Today on the National Mall

Leica M9, Fujinon L 5cm f2.8 LTM Lens

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New Orleans Wedding Party

 

Pretty self-explanatory. Have a great day!

 

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What Was I Shooting a Year Ago? 35mm f1.4 Summilux Version 3

Jammin' Java, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 v. 3 Lens

iso 1600, f1.7, 1/15 sec.

 

I was just thinking about the end of the winter season, and how excited I am to get outside again as the weather gets nice. That got me thinking about what I was shooting at this time a year ago.

 

Apparently, I was shooting my M9 and my most valuable Leica lens - the classic Summilux 35mm f1.4 version 3. At nearly wide open, this lens has character to spare. Sharp yet glowing. Love it.

 

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Live Oak Tree, New Orleans' Audubon Park

Live Oak, Audubon Park, New Orleans, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summicron 35mm f2 Lens

iso 200, f16, 1/60 sec.

Edited in Snapseed

 

On one day of my trip to New Orleans, I took the streetcar line to Audubon Park. Actually, due to construction on the streetcar system, I had to make part of the trip on a bus. In any case, the park is lovely. The light coming through the branches of the amazing, enormous live oak trees there was amazing, even mid-day on a clear, bright day.

 

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My Leica M9 Goes Home to Leica US Service For a Checkup

Image Source: http://us.leica-camera.com/service/service_and_repair/

Happy 2014! I'm Glad You're Here at DMC-365!

Well, 2013 was a great year for me and for my blog. Readership has steadily increased over the year, and I've really enjoyed the Whole Lotta Leica and Skeletons From The Closet series I did throughout the year.

My Leica M9 has been integral to the WLL project, and deserves a nice cleaning and check-up, even though it's performing like new. So, off it went yesterday in its original packaging to the Leica Service Department in New Jersey.

(Click Here) to find Leica US's Service page.

And here's another great reason to join the LHSA (International Leica Society) - 15% off on Leica service! I'm sure that will more than pay for the price of membership for this year. LHSA offers an excellent quarterly magazine (available in hard copy or electronic versions), a nice Google+ page, national and local events, and much more.

(Click Here) to go to the LHSA and join!

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What is it About These Old Nikon Film Cameras?

 

Nikon Addiction, by Frontman on Range Finder Forum

Image Source: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138221

 

Poster "Frontman" on Range Finder Forum has posted about his addiction to old Nikon film cameras. Just reading the responses shows he's not alone in his malady. And neither am I.

 

(Click Here) to read the post on RFF.

 

I have such a strong attraction to old Nikon gear. This post hit me at the opportune moment. Having recently read about the new Nikon Df (Click Here to read about the Df), which can use the very oldest of F mount lenses (pre-AI) to the very latest, I've been wondering how many people like me still have the old pre-AI lenses. I have almost what I consider a full set (still on the lookout for the right 35mm lens), and continue to add once in a while. In fact, I recently bought an absolutely gorgeous Nikkor pre-AI 200mm f4 lens for $75, at a big name camera store. Just too much beautiful glass and metal to walk past.

 

I have not preordered a Df. That doesn't mean I'm not interested. I'm simply not sure that the intersection of what I love about an old Nikon FM2, say, and the awesome D700, is really what I want. It may be mixing the two worlds too much. I've experienced this with my current main camera (if you can call it that, amongst all the others I shoot), the Leica M9. The M9 is a spectacular camera. However, I'm not sure that the overlap between what I love about Leica rangefinders and what's great about digital capture is the perfect marriage for me. I recently proved to myself that I enjoy shooting a film M just as much as the M9. If I were using it for selling images, or events that I had to capture well, then digital would be a requirement. As it is, I use the M9 as I use my film Leicas - out and about with the hope of getting an outstanding image, not a list of images that I must make. I'm thinking the Df may be a similar situation for me.

 

So, in the meantime, I'm hoping to receive today my latest Nikon - an EX condition F2 that I purchased from KEH. Really, $129 for such a machine is just not debatable. For more fun, I also bought what is reputed to be the worst Nikon lens ever, the 43-86mm f3.5 zoom (pre-AI). $29 in EX condition. How can I pass up the chance to try the low end of the price and performance spectrum? I'm sure it won't become my go-to lens. I'm also sure I'll have some fun with it.

