Leica M10 for street photography?

[Benjamin Leica]

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Have you used the Leica M10 for street photography? How does it perform in fast-paced shooting situations?

[jaapv]

Totally unsuitable. 👺.
However it is the most common use for the camera as it performs so well. 

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[frame-it]

35 minutes ago, Benjamin Leica said:

Have you used the Leica M10 for street photography? How does it perform in fast-paced shooting situations?

at f8, and auto ISO = Superfast 😉

 

[jaapv]

Manual focus with some training can be faster than AF.  If you have to ask rent an M camera. They are not for everybody, especially not for those who want the camera to do the work for them. 

[frame-it]

12 minutes ago, jaapv said:

not for those who want the camera to do the work for them. 

exactly, though i see more and more people shooting at f8+,auto iso, auto WB..may as well use a phone instead

[Jipster]

41 minutes ago, Benjamin Leica said:

Have you used the Leica M10 for street photography? How does it perform in fast-paced shooting situations?

Yes, do it all the time I don't have the M6 and B&W film. Use it with the 50 summits, 35 summilux, 90 Elmarit, and 28 Elmarit. Great with all of them. Easier for obvious reasons the wider. Although my street photography is not as fast paced as some. 

 

12 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Manual focus with some training can be faster than AF.  If you have to ask rent an M camera. They are not for everybody, especially not for those who want the camera to do the work for them. 

Not at all apertures. At 1.4 I don't think it is on a par with the fastest AF cameras at least when you let the camera choose for you what you want to focus on (say the eye of a model). No amount of training will make a model shoot at 1.4 with focus on the eye as fast with an M as with a recent AF camera.

[jaapv]

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The focusing does not depend on the aperture. There is but one spot-on with a rangefinder. If you manage to be off-focus at 1.4 you are off at all apertures. Just enlarge enough and you’ll see 🥸

[Jipster]

41 minutes ago, jaapv said:

The focusing does not depend on the aperture. There is but one spot-on with a rangefinder. If you manage to be off-focus at 1.4 you are off at all apertures. Just enlarge enough and you’ll see 🥸

I understand. But try focusing at 1.4 on the eye during a fast moving model shoot with a Leica M and  Nikon Z camera and tell me who gets more keepers. I love the rangefinder, but trust me, it's not as fast to focus at wide aperture in a  portrait shoot than a modern AF system. Period. Of course, if you don't want to focus on the eye, then, it's more difficult to compare. Although, if you focus on the hands and make it stick with a Nikon Z, it's also faster anytime the model moves the hand! 

[jaapv]

We were talking about street photography. I think a Leica M would not be first choice in that discipline. Although, given the skill of the photographer it might do well. 

[M Street Photographer]

The question is a bit confusing, considering that street photography has been used since the beginning of the Leica era.
Apart from motorsport events, which also go with an M, I only think of HCB and the photo "Jump over the puddle".
Either you gain the ability to focus quickly over time, or you use zone focus.
With an open aperture, the DOF is narrow, otherwise it is just faded out.

The much used and praised RICOH GR III also uses the snap mode, the zone focus.
And so every M is ideally suited for street.

Here are 2 older examples with the M9 and the 50 1.4 Summilux.

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Edited March 23, 2023 by M Street Photographer

[KFo]

3 hours ago, Benjamin Leica said:

Have you used the Leica M10 for street photography? How does it perform in fast-paced shooting situations?

If you plan to shoot with each image coming as a complete surprise to you I doubt the results will satisfy unless you've done a little work presetting the camera.

Like anything worthwhile it takes a while to gain the skills.  Remember your first 10,000 photos are the worst😬

 

[newtoleica]

I use an M7 and an M10P. The M is ideal for use on the street as it’s small and unobtrusive. There are lots of ways of shooting street in manual focus

1. chose static subjects and learn to focus quickly wide open. 
2. use zone focussing

3. focus on a nearby object/wall/lampost and let your subject move level with it.

4. Street portraiture where you ask the subject to pose for you

i think using MF makes you be totally absorbed in the flow of the street, potential subjects and anticipate things.

I’ve been doing it for decades. Yes you may miss some, but autofocus is so less rewarding in my view. 

