M8 low light level photos

[billh]

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This one is at ISO1250, 1/16th second (hand held) with the 28 f2.8ASPH wide open. I did not use any noise reduction.

 

http://homepage.mac.com/billh96007/.Pictures/M8LowLight/28@,f2.8,1:16sec,ISO1250.jpg

 

I had not even had time to read the instruction book, but I left the Canon at home and took the M8. I had the M8, a flash (which I did not end up using), a 28ASPH,35f1.4ASPH, 50ASPH and APO75 all in a small case that would hold only the Canon 1Ds2 with a 35f1.4 lens - if that.

 

I put the ISOs and shutter speeds (when interesting) on these samples from that night. I did not use any noise reduction, but the one shot I took at ISO2500 was so grainy it was not usable. However, you can see that the M8 allows the use of very slow shutter speeds, so that may not be a problem very often.

 

http://homepage.mac.com/billh96007/PhotoAlbum196.html

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[chrism]

I can't imagine those people are all wearing purple clothes (I see the embassy even has a purple doormat!), so I suspect you may need to play with the colour balance a bit. Otherwise nice.

 

Chris

[bradhusick]

Just curious, was the shutter sound quiet enough to take pictures at a piano concert? Impressive!

[rvaubel]

Just curious, was the shutter sound quiet enough to take pictures at a piano concert? Impressive!

 

And no banding!

 

Rex

I'm keeping score

[petermcwerner]

Interesting also for the content. I discovered Mason & Hanlin pianos and read their fascinating history on their web site, I had never heard of them before.

BTW, who was the pianist?

[rfleica]

And no banding!

 

Rex

I'm keeping score

 

i thought i could see banding coming from one of the lights on the top right of the iso1250 shot.

[billh]

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Chris,

 

I think the cloths color came from the stage lights they had on the balcony walkways on both sides of the hall. I tried AWB and Tungsten. As I remember it, the tungsten setting chose values of 2500 and about minus 44 green. I messed with them briefly in C1, but did not dwell on this. When I know which ones M & H want, I will work on them.

 

“Just curious, was the shutter sound quiet enough to take pictures at a piano concert? Impressive!”

 

Brad, it is if you choose your moments. The noise is more in the motor advance than in the actual shutter release. I had to use the 1Ds2 for a similar event in May, and it sounded like a bloody percussion instrument going off - I was on the balcony at the rear, and still it was very intrusive.

 

“And no banding!” (Rex) - “i thought i could see banding coming from one of the lights on the top right of the iso1250 shot.” (rfleica)

 

I didn’t look for it, but if it is there it certainly is not intrusive, and both the piano company the the performer loved the shots. For me this was an eye opener. After I read the Puts report I assumed i would use that camera for messing around, casual shots, and use the 1D2 or 1Ds2 for everything else. Now I think I will use the M8 whenever possible, and use the Canons only for shots like these:

 

http://homepage.mac.com/billh96007/.Pictures/Jeff500,2/Jeff-500,5860.jpg

 

http://homepage.mac.com/billh96007/.Pictures/Swimbest2006/Kona-diving,-1624.jpg

 

http://homepage.mac.com/billh96007/.Pictures/Swimbest2006/Kona,f1.2,0429.jpg

 

Eric Himy is the pianist. He is a friend and is a Mason and Hamlin artist. This was the introduction of the M & H concert grand in Washington, D.C.

 

http://www.erichimy.com/

 

However, while he owns a Steinway concert grand, his favorite piano is a Steingraeber concert grand customized by Piano Craft in Gaithersburg, MD. He helped us look for a concert grand and traveled as far as Europe to test different pianos. The day we all found that really special one is here:

 

http://homepage.mac.com/billh96007/PianoCraft/PhotoAlbum189.html

 

He will use this for recordings, and probably for some of his local concerts.

[clayh]

Wrong. Look at the upper right part of the picture. Thin purple line streaming from the second light from the right edge of the picture. My feeling is that this sensor problem is not trivial.

 

And no banding!

 

Rex

I'm keeping score

[Guest Olof]

Interesting also for the content. I discovered Mason & Hanlin pianos and read their fascinating history on their web site, I had never heard of them before.

BTW, who was the pianist?

 

 

Nice history, but the best pianos are still the ones STEINWAY produces in Hamburg, Germany

[petermcwerner]

Nice history, but the best pianos are still the ones STEINWAY produces in Hamburg, Germany

It is very much a matter of personal taste. Some prefer the American made Steinways, others swear on Bösendorfer, Blüthner or Bechstein...

Steingräber: Beautifully made, but I have never seen one

Cheers

Peter

[plasticman]

Wrong. Look at the upper right part of the picture. Thin purple line streaming from the second light from the right edge of the picture. My feeling is that this sensor problem is not trivial.

