Don Libby
Well-known member
I wasn't too sure what to title this so I went with what I was doing which was reviewing images and picking various focal lengths.
I'm in the process of obtaining a small lightweight full frame 35mm camera. One that won't sacrifice image quality for weight. No. I'm not giving up on my Cambo WRS1000 and Phase One P45+. What I'm looking for is a camera that will be complementary to my medium format; one that I can take on long hikes and still get the image quality I want/need. Why? I've found that as I get older I'm also developing various aches and pains while I pack around 30 pounds of camera gear. I've also noticed that I'm traveling less from the roadway with my medium format and more with my infrared camera. I still want to shoot color so the solution for me is to find the (near) perfect 35mm full frame lightweight camera.
I think I've solved my problem with the new Leica M9. The M9 is a lightweight digital rangefinder camera with 18 megapixels, and a 24x36mm sensor. While there's a heck of a lot in the M9's favor the one that stands out for me is that this uses the same sensor as my Phase One P45+.
I'm not expecting to achieve the same level of image quality as I get with medium format - what I do expect is a camera that will give me as good if not better image quality as Sandy's Canon 1DsIII. I also expect to be able to print images as large as I require them without losing detail.
So, I'm "sold" on the Leica M9 what's next? Lenses of course. Leica has a world class reputation not only for their cameras but their lenses as well. The plan is to obtain two lenses to start with and thus the reason for my exercise. I wanted to see what focal length I used the most while shooting IR which is full frame 35mm using a 24-105 lens. My thoughts were 50mm and either a 75 or 90mm followed shortly by a wide either 28 or 35mm. What I found is exactly that - I shoot in the 35 to 50mm range and very close to the 75mm range and then rarely 80 to the 105 range.
Don
I'm in the process of obtaining a small lightweight full frame 35mm camera. One that won't sacrifice image quality for weight. No. I'm not giving up on my Cambo WRS1000 and Phase One P45+. What I'm looking for is a camera that will be complementary to my medium format; one that I can take on long hikes and still get the image quality I want/need. Why? I've found that as I get older I'm also developing various aches and pains while I pack around 30 pounds of camera gear. I've also noticed that I'm traveling less from the roadway with my medium format and more with my infrared camera. I still want to shoot color so the solution for me is to find the (near) perfect 35mm full frame lightweight camera.
I think I've solved my problem with the new Leica M9. The M9 is a lightweight digital rangefinder camera with 18 megapixels, and a 24x36mm sensor. While there's a heck of a lot in the M9's favor the one that stands out for me is that this uses the same sensor as my Phase One P45+.
I'm not expecting to achieve the same level of image quality as I get with medium format - what I do expect is a camera that will give me as good if not better image quality as Sandy's Canon 1DsIII. I also expect to be able to print images as large as I require them without losing detail.
So, I'm "sold" on the Leica M9 what's next? Lenses of course. Leica has a world class reputation not only for their cameras but their lenses as well. The plan is to obtain two lenses to start with and thus the reason for my exercise. I wanted to see what focal length I used the most while shooting IR which is full frame 35mm using a 24-105 lens. My thoughts were 50mm and either a 75 or 90mm followed shortly by a wide either 28 or 35mm. What I found is exactly that - I shoot in the 35 to 50mm range and very close to the 75mm range and then rarely 80 to the 105 range.
Don