Three settings for everything!

[Dennis]

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2 minutes ago, erniethemilk said:

It’s a great topic for us newcomers to Leica!  

I'm a Leica Newbie too, since 18 months. One camera, two lenses, and I'm learning every day reading this forum. Sometimes I don't understand the technical language they use 😂, sometimes is better.

I ask a lot, so if I can contribute with my little grain of sand, this makes me happy.

[Dennis]

2 minutes ago, evikne said:

When using my Summiluxes I have two fixed values as long as it goes: f/1.4 and ISO 200. Then I just change the shutter speed depending on the light. Only when the light requires faster than 1/4000 I have to stop down a little. 

When I'm shooting with my Noctilux I put on an ND filter so I can shoot at f/1.0 all the time. 😊

It makes totally sense. You are a wide-open shooter 🙂

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[pgk]

My M9s are always set to ISO200 - I don't change it. And their 'default' (manual of course) settings are 1/250s at f/8 - meaning that this is what I set it too when not actually taking photos. This means that I can quickly rotate either shutter or aperture, knowing where they are starting from. Light here is too variable to not be able to adjust either/both shutter and/or aperture, but I'm tolerant of underexposure because I can increase 'gain' in Photoshop after - I can't recover highlights. This works well for me when out and about.

[Dennis]

1 hour ago, pgk said:

My M9s are always set to ISO200 - I don't change it. And their 'default' (manual of course) settings are 1/250s at f/8 - meaning that this is what I set it too when not actually taking photos. This means that I can quickly rotate either shutter or aperture, knowing where they are starting from. Light here is too variable to not be able to adjust either/both shutter and/or aperture, but I'm tolerant of underexposure because I can increase 'gain' in Photoshop after - I can't recover highlights. This works well for me when out and about.

Understood, it makes sense. So, what about when you are working in low light condition? Do you keep 200 ISO anyway and you maybe use f/2.8 and 1/30s or something similar?

 

[pgk]

9 hours ago, Dennis said:

Understood, it makes sense. So, what about when you are working in low light condition? Do you keep 200 ISO anyway and you maybe use f/2.8 and 1/30s or something similar?

Yes, it is a 'known' starting point, that's all. And yes, I suit the settings to the scene and my needs. So if I need to record a shot so that I just retain highlight detail, I will expose accordingly - often 2-3 stops under the indication from the meter. Noise IS an issue but if you are careful it is usually minimal and acceptable with careful post-processing. Any 'system' adopted has to be flexible though and its easy to get fixated on how things can be done rather than accept that there are ways and means, some of which will fit in with 'systems' and some of which won't. Photographic technique needs to be adapted to the situation you face, but if you are in familiar conditions then 'systems' can be very helpful. FWIW I will shoot at any aperture if I have to - even f/1.4 for landscapes if need be. And I will use shutter speeds way below 'hand holdable' depending on how much I want the shot - you can get 'lucky' hand holding at low speeds, I once had a magazine cover shot at 4s handheld with just enough fill-flash to hold it together. Photography = Experimentation😁.

[Dennis]

I agree with you PGK: Photography = Experimentation

There are situation where with a couple a settings we can do whatever we want. An others, where we need to make changes and nothing can be applied. What I changed recently in my workflow, it's about ISO. Now that I know that is not part of the exposure triangle, change one value over another can make the difference, because the overall quality.

For example now, I could shoot at 200 ISO (to have the "best" no-noise and DR quality at base ISO) and 1/30s, rather than 3200 ISO and 1/500s.

For me the shutter speed is the LESS important. ISO is always my first setting, then f/stop, then whatever SS I have to use. Does it make sense?

[Kwesi]

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On 4/28/2020 at 10:49 PM, Dennis said:

As you said, we are all chefs of light, and I think your daytime settings is overexposed 😂 unless if you like it like this, because it's. I expose for example for the highlights, and the rest of the photo is a disaster 😂 And I love it. Which kind of Chef are you? I can't cook.

