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Leica Film Odyssey for a beginner


Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

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I can't tell the difference.  I like Osterloh too.  His manual is just a nice book, with a good set out...a bit dated...but we are talking film here, eh!

I like film just so I can use my film cameras...beautiful machines. Leica M6 and Nikon FE2...and LF.

They all get processed anyway, so who can tell what's what?

 

Buying film, if it's B&W, I develop myself...so I get negs without dust and stains.  Usually FP4+ (don't like grain).

Colour am still experimenting. And I'd prefer large or medium format anyway...make an expedition of it.

 

A roll of film, developed at the lab, in sleeves, scanned to average resolution on a disk costs Aus $1 per pop.

Then can decide if anything is work further work...then I scan with my  Canoscan  9000F  (cheap and cheerful) does a great job.

You won't know the excitement of film unless you at least develop yourself...and preferably print your own too.

 

Like many I find scanning extremely tedious, and would rather work for the moment; knowing I've got the image I visualised...so it's digital.

 

 

In Australia, I buy my film bulk from Thailand.  Used to "roll my own" from bulk rolls, which made for very cheap. 

 

If you want to carry a light meter...I'd go for the fun of a Barnack...but an M6 classic is my recommendation...the batteries last forever. Forget the TTL (which is said to not work very well...Leica has no idea about flash!), and the M7.

 

Good luck, Dave S

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Now I 've read back through a couple of pages...I just wonder?

Is Neil trolling or ...he really has a lot of posts...he should be more informed than he pretends to be???

Am I being unkind..

Dave S

I think his questions are quite to the point. He is quite experienced in taking photographs with digital cameras and hasn't the foggiest notion about what to expect from working with film. Not being a patient person, he hopes to harvest a lot of pointers here, as he usually did with his pragmatic questions, and he does.

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If you want to carry a light meter...I'd go for the fun of a Barnack...but an M6 classic is my recommendation...the batteries last forever. Forget the TTL (which is said to not work very well...Leica has no idea about flash!), and the M7.

 

Good luck, Dave S

 

I have both M6TTL and M7 and they are great cameras, in my opinion, better than the M6. They also have the advantage, for a Leica digital user, of the shutter dial working the same way. But each to their own YMMV.

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I agree, Peter. I have a M6TTL, but never use the TTL capability. It's essentially the same camera as the M6, except for the direction that the shutter dial turns (which is basically in accordance with the top of the aperture ring, and the direction of the meter arrows) - Not an important difference, and certainly not enough for me to chose one camera over another.

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Now I 've read back through a couple of pages...I just wonder?

Is Neil trolling or ...he really has a lot of posts...he should be more informed than he pretends to be???

Am I being unkind..

Dave S

Neil is not trolling - He is genuinely interested, and is not averse to declaring what he doesn't know.
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Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

 

 

What do you actually want to shoot?

 

Wildlife

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just kidding, I like to shot people, landscape, and recently got into wildlife .

The main reason for trying film is I like challenges, and I love Leica cameras. Living in Asia is not the same as living in some western countries whereby example if you just tried shoving your camera in someones face in Dundee (where I come from) and saying cheese, you are likely to get the camera shoved where the lights don't shine :)

 

So my plan is to continue shooting street photography but this time with a M6 rather than a Q. I still plan to take the Q with me but for now the Q II love my Q) is going to be my backup camera............. or my in your face you need to shoot this in color camera :) 

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Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

I think his questions are quite to the point. He is quite experienced in taking photographs with digital cameras and hasn't the foggiest notion about what to expect from working with film. Not being a patient person, he hopes to harvest a lot of pointers here, as he usually did with his pragmatic questions, and he does.

 

Cheers Phill

I had to google "Trolling" ...............at first I thought it was some sort of sexual perversion, but lessons learnt from the past told me to check first before I explode into a #$#$#$#@##@##@@ :) :) :) 

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Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

 

 

If you want to carry a light meter...I'd go for the fun of a Barnack...but an M6 classic is my recommendation...the batteries last forever. Forget the TTL (which is said to not work very well...Leica has no idea about flash!), and the M7.

