New Owner Of Leica M-P Safari Edition Questions!!

[colonel]

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Congratulations

Welcome to M

 

The safari is beautiful, I saw one last week.

 

Focus takes 2-3 weeks to get right

Remember that you don't need great vision (my right eye is weaker then my left). It's do to with relative sharpness not absolute sharpness when you focus. What looks the most in focus is right

 

Wid angle lenses have wider depth of field and are more forgiving to focus

 

In terms of moving objects I use the same technique as with AF, pre-focus ....

 

 

Rgds

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Congrats on your new camera. I still remember when I picked up my M9. I think I smiled for a few days straight.

 

It took me a few days to get used to focusing and six months or so to get good at it. I can track a person walking with a 90mm at f2.4. That took up to a year.

 

Try to avoid racking the lens back and forth. Start from one end and make a single movement to focus. Until you get comfortable shoot everything twice. Once at the aperture you wanted and again a few stops down.

 

The M is a wonderfully tactile camera. And you don't need to power it up to practice your focusing technique. Take it every where. Shoot all the day. Practice whenever you can. Don't be too hard on yourself.

 

you'll get over 700 shots on a battery with only the RF. I bought some third party ones for my M9. Huge mistake. I still had to buy a genuine one soon after.

 

Gordon

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[Wetzlar57]

I am overwhelmed by the helpful advice on offer! Thankyou so much to you all.

Carlos Danger suggested focusing holding the camera at a 45 degree angle before re composing and having just tried that it appears a very useful tip. Also, with reference to the battery...I am finding in my short usage so far that the Leica one appears to be VERY heavy duty and capable of long life between charges. So perhaps just the one spare will be more than enough.

Colonel...... the Safari edition is a truly Beautiful camera. The colour appears to be quite polarizing, although I understand Leica has a long history of making versions of their cameras in the olive Green colour scheme over the years. It lends it a certain rugged military persona which I happen to really like.

I will post a photo of the camera when I get a minute to do so for anyone interested.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Wetzlar57

[Wetzlar57]

Here are some photos of the camera for those who enjoy camera porn!!

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[AndrewDD]

Congrats

 

I struggled a bit too at the start. I now have a 1.25 magnifier, which brings the fame lines of a 35mm lens right to the edge of the view. I also have a +1 dioptre as I'm long-sighted. Once screws into the other, and then they screw into to view finder. This made a huge difference! It is important to keep the viewfinder & rangefinder clean - they are easy to get smeared.

 

I invested in a seond battery, but I've never needed it! These are big powerful batteries and they're not driving autofocus or anything, I've shot 2000 images in a day without flattening it.

 

A little preparation helps with focusing on moving targets. I decide on the furthest & closest points I'm going to focus on, spend a few seconds practising moving between the two (you can almost always do the full movement without removing your finger from the lens). Then, when it is time to take the pictures you should be able to find the focus very quickly. I was shooting dancers a couple of weeks ago and was getting 80% hits using a Sonnar F1.5 lens wide open .

[Rick]

Congratulions and welcome to the forum. Curious which pith-helmet and bag are you getting?

[jmahto]

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Here are some photos of the camera for those who enjoy camera porn!!

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

Beautiful indeed !!

 

Quick question/suggestion for your wrist strap. The metal chain connector seems long. Won't it scratch the upper corner of camera body?

[Joshua Lowe]

Here are some photos of the camera for those who enjoy camera porn!!

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

Excellent bag choice.

[Wetzlar57]

Beautiful indeed !!

 

Quick question/suggestion for your wrist strap. The metal chain connector seems long. Won't it scratch the upper corner of camera body?

 

Thanks!

The extra length is because the strap has a swivel device which makes the strap totally independent of the camera. It does not come into contact with the cameras body if I am careful.

[Wetzlar57]

Congratulions and welcome to the forum. Curious which pith-helmet and bag are you getting?

 

 

Indeed!

Well, I've already got the army green Domke bag that you can see in the photo that I am using with the Safari....so now just the helmet.

[Wetzlar57]

Congrats

 

I struggled a bit too at the start. I now have a 1.25 magnifier, which brings the fame lines of a 35mm lens right to the edge of the view. I also have a +1 dioptre as I'm long-sighted. Once screws into the other, and then they screw into to view finder. This made a huge difference! It is important to keep the viewfinder & rangefinder clean - they are easy to get smeared.