😀 I am actually a pretty bad chef. I love to improvise and I usually get lucky.

My daytime settings of ISO 200, f5.6 and 1/750 is actually pretty good as a starting point. The idea for me is to think like an incident light meter. So I am considering the amount of light that is falling onto my scene and then taking an average - this is essentially what the camera's light meter is doing even though it is a selected light meter.

For example in the link below, shot with an M246 and a 28, I over exposed by about a half stop to get my highlights where I wanted them.

http://www.infoyin.com/form/95b8z7komhabt5v5yvee99in2xce3o

 

[Anakronox]

 I don’t have any favorite settings as I shoot fully manual, unless you count ISO.  I switched to Leica for that very reason.  I enjoy the challenge and thought that I have to put into my shots.  The meter on the M10 is pretty decent and I’ve learned to expose for it.  Depending on the scene and the photo I’m envisioning my settings change.  My typical guidelines are ISO 100 during good daylight, 400 as the light hits the golden hour, and 1600 or 3200 at night.  I mostly shoot with the Summilux 35 or 50 so I can always stop down and really crank the shutter speed if I have a ton of light to work with.  A lot of my shooting and street photography happens at night, which is why the M10 Monochrom is what I’ll usually grab when going out.  It produces incredibly clean files at ISO 6400 for me, so I don’t worry about stopping my 35 Lux down to f/5.6 if the scene needs it.  

Edited April 30, 2020 by Anakronox

[Dennis]

1 hour ago, Anakronox said:

 I don’t have any favorite settings as I shoot fully manual, unless you count ISO.  I switched to Leica for that very reason.  I enjoy the challenge and thought that I have to put into my shots.  The meter on the M10 is pretty decent and I’ve learned to expose for it.  Depending on the scene and the photo I’m envisioning my settings change.  My typical guidelines are ISO 100 during good daylight, 400 as the light hits the golden hour, and 1600 or 3200 at night.  I mostly shoot with the Summilux 35 or 50 so I can always stop down and really crank the shutter speed if I have a ton of light to work with.  A lot of my shooting and street photography happens at night, which is why the M10 Monochrom is what I’ll usually grab when going out.  It produces incredibly clean files at ISO 6400 for me, so I don’t worry about stopping my 35 Lux down to f/5.6 if the scene needs it.  

I guess you have favorite settings you you usually choose 100, 400 and 3200 ISO. But I get your point to do whatever is necessary for a particular shot and use the best settings for that particular situation.

All of you, gave me great answers, very personal and dictated by your style to shoot.  I just was curious to see if you have ONLY a few settings you ALWAYS use.

In my case, i'm faster and more dedicated to my photography if I force myself to use ONLY three settings. For ISO, will be 200, 800 and 3200. For aperture, would be 2.8, 5.6 and 11. The only setting I don't care which values I need to use, it's shutter speed. I have here as well my favorite three to use (1/4000s, 1/500s, 1/60s), but I can't use only these nine settings for all the scenes situations,  right? So, if I have to sacrifice one, it would be shutter speed. I prefer to decide to control DOP, instead than SS.

Said that, I'm super happy to work fully manual. I guess I have much more control, and I know that all my shots of the same scene are identical.

But all roads lead to Rome, so whenever works best for you, you get it.

 

[evikne]

9 hours ago, Anakronox said:

My typical guidelines are ISO 100 during good daylight, 400 as the light hits the golden hour, and 1600 or 3200 at night.

You should be careful about using ISO 100 in daylight, because it is a "pull" from the base ISO. The first summer I used M10, many of my images were spoiled because I wasn't aware of this. At ISO 100 the dynamic range is significantly reduced. So now I never go below ISO 200. 

You can read more in this blog article and in many threads on this forum.

[Anakronox]

Interesting and thanks for the knowledge.  I’ll keep that in mind going forward.  My daylight shots tend to turn out well as I set a negative EV comp.  But I do carry ND filters and as soon as we are all able to go out will test using ISO 200 as my base.  

