Dark church.

[Flight959]

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Morning all,

 

I have a large church local to me which has some stunning internal features which would look great on the Monochrom. I'm not new to photography but I'm very new to using this rangefinder in such low light. The church typically has a large stained glass window at one end. I'm looking to take plenty of internal shots. I would be greatful if anyone could give me any tips with using this camera. I have only owned it for a few months. I have two lenses to use... A 35mm summaron or a 28mm f2.

 

Having a reasonable amount of time shooting with an M8.2, again very little was in low light as its not famed for its low light performance.

 

Unfortunately today there is an issue with my tripod so all shots will pretty much be hand held.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Regards

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[PaulJohn]

There are two things you will need to learn for yourself in this exercise.

 

1. How low you personally can set your shutter speed with good handheld technique (google it). Bracket a few speeds (say 1/15, 1/30, 1/60) and repeat a few times to see if you can consistently achieve sharp results.

2. How much noise you personally want or don't want. Some people like it.

 

Apart from that I would set the blinkies on to show you blown highlights - quite likely in a church if you are including the windows. In this scenario I tend to find the correct exposure by trial and error and bracket if both shadows and highlights get blown in the same shot.

 

I expect you would be happy with the results but might need to return with a tripod for bracketing exposures.

 

Do you need help with choosing aperture to get the right depth of field? The monochrome will be different to the M8 in this regard. You will need to close down an extra stop for the same front to back sharpness.

[mmradman]

Unless intentional be careful not to blow highlights as you want be able to recover in post, especially relevant when shooting windows.  Reason for this is that sensor has no Bayer matrix so sensor records luminescence only, if overexposed there is no data to recover. If you are familiar how slide film works monochrome sensor behaves the same way. 

 

Shooting MO of Monochrome camera is to underexpose and recover dark areas in post.

 

Don't be afraid to use high ISO.

[jaapv]

I would change that to "expose for the highlights and never mind the shadows".  Or the noise - it is a non-issue on the Monochrom.

[Flight959]

Thanks guys.. It's the noise that spoils an image for me. But from some of the stunning photos I've seen in here in the photos thread I've seen some fantastic shots with stupidly high ISO. The M8.2 noise was horrendous.

 

Reagrds

[a.noctilux]

With Monochrom, the high ISO (MM1 to 10 k ISO) is usable and not "noisy" at all (less than my iso 3200 film! ).

In my practice, I rarely use that high ISO (3200 is plenty useful for me)

 

Maybe you can find some steady support (chair, wall, or what you can lean on the camera) to use stopped down for more dof.

 

Just experiment and you would see that the Monochrom can do a lot for "dark available light".

[a.noctilux]

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Some years ago, Saint Roch, Monochrom 1600 ISO, MATE at 35mm, 1/30s hand held :

 

 

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[Flight959]

Thanks for the advice,

 

I managed to finally get round to the church this afternoon. Unfortunately I still didn't have the missing part for my travel tripod. I think for a first attempt at using a rangefinder in the dark hand held I have found my initial results pleasing. Id love some feedback or pointers. even though this camera is good at high ISO I still found the pictures to contain a little too much noise.....or am i being fussy...?

 

1.

Leica Church Test Shots by Simon Clarkson, on Flickr

 

2.

Leica Church Test Shots by Simon Clarkson, on Flickr

 

3.

Leica Church Test Shots by Simon Clarkson, on Flickr

 

4.

Leica Church Test Shots by Simon Clarkson, on Flickr

 

Regards.

[a.noctilux]

Simon,

 

For me, in this resolution seen here, I can not see any "noise" in your photos.

 

In my experience, noise is mainly on the dark part of church's inside pictures.

As there is no free lunch, maybe when you gain more experience with Monochrom, you would do it better.

 

Exposure can be tricky with contrasty subjects like here.

When in doubt, I just "bracket" some exposures (but with experiences, that became less usual).

 

Learn how to post-processing with underexposed "taken frames" may be good idea.

[Flight959]

Can I ask what you are viewing the photos on.. Om my phone they look good. On a larger computer screen not so much.. So you are saying the grain that I am seeing is a result of under exposing and bringing it up..?

 

Regards.

[a.noctilux]

To see and understand what we mean here:

 

How you see these twin photos ?

Brightness, noise, grain, etc.

 

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this is what is from my Monochrom taken with Summicron-M 28mm, 1000 ISO

 

and second

...

 

This one with more brightness...

 

I don't pretend as "Art" here

[Flight959]

I think I may have underexposed too much.... 

 

Ill have another go...

 

Regards

[ibramr]

Greetings. Is the subject matter here a good opportunity to use HDR? With a third shot with one more EV added to the two above discussed by a.noctilux, a composite can be very promising. Please share your views. Thanks.

[CharlesL]

... how to post-processing with underexposed "taken frames" may be good idea.

 

If Flight959 would like to put up one of the raw files, we can see what we may be able to do.

[Flight959]

If Flight959 would like to put up one of the raw files, we can see what we may be able to do.

Thanks.. I'll post one when I get home.

 

Regards

[Herr Barnack]

@Flight959,

 

I would recommend getting a sturdy monopod for situations such as a dimly lit church.  A quality monopod can make a significant difference when you are in a dimly lit location and can't use a tripod.

 

I have an older version of the Manfrotto Element monopod ($50 USD at B&H) topped with a Benro DJ80 monopod tilt head ($35 USD at B&H).  This combination makes an outstanding addition to a person's photographic tool kit and offers you options in poorly lit places that you would not otherwise have.