hankg Posted May 13, 2007 Share #1 Posted May 13, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I had my first live portrait session with the Viso+135/4+M8. I have found the Viso to be a pleasure to use for macro and product shots. Shooting live subjects however is quite another story. You can do it but it is really a blunt instrument for this application. The great advantage for me of the M is the rangefinder viewing system which puts nothing between you and your subject, allows you to see what is outside the frame and when properly calibrated is easy to focus accurately in a wide range of conditions. Shooting a model or a client who is sitting for a portrait requires effective interaction with the subject and a rhythm as you get into the shoot. I had some dim ambient light and even with the aid of the brightscreen fresnel focusing was a chore. The long travel of the shutter and lopsided balance holding the camera in portrait mode made the whole session a trial. The 135/4 is a stunning performer and the new 135 Apo-Telyt is spectacular. Mounted on the M they are a manageble package but the focusing and cropping is just to imprecise. I assume Leica felt the same which is why they left out the 135 framelines. The Viso unfortunately is not really an alternative. It was making me nostalgic for my 1 Ds and 135/2 L. I guess I'll look at the 90 and 75 (or the Zeiss 85/2), I think with my 1.35 magnifier these will be a more workable fit until Leica produces a high-mag M8 or goggles or there is a DSLR out there that I might want to use (the new 1Ds or R10 might do the trick on the long side). In the mean time the long portrait lens remains the only hole in my kit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 13, 2007 Posted May 13, 2007 Hi hankg, Take a look here Portarits with the Viso. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Guest guy_mancuso Posted May 13, 2007 Share #2 Posted May 13, 2007 I have had great success with the 135 apo but was having trouble with framing but now with the 90mm mount on it i think i will have much better framing . Focusing is not the easiest but i am nailing it most of the time and maybe with the 90 framelines i can work the focusing better but i do love the look of long lenses for portraits so i will continue with the 135MM apo because it really looks like my 180 F2 with the DMR as far as look and bokeh falloff. Just need to work with this new setup a little more and i will feel totally comfortable. Honestly i don't find much differnce with the 90 and the 135 as far as focusing, so if space allows than i will stick with the 135. Here is one from the 135 apo before I did my 90mm mount conversion but exactly the look i like , now give me some models and let me really have some fun shooting Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankg Posted May 13, 2007 Author Share #3 Posted May 13, 2007 I wonder if I took a magnifier (Leica or one of the knock offs) to an optometrist if they could swap the lens for one that was around 1.9x. Then the whole window would be your crop and focusing would be a snap. Any optometrists in the group care to comment? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted May 13, 2007 Share #4 Posted May 13, 2007 Interesting idea Hank . or try a double magnifer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted May 13, 2007 Share #5 Posted May 13, 2007 Guy, what light setup do you use, and how do you get the power right? I am looking to get into portraiture, and have my eye on some Hensel lights, but haven't made the jump yet, and I am looking for some more information on where to start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted May 14, 2007 Share #6 Posted May 14, 2007 Carsten these are new lights very small from Dynalite called Dynalite twinkles. There Monolights at 400 watts each. I had profoto's which i really liked just the bulk was too much and rarely needed the pwoer from them. So i went for a smaller package , there very good but only have a 150 watt modeling lamp which is okay though. i use 4 strobes for portraits one background , one hair light. Than 2 2x3 front softboxes with louver grids on them and the main set for around F8 and the fill at camera level about a stop dimmer or so. Now i chimp until i get the lighting correct the way i like it and really work from what i see from the LCD which i think works really good. Sometimes i will tether the M8 to a laptop using leica digital Capture and also Lightroom or Bridge and point those programs to the same folder and they automatically come in and I can judge from there also. I don't use a meter ever Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankg Posted May 14, 2007 Author Share #7 Posted May 14, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Interesting idea Hank . or try a double magnifer Actually now that I think about it it would require something more like 4x or 5x magnification to fill the finder window with the 135 view. Stacking my 1.35 on to the Leica 1.25 would only give 1.69x. not nearly enough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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