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Why am I shooting film on an M when I have other film cameras?


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Hi,

seems there are quite some Nikon folks here. I really like the FM3A which comes with me with a Zeiss Distagon 2/35 ZF when I choose to use the Nikon. Fact is, I go out with the M-A most of the time. The culprit is really the lenses, not so much the body. In fact the FM3A body, not considering the prism, is a bit smaller but the F mount lenses are so much bigger than their M counterparts. And then of course are the other advantages of the rangefinder like getting sharp images even at 1/15th or 1/8th of shutter speed and by now I'm more confident hitting focus with the M than with the FM3a (due to lack of practice with the Nikon only, the view finder of the FM3a is one of the brightest in the 35mm world IMO)

Anyway, all fine cameras to go out with for sure.

Cheers,

Ralf

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10 hours ago, pgk said:

Whilst I do not own one, I've always fancied rebuying my first decent SLR, an OM-1 and fitting a 35/2 Zuiko to it. I'm sure it would shoot very well and cost would be pretty low these days.

Funny you should say that!

That is exactly what I am carrying right now.

I have a black and a silver OM1 that were sent to Zuiko.com for freshen up/CLA/battery conversion and they are in steady rotation along with my M3. 

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1 minute ago, Danner said:

Oh, I that a non-AFS version?  Interesting.  200mm Micro is my final desire.

Yes, apparently the unreleased missing link between the 35-70 AF-D and the 28-70 AF-S.

The 105 DC is my favourite of the small selection of AF-D lenses I have, though I hardly use the DC feature, but the humble and versatile 28-105 deserves a mention - I shot a lot with that one on film, and it held up surprisingly well on the D800 before I got a 24-70 AF-S. Can't go wrong with the 50/1.4 AF-D either; supposedly it focuses faster than the AF-S version. That's more than can be said for the nice but glacially slow focusing 70-210mm f/4 AF, which predates the 'D' chip.

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I don't have any other film camera's anymore than several Leica M's and a R4. I sold my Olympus OM2 set with lenses to buy a new Leica M6TTL many years ago. I loved the OM2 but I still had my Canon A1 and FTb with good lenses. But after a few years the Canon bodies were hardly ever used anymore, also because I had grown used to the rangefinder and I always had to adjust to the different and darker view through the SLR. So eventually also the Canon cameras were sold. Recently a friend gave me the Asahi Pentax Spotmatic with two lenses of his late wife and I feel tempted to use it, mainly because it's such an iconic camera.

Lex

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1st is the 28mm Elmerit - on a minolta CLE but still

2nd m3 with 50mm lens and two eyes open

3rd Easier to compose by seeing what is outside of the frame

4th small

5th slows the process down and make you think

 

But for quick and easy shooting my Minolta A5 A7 with Sony 50mm F1.4 and excellent to flash.

Even my Canon elan7n with 40mm F2.8 is great.

I often shoot my rollei 35 , Nikon f3, Olympus OM1.

If I need quality I always go for my medium formats “ Adox CMSII 20 iso with Leica Elmerit 28mm is the only 135 that produces a,aging definition”

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12 hours ago, Danner said:

Oh, is that a non-AFS version?  Interesting.  200mm Micro is my final desire.

200mm Micro is a beast of a lens. Always wanted one, along with the 70-180.

Edited by Aldrahn
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It’s primarily the viewfinder and the superior focusing mechanism until 50mm. Ground glass-focusing works better for longer lenses (50mm is a draw)—if mirror and focusing screen are correctly aligned. Had that once out of tolerances with an R4, resulting in soft images.
 

I own a freshly CLAed R6 and a set of R-primes, mainly for video on my SL2-S. I don’t use it. It’s often lent out to film-interested young folks and does there an important job. 

Mechanical Nikons from the 80ies are cool. Unfortunately, focusing goes backwards, crashing with my muscle memory.

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5 hours ago, hansvons said:

It’s primarily the viewfinder and the superior focusing mechanism until 50mm. Ground glass-focusing works better for longer lenses (50mm is a draw)—if mirror and focusing screen are correctly aligned. Had that once out of tolerances with an R4, resulting in soft images.
 

I own a freshly CLAed R6 and a set of R-primes, mainly for video on my SL2-S. I don’t use it. It’s often lent out to film-interested young folks and does there an important job. 

Mechanical Nikons from the 80ies are cool. Unfortunately, focusing goes backwards, crashing with my muscle memory.

Agreed, it's the viewfinder experience that pulls me to a M camera as well, but that said I have always liked the F Series of Nikon film cameras, from the F-F2 to the F4, ( after which, although still increasingly highly capable professional cameras, they became too bulky and heavy for casual use ). However the film loading on the F's and most other cameras with a hinged back has always been a far quicker and surer process than Leica M's sometimes awkward bottom loading system, and I agree too that for lenses longer than 50mm and wider than 28mm a SLR makes much more sense and you see the "real" image with the OOF / DOF area effect clearly defined. I also like the green focus confirmation lamp in the finder of the later F's..............I wonder why such has not made it's way to a digital M? It would be useful.

