Martin B Posted June 6, 2024 Share #41 Posted June 6, 2024 Advertisement (gone after registration) From my experience the "Leica Look" derives from vintage Leitz lenses which had a specific glow in the image not able to easily achieve with other lenses. Best example is IMO the Leitz 50/1.5 Summarit-LTM lens which shows this glow well especially at closer distances to the subject. This is likely caused by a lack of lens coatings reducing this glow significantly in newer lenses. Newer M lenses are all very good but IMO indistinguishable from similar competitive ones if it comes to a specific look (yes there are differences in sharpness and bokeh but noting justifying a dedicated Leica look). The "Leica look" thingy comes up every so often, but I believe it is a thing of the past. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 6, 2024 Posted June 6, 2024 Hi Martin B, Take a look here True Leica Look…!. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
fotografr Posted June 6, 2024 Share #42 Posted June 6, 2024 1 hour ago, justj said: Here is the prompt "The Leica Look" drawn by the Copilot Designer. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Oh, no! Another image robbed of colour. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony MD Posted June 6, 2024 Author Share #43 Posted June 6, 2024 (edited) 9 minutes ago, pgk said: Modified maybe but certainly not bespoke designs from the ground up. There simply is NO definable (or actually existent) single Leica 'look'. Coulr science is maths and output from any half decent sensor can be adjusted/converted to such close approximations to outputs from others that it will be near impossible to tell the difference. What we see on monitors or on paper prints contains far less information than sensors are capable of recording so conversions don't have to be as absolute as is often conjectured. Most 'colour science' is actually about reproducing colour accurately rather than producing specific 'looks'. Maybe another way of describing this is with a sensor designed for Leica, a Leica lens, and the color science formulas by Leica results in the Leica Look…! Edited June 6, 2024 by Anthony MD Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
costa43 Posted June 6, 2024 Share #44 Posted June 6, 2024 (edited) 1 hour ago, Anthony MD said: Their sensors are designed and made for Leica. They have to be made under the specifications that Leica suggests. The color science results in the Leica look…! According to many people then the Leica look is currently frozen magenta! Edited June 6, 2024 by costa43 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografr Posted June 6, 2024 Share #45 Posted June 6, 2024 As we are all aware by now, the Leica Look is available for our smartphones. Wow! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony MD Posted June 6, 2024 Author Share #46 Posted June 6, 2024 1 minute ago, fotografr said: As we are all aware by now, the Leica Look is available for our smartphones. Wow! I’ll look, pun intended, into that…! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografr Posted June 6, 2024 Share #47 Posted June 6, 2024 Advertisement (gone after registration) 2 hours ago, Anthony MD said: Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! This would indicate that the sensors for the different models are not the same design. So my question is, which one is the real Leica Look? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony MD Posted June 6, 2024 Author Share #48 Posted June 6, 2024 24 minutes ago, fotografr said: This would indicate that the sensors for the different models are not the same design. So my question is, which one is the real Leica Look? On the other hand, which Leica lens delivers the real Leica Look…! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Michel Posted June 6, 2024 Share #49 Posted June 6, 2024 3 hours ago, Anthony MD said: On the other hand, which Leica lens delivers the real Leica Look…! Well, for decades I did my best to develop my own 'look' while using Leica cameras and lenses as well as other equipment. In a few days I will be getting a new iPhone, and guess what? Leica is generously making its "Leica look" available of the iPhone: https://leica-camera.com/en-int/photography/leica-apps/leica-lux No need to go any further! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