 

I invested in a seond battery, but I've never needed it! These are big powerful batteries and they're not driving autofocus or anything, I've shot 2000 images in a day without flattening it.

 

A little preparation helps with focusing on moving targets. I decide on the furthest & closest points I'm going to focus on, spend a few seconds practising moving between the two (you can almost always do the full movement without removing your finger from the lens). Then, when it is time to take the pictures you should be able to find the focus very quickly. I was shooting dancers a couple of weeks ago and was getting 80% hits using a Sonnar F1.5 lens wide open .

 

Thanks Andrew. That is all very helpful advice. I might wait a while before ordering a spare battery and see how it goes....because as you say it does seem a very powerful beast with loads of capacity.

Regarding the Dioptre, I was considering getting one of those to screw into the magnifier as the addition of the Magnifier alone has blurred the image somewhat. I have just read somewhere that this does indeed happen but can be sorted by the addition of the Dioptre.

Given that my glasses are only used for close up reading and the optical viewer on the Leica is set at -0.5 dioptre what strength additional dioptre will I need to clear the view? Helpfully....not....Leica do not make their Dioptres adjustable to different strengths as are all others on cameras I have used. Still we are talking Leica here aren't we. I am quickly learning that nailing my colours to Leica is going to be an expensive choice!!

Edited March 21, 2015 by Wetzlar57

[jaapv]

Nice looking set

People have been known to drain a battery by leaving the camera switched on accidentally and replacing the camera in the bag- the constant shutter half-press will have you taking out an empty camera. Not having a spare is a false economy imo.

 

If you need glasses for reading it is nearly a given that you need a dioptre in your standard viewfinder, not a magnifier.

To determine the right dioptre go to your optician and insert his try-out lenses between your eye and the

the viewfinder to find out which one works best for for you.

As the rangefinder patch is at a virtual distance of 2 meters (hence the - 0.5 correction) and the image is at whatever distance you are viewing (this is a telescope) you need to find the strength that allows you to accommodate most easily on both. Calculations are not as precise as physical testing.

Once you have the right strength of dioptre for the standard viewfinder it will occur often that a magnifier hinders more than that it helps.

Failing an optician you can use over-the-counter reading glasses, if your eye is within their range.

 

You may find too that the dioptre for the viewfinder and for the magnifier differ. This is caused by the fact that they come in 0.5 steps and your eye may be in-between. It makes life a bit hard, unscrewing and screwing in stuff before focusing.

Edited March 21, 2015 by jaapv

[IkarusJohn]

So, how often do you need your spare, Jaap?

[jaapv]

Never. I don't use the magnifiers, dislike them, so I have a few gathering dust in my cupboard.

I used to have a dioptre in my viewfinder, but nowadays it seems my eye has changed, so I don't need any aid at all. I read without my reading glasses in many cases too, which I was unable to before. My eye doctor tells me that this is not uncommon in ageing eyes.

Or do you mean my battery? At home, seldom. But not never. On holiday? Well, let's put it this way: I have three spares. And two chargers.

The point is, you don't just take these two thousand shots, you will leave the camera switched on, use an EVF, chimp, show the image to your subject, review your images, etc. making battery life unpredictable and sometimes very short, especially on Safari

And if your charger dies in the middle of nowhere, you're toast...

Edited March 21, 2015 by jaapv

[Wetzlar57]

Nice looking set

People have been known to drain a battery by leaving the camera switched on accidentally and replacing the camera in the bag- the constant shutter half-press will have you taking out an empty camera. Not having a spare is a false economy imo.

 

If you need glasses for reading it is nearly a given that you need a dioptre in your standard viewfinder, not a magnifier.

To determine the right dioptre go to your optician and insert his try-out lenses between your eye and the

the viewfinder to find out which one works best for for you.

As the rangefinder patch is at a virtual distance of 2 meters (hence the - 0.5 correction) and the image is at whatever distance you are viewing (this is a telescope) you need to find the strength that allows you to accommodate most easily on both. Calculations are not as precise as physical testing.

Once you have the right strength of dioptre for the standard viewfinder it will occur often that a magnifier hinders more than that it helps.

Failing an optician you can use over-the-counter reading glasses, if your eye is within their range.

 

You may find too that the dioptre for the viewfinder and for the magnifier differ. This is caused by the fact that they come in 0.5 steps and your eye may be in-between. It makes life a bit hard, unscrewing and screwing in stuff before focusing.

