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New to the Leica M240


mmmike

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Hi Everyone,

So I just purchased a used M240, and I love shooting with it as I have an M4 but I find that the JPEG's are a little too contrasty for my taste. I've never been one to shoot RAW/DNG on my digital cameras for hard drive space and quick transfers to my iPhone. In a nutshell I was wondering if anyone had a go to contrast setting that better matches the M240's DNG for JPEG's to eliminate having to import the files into Lightroom to export the DNG to save space and to be able to send to my iPhone for when I'm out and about and want to share for a quick upload. 

My current image settings on the M420 are: 

Sharpness: Standard.
Saturation: Standard.
Contrast: Standard.
Film Mode: Off.
Color Space: sRGB.
DNG Compression: Off.

 

Edit: As a reference I have a Nikon D750 and enjoy its Neutral Picture Profile or flat look to later add contrast if I want to. 

Edited by mmmike
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You'll find very few members using JPG, I fear, so my suggestion is setting them to your taste. If you set saturation and contrast to low, they'll be pretty flat
Editing JPGs is far too limited and defeats the purpose of investing in top quality gear like Leica (and Nikon) through lack of data. As for disk space, an external 4TB drive can be had for less than 150$... If you are worried about disk space, I would suggest setting the compression to "on" You won't lose a bit as the compression is totally lossless.
If I want to send images from my iPhone, I use my iPhone to take them and Snapseed for editing.

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39 minutes ago, jaapv said:

You'll find very few members using JPG, I fear, so my suggestion is setting them to your taste. If you set saturation and contrast to low, they'll be pretty flat
Editing JPGs is far too limited and defeats the purpose of investing in top quality gear like Leica (and Nikon) through lack of data. As for disk space, an external 4TB drive can be had for less than 150$... If you are worried about disk space, I would suggest setting the compression to "on" You won't lose a bit as the compression is totally lossless.
If I want to send images from my iPhone, I use my iPhone to take them and Snapseed for editing.

I appreciate the reply! Looks like I'll be sticking to DNG then. As far as wifi cards, I read that the older Toshiba FlashAir SD cards work fine for mobile sharing but I was wondering if you could recommend newer compatible options. 

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14 minutes ago, a.noctilux said:

 

mmmike welcome here,

You would stick to DNG after reading 10 minutes here 😇.

Agreed, I was debating on pulling the trigger and getting an M10 or the much cheaper Fuji X100F since they have their fuji emulations but I found an M240 for a really good deal so I couldn't say no on taking it for a test drive.

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1 hour ago, mmmike said:

I appreciate the reply! Looks like I'll be sticking to DNG then. As far as wifi cards, I read that the older Toshiba FlashAir SD cards work fine for mobile sharing but I was wondering if you could recommend newer compatible options. 

And Welcome :) Where were my manners :( ?

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1 hour ago, mmmike said:

I appreciate the reply! Looks like I'll be sticking to DNG then. As far as wifi cards, I read that the older Toshiba FlashAir SD cards work fine for mobile sharing but I was wondering if you could recommend newer compatible options. 

sd wi-fi cards are literally obsolete as newer protocols are used in recent camera models - cameras can do that now directly to a phone or tablet.

However, is not bulletproof. I do have the M240, and still use wi-fi cards with it, but as I have a leather case that does not need the bottom plate, it's easier to remove the sd card to transfer files with a otg cable and sd card reader.

yeah, the jpeg files are not that great....

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The JPG files take into account the lens and other data to manipulate the digital image.  If you want to diddle around in an image editor shoot DNG.  If you want an image out of the camera which is quite usable, shoot JPG.  I have no illusions the images I capture will be on famous walls.  I take them for my pleasure.  I do not enjoy diddling and fiddling in the editors all that much. 

I suppose I could golf with a croquet mallet and make love standing in a hammock, but I do not.   YMMV

Edited by boojum
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The lens you use will have an effect on contrast, a current Leica lens will have more bite and contrast than a more vintage lens.  

The M240 will be less contrasty than the M10 according to Leica and many reports here, the images are more flat.   Be aware that the rear screen of Leica M cameras show a bright, contrasty image, the images look like the brilliant Cibachrome from years ago.  Once the images are put on a properly calibrated computer screen they will look more flat.  