 

Good luck, Dave S

Dave

I have a Sekonic meter, can't remember the part number but it was only about 100 bucks and it works a treat

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Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

If you really want to know the ins and outs of shooting a film M I can only recommend Günther Osterloh : Leica M - Advanced Photo School. I'm surprised nobody mentioned it yet.

As to scanning, it is a part of photography that I hate. I would say get the film developed and scanned to the highest resolution your lab will provide and only scan the images that you want to print large to a higher resolution.

I agree Jaap, just needed someone to put the reins on me. I will get off the rig on Thursday and arrive home late on Friday. Plan to pick up the camera and lens on Saturday morning and a few rolls of TRX 400 film.

I'm taking my wife to Penang for two day R&R and hope to get to try the new camera out there. Penang is a small island that has some lovely old English architecture with a hint of Chinese thrown in. I've shot street photography there before and really enjoyed just walking around early morning and late afternoon when you can get some nice light and shadows .

I will forget about the scanning and all that stuff and like you and Eoin said just concentrate on getting used to using a M camera again, and let someone else do the dirty work :)  

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I would try a nice M3 and a Sekonic..take a roll of film and go out for the day, write down your exposure and other info for each frame.

Once P&D and digitized study the images and learn.. The real secret is to see' the image and set the camera so it records what you desire, it's not easy but that is the beauty of photography.. A basic pocket/photography book will give you all the info you need.

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Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

@Jaapv That book by Günther Osterloh : Leica M - Advanced Photo School is only available in a hard back not digital. The dumb ass wifi we have on the rig won't let us go to the app store, so unless someone else has a link then I will have to wait until I get home

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I don  know, if this is helpful for you, but this lab based in germany does an excellent job in processing and scanning film.

They know how to develop b&w- films, as the owner has a lot of experience with darkroom work. This is an important point, IMHO.

They offer processing and scanning for a reasonable price. They will keep your negs and send it to you back once in a year to save

shipping costs, if you want to. Very convenient, I think.

As your films are processed and scanned, you will get a download link to your files.

 

http://www.meinfilmlab.de/en/

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@Jaapv That book by Günther Osterloh : Leica M - Advanced Photo School is only available in a hard back not digital. The dumb ass wifi we have on the rig won't let us go to the app store, so unless someone else has a link then I will have to wait until I get home

It is only in hardback, Neil. You can get it from Amazon.

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I agree Jaap, just needed someone to put the reins on me. I will get off the rig on Thursday and arrive home late on Friday. Plan to pick up the camera and lens on Saturday morning and a few rolls of TRX 400 film.

I'm taking my wife to Penang for two day R&R and hope to get to try the new camera out there. Penang is a small island that has some lovely old English architecture with a hint of Chinese thrown in. I've shot street photography there before and really enjoyed just walking around early morning and late afternoon when you can get some nice light and shadows .

I will forget about the scanning and all that stuff and like you and Eoin said just concentrate on getting used to using a M camera again, and let someone else do the dirty work :)

Tri-X is very good on textures, Neil, with its grain working for, rather than against the natural light. You may also want to get some slower film, such as Delta 100, or Neopan Acros 100, so that you get a bit more latitude in aperture shooting Penang midday. It will also be a bit more gentle in skin tones if you are shooting people (although I like the way Tri-X handles humanoids).

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Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

I don  know, if this is helpful for you, but this lab based in germany does an excellent job in processing and scanning film.

They know how to develop b&w- films, as the owner has a lot of experience with darkroom work. This is an important point, IMHO.

They offer processing and scanning for a reasonable price. They will keep your negs and send it to you back once in a year to save

shipping costs, if you want to. Very convenient, I think.

As your films are processed and scanned, you will get a download link to your files.

 

http://www.meinfilmlab.de/en/

 

Thanks mate but I've got a few choices in KL where I can get my film developed 

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Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

It is only in hardback, Neil. You can get it from Amazon.

They don't deliver to Nigeria :) :)

I will get it sent to my mates house in the US and get him to bring it to Nigeria for me

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