Fine Art Landscape Photography with the Leica M10 - Review

[Vieri]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I just published my new article dedicated to the Leica M10 applied to Fine Art Landscape Photography.

 

Hope you'll enjoy, drop me a comment to let me know what you think about it!

 

https://vieribottazzini.com/2018/01/fine-art-landscape-photography-with-the-leica-m10-review.html

 

Best regards,

 

Vieri

[Stonewall Brigade]

Thanks, I enjoyed the review, and of course, your regular outstanding Leica images.  This is also how I use my Q and M10s.  I carry the Leica 18, 24, 28 and 35mm for my wide lens options.  I use the live view for overall framing, a tripod and L bracket, 2-second timer and shuttle cable, always ISO 100.

[Advertisement]

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

[Likaleica]

Great review as always, Vieri. Fantastic pictures. I agree that the M10 is a versatile camera for landscape.

[otto.f]

Nice review Vieri, thanks! Personally I’m not that enthusiastic about the M10’s yellow cast and oversaturation which I already stumbled over in the M240 and has been a bit, but for me not enough, corrected in the M10. Maybe I’m not such a great CMOS admirer and now have happily returned to the more neutral Kodachrome25 look of the M9 files, luckily I didn’t sell it. With the SL however, which I now own and swapped my M10 for, I thus far have less problems with the colour rendition and AWB.

Edited January 26, 2018 by otto.f

[chris_tribble]

Thanks - a really useful summary.  You confirm a lot of what I've been finding + give me food for thought.

QUESTION - have you used the WATE for your landscape work?  It would reduce the need for lens changing between the 15mm VC and 21 SEM, with, in my experience, comparable results...

[Vieri]

Thanks, I enjoyed the review, and of course, your regular outstanding Leica images.  This is also how I use my Q and M10s.  I carry the Leica 18, 24, 28 and 35mm for my wide lens options.  I use the live view for overall framing, a tripod and L bracket, 2-second timer and shuttle cable, always ISO 100.

 

Thank you very much indeed, glad you enjoyed the read and the images The only difference is, I don't use a release cable. I find the 2 seconds take care of all vibrations without the need for the extra cable.

 

Great review as always, Vieri. Fantastic pictures. I agree that the M10 is a versatile camera for landscape.

 

Thank you very much indeed Tim, glad you liked the article!

 

Nice review Vieri, thanks! Personally I’m not that enthusiastic about the M10’s yellow cast and oversaturation which I already stumbled over in the M240 and has been a bit, but for me not enough, corrected in the M10. Maybe I’m not such a great CMOS admirer and now have happily returned to the more neutral Kodachrome25 look of the M9 files, luckily I didn’t sell it. With the SL however, which I now own and swapped my M10 for, I thus far have less problems with the colour rendition and AWB.

 

Thank you very much Otto, glad you enjoyed the review. I am not concerned about colour casts or AWB, since I never use AWB for my work. I don't want to get into the CCD vs CMOS querelle, and I appreciate that everyone might feel different about this. To me, they can all be made look whichever way one wants - just create a little preset with your favourite colour signature, and you are good to go

 

Thanks - a really useful summary.  You confirm a lot of what I've been finding + give me food for thought.

QUESTION - have you used the WATE for your landscape work?  It would reduce the need for lens changing between the 15mm VC and 21 SEM, with, in my experience, comparable results...

 

 

Thank you very much Chris, glad you enjoyed it! About the WATE, I had it and sold it for the 15mm Voigtlander. See here for my compared thoughts: 

 

https://vieribottazzini.com/2016/07/leica-16-18-21mm-tri-elmar-vs-voigtlander-15mm-super-wide-heliar-iii-review-leica-sl.html

 

About the 21 SEM, to me it's THE best 21mm I ever used for landscape, bar none. I didn't have a chance to compare it with the WATE, but I doubt the AWTE can give me anything better - except, as you perfectly put - portability. The downside of the WATE is filter use: the filter adapter is made for rangefinder photography, for landscape you need to close the cutoffs and that's a very frustrating affair: I did it with duck tape and almost worked, but still got reflections / stray light coming in / wasn't practical in use, etc. I wish Leica would make two versions of the filter adapter, one with cutoffs for rangefinder users and one without for us landscape guys

 

Best regards,

 

Vieri

[Herr Barnack]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Vieri,

 

Yous is an excellent review of the M10 with some truly outstanding images.  Were all six of the images you posted in your review made with the 21/3.4 Super Elmar?

[albertknappmd]

Excellent and informative..

Have you ever tried the S for your work?

Albert     

[mantelknopf]

What about the TriElmar MATE 28 35 50. It s versatile and comfortable with excellent quality unless you do not need a fast lense.

