Tips for how to create best photo using 60mp of Leica M11

[aristotle]

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On 3/24/2022 at 10:51 AM, Tailwagger said:

While my technique is decent, this case certainly demonstrates the value of elevated shutter speed.  But certainly, as is so often the case, the added capability does nothing for you unless you embrace the potential it provides and learn over time how to make the most of it. 

Yeah, and at ISO64, you had some wiggle room if you needed to increase the shutter speed even more.  I'm as impressed with your focus as much as I am with anything else.

Edited March 26, 2022 by aristotle

[Tailwagger]

46 minutes ago, aristotle said:

Yeah, and at ISO64, you had some wiggle room if you needed to increase the shutter speed even more.  I'm as impressed with your focus as much as I am with anything else.

And despite my relatively crappy eyesight. For lenses this long, achieving critical sharpness is only possible for me as product of luck or using a dual focusing technique, so I typically employ the latter. 

I have the camera set to auto-zoom.  After I acquire initial focus via the RF, I move my eye quickly to the EVF.  As the camera already has the image zoomed, I confirm whether I'm good or if need to fine tune.  A simple half press on the shutter shifts back to full frame at which point I confirm composition/exposure and fire. Admittedly a little awkward at first, once the process becomes second nature, assuming you nail focus with the RF, the added steps take less than a second to perform. In the rare case (at least for what I tend to shoot) where it's simply right now or never, I just use the camera as a normal RF and hope for the best.

Edited March 26, 2022 by Tailwagger

[idusidusi]

On 3/24/2022 at 10:12 PM, FlashGordonPhotography said:

Have you used a rangefinder before?

Short of using a tripod (nothing wrong with that. I do it all the time.) you just need to learn good handholding technique and practice.

1. Get a Thumbie. They're on eBay (seller Steve Bennett). It'll help you hold the camera steady and doesn't block the hot shoe. A grip also works but is bigger.

2. Practice your focusing and handholding. The M is a camera that rewards practice and technique. Using an M is a skill you learn not a gift.

3. Focus from one direction. Return the focus to your start point after each shot. I use infinity. In the long run it will make you faster at manual focusing and more accurate.

4. Shoot at the end of your breath. For me it's when I have breathed out that I'm most still.

5. It's a small camera but it's still support with the left hand and shoot with the right, like any other camera. Feet spread and elbows in.

6. Look for walls, pole or anything to lean the camera or your self on.

8. Learn zone focusing. Lots of M shooters use it as their main technique as it's an incredibly quick way to shoot.

9. Embrace the blur. The M will teach you not all great photos are pin sharp.

10. You need less lenses than you think. Ideally start with one that is where you *see* (often 35 or 50mm) and shoot with that for a while. Then expand to maybe 3 or 4 lenses.

11. Longer than 75mm is where your technique will be pushed hardest.

12. Manual is fun but don't be affraid to shoot in Aperture priority while you are learning.

13. Be kind to yourself. Don't expect Pulitzer prize winners on day one. The more you shoot the better you get.

14. Save the 60MP for when you need it. Big prints or when you need to crop beyond your longest lens. The 18MP setting will still give you a3+ prints and fill a 5K monitor.

15. Try Auto ISO and start with your camera set to 2 times the focal length. Adjust from there if you are more or less steady handholding.

Enjoy your new camera.

Gordon

Lots of salient good advice. Thank you for providing it, I practice several of the points and some I had forgotten, I can always improve.

[Herr Barnack]

On 3/22/2022 at 10:02 PM, TENTMAKERSMINISTRY said:

 I have ordered M11 from B & H.  But I am  waiting for delivery, hopefully soon.

After reading many discussions about M 11,  I am a bit concerned whether 60mp feature can be of much good for me.  I am an amateur without extensive knowledge or skills but love photography.

I would like to have advice as to how to maximize the 60 mp feature, especially for portrait and street photography.

 

 

@TENTMAKERSMINISTRY  First off, welcome to the forum!

With regard to maximizing the available 60mp of the M11, if your intention is to make large prints - 24x36 inches or larger - this is where the 60mp will be worth its weight in gold.  You will be able to produce large prints that will have stunning image quality, provided you and your printer have both done your respective part well in the process.

As for avoiding blur with a 60mp sensor when shooting hand held, multiply the focal length of your lens by a factor of 3.  That should be your minimum shutter speed.  If you are shooting with a 35mm lens, your minimum shutter speed should therefore be 1/125; for a 50mm, you could also probably get away with 1/125 but 1/250 would provide you with a bit of a safety margin.

For street photography, you can manually set your shutter speed and aperture and then use auto ISO mode to get the correct exposure.  You can do this for handheld street portraits, too.  For studio portraits, using a tripod and a cable release with a low ISO will give you the best results.  60mp is nothing to be intimidated by - you just have to use proper technique, that's all. 

If you know that your images will be used only for electronic sharing and not for printmaking, you can use the 18mp setting.  This will give you plenty of resolution for online use of your images and it will save you storage space on your hard drives.  The 36mp setting could also be used for printmaking.  I have made 24x36 inch prints that are exhibit quality using my M-P 240, which has a 24mp sensor.  Proper technique both when making the photograph and when making the print are more important than a trainload of megapixels, in my experience.

Hope this helps...

Edited March 29, 2022 by Herr Barnack