Monochrom, M 240, M4:3

[MarkP]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I just ordered myself a copy .

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[lumini]

I ordered the Samallahti book back in January after seeing extracts on TOP and it arrived last week. Quite apart from the photography itself what I find remarkable is the printing which has, to my eye, a greater emphasis on mid-tones than the extremes. I see too many 'dramatic' prints, in my own work and in the photo forum, and this book has brought me back to my dark room days where I concentrated more on those mid-tones than the extremes of absolute black and absolute white.

 

Pre-digital I went to great lengths to find film and developer combinations that gave me the maximum range of variation in the mid-tones. Sammallahti's book (which seems to be all silver prints, to be fair) has made me realize that I lost this in the digital years. I have similar equipment as the OP - M9, m4/3, M6, Mamiya 6 etc - but I think that how I develop and print is more important, to me, than any difference in equipment.

 

Geoff

[TheGodParticle/Hari]

+1

 

 

The OP might suffer from the widespread and extremely expensive and unsatisfying "gear optimazation syndrom". It is well known on this and other forums. It´s easy to connect with people with these same problems and getting loads of technically interesting and controverse input. The activity is focused not on making ones photography better but on the misconcept that changing gear and even complete systems has an impact on ones creative photographic impact.

 

If You are interested in the creative process of photography stop aquiring gear! Do Yourself a huge favor and visit one or two professional (Magnum etc....) workshops (around 3000USD per week including travel to a exotic location, loging, and meeting great people).

 

You have some of the best camera systems on todays market and perhaps not enough ideas what to do with them.

 

Perhaps I´m all wrong :-)

 

Amen

 

And in addition, cutting down on Forum time and increasing time outside the house also helps

[lumini]

A quick follow up to my own post above: I have just looked at Samallahati's photographs on link given to The Photographers' Gallery and they are 'dramatically' different than in the actual book. The contrast has been boosted and there are much deeper blacks and more intense whites than on the printed page much to the detriment, I think, of the work. Perhaps it is the way others now see black and white photography but it isn't what Samallahati printed.

 

Geoff

[250swb]

Photographers tastes change over time and it may well be that what he supplied The Photographers Gallery was his preference then.

 

I agree the book images are much richer, and the other possibility is that as a part of making a book into a unified whole some of the images were printed differently so they all share a similar tonality. Rich tonality doesn't always work in web reproduction and cheaper print forms and a more graphic image rendering is often a good idea to stop the pictures just looking muddy.

 

Steve

[albireo_double]

As far as the OMD or any Micro 4/3 camera is concerned, it just doesn't look anything like full-frame in most cases. Unless you want absolutely everything in focus, as you do in many landscape shots, the smaller sensor just cannot replicate the fall-off of a full-frame sensor.

 

You are right in general, of course, but the OMD can produce fantastic look, with great fall-off, if you use the right lens with it - by this I mean the 75/1.8 in particular. This lens, plus OMD's ability to very quickly and accurately automatically focus it on the nearest eye (and stabilise it), are the main reasons why I am still keeping the OMD. This is an ability that I cannot find in any other digital system that I use (S2, M9, RX-1). The OMD is a "kids' birthday party" camera for me; it is best at this genre, and the portraits it takes with the 75mm and 45mm 1.8 lenses are great. Perhaps not the ultimate in image quality or freedom from grain (but certainly very good on these aspects), but great in terms of me being able to catch fleeting expressions, in accurately focused images. I don't even own any other lenses for the MFT systems, other than the two tele primes and the Pana-Leica 25mm (since the "standard" focal length is sometimes useful, e.g. to give the "party pictures" some context or include more people).

 

As to the choice of equipment / systems, I tend to think in "kits" suited for different purposes that match my other interests. When hiking or traveling where I do a lot of walking (e.g. city breaks), the M9 and 2-3 lenses come along. When going on a major car-based trip or when I know I'll be using porters while hiking, the S2 and lenses come along. When jogging, skiing, walking my dogs, cycling, the RX-1 is the camera of choice. And the OMD for photographing kids and portraits. I find these "functional compartments" useful, otherwise I would be forever hesitating which camera to take with me.

 

Having said all the above, one of these days I'll probably sell the lot and keep just the M9 and 3 lenses.

[colonel]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

You are right in general, of course, but the OMD can produce fantastic look, with great fall-off, if you use the right lens with it - by this I mean the 75/1.8 in particular. This lens, plus OMD's ability to very quickly and accurately automatically focus it on the nearest eye (and stabilise it), are the main reasons why I am still keeping the OMD. This is an ability that I cannot find in any other digital system that I use (S2, M9, RX-1). The OMD is a "kids' birthday party" camera for me; it is best at this genre, and the portraits it takes with the 75mm and 45mm 1.8 lenses are great. Perhaps not the ultimate in image quality or freedom from grain (but certainly very good on these aspects), but great in terms of me being able to catch fleeting expressions, in accurately focused images. I don't even own any other lenses for the MFT systems, other than the two tele primes and the Pana-Leica 25mm (since the "standard" focal length is sometimes useful, e.g. to give the "party pictures" some context or include more people).

 

As to the choice of equipment / systems, I tend to think in "kits" suited for different purposes that match my other interests. When hiking or traveling where I do a lot of walking (e.g. city breaks), the M9 and 2-3 lenses come along. When going on a major car-based trip or when I know I'll be using porters while hiking, the S2 and lenses come along. When jogging, skiing, walking my dogs, cycling, the RX-1 is the camera of choice. And the OMD for photographing kids and portraits. I find these "functional compartments" useful, otherwise I would be forever hesitating which camera to take with me.

 

Having said all the above, one of these days I'll probably sell the lot and keep just the M9 and 3 lenses.

 

Its funny how much I disagree with this. I found the OMD really quite bad in low light for kids parties.

Everyone talks about the 75mm, but this is 150mm equiv, useless for indoors!

The best event lens for the M4/3s is the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8.

I tend to use the 6D for this work, it is completely a different league. Funnily when I have used M9 for events the pictures turn out better, I just get less ....

[BrendanD]

Its funny how much I disagree with this. I found the OMD really quite bad in low light for kids parties.

Everyone talks about the 75mm, but this is 150mm equiv, useless for indoors!

The best event lens for the M4/3s is the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8.

I tend to use the 6D for this work, it is completely a different league. Funnily when I have used M9 for events the pictures turn out better, I just get less ....

 

Well I suppose that's what makes us all individual!

FWIW I completely disagreed with what you found on the OMD EM5.

I agree the 75 is a bit long for indoors, but the 45 1.8 is a nice lens...

I would rather die than have to shoot a children's party and I use my EM5 for hiking, and holidays where the 12 and 75mm lenses are perfect as a really lightweight kit.

 

Personally I don't get on with zooms, and you are right the kit zoom on 4:3 has too much DOF.

The EM5 is also good for quick grabs on the street when you're out and about with people and can't concentrate/hang about for MF zone and trap focusing.

Today I was out with the Monochrom in its forte, street photography, and I agree its resolution is astounding..

 

You too seem to use different sets of gear for different purposes. The Leica M is my 'heavy FF kit' ;-)

 

Btw. I do not spend all my time on forums (not having posted here for at least a year), go on workshops and courses, attend a variety of groups, exhibit my work and have been involved in photography as a serious amateur for about 40 years, so please don't label me as a gear fetishist....

Off now.

[billo101]

Monochrom is Leica best camera ever.

[KCS]

I shoot about 50/50 with my monochrom and a Fuji xpro 1 (I even shoot b&w with the Fuji sometimes). This combo works great for me... So I don't think using an MM for b&w and a *something* for color is odd. Use what works for you.