understand how the metering works and familiarise yourself with both cameras, the best advice I would say is simply to use it, learn from your own mistakes (hopefully not many) and seek advice on anything specific from the forum. Of course you will have some film issues and some digital ones! Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted October 3, 2012 Share #7 Posted October 3, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) ps My guess is that pico was only kidding. What I expressed poorly is how inadequate I feel to instruct someone on how to use a rangefinder. A rangefinder was my first camera, and every camera I use today is a viewfinder, view, or rangefinder. It is like being a fish ... well, you know the story. OP - if I find any good resources, you will be the first I contact. Phil and James have helped already. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcentsale Posted October 4, 2012 Share #8 Posted October 4, 2012 This is a useful little article to have a read of if you are new to rangefinders - Shooting Fast With A Leica by Robert Boyer | STEVE HUFF PHOTOS This article is excellent, and not just for shooting with a Rangefinder. Many of the precepts apply to dSLR shooting as well. I hear so many complaints from people regarding slow AF, and watch them spend more time with the shutter pressed half-way than not, and still managing to get out-of-focus pictures, or that evaluative metering has made their image too dark / too light. In most cases light won't change drastically or quickly enough that you can't preset your f-stop / shutter combo, and as long as you remember to adjust them in inverse proportion to each other, you're golden. And pre focusing, with minor adjustments, is just as effective. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted October 5, 2012 Share #9 Posted October 5, 2012 Set the lens to 5 or 8 or 10 feet and make the shot. If you still have time, it is faster to move your body until the images merge rather than playing with the rangefinder. KNOW AHEAD OF TIME WHAT MAKES A GOOD RF TARGET. The edge of a shirt collar, doorway, catchlight in an eye, andy straight line. Learn to handle your lens, start at infinity and learn how far to turn it to get to 15, 10, 7,5, feet by feel without looking at it. Great thing for TV commercials if you have nothing more important like a bathroom break. ALWAYS start at infinity and move until the images merge and quit. Do not play with it. Always start at infinity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
businessasusual Posted October 7, 2012 Share #10 Posted October 7, 2012 +1 Ditto Azzo - I knew nothing of Leica or Rangefinders except for the very thing I wanted - discretion, paid for mine and walked out the door. The discreet nature was the very key - giving up Nikon F5 and 4 very fast prime lenses + Cash - for one new M6TTL and Noctilux (f1.0). it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders in all senses of the word. That was 2003 and I have never looked back. Ah, the cap on lens thing - even after this long - I still get caught occasionally. (adds to the perception that I know not what I do thus not an imposition) Best of luck...work it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted October 8, 2012 Share #11 Posted October 8, 2012 Creative Destruction: Welcome to the Forum! Already you have been offered some good advice and sensed the variety within our membership. Working with your two new cameras in the same time frame might cause problems. I find that each requires its own 'mind-set'. I would be inclined to concentrate on the M9, then once you have become comfortable with the rangefinder/viewfinder principle, spend separate time with the M6. You have chosen two good lenses. Master them before becoming seduced into extending your Leica lens inventory. Your two lenses might well be all you need. Good luck and enjoy the journey! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted October 16, 2012 Share #12 Posted October 16, 2012 press the button, look at the result, get depressed, and figure out what you did wrong. Having a M9 makes it a lot easier to figure out how it works, my first Leica (ugh that sounds like a film I was trying to suppress) was a M2 and I had no idea at all what I was doing - including no lightmeter, just 'sunny 16'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larsv Posted October 17, 2012 Share #13 Posted October 17, 2012 I think Creative Destruction has left the house Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creative Destruction Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share #14 Posted October 19, 2012 Thanks for the above replies, it's certainly a bit of a test moving from DSLR to RF... I've gone into this feet first and to be honest I have no idea what I'm doing, for me this is part of the fun... This is what I've found out so far that I didn't know before - It's very easy to screw up the loading of film in the M6, my first 3 were a write off Don't try and everything at once, along with changing to RF I also tried my hand at processing my own film, the next 3 films were a write off.... So 6 films, no pictures so far Focusing is interesting and is going to take a while to get the hang of, focusing with your feet was very good advice Shutter speed knob is annoying The M9 takes absolutely beautiful pictures, this I guess I knew before I changed People don't mind having a RF pointed at them I am very, very happy with my decision, although its going to take a while to get used to... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtoh Posted October 21, 2012 Share #15 Posted October 21, 2012 People don't mind having a RF pointed at them There are much talk about RF being smaller, stealthier, less intrusive.. but i'm sure you understand its the person using the gears that made it right. Hope you are having a blast with your new gears. Regards, Daryl http://www.dtohphoto.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWC Doppel Posted October 26, 2012 Share #16 Posted October 26, 2012 It's back to manual in a very positive constructive way. When you get over the forgetting to set things your Nikon did for you, you will feel more and more in control, more involved and in some ways forced to think. I think you'll find it liberating Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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