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Leica M (240) Video

ZachCumer

By ZachCumer
in Leica M (Type 240 / 262)

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Sully

Sully

Posted
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It is not a gimmick for me. I know most people on this site are interested in stills. My job is film/video. I use M9s for stills, but I will probably use the M240 for video only. The M240 specs show it has a 4-4-2 color space which is great for us. There is a pent up desire for a good video camera other than the Canon 5d and Panny GH3. Please, Leica give us some video clips to see. Jono and Chris gave us wonderful stills, but we need some video clips soon.

 

Ciao, Sully

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sisoje

sisoje

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I will chime in on this subject, as I one of the people who use professionally DSLRs for video (for broadcasting).

So far, I used and still do Canon's 5DMKII. I never went for MKIII as I did not find enough improvements to justify upgrade.

As I currently use 2xM9 and set of Leica lenses, I am very excited to see new M with video feature. But, I am a bit dissapointed that even with HD capability new M will be limited for serious video use right at the start: no clean hdmi out (!!!). So no external monitoring or external digital recording... Too bad!

This short coming will limit the use of new M a lot in any serious video/climatic production. I will not elaborate more. Who ever used DSLR on a movie set will know why.... Instead, I will ask a question if there is a way to design a "dongle" of some sort to be hooked to evf "out" on camera's body that can contain a hdmi plug? This way, there will be at least an option to hook up a external monitor to evf out...

Is this even possible?

With external monitor, usability of new M would be greatly improved for cine/video... As far as using Leica optics for video, RED camera introduced Leica mount for their line of cameras... So, new M will not be the only "toy" doing video with these great lenses....:D

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Sully

Sully

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Sisoje has all the right thoughts. The M240 does need an HDMI out for external monitor. Perhaps a dongle that feeds a monitor can be made by a third party. It doesn't really have to be of HD quality. All you need is something a director can see to judge a take. Right now the M240 is an "auteur" camera. Only the camera operator sees the shot. This takes me back to the film days of the Eclair NPR or the Arri BL when there was no video tap for the director to see the shot. However, I'm really looking forward to using this camera with all our Leica glass (21-35, 35-70, 70-180, 80-200, and 280). Please let those NDAs run out soon.

 

Ciao, Sully

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ayewing

ayewing

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Video is under NDA which means it's not ready. Not even as ready as the stills...

 

Seems as if there is quite a lot of work to be done before the M is ready for release. The estimates of end of February/early March look increasingly unlikely. 1st April?

:):)

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mjh

mjh

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Video is under NDA which means it's not ready. Not even as ready as the stills...

Huh? Apparently you know something I don’t. In my (admittedly limited) experience, video with the M works just fine. I’m not that much into video, though, so I may have missed something.

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sisoje

sisoje

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DO YOU THINK ROLLING SHUTTER WILL BE A BIG ISSUE?

 

 

 

It is an issue as much as it is an issue with all other DSLRs or professional large sensor cameras... It is there, and you deal with it and plan your shooting accordingly. In most of the situation it is noticeable Only by "pixel peepers" of any kind...

 

If the content of the shoot is great, nobody will say "aaaah, this sucks... Looks at the rolling shutter jello....".

 

:D

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mydarkroom

mydarkroom

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I always found that shooting video with photographic cameras a compromise due to handling and ergonomics. dSLRs have evolved and now it is very common for professionals and amateurs to use it for video despite that. Video quality is good now, specially with good in camera and lens anti-shaking mechanism. If you are to shoot serious videos with the Leica you will likely use something like this. However, if you are planning to shoot handheld I am afraid you may get disappointed (or use a lot of software correction at image quality expenses to correct the shaking). My 2c anyways.

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63strat

63strat

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Posted (edited)

At the very end of this 5 minute video on the M from Leica's site, they show about 8 seconds of video taken with the M of a model walking. It looks very good, even though the guy taking it is walking at the same time. I would've expected the camera shake to be worse given that he's moving. Color looks good too:

 

http://us.leica-camera.com/photography/m_system/m_cameras/

 

Click on the middle lower video, the one with the mid-30's guy holding the M.

Edited by 63strat
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sisoje

sisoje

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OK.

 

About "shaky shots"....IS system in your DSLR will not make your shots "not shaky". Proper shooting technique will. I am sorry, but since introduction of video in DSLR every still photographer thinks he/she is a master of moving images. Oh, so not true!

 

I have been shooting films and videos for long time and managed to shoot with no auto focus or IS in so many professional grade video (U-matic, Beta, Beta Digital, XDCam,...) and movie ( Arri, Sony, Red,..) cameras...

 

On paper, M240 has it's limitation in video mode to DSLR but it will be a very usable feature for operator who wants to use it.

 

So, stay tuned...

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mydarkroom

mydarkroom

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OK.

 

About "shaky shots"....IS system in your DSLR will not make your shots "not shaky". Proper shooting technique will. I am sorry, but since introduction of video in DSLR every still photographer thinks he/she is a master of moving images. Oh, so not true!

 

I have been shooting films and videos for long time and managed to shoot with no auto focus or IS in so many professional grade video (U-matic, Beta, Beta Digital, XDCam,...) and movie ( Arri, Sony, Red,..) cameras...

 

On paper, M240 has it's limitation in video mode to DSLR but it will be a very usable feature for operator who wants to use it.

 

So, stay tuned...

 

I agree Steven, in the hands of a capable professional, any camera can deliver good footage. A camera with a good sensor and great lenses will likely excel and deliver excellent footage. The question is what kind of video will an amateur with a not so perfect technique will get? Once the camera is out we will se what is capable of (both in the hands of professionals and amateurs).

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satureyes

satureyes

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I think the biggest draw will be R lenses for video.

The main issue I foresee with using M lenses is the ability to use a focus puller.

It's going to be quite tricky to be throwing and pulling focus on M lenses.

 

Ergonomically it's no worse than any dslr out there. I'd say an immediate purchase would be a LCD viewfinder like the LCDVF which magnetically affixes to the LCD. Apart from focus it provides another point of contact when steadying the camera.

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