myk7000 Posted January 25, 2017 Share #1 Posted January 25, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hey guys, new to the forums, but really appreciative of the members here. Thanks to a lot of the discussions here, I got myself a Leica M240 several months ago and have loved the rangefinder experience since. Damn the M10 coming out literally right afterwards though I had a question about the M240 color rendition. I keep hearing from all these places how the M9's color is better, or the M8's, or now the M10's. First of all, I hope these claims are overblown as I have very much enjoyed the colors from my M240 (though honestly I hover around the sales forums to purchase an M9 to truly prove this). Anyhow, back to the point... I am a bit confused about these statements. I'd love to get some clarification on what this means. Are we talking about simply the color coming out of each camera's JPEGs? Or are we talking DNGs? The reason I ask is that if I press one white balance button on my raw photos, the color of the entire photo changes. The moment I change anything in LR around contrast, vividness, saturation, etc, the color changes. So to say that the M9/M10 colors are better than the M240s becomes a bit confusing to me since I can manipulate those colors quite easily in post, no? Is it simply that it's slightly easier to achieve better color without using those toggles in LR? Curious to hear your response! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 25, 2017 Posted January 25, 2017 Hi myk7000, Take a look here M240 Color - curious to hear your thoughts. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Fgcm Posted January 25, 2017 Share #2 Posted January 25, 2017 Dear myk7000, I had M8, M9 and now I have an M240. If you exactly know what you are doing in post processing, you can get any color rendition you want or you need from any pro camera. In my experience the single most important factor is the knowledge of the photographer about post processing. That said, DNG files of M9 and M8 can be tricky to process when you need perfect skin tones. M9 files shows any little skin imperfection. This is fine with a young model, but can be problematic when shooting the braid's mom ;-) Or my wife ;-))))) M240 files are easier regarding skin tones, but sometimes colors are less "Leica" when shooting landscapes. Oreall, in my very personal opinion, M240 colors are better than those of M9. I know I will be burn at the stake for writing this statement. If I were in your shoes, I would focus on mastering post processing instead of throwing money into a used M9. Ciao Franco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david strachan Posted January 25, 2017 Share #3 Posted January 25, 2017 If you like the colours myk, then that's all that's important. Everyone has opinions on colour. Most digital is a bit "hot" with reds and blues..so desaturate a little on those colour sliders...if you want. OTOH some like it bright and cheerful, looking like a graphic. There is no such thing as accurate, perfect rendition, of original colour. Who is to say what was original colour ...even each persons eye-brain connects colour differently. I like the M240 colours in DNG and JPG...I see little difference, and also usually pretty good on Auto White Balance....but I don't shoot in nightclubs either. Composition, exposure, focus, and colour are all a matter for the photographer...we might think some do it better, but it is up to you. Good luck and welcome... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fgcm Posted January 25, 2017 Share #4 Posted January 25, 2017 There is no such thing as accurate, perfect rendition, of original colour. Absolutely true! Another variable is the software you use to tweak your photos. Many prefer Lightroom, someone uses capture One. Other say DXO is better. What i can tell you is that using different software you get slightly different results. My choice is Capture One. Franco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted January 25, 2017 Share #5 Posted January 25, 2017 I don't have an M9 but i processed several raw files from it and they had too much IR for my taste. More so than my M240 but the latter is not free from IR either so i still use IR-cut filters with it besides my M8.2. Also the M240 tends to clip reds too much compared to other cameras. Not sure if this is related with skintone issues though. Never got those issues personally but i don't shoot jpegs and i only use C1. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmars Posted January 25, 2017 Share #6 Posted January 25, 2017 Look here: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/240288-400-leica-photographers-agree-we-love-ccd/page-9?do=findComment&comment=2757378 http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/210496-bad-m240-colors-a-fairy-tale/ Elmar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jto555 Posted January 27, 2017 Share #7 Posted January 27, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) To get accret colour you could use ColorChecker Passport system. It is a know colour chart that you take a photograph of in the lighting you are using for your shoot, and then use the ColorChecker software on your computer to make a profile for Photoshop/Lightroom. The software knows what each colour block on the chart should be and corrects the camera colours. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdk Posted January 27, 2017 Share #8 Posted January 27, 2017 I second jto555. Camera profiling with ColorChecker Passport won't perfectly match colors fro all cameras, but it gets them much closer to true life than any other system I have used. You also probably want to get a ColorMunki Photo or similar system to profile your displays and printers for a complete ICC color profiled workflow. But I find I still need to use my eyes to tweak PP of every photo or batch of photos for final use. Nothing is perfect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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