[Dennis]

7 hours ago, evikne said:

You should be careful about using ISO 100 in daylight, because it is a "pull" from the base ISO

Another thing I learned in this forum couple of month ago. I guess it almost obligatory to know what and how your camera can achieve, its limitations and strengths. I thinks is about to master the techniques, and forget about it when you shoot, to be free and don't think about number. So we can all make better art.

[a.noctilux]

19 hours ago, Dennis said:

Another thing I learned in this forum couple of month ago. I guess it almost obligatory to know what and how your camera can achieve, its limitations and strengths. I thinks is about to master the techniques, and forget about it when you shoot, to be free and don't think about number. So we can all make better art.

Numbers are just that numbers 😇.

I had tried out the 100 ISO of M10, not so bad that I might think ( pulling is not pushing 🧐).

That is true also concerning F number of aperture ( optimal at about 2 stops close down, etc.), when I use the lens, I've never

think of that "optimal F Stop" (just number for me to forget and use if required ! ).

 

Those settings are provided to be used when we need or not, we are free to obtain non "optimal results", if we want to.

 

Same as your other thread concerning F/22 WA lenses, we know that the diffraction can ruin the pictures, but nothing prevents us from

using those F Stops to see if the results are "good enough" .

 

I understood the DR (not so bad at pulled 100 ISO ), looking at the chart from photonstophotos

same DR as 200 ISO on M10

 

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Edited May 2, 2020 by a.noctilux

[Dennis]

I just thought it was nice for you to understand better my commitment with my few settings. M is set at 12,500 ISO

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[M11 for me]

Am 29.4.2020 um 22:33 schrieb evikne:

When using my Summiluxes I have two fixed values as long as it goes: f/1.4 and ISO 200. Then I just change the shutter speed depending on the light. Only when the light requires faster than 1/4000 I have to stop down a little. 

When I'm shooting with my Noctilux I put on an ND filter so I can shoot at f/1.0 all the time. 😊

I like to look at your photographs of children with the lens wide open and I wonder how you can focus fast enough as the children probably move all the time and you have very limited DOF. This just my remark.

[evikne]

1 hour ago, M10 for me said:

I like to look at your photographs of children with the lens wide open and I wonder how you can focus fast enough as the children probably move all the time and you have very limited DOF. This just my remark.

Thank you for the nice comment!

I've always photographed this way, it is just natural for me to do so. I've probably developed a variety of techniques for use in different situations. For example I often focus on something else, nearer the image's center, that is on the same focal plane as the "point of interest" (e.g. an eye) to limit the need for recomposition. With less need to move the camera, I also save valuable time when things go fast.

Sorry for the confusing explanation! 🤪

Edited June 27, 2020 by evikne

[M11 for me]

Thank you very much. I imagined that you must have a high degree of practice.

I love my Leica gear but whenever it has to be fast then I take an AF camera 🤔. I have just to practice more. When in this thread its about the settings then this goes all together and I should have the camera in some automatic mode (Aperture Priority) to be fast in all perspective. Since I use Leica I am used to do everything manually (even the ISO). This is some aspiration that I might have to give up a bit.

[M11 for me]

May I ad a question @evikne : How many shots (very roughly) can you exploit (publish)? My thinking is still a bit like in the film-sixties: No money and every shot should be splendid. 

[evikne]

1 hour ago, M10 for me said:

May I ad a question @evikne : How many shots (very roughly) can you exploit (publish)? My thinking is still a bit like in the film-sixties: No money and every shot should be splendid. 

You mean how many "keepers"?  Of course, it varies a lot, but usually I actually think there are too many. I don't want to have many similar shots in my library, so what I spend the most time after shooting, is to weed out the less good pictures.

Bad timing is the most common reason that I delete a picture of moving kids, not misfocus. A disadvantage of shooting wide open with a rangefinder camera, is that I spend so much energy in getting the images in focus that it comes at the expense of timing. It annoys me a bit, because timing should otherwise be one of the absolute strengths of the rangefinder system.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[M11 for me]

Thank you for your openess.