Sounds like good advice Jaap.

I will return the magnifier for a refund and endeavour to find the correct dioptre for my particular eyes.

Many thanks!

[jaapv]

Good idea. If you find you want a magnifier later on for longer focal lengths, which is what they are meant for, look for a used one. They are too expensive for the benefit imo.

There are third-party ones around as well but Leica dislikes the patent violation.

[bocaburger]

I'm nearsighted so I need glasses to see the world outside the viewfinder, therefore prefer to shoot with my glasses on. For a while I had to use a +1 even with my glasses, until I had my eyes reexamined and with the new Rx I could take the diopters off. I wear progressive lenses and it was a simple matter of finding the sweet spot to use with the rangefinder. I got frames with featherweight lenses small enough to compress inside my bone sockets, so getting close enough to see even the 28 frames is no problem. So my first advice is to get an up-to-date eye exam if you haven't had one in a while. Like Jaap said, our eyes change as we age, sometimes fortuitously for the better. I've been getting less nearsighted, and while I can no longer thread a needle bare-eyed, I can now read comfortably without glasses whereas I used to not be able to see clearly beyond about 8 inches.

Edited March 21, 2015 by bocaburger

[Wetzlar57]

I'm nearsighted so I need glasses to see the world outside the viewfinder, therefore prefer to shoot with my glasses on. For a while I had to use a +1 even with my glasses, until I had my eyes reexamined and with the new Rx I could take the diopters off. I wear progressive lenses and it was a simple matter of finding the sweet spot to use with the rangefinder. I got frames with featherweight lenses small enough to compress inside my bone sockets, so getting close enough to see even the 28 frames is no problem. So my first advice is to get an up-to-date eye exam if you haven't had one in a while. Like Jaap said, our eyes change as we age, sometimes fortuitously for the better. I've been getting less nearsighted, and while I can no longer thread a needle bare-eyed, I can now read comfortably without glasses whereas I used to not be able to see clearly beyond about 8 inches.

 

Odd phenomenon that isn't it....aspects of eyesight improving with age... spooky!

I have already set the ball rolling by returning the magnifier and have ordered the dioptre that I have worked out should suit my eyes. Fingers crossed I have chosen correctly as there is nowhere near where I live that stocks Leica items so everything has to be ordered online.

I suppose if it isn't the right one I will just have to return it and get another till I choose right. I have high hopes for the one I have ordered though!

[Rick]

Nice looking set

People have been known to drain a battery by leaving the camera switched on accidentally and replacing the camera in the bag- the constant shutter half-press will have you taking out an empty camera. Not having a spare is a false economy imo.

 

If you need glasses for reading it is nearly a given that you need a dioptre in your standard viewfinder, not a magnifier.

To determine the right dioptre go to your optician and insert his try-out lenses between your eye and the

the viewfinder to find out which one works best for for you.

As the rangefinder patch is at a virtual distance of 2 meters (hence the - 0.5 correction) and the image is at whatever distance you are viewing (this is a telescope) you need to find the strength that allows you to accommodate most easily on both. Calculations are not as precise as physical testing.

Once you have the right strength of dioptre for the standard viewfinder it will occur often that a magnifier hinders more than that it helps.

Failing an optician you can use over-the-counter reading glasses, if your eye is within their range.

 

You may find too that the dioptre for the viewfinder and for the magnifier differ. This is caused by the fact that they come in 0.5 steps and your eye may be in-between. It makes life a bit hard, unscrewing and screwing in stuff before focusing.

 

Actually, +0.5 diopters. I know you know this, but let's not confuse anyone.

 

Rick

 

ps Also, the whole rest of the frame outside the patch requires +0.5D of accommodation (focusing) at 2m.

Edited March 21, 2015 by RickLeica

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[Wetzlar57]

Actually, +0.5 diopters. I know you know this, but let's not confuse anyone.

 

Rick

 

ps Also, the whole rest of the frame outside the patch requires +0.5D of accommodation (focusing) at 2m.

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but this is the statement from Leica regarding the Dioptre...

 

' It should be noted that the Leica M's viewfinder is preset by default of -0.5 dioptre, so eyesight adjustments of 1 dioptre, for example means that a dioptre of +1.5 dioptre would be required.'

This suggests that the OV is set at -0.5 Dioptres?