To flatten contrast turn the contrast adjustment lower, this will only effect the jpg.  The adjustments you make to the jpg will be reflected on the lcd and evf, neither of which are good guides to the final image but the difference in settings can be seen immediately.

Consider shooting DNG and Jpg, you will have both to work with, discard whichever you wish.  Furthermore, when importing into lightroom you can apply edits to each DNG file such as negative contrast.  

Don't give up on your M240, it's quite versatile with file handling.  

 

 

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Good advice Daryl.  I like to use the DNG files only, with my M-P 240, and have quite flat files using old Leica and other old Canon lenses.  But they sharpen and work very well with LR  controls. Some of the modern lenses by Leica are too brutal, and besides way too expensive.

...

Edited by david strachan
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Thanks David, those little pixels can be brutal with modern glass.  Modern sensors and vintage Leica glass has given me beautiful results also but I have difficulty finding information about lenses from other manufacturers.  Which Canon lenses do you have or recommend?

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14 hours ago, darylgo said:

The lens you use will have an effect on contrast, a current Leica lens will have more bite and contrast than a more vintage lens.  

The M240 will be less contrasty than the M10 according to Leica and many reports here, the images are more flat.   Be aware that the rear screen of Leica M cameras show a bright, contrasty image, the images look like the brilliant Cibachrome from years ago.  Once the images are put on a properly calibrated computer screen they will look more flat.  

To flatten contrast turn the contrast adjustment lower, this will only effect the jpg.  The adjustments you make to the jpg will be reflected on the lcd and evf, neither of which are good guides to the final image but the difference in settings can be seen immediately.

Consider shooting DNG and Jpg, you will have both to work with, discard whichever you wish.  Furthermore, when importing into lightroom you can apply edits to each DNG file such as negative contrast.  

Don't give up on your M240, it's quite versatile with file handling.  

 

 

I have the Voigtlander 35mm 1.4 Classic SC since I read that its better suited for black and white and overall has less contrast. I would eventually would like to buy a Summicron 35mm ASPH. I'm definitely finding that the DNG files work in my favor in the long run.

Edited by mmmike
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[ 35mm Summicron-M asph. was my prefered lens(es) I used to have three for some time, but now I don't have anymore ].

...

I'd just use with the present lens, now.

Plenty of time to try other lenses.

This may take some years (or decades like me ...not ending yet).

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21 hours ago, david strachan said:

A lot of the older ltm lenses work well.

I like 50 f1.8, f1.4. The 35mm f2 is good and small. The Canon 135mm f3.5 is a cracker on my M8 and M-P.

 

All best...

I agree with David re older lenses (also applies to the M8).

Lenses I've had good results with on the 240 are: Elmarit M 21/2.8 (pre asph). Summilux 35 pre asph. Summaron 35/2.8. Canon LTM 50/1.4.

Ernst

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My workflow is always stuff a USB card reader with 2 sided connector in my bag (USB-C and standard USB, it also double as a card reader when I needed to connect to newer macbooks when needed). This simple device not just allowed me to transfer the images much quicker, it also saved me more than a few times when nobody else carry a card reader with their macbooks, in an emergency situation. 

If you're subscribed to LR/PS you can also use full version on your iPhone which will read the DNG files wonderfully.

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16 hours ago, Casey Jefferson said:

My workflow is always stuff a USB card reader with 2 sided connector in my bag (USB-C and standard USB, it also double as a card reader when I needed to connect to newer macbooks when needed). This simple device not just allowed me to transfer the images much quicker, it also saved me more than a few times when nobody else carry a card reader with their macbooks, in an emergency situation. 

If you're subscribed to LR/PS you can also use full version on your iPhone which will read the DNG files wonderfully.

Curious; what card reader is that your using?

 

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2 hours ago, martinot said:

Curious; what card reader is that your using?

 

This is the exact one I use. Pretty reliable and came with caps to cover both connector. But probably any other brand with decent built quality will do fine.

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  • 1 month later...

On my M240 I only use Jpeg (no DNG) when switch to my B&W only User Profile. Settings are: Jpeg fine only, Sharpness: Medium-high, Saturation: standard Contrast: Medium-high
This is a sample shot with a Voigtlander Nokton 21/1.4 Asph. The B&W is made in-camera and very slightly worked in Lightroom.

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