atournas Posted June 12, 2024 Share #50 Posted June 12, 2024 On 6/5/2024 at 6:49 PM, Anthony MD said: It just occurred to me the “True Leica Look” can only come from Digital Leica cameras after the M9. A Leica film camera only shows the film stocks (color rendering) of Kodak, Fuji Film and others. A Leica Digital camera’s color science of the sensor, the MD 262 for example, made to Leica specifications in Belgium reveals what Leica considers its color palette as unique and different from other brands…! I never really understood that "Leica Look" concept. Must be quite subjective, thus somewhat unreliable for photo crit. And one must differentiate between film/ digital/black & white/color shots. Still, if one insisted that I should remark about Leica Look, I would only mention shots with older Leica glass on Kodachrome. That's my humble opinion. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Vonn Posted June 12, 2024 Share #51 Posted June 12, 2024 It really does go through phases doesn’t it. I remember 15 years ago it being attributable to the ccd sensor. But that doesn’t exist anymore so we can’t have that. Explanations about Zeiss lenses having that “look” could never hold sway, I mean they’re not Leica are they. So what else could it be? I subsequently heard of images derived from film as having it. These days it seems to be images deriving from the Summilux pre asph 35mm v1/v2 and its “glow” (gotta have it gotta have it, etc - and massive props to Steven in that regard). I wonder what the next “Leica Look” will be? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony MD Posted June 20, 2024 Author Share #52 Posted June 20, 2024 On 6/12/2024 at 5:00 PM, Ray Vonn said: It really does go through phases doesn’t it. I remember 15 years ago it being attributable to the ccd sensor. But that doesn’t exist anymore so we can’t have that. Explanations about Zeiss lenses having that “look” could never hold sway, I mean they’re not Leica are they. So what else could it be? I subsequently heard of images derived from film as having it. These days it seems to be images deriving from the Summilux pre asph 35mm v1/v2 and its “glow” (gotta have it gotta have it, etc - and massive props to Steven in that regard). I wonder what the next “Leica Look” will be? Leica digital camera + Sensor designed for Leica with Leica’s specifications + Leica lenses…! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted June 20, 2024 Share #53 Posted June 20, 2024 On 6/12/2024 at 11:00 PM, Ray Vonn said: ...I wonder what the next “Leica Look” will be?... Hmmm....... The current 'Leica Look' seems to focus (apologies!) on APO/FLE/ASPH designs coupled with high pixel-count sensors which, ironically, provide images which are pretty much the antithesis of what is generally understood to be 'The Leica Look'. I can't see Leica changing tack to return to the days of optical designs with known and 'correctable' abberations apart from their (CV-esque) 'Vintage Line' releases. Personally? Like many Forumites I tend to favour a lens which has some 'character' (i.e. flaws in its optical design) when used at Max. Ap. but which performs considerably more sensibly once stopped-down a click or two... Philip. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steveoc64 Posted June 24, 2024 Share #54 Posted June 24, 2024 Both my M3 with 50/2.4 summarit ... and my XVario consistently pump out "Leica Look" images that would be impossible to replicate with any of my other cameras, or hack around in post to reproduce. So I don't think it's anything to do with sensors or software. Must be the glass. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted June 24, 2024 Share #55 Posted June 24, 2024 20 hours ago, Steveoc64 said: ...I don't think it's anything to do with sensors or software. Must be the glass... As "The Leica Look" has been talked about for eighty-odd years you just might be correct... 😸 Philip. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.noctilux Posted June 30, 2024 Share #56 Posted June 30, 2024 On 6/24/2024 at 2:16 AM, Steveoc64 said: Must be the glass. I agree. Sensor/software/etc. can be adapted at will, but the lens/glass choosen can not be "betrayed". 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony MD Posted July 12, 2024 Author Share #57 Posted July 12, 2024 On 6/30/2024 at 8:25 AM, a.noctilux said: I agree. Sensor/software/etc. can be adapted at will, but the lens/glass choosen can not be "betrayed". After researching this topic of the “Leica Look”, we have an interesting answer/ conclusion. The Leica Look is an image that looks detailed without the sharpness…! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.noctilux Posted July 12, 2024 Share #58 Posted July 12, 2024 1 hour ago, Anthony MD said: The Leica Look is an image that looks detailed without the sharpness…! so true like this thread if one is a bourgeois Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony MD Posted July 12, 2024 Author Share #59 Posted July 12, 2024 (edited) Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited July 13, 2024 by Anthony MD Double post Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/395608-true-leica-look%E2%80%A6/?do=findComment&comment=5419363'>More sharing options...
Anthony MD Posted July 12, 2024 Author Share #60 Posted July 12, 2024 4 hours ago, Anthony MD said: After researching this topic of the “Leica Look”, we have an interesting answer/ conclusion. The Leica Look is an image that looks detailed without the sharpness…! Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/395608-true-leica-look%E2%80%A6/?do=findComment&comment=5419364'>More sharing options...
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