point of no return

[mathomas]

BTW you will buy more bags than your wife buys shoes. LOL

Seriously if you are eventually going to have 4 or 5 lenses I love the Domke Waxwear F803
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/592387-REG/Domke_701_83A_F_803_Waxwear_Camera_Satchel.html

Or for a smaller kit a lot of folks like the Domke F-5XB
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/16009-REG/Domke_700_52B.html

Domke's are just nice understated bags. They don't scream I have 15 k in here. If your a street type shooter or out a lot than they are great. But many nice bags out there as well Artist and Artisans are great love the Oskar One day.

http://www.artisanandartist.com/bags/acam7100.htm

Just be careful here these folks can spend your money faster than you can count it. LOL

To add to Guy's recommendation, I like the Domke F-5XC, which can carry two bodies with lenses attached, and three additional lenses. I wrote a review on it elsewhere here (search is your friend).

 

[Chuck Jones]

Dan, welcome to the poor man's photography club.
Your choice of the 24 f/2.8 and 75 'Cron are both great choices, and may be all you need or want since you have that nice old 35mm Leitz. I own and use regularly both the same 24 and the 75 'Cron, but my most favorite lens of all is my 50 year old 21 f/3.4 SA. Do not under estimate how great the older M glass looks. They aren't as razor sharp as the ASPH, but nothing beats the "glow."

I also use Domke bags. My primary for my M kit has been the 5XB since it came out many years ago. Highly recommended :thumbs:

 

[danlindberg]

Thank you ALL for such a warm welcome

Today is the day, later this afternoon I am in the shop unpacking two boxes and holding the M9 for the very first time...can't wait!

I'll keep you posted of progress!

 

[danlindberg]

Interesting day

Very first day with M9 and two worries where one is more serious than the other.
1. It underexposes atleast 1 stop. (yes I am familiar with selective metering)
This is not a big problem though. But the next one concerns me a lot more...
2. The dynamic range is pretty poor. In this department the 6 year old Canon 1Ds2 was superior (by far). There MUST be something I am doing wrong here. Everything factory default.
This image I attach here of my house is not showing how it was. It was not as strong sunlight as it suggests. The shadows where much much softer. When importing the file to the converter the shadows are pitch black. I have zero'd the black lever and reduced contrast quite a bit to make it like this!

Any suggestions?

 

[Paratom]

1) I usually dial in -0.3 - but if there is bright sky or something like that I meter on the bottom/grass whatever to not get underexposure. Metering is not as sophisticated is 3d matrix metering but predictable.
If you get frequently 1 stop underxposure I would say something is not right

2)I havent used any recent Canon models but I do use a D700 and also MF-digitla (which is supposed to have pretty good DR) and I find the DR of the M9 quit good.

With which lens you have made this experience?

 

[Jan Brittenson]

The default M9 settings in LR3 have really pumped-up midtone contrast. The default saturation is up the wazoo, too... Fortunately it's easy to change this with a personal base style and make it the default for the M9.

 

[Paratom]

Interesting day

Very first day with M9 and two worries where one is more serious than the other.
1. It underexposes atleast 1 stop. (yes I am familiar with selective metering)
This is not a big problem though. But the next one concerns me a lot more...
2. The dynamic range is pretty poor. In this department the 6 year old Canon 1Ds2 was superior (by far). There MUST be something I am doing wrong here. Everything factory default.
This image I attach here of my house is not showing how it was. It was not as strong sunlight as it suggests. The shadows where much much softer. When importing the file to the converter the shadows are pitch black. I have zero'd the black lever and reduced contrast quite a bit to make it like this!

Any suggestions?

If I look at this image I would say very high contrast scene, white house in the middle which should lead to underexposure.
Have you tried on low contrast scenes? Or maybe even shoot a grey card and see what happens.

 

[Per Ofverbeck]

Interesting day

Very first day with M9 and two worries where one is more serious than the other.
1. It underexposes atleast 1 stop. (yes I am familiar with selective metering)
This is not a big problem though. But the next one concerns me a lot more...
2. The dynamic range is pretty poor. In this department the 6 year old Canon 1Ds2 was superior (by far). There MUST be something I am doing wrong here. Everything factory default.
This image I attach here of my house is not showing how it was. It was not as strong sunlight as it suggests. The shadows where much much softer. When importing the file to the converter the shadows are pitch black. I have zero'd the black lever and reduced contrast quite a bit to make it like this!

Any suggestions?

Dan, with the M9 you´ll have to accept the fact that you´ll have to work a bit more than with the electronic marvels that decide by themselves how your pics should look....

As others have said, metering requires interpretation, and you´ll have to do it, not some matrix metering algorithm. For a static scene, try A first, note the shutter time it selects and look at the histogram. Then (if necessary) shoot it again, in manual with an adjusted shutter setting as required. If satisfied, without changing anything, scan the scene looking at the metering indicator: what part of the scene will make the round dot appear instead of one of the arrows? Do this with a number of different scenes, and you´ll soon get to know the quirks of the metering system far better.

And: DO NOT use auto ISO; you´ll never know as well what you do if the camera keeps changing one of the key parameters all by itself.

Then, post processing. Absolutely, shoot and process dng from the start. Then, in the conversion s/w (Lightroom 3 is great!), in the develop module, look at the histogram and turn on the clipping indicators. Adjust exposure first and brightness after, until you get it all placed (if you exposed decently, the dynamic range is certainly there; just get it within the range of the medium you´ll show the final image in).

Of all the digital cameras (and film scans) I´ve worked with, none has needed less post processing than the M9. But a minute´s work or so makes wonders when capturing the dynamic range.

Here´s a shot from about one month ago. Wonderful morning, wisps of mist, strong sun and trees in shadow. I selected to have the tree shadows almost black; the original file has lots of detail even there.

And here is one more like yours: strong sun and shadows on Stockholm Söder. Still, it´s all there...

Both with the Summicron 35 Asph. But my 50 years old Summicron 50 would have performed equally well here.

 

[danlindberg]

Thanks again for extensive input What initially worried me is the fact that I am very used to the oldfashion way of metering light and still I could not get results.
I have been out today for 5 hours shooting and it feels better today! Even if I am not totally happy with how the raw file looks...but it does seem that the information is there so it is a question of getting familiar with pp for Leica raw files.

No, I would never use auto iso (how horrible) and yes ofcourse always without exception dng from start to finish!

 

[ramosa]

The Domke Waxwear F803 looks seriously nice - thanks for the tip!

I have this bag, too. Great for a body with lens attached, plus 2-3 other lenses. Also, for a body and lens attached, plus two other lens, you may want to consider the 5xb. I have them both and recommend either. Domke bags are durable and quite incognito.