 

 

Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

[rafael_macia]

Well thought out, informative, and useful review!

I have a nearly identical kit I have evolved to; M10, SL, 15 Voight.21SE, ... etc. The comparison of both cameras used within the environment  of landscape photography is great.

An item which I have not decided best for the two bodies, is a tripod.

I have the Leica 14101 carbon Traveller, ballhead 24, and a Gitzo GT2542L with Arca Swiss Monoball Z.

Thanks for doing your review!

The pictures are wonderful!

Rafael

[Vieri]

Vieri,

 

Yous is an excellent review of the M10 with some truly outstanding images.  Were all six of the images you posted in your review made with the 21/3.4 Super Elmar?

 

Thank you very much indeed, I am glad you enjoyed the article and the photographs!

 

Excellent and informative..

Have you ever tried the S for your work?

Albert     

 

Thank you very much Albert! Yes, I used the S007 for nearly one year, in a kit with the SL. Ended up selling it for a second SL instead, which made much more sense for me

 

What about the TriElmar MATE 28 35 50. It s versatile and comfortable with excellent quality unless you do not need a fast lense.

 

 

Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

 

While I love the versatility, the Tri-Elmar MATE is not, optically, as excellent as primes in that range. The WATE is much better, and still I'd rather use primes: the 15mm Voigtlander and the 21 SEM win both optically, and in terms of usability with filters which, for me, is a major point

 

Well thought out, informative, and useful review!

I have a nearly identical kit I have evolved to; M10, SL, 15 Voight.21SE, ... etc. The comparison of both cameras used within the environment  of landscape photography is great.

An item which I have not decided best for the two bodies, is a tripod.

I have the Leica 14101 carbon Traveller, ballhead 24, and a Gitzo GT2542L with Arca Swiss Monoball Z.

Thanks for doing your review!

The pictures are wonderful!

Rafael

 

 

Thank you very much Rafael, glad you enjoyed the article! About the tripod, for me the sturdier the better, no matter how small and light the camera. I use. Gitzo series 4, and the amazing, genius Arca-Swiss P0 ballhead - see here for my review of it:

 

https://vieribottazzini.com/2016/08/arca-swiss-p0-monoball-review.html

 

Best regards,

 

Vieri

Edited January 28, 2018 by Vieri

[Narsuitus]

"The Leica M10 and a few Leica M lenses (for me, that would be a 21mm, 28 or 35mm, 50 or 75mm and perhaps a 135mm)..."

--Vieri Bottazzini

 

Normally, I shoot landscapes with 4x5 inch large format or 6x9cm medium format film cameras. However, your excellent article has inspired me to assemble a small format landscape kit consisting of the Leica M10 digital rangefinder and the following lenses I currently own:

14mm f/2.8 Nikkor adapted

21mm f/1.4 Leitz Summilux

28mm f/2 Zeiss adapted

50mm f/1.4 Takumar 8-element adapted

105mm f/2.8 Takumar adapted (optional)

 

I do not own nor do I plan on purchasing the Visoflex.

 

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[mdemeyer]

For non-RF coupled lenses you have to focus with the 020 Visoflex. There is no way to focus otherwise.

 

With only one of your 5 lenses being a rangefinder lens, the SL would be a better choice if you want a Leica body.

 

"The Leica M10 and a few Leica M lenses (for me, that would be a 21mm, 28 or 35mm, 50 or 75mm and perhaps a 135mm)..."

--Vieri Bottazzini

 

Normally, I shoot landscapes with 4x5 inch large format or 6x9cm medium format film cameras. However, your excellent article has inspired me to assemble a small format landscape kit consisting of the Leica M10 digital rangefinder and the following lenses I currently own:

14mm f/2.8 Nikkor adapted

21mm f/1.4 Leitz Summilux

28mm f/2 Zeiss adapted

50mm f/1.4 Takumar 8-element adapted

105mm f/2.8 Takumar adapted (optional)

 

I do not own nor do I plan on purchasing the Visoflex.

 

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[mmx_2]

For non-RF coupled lenses you have to focus with the 020 Visoflex. There is no way to focus otherwise.

 

With only one of your 5 lenses being a rangefinder lens, the SL would be a better choice if you want a Leica body.

 

Weel, actually LiveView works just as great .

 

-> VIeri: I highly enjoyed your interview, I do not have the 21SEM but instead use the 24Elmar and it's just as good although not as wide, but for me it works great . Major benefit is that you can also use the normal viewfinder to frame (just imagine that everything in the viewfinder will be in your picture) or I simply turn to Liveview. I also your the 2s delay, even for very long exposures of Northern lights and it works great!