 

One possible reason for my attraction to this equipment is simply that as a kid, Nikon was the unreachable golden ring for me. Shooting Pentax SLRs (which, yes, I still love and use), I was in awe of the equipment that pros of the day used. I remember doing a work-study day with our local newspaper's photographers, who both shot F2s. I thought "one day." Well, that day's here, and it only cost me 35 years and now $129.

 

As evidence that I do still have a modicum of restraint, I have so far avoided going into the Nikon rangefinder world. Even though I know they're excellent cameras, and have seen some amazing deals. Mixing what I see as the SLR world (mastered by Nikon, in my opinion) and rangefinders (Leica territory, again in my opinion) may just not be necessary.

 

So, get ready for some Nikon film images in the coming weeks and months here on DMC-365!

 

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Sacrilege! The M9 is Better Than the New M (240)?

 

Forest Art, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Carl Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f1.5 Lens

 

Always on the lookout for new blogs, and especially those focused on Leica, I recently came across Prosophos.

 

Peter, the blog's host, is of the opinion that the image quality from Leica's CCD cameras, specifically the M9, is better than the new CMOS sensor in the M240. I am not necessarily of the same mind, but I do love my M9, and for very different reasons than I love my CMOS-based Nikon D700, for example.

 

(Click Here) to get started reading Peter's thoughts on the Leica CCD vs. CMOS topic.

 

Better and worse are very absolute terms. In art, absolute terms can be dangerous. To be fair, Peter is careful not to use them too much in his discussions.

 

I don't necessarily think either the M9 or M240 are better than each other. If you're shooting in the dark, or need to shoot video, the M240 is better. If you like the look of CCD images without AA filters, the M9 is better. If you're like me and still feel the weight of the investment you've made in the M9, guess which one is better?

 

One more thing, which I feel more strongly about, is the touting of all of the new features on the M240. Let's face it, folks, CMOS low light performance and video capability have been around for years now, and in a wide range of cameras, including other full-frame ones. Just not in Leica rangefinders. So, I'm not wowed by those features. And for me, the thought of an add-on electronic viewfinder (EVF) for a Leica rangefinder is just mixing two very different worlds. I'm completely at home with the add on EVF on my Micro 4/3 camera. Not so with the most pure of cameras in my opinion, the Leica rangefinder.

 

What would change my mind about the value of live view and add-on finders for the new M? Well, if I had a collection of R lenses, which can now be adapted and brought back to life, that would be a start. I'm not in that situation.

 

So, as always, different horses for different courses. And to end it positively, I still feel that my M9 is a camera that has no peer - not in my collection or anyone else's.

 

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Passage - a Quick Shot With August's Whole Lotta Leica Lens - 35mm f2 Summicron M

 

Passage, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summicron 35mm f2 Version 3 Lens

iso 320 f5.7, 1/125 sec

 

I've been too busy to get out and shoot much recently. My daughter's scuba classes have taken some weekend time, as they will this weekend. Her check-out is on this Sunday. After that, we're officially ready for a dive trip!

 

I did stop and shoot this image on my way into work the other day. I like the parallel lines of the lower roof edge and the birds at the top.

 

We shoot when we can, right?

 

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Whole Lotta Leica - February Results - Ai Weiwei's Exhibit at the Hirshhorn With the W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 Lens

I visited the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC in February, where I saw a wonderful exhibit by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Weiwei is a multi-talented artist, working in an extremely wide range of media including photography and video, woodwork, pottery, architecture, social media, and sculpture. He has been the target of suppression by the Chinese government. He exposes social commentary in his art, for example in a series of pieces centered around the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, China, where he decries the death of so many school children due to cheap construction of public school buildings.

 

(Click Here) to read about Ai Weiwei's exhibit at the Hirshhorn. It's certainly worth a visit.

 

I took the opportunity to shoot some images with my February Whole Lotta Leica lens - the W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 LTM.

 

Ai Weiwei's Zodiac, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 Lens

iso 640, f4.8, 1/60 sec.

 

I like the radiating lines of the zodiac in the picture above. I waited until the lady walking around the exhibit came fully into a beam of light to release the shutter. The light on her face provides a small but powerful focal point.

 

Captivating Video, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 Lens

iso 640, f2.5, 1/30 sec.

 

Dragon's Gaze, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 Lens

iso 400, f4.8, 1/125 sec.

 

I find the W-Nikkor to be very sharp in the center, with a pretty nice range of contrast, if a little on the low contrast side. I think it's a little soft further from center, which can impart a particular look that's not good for every subject, but can be special in the right cases. Not exactly soft, but the peak sharpness is clearly in the center.

