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M9 to M240 (almost) to MP?


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63Strat, my experience almost mirrors your own: M8, M9, ordered M240, cancelled order, bought MP. I too miss film. I will carry a small digital camera too (Sony RX100) and I have a backup 5d3 if required but my focus is on film. I miss it and I miss having something tangible at the end of the picture taking experience as opposed to ones and zeros.

 

Enjoy your MP!

 

Mike.

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After receiving my M9 I went back to analog and do more and more film photography. Today I use both digital and film and often carry both cameras at the same time. The combination of M9 and M7 gives you the advantage that the aperture priority automatic mode and the information in the finder are the same with the M9 and the M7 which is comfortable when you switch cameras. I also have an MP which I tend to use separately without the M9 companion.

 

Low light situations are the domain of the digital Leica but in moderate or good light film delivers a unique characteristic that can hardly be achieved by digital.

 

Concerning scanning: the V700/750 is the way to go. The Epson negative scans are well balanced and you can scan 4 negative strips with 6 frames each in batch scanning mode which is very helpful. Although a Nikon will deliver more sharpness I tend to use my Coolscan V rarely as it is a hassle to change strips after 6 frames. The V700 is more than enough for scans for internet use and prints up to DIN A4. And it delivers medium format capability if this is something you want to try.

 

Regards

Andreas

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Thanks. I've having a hard time with my V700. Getting tinted results, and not as good as from Swan Labs (I'm testing the same roll I got back from them with my Epson), and cannot get rid of the color shift.

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Yes, thanks, mostly color negatives. This particular roll just happens to be slide (positive). The results from Swan are punchy and full of color, while my Epson scans of the same film are darker, with more blues and reds, no pop whatsoever. I've tried tons of things to remedy it so far, tried Epson Scan, Sliverfast, Vuescan, all not as good as the Swan output. According to Swan, they did not do any file manipulation to improve anything. I'm sure they're using much better equipment that I have, but nonetheless, I'd think the V700 should not produce color shifts. If I scan a reflective surface, like a drawing or even another photo, the results are spectacular, so I'm stumped.

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I do color scans very rarely. For BW the V700 is fine and delivers pleasing results. See my scans on flickr name andreasgeorg. Look for my analog work.

 

Maybe you try another film brand to see whether it is more compatible to the V700?

 

I know a photographer from flickr and she uses the V700 in combinaton with color negative film. The results are breath taking. Well balanced and no color shifts or whatsoever. She once reported that the results are sensitive to the film/scanner combination and recommends Fuji Pro 400H. She says that Kodak does not deliver satisfying results on her V700. Check her flickr website out, her name is blažena.

 

Another flickr fellow who is doing excellent color scans is needler_ He recommends Colorperfect as a Photoshop plugin and stays away from Silverfast in combinaton with PRO160NS.

 

Unlike the instruction of the Epson I put the negatives into the holder with the emulsion side facing the glass as I realized that the BW scans are better this way. Not sure whether this affects the color problem also. But maybe you give it a try.

 

Enjoy your analog work.

 

Regards

Andreas

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Thanks for the tips. It must have been a particularily difficult color slide batch I was trying to scan. It was Fuji 100 shot at 400 by accident, so had to be pushed by the lab. Not the best situation to start with.

 

Last night I tried some older color negative film and everything turned out much better. With just a few tweaks in Aperture, all is well. Now the Epson software did the best job, and that's great since that software has the best and easiest batch recognition of the group. I tried scanning with the negatives flipped; it didn't seem to make any difference, so am sticking with Epson's advice -- thanks though.

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I was on the same boat. I shot with the M8, then M9. Guess what, I now have a MP instead. I totally agree with you. I love the simplicity and back to basic feel with the MP.

 

It's an amazing camera, isn't it? Really takes you back to the basics, and to film (I'd forgotten how much I missed it).

 

Congrats and enjoy your MP!

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I forgot to mention, I had a M6 before the MP too actually.

 

I use a V600 to scan my film now with SilverFast 8. I haven't really tried any other system, so can't really comment on the scan quality.

 

I am certainly enjoying the MP and I'm enjoying photography more than ever with my film shooting.

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