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"Goodbye, Leica"

Paratom

Well-known member
... While I occasionally have prints that are 16x20 the majority are 30x40 and I've found that just stretches the limits of 18 megapixels.
...
So, I too find myself about to say goodbye to Leica as I revert back to 100% medium format.

Don
Hi Don,
is this cm or inches print size?
Do you sell all those prints or do you just have a big house? ;)
Tom
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Hi Don,
is this cm or inches print size?
Do you sell all those prints or do you just have a big house? ;)
Tom
Don

Tom, Sorry the print size is in inches. My primary profession is as a landscape photographer and sell prints ranging from 30x40 to 30x60 and larger. The house is small....


Don
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Don

Tom, Sorry the print size is in inches. My primary profession is as a landscape photographer and sell prints ranging from 30x40 to 30x60 and larger. The house is small....


Don
Ahh, now I understand why you move 100% MF. Regards,Tom
 

D&A

Well-known member
I'll talk.

Take the picture when the two images in the rangefinder patch come together.

50/1.1 Nokton, Wide-open on the Leica M9, ISO 2500.

Hey Brian...That "secret focusing technique" resulted in more than 90% of that first image of yours being completely out of focus :)

Serious though, I find the primary difference in shooting the Leica (M9) vs. some other systems such as the MFD or even a modern day DSLR is one's own expectations for the final product and how it's structured. Somewhat similar to what Marc has expressed and illustrated in his lovely "grunge" slide show, is that with the Leica M, many often shoot it in more unstructured, and sometimes less pre-planned way. Thats not to say some don't pick it up for a formal landscape or portrait, but it's strengths I believe lie in it's lending itself to spontanious shooting and the expectation of not always knowing what the final product (image) will exactly look like. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't...sometimes there is movement and flow in the image and sometimes not, but often time it surprises us with an image thats a bit more imaginative.

For myself and I might think others, when the "formal" expected shot is requried (for personal or professional use), thats when the MFD/DSLR or similar system is generally employed or possibly as Don has indicated, a larger sized file is required for very large format prints. In either one of these cases, one generally has in mind, a carefully planned shot and expectations of what the final image will look like and often times exactly what is required of the image, in order for it to work out as expected. To use an often expressed phrase, each system has it's pluses and minuses and when one plays to the strengths of a system, it generally works out well.

Dave (D&A)
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Any camera can be shot loose and goosey. It is not just rangefinders--which I love. My walk-around camera is a Pentax 645D and, like Don, I don't find myself needing a smaller format to do informal work. (Although I have an E-P1 in my bag too, but I use that for videos or if I need to leave a camera on the dinning room table during a meal.) I find the beauty of a rangefinder is no viewfinder blackout during the exposure and I can see the subject when I hear the click and know if someone closed their eyes during the exposure. It is also great for panning.

BTW, I find rangefinders can produce very formal work and quite easily.

As far as print size, I print large (40+ inches) regardless of format and everything come out beautifully.
 
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V

Vivek

Guest
If I read Marc's intriguing post correctly, he was talking about getting sharp focus of subjects not covered by the RF patch.....
 

Brian S

New member
If I read Marc's intriguing post correctly, he was talking about getting sharp focus of subjects not covered by the RF patch.....
This recent shot: 50mm F1.5 C-Sonnar on the Leica M8, wide-open. My daughter is twirling around on the swing- not just a back and forth motion. I wanted her eyes in focus, and they are not in the RF patch.



Lens is pre-focused, using the RF aimed at the eyes on a prior cycle of swinging. Then framed, and just waited for her to twirl to that point again. This is like some of the AF SLR's that can be pre-focused, and the camera programmed to take the picture when the subject moves into the correct position. The Nikon N8008 with an MF-21 data back was my first camera that could do this automatically. I never used that feaure. Just did it manually.
 
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