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[rtai]

Look into the street photography of Alan Schaller. He zone focuses with a 24mm Summilux @1.4. I was inspired to do the same because my reliance on the Q2M AF missed too many shots. I shot for years with a Hasselblad SWC for street mostly people so was already ok with zone focusing from 1 to 3 meters. With the M10M I started with a 21mm Elmarit and practiced at home. I suggest you use one focal length exclusively so you can get used to seeing what the lens sees without a viewfinder. Visualising a scene without looking at it through the VF is just as important as accuracy. Anyway I started with 21/5.6 then 21/4 etc until I was able to zone confidently at 1.4. I always leave the camera at 1/2000s for street. You can also use high speed multi shot. I did it for a shoot but was sick of looking at more of a movie than photography during editing so went back to single shot. 
 

Here’s one 21mm Summilux @1.4. I saw him about to light up so ran up and snapped the shot from 4 feet away.

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Edited March 24, 2023 by rtai

[rtai]

Another with 21mm Summilux at 1.4 this time with M8. 

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[newtoleica]

1 hour ago, rtai said:

Look into the street photography of Alan Schaller. He zone focuses with a 24mm Summilux @1.4. I was inspired to do the same because my reliance on the Q2M AF missed too many shots. I shot for years with a Hasselblad SWC for street mostly people so was already ok with zone focusing from 1 to 3 meters. With the M10M I started with a 21mm Elmarit and practiced at home. I suggest you use one focal length exclusively so you can get used to seeing what the lens sees without a viewfinder. Visualising a scene without looking at it through the VF is just as important as accuracy. Anyway I started with 21/5.6 then 21/4 etc until I was able to zone confidently at 1.4. I always leave the camera at 1/2000s for street. You can also use high speed multi shot. I did it for a shoot but was sick of looking at more of a movie than photography during editing so went back to single shot. 
 

Here’s one 21mm Summilux @1.4. I saw him about to light up so ran up and snapped the shot from 4 feet away.

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Nice. I like Adam’s work. I do the same with a 24. A lot of the shots in my New York gallery - see website (and book) were taken like that. 

[rramesh]

By street, if you mean candid photography in a public setting, then the M is a perfect camera. However, if you mean street action, like racing, then you might prefer another option.

Edited March 24, 2023 by rramesh

[M Street Photographer]

vor 11 Minuten schrieb rramesh:

By street, if you mean candid photography in a public setting, then the M is a perfect camera. However, if you mean street action, like racing, then you might prefer another option.

I'm sorry, but repeating this statement doesn't make it any more true. I have never failed with a range finder in any street situation, not even with action, as you can see from my examples.

[Adam Bonn]

IMHO a well performing AF camera is good for reactive photography, an M is good for anticipated photography, and a poorly performing AF camera isn't much good at all.

As we all know, seeing as some of the most iconic photos in history are neither shallow DOF nor that much in focus I wouldn't let such things bother one too much OMWV

The M scores (to those that like using it) by being a camera that one likes to use, this encourages use, which in turn generates photographs, taking photos promotes grown in the skill of taking photos.

Having a camera you like to use is reason enough to have that camera

Shock horror, some folks even own different types of cameras and not even by the same brand, so that they can use the tool that suits them as needed.

[Jipster]

On 3/23/2023 at 4:12 PM, jaapv said:

We were talking about street photography. I think a Leica M would not be first choice in that discipline. Although, given the skill of the photographer it might do well. 

Fair enough. 

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Hallo,

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[RexGig0]

On 3/23/2023 at 7:21 AM, Benjamin Leica said:

Have you used the Leica M10 for street photography? How does it perform in fast-paced shooting situations?

1. Yes. (I am artless, but, can capture uninspired, uninteresting images that are properly-focused, much of the time.)

2. Using the distance and DOF scales, on the lens, an M10 will perform as well as any other camera, using a lens that has distance and DOF scales. No AF system can be as fast as using a lens, with distance and DOF scales, to already be focused. If one cannot already be in position, already focused, for the shot, then, of course, then, ideally, it is time for the Nikon D5, and the top-tier, pro-level Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. Of course, people on the streets will SEE that huge Nikon D5, and pro zoom lens, and react accordingly. With an M10, I can be an old guy, walking about with a small camera. 

Edited to add: Of course, my answer presented two overly-simplified extremes.

. 

Edited March 26, 2023 by RexGig0