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On 2/28/2024 at 7:00 PM, rmueller said:

by now I'm more confident hitting focus with the M than with the FM3a (due to lack of practice with the Nikon only, the view finder of the FM3a is one of the brightest in the 35mm world IMO)

Nikon introduced new K3, B3, E3 screen types with the FM3a, it's worth noting they are interchangeable with the screens in the FA, FE2, and Fm2N and Nikon say no exposure compensation is required, worth bearing in mind. Be careful though sellers often quote what it says on the box of a screen they are selling when in fact the one there is the swop out.

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1 hour ago, Smudgerer said:

However the film loading on the F's and most other cameras with a hinged back has always been a far quicker and surer process than Leica M's sometimes awkward bottom loading system,

I can agree with that until the M4 came out. I can load my M4P and M6 in seconds, literally. Just insert the canister halfway, pull out the leader until it has contact with the tulip's (take-up spool) most extended end, push it down, close the window, and attach the bottom plate. No fiddling with sprockets, etc... Only an automatic loading system is quicker. Maybe I missed something with the Nikons.

 

1 hour ago, Smudgerer said:

I wonder why such has not made it's way to a digital M? I

It would reveal that the range finder system is too inaccurate for supercritical focus from 50mm onwards. That's why I find a 50mm Summilux for portraits an overkill, and a Summicron is good enough by any standards. That changes, of course, in mid-distance and long-distance applications. But even then, an f2 or f2.8 is a safer bet. 28mm and 35mm are different, and the RF's accuracy is good enough for me for full aperture shots. YMMV, as a critical focus seems not critical to some, telling from many images on this forum.

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21 minutes ago, hansvons said:

That's why I find a 50mm Summilux for portraits an overkill, and a Summicron is good enough by any standards. That changes, of course, in mid-distance and long-distance applications. But even then, an f2 or f2.8 is a safer bet. 28mm and 35mm are different, and the RF's accuracy is good enough for me for full aperture shots.

+1
On 50mm F2.0 is shallow enough to make your subject pop out... And going faster would only make it harder to get anything meaningful in focus. Of course for some art applications a DOF of a few mm makes sense, but for me it often does not.

At 90mm F2.8 seems to be the sweet spot for me. Again, well within the tolerances of the RF system.

I think some users now expect impossible shallow DOF focusing, so much that it will make a picture unusable. 

Just my 2 cents of course...

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, hansvons said:

I can agree with that until the M4 came out. I can load my M4P and M6 in seconds, literally. Just insert the canister halfway, pull out the leader until it has contact with the tulip's (take-up spool) most extended end, push it down, close the window, and attach the bottom plate. No fiddling with sprockets, etc... Only an automatic loading system is quicker. Maybe I missed something with the Nikons.

Sure, but in cold weather, maybe with gloves, the open back cameras are still faster and easier for me............and with the F4 you even have power take-up plus power re-wind with the the camera sensibly powered by AA batteries, I like that a lot but for the fact that it makes it even easier to burn through film!

1 hour ago, hansvons said:

 

It would reveal that the range finder system is too inaccurate for supercritical focus from 50mm onwards. That's why I find a 50mm Summilux for portraits an overkill, and a Summicron is good enough by any standards. That changes, of course, in mid-distance and long-distance applications. But even then, an f2 or f2.8 is a safer bet. 28mm and 35mm are different, and the RF's accuracy is good enough for me for full aperture shots. YMMV, as a critical focus seems not critical to some, telling from many images on this forum.

Just dreaming, as we do, for little so called "improvements" for the M experience that of course will be totally ignored by Wetzlar............I feel at times that we Leica M crack-heads are a bunch of Oliver Twists meekly asking for "more please sir......."

Edited by Smudgerer
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Posted (edited)

For me it's about the focal length and viewfinder experience. I love rangefinders and would pick an RF over an SLR 100% of the time, but the RF viewfinder magnification must match the focal length of the lens, and match perfectly. In practice this means that I can use a 0.72x Leica only with 35mm lenses, and 0.85x Leica with 50mm lenses. For all other focal lengths I reach for my F3.

My travel bag usually consists of two bodies and 3 lenses: a Leica with one lens, and an SLR with two. Most likely the M7 0.72x with 35mm Voigtlander, and the F3 with 28mm and 50mm AI-S Nikkors.

Edited by VanDooglz
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I find wide angle lenses much easier to focus quickly and accurately on my M vs one of my Nikons. And a tele-lens, such as 85 or 135 is much quicker and easier on the Nikon F2. For 50mm, it’s pretty much equal. 

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On 3/1/2024 at 9:56 PM, Smudgerer said:

However the film loading on the F's and most other cameras with a hinged back has always been a far quicker and surer process than Leica M's sometimes awkward bottom loading system

I never thought this again after I loaded my M4 once.

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Why am I shooting film on an M when I have other film cameras?

I spent two days with my niece showing her how to use a film camera, taking pics, and doing darkroom developing/printing.  Those two days were spent using a Nikon FM2 which I thought was a better choice than my M6 for her first experience with a film camera.   After working with her/the Nikon for two days my answer to the OP's question is, "I have no idea!" 🙄   

 

 

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