 

I elected to keep some of the images in color. Let's take a look at those. First off, this room of the exhibit is wallpapered with shots of the Olympic Stadium in Beijing, in which Ai collaborated on the architectural design. He makes wooden pieces, such as these geometric shapes (which, by the way, are constructed without a single nail, using traditional Chinese woodworking techniques), frequently using wood from ancient temples that have been disassembled or destroyed in the name of progress.

 

Ai Weiwei Exhibit, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 Lens

iso 640, f4.8, 1/15 sec.

 

Ai Weiwei Exhibit, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 Lens

iso 640, f4.8, 1/15 sec.

 

Ai Weiwei's "Snake Ceiling," by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 Lens

iso 640, f5.6, 1/15 sec.

 

The snake in the picture above is constructed of children's backpacks. It is a statement about the Sichuan earthquake. Apparently, backpacks were an ever-present reminder of the many children lost in the disaster.

 

I enjoy shooting with the little Nikkor. I am very pleased with the way it renders subtle colors. It's a tiny lens, and is faster than my similarly-designed Leica 3.5cm f3.5 Summaron. However, I must admit that I prefer the Summaron's overall image quality.

 

I'm happy to have the Nikkor, but certainly would not want it to be my only or main 35mm lens for the M9. I have always wondered about the Nikon rangefinders, and wonder if the LTM lens performs similarly to the Nikon rangefinder mount lenses. I imagine that the performance is very similar.

 

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Another New Feature Column on DMC-365 - Whole Lotta Leica

If you've been following this blog, you'll already know that I'm working on reformatting it for 2013, and adding some new features. If you're a Leica fan, you're going to like this one.

 

Last year, I purchased the most expensive piece of equipment in my photographic history - a used Leica M9. I did get a nice deal on it, but wow, that was a big buy.

 

I also have a nice collection of "normal" focal length Leica (or Leica mount) lenses. I'm including anything from say 35-55mm in that group.

 

So here's the plan. Each month (or so), I'll match up a lens from my collection with the M9 body. The lenses range from being made in the 1930s (!) to modern. I think it will be exciting and informative to see how the old lenses as well as new work on my most modern digital Leica body.

 

I'm starting this one off with an old standard - a Leica Elmar 5cm (50mm) f3.5 collapsible lens. It came in Leica Thread Mount (LTM), and mounts up just fine with an M adapter to the Leica M9.

 

 

My 1938 Leica Elmar 5cm f3.5 LTM Collapsible Lens

 

This lens was the standard for Leica screwmount cameras for many years. The LTM Elmar 5cm f3.5 was produced from 1930-1950, with over 36,000 units produced. For details about the lens, and links to reviews, please

 

(Click Here) to go to l-camera-forum.com.

 

This particular copy is pretty beat up. In fact, it's the worst condition Leica lens that I own. You can see the scratches on the front face of the lens. The front element also has some scratches (sometimes referred to as "cleaning marks," these are really just scratches). There is also a little haze in this lens, but not too bad.

 

The little lever for selecting f-stop (note the old standard f numbers, no f5.6, 8, etc. on this old version) is a fingernail breaker. Mine binds just a little, and is hard to push. The focus movement is also far from smooth. All that said, I have shot with this lens on a film body, and the results were pretty darned good.

 

Let's see how it does on the M9. Results due in a couple of weeks.

 

Welcome to the new column - Whole Lotta Leica!

 

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When this gets you motivated, please buy your M9 (or your $7 LTM-M converter, or anything else you buy from Amazon) HERE!

 

 

Christmas Time in the City

 

Skating Rink, Washington, DC, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Carl Zeiss Sonnar C 50mm f1.5 Lens

iso 640, f1.5, 1/125 sec

 
A couple of days ago (on December 23), I took advantage of the nicest weather we will have over the holiday break and drove into DC to spend some time in the city. The ice skaters were out in full force. As the sun set on the horizon, I was waiting for the lights to come on around the rink. Very soon after, I caught this moment. I love the lines of the lights and the hand rail, and the wistful look on the young lady's face. It's Christmas Time in the City.
 
It occurs to me that my M9 has achieved what my M8 never did. Not only is it as capable as my other Leicas (and more capable in many ways), it is just as fun to use. I suppose that the crop factor math always in my head, UV/IR filters, and necessity of lens coding were just enough to keep the M8 from getting there with me. The M8 is also a very capable camera, and the image quality is great. It just never felt as good as my M4-P, for example. The M9 does.
 
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