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Leica M9 Oregon workshop photos

jonoslack

Active member
Folk who say this are talking about film cameras,because what you see through a rangefinder is not what comes out on film.A digital range finder has a DSLR screen stuck on the back which makes it as suitable for landscapes as a canon 5d.:)
I completely agree . . . better in fact, because of the lenses. Only surprise is hearing it from you Neil!

Mike - lovely photos, I'd love to go there!
 

bradhusick

Active member
These were all with the M9 (a few with the M8.2) You can click thru them in the gallery. Here's the first...it's Woody in the wind.

 

cmb_

Subscriber & Workshop Member
These were all with the M9 (a few with the M8.2) You can click thru them in the gallery. Here's the first...it's Woody in the wind.
Brad - The staircase is a nice composition and good eye to notice that given the spectacular landscape all around.

The 3 silhouettes on the bluff is sublime!
 

Mike Hatam

Senior Subscriber Member
These were all with the M9 (a few with the M8.2) You can click thru them in the gallery. Here's the first...it's Woody in the wind.

Great stuff Brad. It was fun to finally meet you in person, and interesting how we can both be at the same spot at the same time, and see totally different images. I love your 'stairs' shot, as well as the sillouette of the three photographers. Very nice work!
 

Mike Hatam

Senior Subscriber Member
Thanks for all the comments.

Regarding the use of an M9 for landscape shooting, here are my thoughts...

The M system (M9 in particular) has some advantages and disadvantages for landscape shooting.

Advantages:
- 18 MP finally gives enough resolution for large prints with maximum detail
- WATE is a superb landscape lens
- Compactness and light weight of M9 kit allows me to hike/walk for miles to get shots that I would not get with my heavy DSLR system (I simply wouldn't lug all the weight across long distances on foot)
- Superb prime lenses give fantastic image quality without concern for muddy/soft corners, CA, etc.

Disadvantages:
- No "live-view". This is huge. With my 5D II, I can set up the shot, then zoom in at 10x on live view to nail the focus with manual focus adjustments. No way to do this on the M9. Just this one feature alone would make the M9 a significantly more powerful landscape camera
- No lenses beyond 135mm, and even at 135mm, the lenses are often miscalibrated. I often shoot landscape shots between 100-200mm on my Canon system. On the M9, the 90 APO is the longest lens that I really "trust". The 135 APO is good, but is very hard to calibrate for accurate focus, so anything other than infinity focus makes me nervous.

The M9 is significantly better than the M8 for landscape shooting for a few reasons. The biggest are:
- 18MP vs 10MP (this really matters in fine-art landscape large prints)
- Exposure bracketing
- Uncompressed DNG (I haven't analyzed the impact, but want every ounce of IQ)

For this trip, I brought my 5DII along with the M9. The 5DII never even made it out of the camera bag. The M9 is the best set of compromises / trade-offs for my needs. Just wish they'd add the live-view (I know they can't do this on the current sensor), and then it would be even better.
 
N

nei1

Guest
Mike it seems the one time I step in to the digital ring I overstep the mark.
Even with no live view you can presumably take a snap,check its focus and exposure,rather like a polaroid back?
 

Mike Hatam

Senior Subscriber Member
Neil,

Yes, you can always check the image after the fact, including exposure, focus, and framing. When I'm tripod mounted, and using the WATE, I use the LCD to fine-tune my framing (rather than using the Franken-Finder).

However, the LCD (after the shot) will only tell me if I got focus or not. Then I can make an adjustment and try again. Maybe after 2-3 tries I'll nail it precisely. The M9 LCD has fairly low resolution, so even this method won't confirm precise focus, but will confirm "general" focus.

With the 5DII in live-view mode (and the higher resolution screen), I can manually focus until the 10x zoomed image is precisely focused and framed on the very first shot. Then I may only need a follow-up shot to adjust exposure.

Live View really speeds up this process, and gives you extreme confidence that you've nailed the shot - composition, focus, and exposure.

Mike
 
N

nei1

Guest
I do see what you mean Mike,but even as is its a big improvement over the film Ms.Ive wasted a lot of film,patience and aspirin trying for exact relationships between parts of a foto;getting something in the foreground to just touch the horizon for example.
Neil.
 

jonoslack

Active member
Neil,

Yes, you can always check the image after the fact, including exposure, focus, and framing. When I'm tripod mounted, and using the WATE, I use the LCD to fine-tune my framing (rather than using the Franken-Finder).
HI Mike
Why use a tripod? . . . I've been experimenting with a quadruped (see picture below). It gets you around a little faster, and much more fun than lugging a tripod around with you.

Mind you, this afternoon, a conjunction of a Walnuts for sale stand that looked like a pig, a field of steers on one side of the road, a pig farm up ahead, and a BMW X5 going too fast behind induced my quadruped to make a dash for it (something tripods don't usually do). A quick gallop across a freshly sewn field and a few stern words later and things were back to normal. Fortunately the M9 was still in one piece (and the rider).



Leica M9 35mm Summarit on quadruped.

My point is that (for me at least - and not in low light) one of the joys of the M9 for landscape is not having to carry a tripod).
 
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Mike Hatam

Senior Subscriber Member
Jono... I'll trade my tripod for your quadraped :)

Actually, I went without a tripod for much of the Oregon coast. I mainly went without a tripod in daylight. But most of those sunset shots are 4 seconds or longer exposure, with some being around 30 seconds. Tough to do without a tripod :)
 

jonoslack

Active member
Jono... I'll trade my tripod for your quadraped :)

Actually, I went without a tripod for much of the Oregon coast. I mainly went without a tripod in daylight. But most of those sunset shots are 4 seconds or longer exposure, with some being around 30 seconds. Tough to do without a tripod :)
HI Mike
After yesterdays behaviour you might have a deal there!
Of course, I was being flippant, and I do understand that there are circumstances where a tripod is really important. Just that you can do a lot of good work in daylight with an M9 without one.
 
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