Leica M in a different role

[Fassbender]

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The Leica M rangefinder camera is always associated with those well known romantic references to the 'good old days' when people like Capa, Cartier-Bresson, Winogrand etc. used the M as the ultimate reportage/street camera.

 

I like to think of the M in a very different role however; as the ultimate small and portable scenic/landscape camera for those classic scenics everyone of us encounters when going out for a walk in the park or the forest. Just like Oskar Barnack used the first Leica to shoot scenics in Hessen and the Thuringia forest in the late 1920's.

 

I would like to read some of your opinions on this. Does the Leica M suit its role as scenic/landscape camera or should we leave that field of photography to the SLR or MF & LF cameras?

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[frc]

Strolling through the city, the woods, on the beach, where ever,

dragging a huge rig with me spoiles the walk.

Nothing else offering quality approaches the size of a P&S more than an M.

See a nice scenic shot and not capturing it because it is NOT DONE with an M?

Is that what happens when we think in dogmas?

What's the 21 mm for? Portrait, macro, wildlife, street only?

That'll do, enough question marks.

Do anything you like with your camera.

[spydrxx]

IMHO it is just fine for landscape work. There are better choices when one wants to carry a heavy tripod and have massive enlargements. That doesn't diminish, in any way, the role of a compact, sharp, carry-along camera.

[Daniel Ortego]

My friend has an M7 and I always admired its quality, beauty and heritage. My other friend owns a Nikon D2. As a novice, I see the Leica as the Harley-Davidson of cameras’ whereas the Canon D MkIII may be viewed as the Gold Wing. The differences are striking although I favor the rangefinder technique, and portability. I always think of which one I would be more apt to hang around my neck as I walk along the streets of Verona. Despite my newbie’ status, I do have some experience with high-end optics, and the Leica M system combined with their exquisite lenses, should speak volumes with regard to your intended purpose.

Regards,

[Alberti]

M is great as a reportage/street camera because you are part of the scene. Most pictures are in the 2-10 m range and it just takes less than a second to grab a picture. That says something about ease of use. It is not annoying as much as a BIG camera.

 

In a landscape the M too really excels because the lenses have more than any other lens range the capability to reduce the amount of UV. This has always translated to better colour rendering. Less blue shift. Less haze. Apart from that, for a landscape you need a very sharp viewfinder that does not detract with graininess. The details are percieved almost unconsciously as you slightly move the frame. It is easy to compose.

Only when making tele shots (like a 200 lens) then an SLR will be better off in the range till 300 m (birds).

There are enough proof points for this role.

 

albert

[earleygallery]

I'm responding in terms of film photography.

 

For 35mm an M should be just as useable as an SLR for landscape work. Wide angle lenses, using additional viewfinders etc. should not present any problems and of course the optics are some of the best around. Added to which the M and a few lenses will be more compact and lighter to carry around.

 

However, if I were specifically going out to shoot landscapes I'd probably use my MF camera, especially if I was shooting in colour. If I was a serious landscape photographer then I'd look at larger formats....

[rob_x2004]

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For me...it holds the film flat and supports a lens.

[tom0511]

For me the M is great for landscape and allways was.

Hike on a mountain, and the robust, light and small Leica M with the great lenses is justwhat you need for landscape.

Cheers, Tom

[budrichard]

AS an M3, M6 and M7 owner/user for landscape 35mm, I use a 24mm and SLR because I can view the exact picture, noting distortion if I don't thave the film plane parallel to the image plane.-Dick

[hamey]

For me the Leica M in it's primary roll, is the abilty to get the shot in low light, simply remarkable.

 

But for general photography, I prefer the R's.

 

That why Leica makes both.

 

Ken.

[luigi bertolotti]

The landscape / scenic is one of the perfect roles for M cameras, and this not only for tech question, but for its splendid portability... M body + 3 lenses is a very light and portable set. As for qualty... ok there is the historical mood of landscape=MF , and I partially followed this time ago making a certain use of a Rollei TLR: great, but a completely different way of "going around" : you have to go and CARRY A CAMERA, not simply "go and take your camera when you like the moment" ... that's the reason for I never considered seriously some kind of Hasselblad set... and thought sometimes at the Mamya 7 (but never bought)

Now, with digital, I think that this duality is reduced a lot, mainly for the MF Digital are (I seem) unapprochable in terms of money and portability too, and M8 is proving a superb landscape camera.

 

I am not a street shooter... and I'm am a little surprised that so many people value a lot Leica as a street camera still today... it's small and discrete, OK, but I think (by istinct, repeat, I am not a street shooter) that zooms are an important add-on to catch street pics.

[Alberti]

I'd like to add an other statement all together:

In an SLR the ground glass focussing is not fit for most lenses, apart from some high end gear. The finder works best with an F2/50 mm in general. Wide angle, large openings are a nightmare to focus. I have a special ground glass myself in my combo to overcome those problems - but Oohh it is just collecting dust now....

In landscape you use predominantly WA - and the RF is excellent in that, gives best focussing quality. And in landscape you do also some short range focussing to position rocks, trees angainst the valleys and forrests using the utmost in diafragma opening, even at 28 mm/F2 if you need it for the composition. A SLR will just break down there when you try such a thing. Even the 28 shows shallow DOF in the M8 if you try!

albert

[frc]

Rep., doc and street are my thing.

Though at times I escape the urbanl area.

Nothing brilliant, just some snapshots.

And yes, M.

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