Jump to content

Using M240 to catch action


jmahto

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I know, I know, M240 is not the right tool for action, but I do love shooting with it.

 

Even with low res EVF with blackout and focusing issues, I can still get some keepers of my cat playing with his new toy.

 

Light was very poor. It is f3.2, ISO3200 and 1/25 sec! That is EV3!!

With this slow speed I got 25% keepers (when cat was not moving). This post is to encourage good folks out there not to give up on M240 for such usage. :)

 

M240+135mm Konica Hexanon f3.2 (this combo shown in my avatar)

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!

 

Edited by jmahto
  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

Maybe the 135/3.2 at f3.2 is not the better lens to catch action in such a poor light environment.

I would chose to get closer with a 75 or a 50 at f1.4 or f2. I'm sure that would help to get more sharp and less blurred pictures.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Maybe the 135/3.2 at f3.2 is not the better lens to catch action in such a poor light environment.

I would chose to get closer with a 75 or a 50 at f1.4 or f2. I'm sure that would help to get more sharp and less blurred pictures.

I agree. I have used 50lux in the past. I was trying out my 135 (that I love) and I was glad that I could get some pics. :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Before auto focus it was normal to take action shots with manual focus. The key, as far as I can see, is to set a medium aperture and high speed, and try to take the photo with the object coming towards you. Trying to capture a fast moving object passing laterally takes a lot of pre-planning and huge skill. It has been done.

 

In the 1920s there were photos taken of racing cars at speed that must have required huge skill and a lot of luck ... and probably a lot of film. Cameras were very rudimentary nearly 90 years ago

 

The nearest I achieved was a horse, known as Barmy Betty, who I managed to photograph in focus as she charged towards me. If I can work out how to get the pic on here, after changing systems last year, I'll post it .

 

The wonderful thing about MF is that it existed before anything else. It is still valid today. Keep calm and don't panic!

  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hopefully you'll be able to see Barmy Betty using the link. Which you won't ... because I can't work out how to get a photo over here, probably because it is over 1MB. 

 

Am I alone in struggling with computers that I have worked with since 1967?

 

Go to my Flickr account and about page 7 you will find the image. Sorry about this. The image has the title of A0000419.jpg and it is worth it because her eyes are pin sharp even though she was at speed. 

Edited by Peter Kilmister
  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Whoever says getting fast action pictures with M system is impossible, for sure never tried to do it; few months ago I had my first experience with a rangefinder camera (M6) and I instantly felt in love with the idea of using such model, therefore I bought a M240 too.

 

This is one of the shots I took last week during a tennis tournament, with a Lux 50mm 1.4 ASPH

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!

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Why can't you catch action with a M camera?  Is focusing the issue?  I wonder how all the action photos were taken before the mid 1980's when autofocus started coming into its own.  I suggest learning to prefocus and use the depth of field scale on the side of the lens.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Why can't you catch action with a M camera?  Is focusing the issue?  I wonder how all the action photos were taken before the mid 1980's when autofocus started coming into its own.  I suggest learning to prefocus and use the depth of field scale on the side of the lens.

They were taken with an SLR which had a ground glass screen, so you could use the whole of the screen to focus and not just a small patch in the middle. Nobody in the mid 80s was using Leica regularly to shoot action. Plus in the 80s' the 300mm F2.8 was king, so you could get in close to the action. Anything longer than 300mm was harder to get than now - due to cost.

 

Tonight I have to shoot a "Dancing with the Stars" type of competition in a small (not well light) theater. I would love to use the Leica but as I will be shooting action and I have to deliver, I will be using my Canons.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, I carried Nikon F's when I was a newspaper photographer before a 300f2.8.  I had to limit myself to a 180f2.8 but if you want to predate the SLR (basically the late 1960's) can we talk little conflicts like Korea (see David Douglas Duncan), WW2 or ???.  

 

Depending on the event, the Leica is perfectly capable (I refer you to track events or racing).  Granted the longest focal length is 135mm but shooting outside at 1/500 at f11 with TriX, what is the problem.

Link to post
Share on other sites

While you are correct in that if you can stand in the right place you can use any camera. There are some fantastic shots taken with phones, compact cameras, and dslr with kit lenses, but to be consistent and when you cannot stand close to the action you need the correct kit to do it. Try shooting the track event or racing indoors at a local level where they do not have great lighting or at night.

 

By the way, here is a link to some wonderful sports photos. And just to prove me wrong, not all were taken with a tele lens:

 

https://www.ppai.ie/awards/2017/Sports-Action

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, I carried Nikon F's when I was a newspaper photographer before a 300f2.8.  I had to limit myself to a 180f2.8 [...]

 

Nikon had a manual aperture 180mm ƒ2.5 for their rangefinder, and with the advent of the Nikon F SLR we had them adapted by Marty Forscher to the SLR. Regarding the tech of the time, there were no good zooms, no auto-focus, relatively slow films, slow motor winds (but welcome because we did not have to move while advancing the shutter) I knew sports photographers who kept a Leica with a wide lens on their belt for times when action moved to the sidelines. A IIIG with a Leicavit was not uncommon.

Edited by pico
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Besides sports photography, lots of images of photojournalists in Vietnam with a Nikon F with a long lens and a Leica M2 with a shorter lens.  I think the most common lens attached to the F (at least from photos I have seen) was the 200f4 while it was a 35mm on the Leica.  

 

Life was much simpler (not easier or better) then.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Besides sports photography, lots of images of photojournalists in Vietnam with a Nikon F with a long lens and a Leica M2 with a shorter lens. I think the most common lens attached to the F (at least from photos I have seen) was the 200f4 while it was a 35mm on the Leica.

 

Life was much simpler (not easier or better) then.

Makes sense. Now I carry 135/180 on Sony APS-C (maybe CL in future) and 28/50 on M240. Edited by jmahto
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

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!

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

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!

 

"Akito Watabe"

 

I agree, It makes a lot of fun!

Edited by Muehlenpeter
  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

It's possible to capture action with an M240, it's just more probable with an AF-DSLR, at least for most of us willing to be honest.  

 

I worked in the 80's before auto focus. Retired now and only shooting the occasional job I would love to make the M240 my only camera. I probably could but it is so much more practical and honest to also own an auto focus camera as well. Currently it's a Nikon that I hate...hate !

I'm considering an SL or a CL I haven't yet held either and obviously the 2 cameras are worlds apart.

In search of the perfect camera requires a great deal or foresight and honesty.

 

I don't know why it is so difficult to find the perfect camera ..... its 2018!

Great IQ,great auto focus,hi ISO capability, light weight and above all a simple German menu that is intuitive, with only a few essential menu options

Edited by ECohen
Link to post
Share on other sites

If you need autofocus to make a snapshot you can always use a smartphone. The inbuilt cameras are really rather good at that sort of thing. Just remember not to have your fingers or thumb in front of the lens. For photography you will have the M240.

 

Photography for me is like a meal. You can choose fast food (snapshot) or, for example, a home made cassoulet (photography). One requires skill and no taste, the other needs hours of preparation and cooking and the taste buds will come alive!

 

:)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...