[mdemeyer]

Ah yes... the screen on the back. You are correct, of course, but I often find holding the camera in a “use the screen” to be awkward (unless on the tripod) and especially difficult outdoors in bright light - a common landscape scenario.

[250swb]

and especially difficult outdoors in bright light - a common landscape scenario.

 

Now you are just making up absurd excuses. Use your shadow, a hand, or your Wall Street Journal to shade the screen. If there is one thing that separates landscape photographers it is those that could survive in the beloved landscape and those that couldn't, but even those that couldn't survive can still adapt to the photographic situation without turning up their toes.

[mdemeyer]

I don’t see it that way. In the days of large format we put cloth over our head and used focusing magnifiers to deal with the “environment”. On a tripod, all fair and good, but the lead weights sewn into the corners of the cloth could hurt on a windy day.

 

Now technology gives us a range of solutions. I acknowledge that the screen on the back is usable as I said. I just don’t consider it ideal under all circumstances where a finder like the Visoflex on the M10 can provide a more functional and convenient solution. Call me a wimp.

 

My bigger question was really, “Why pay for a rangefinder if 80% of your lenses are not rangefinder coupled?” There are other solutions that are more suited to those lenses, including ones from Leica.

 

I love the M10, but 80% of my lenses are rangefinder lenses.

[stephengv]

Do you have a hard time with regard to leveling your image? considering that the M10 has no electronic "leveler" (if there is such a word haha). 

[Narsuitus]

My bigger question was really, “Why pay for a rangefinder if 80% of your lenses are not rangefinder coupled?” There are other solutions that are more suited to those lenses, including ones from Leica.

 

 

When I only shot film, 80% of my lenses were Nikon SLR lenses and 20% of my lenses were Leica rangefinder lenses. I used the rangefinder primarily for shooting situations (such as theatre, funerals,  audio recording studios, weddings, etc.) where I needed the camera to make little operational noise. I was able to use adapted Nikon wide-angle lenses on my M6 provided the focal length was shorter than 21mm and provided I used hyperfocal distance focusing.

 

When I started using digital cameras, I was able to use my Nikon lenses on my Nikon dSLR but until the M10, I did not have a digital rangefinder for my Leica lenses. With the M10, I am not limited to using only Nikon wide-angle lenses shorter than 21mm. In fact, there are some Nikon lenses (such as the 28mm Nikon perspective control) that work better on my full-frame M10 than on my APS-C Nikon dSLR bodies.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Vieri]

"The Leica M10 and a few Leica M lenses (for me, that would be a 21mm, 28 or 35mm, 50 or 75mm and perhaps a 135mm)..."

--Vieri Bottazzini

 

Normally, I shoot landscapes with 4x5 inch large format or 6x9cm medium format film cameras. However, your excellent article has inspired me to assemble a small format landscape kit consisting of the Leica M10 digital rangefinder and the following lenses I currently own:

14mm f/2.8 Nikkor adapted

21mm f/1.4 Leitz Summilux

28mm f/2 Zeiss adapted

50mm f/1.4 Takumar 8-element adapted

105mm f/2.8 Takumar adapted (optional)

 

I do not own nor do I plan on purchasing the Visoflex.

 

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

The only way to focus your lenses (21mm Lux excepted) is via the Visoflex or through Live View on the back screen. As well, the only way to compose with the 14mm and 21mm is Visoflex or back screen, unless you want to fiddle with optical viewfinders (which I assume you won't, since you don't want to use the Visoflex either); same for the 105mm, which you could compose with through the RF but without any kind of precision.

 

Weel, actually LiveView works just as great .

 

-> VIeri: I highly enjoyed your interview, I do not have the 21SEM but instead use the 24Elmar and it's just as good although not as wide, but for me it works great . Major benefit is that you can also use the normal viewfinder to frame (just imagine that everything in the viewfinder will be in your picture) or I simply turn to Liveview. I also your the 2s delay, even for very long exposures of Northern lights and it works great!

 

The 24mm is a very good lens, glad you enjoy working with it. The 2s delay is wonderful, I just wish the M10 would retain the setting when turned off, as does the Leica SL. As it is now, you have to either reassign it every time or create a profile (didn't try that yet, but I assume it should work).

 

Do you have a hard time with regard to leveling your image? considering that the M10 has no electronic "leveler" (if there is such a word haha). 

 

No, I don't - while it is true that the M10 doesn't have an electronic level, it has a grid, which I prefer to use 90% of the time anyway: the level has some error (around 1 degree or so), while the grid - being a grid - is always straight

 

Hope this helps, best regards

 

Vieri