 

Yup - the banding is definitely there. But it disappears if you close your eyes and WISH it away!

[rvaubel]

Wrong. Look at the upper right part of the picture. Thin purple line streaming from the second light from the right edge of the picture. My feeling is that this sensor problem is not trivial.

 

Your right. About the picture and the problem not being trivial. While the problem must be solved, I'm trying to get a handle on the practical significents of the problem until it is solved.

 

Rex

[KM-25]

Man-O-Man do, I love film in my Leica..:-)

[clayh]

Well, the practical significance for me is to avoid framing a picture with any strong light source in it that is going to be clipped by the sensor. For instance: table lamps, street lights, lights at sporting events, car lights, skyscraper windows at night, the sun, full moon, etc., lightning, flashlights, campfires. Other than those, no issues at all.

[billh]

It is very much a matter of personal taste. Some prefer the American made Steinways, others swear on Bösendorfer, Blüthner or Bechstein...

Steingräber: Beautifully made, but I have never seen one

Cheers

Peter

 

All true. In the end it is the individual piano, which will differ from others by the same manufacturer, that you must consider. A good Hamburg Steinway is very good indeed, as is of course a good NY Steinway (but they are even more difficult to find, and people in Europe invariably prefer the Hamburg edition). In the end, after going through the various pianos, it was down to a very good Steinway D and Steingraeber 272. Where we found the real difference was in a small custom shop owned by two concert pianists and a master technician. They spend huge amount of time playing, listening and changing/adjusting a piano to make it as good as possible. Their Steinway Ds are very good indeed - they just did one for the Smithsonian concerts, and another for a large concert hall in the north east USA, and both were much nicer than the stock pianos. They modify the sound boards, the hammer position, shave (selectively) the ribs, change the bridge weighting - whatever it takes to achieve the quality they want. I think most people playing the one we chose (Steingraeber 272) and the Steinway D would have agreed with our choice. We did a trial recording in an unsatisfactory setting from a recording standpoint, and the recording engineer, who travels the country doing this, said it was absolutely amazing, that he could find no faults in the piano - for him it was better than the best Steinway in the country, which he records often (these guys, the really good ones, have incredibly sensitive ears).

 

I asked what they did to the Steinways, and to our piano, and I can share their emailed explanations with you if you are interested.

 

(I love the way this list brings people together with interests other than Leica cameras - and that reminds me - I discovered the recording engineer is also a Leica fan (he has Rs).

 

Bill

[billh]

Wrong. Look at the upper right part of the picture. Thin purple line streaming from the second light from the right edge of the picture. My feeling is that this sensor problem is not trivial.

 

Where are you looking? Is it this picture?

 

http://homepage.mac.com/billh96007/....ec,ISO1250.jpg

 

I don't see it on this laptop.

[mgrayson]

When I was shopping for my piano (Steinway my sister-in-law, who plays professionaly, tried a bunch and settled on one. While they all sounded very different when I played them, they all sounded the same when she did. When I asked her why she chose the one she did when they all sounded the same, she replied:

 

"Yes, but getting that sound was easiest from this one."

 

Her comment taught me more about piano playing (and all artistic endeavors) than any amount of instruction. It applies particularly well to photography.

 

Best,

 

Matt

[robsteve]

Bill, you could have done this shot with a M8, but only once, you would have to had been into the pool with him. When he hit the water both you and your M8 would be soaked

 

BTW, just use the little mountain icon to post pictures using your own URL.

 

This is Bill's photo he had linked above. His links were not displaying, so I pasted in the right code. Bill has pretty good reflexes too. He has a few shots like this using a Leica 180mm f2 APO Summicron. I think this one was an EOS 300mm f2.8is shot.

 

Bill, if you don't want the pictures displayed here, I can take the link out of this post.

 

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Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[carstenw]

Rob, you are unreal. I swear, you mistakenly got the reaction time of three normal people when you were assembled. Any tips for a new M8 owner with a bucket full of unsharp pictures?

[robsteve]

Rob, you are unreal. I swear, you mistakenly got the reaction time of three normal people when you were assembled. Any tips for a new M8 owner with a bucket full of unsharp pictures?

 

 

The dog picture wasn't mine, but here are a couple hints.

 

When the rangefinder images align, it is in focus. I use the eyes on a person to check for focus. There is enough contrast with the white of the eye and the iris to see if the images are aligned.

 

In the case of action picture like the dog above, preset the focus and fire just before the images align or just before you subject reaches the spot you focused on.

 

When shooting at the near focus limit, don't keep moving the focus, just put the rangefinder patch on the subjects eyes and move your body until the patches align.