Hephaestus
Established
I am a street and domestic photographer, and I have been shooting almost exclusively with rangefinders for the last several years. I have experimented with a wide variety of equipment, taking tens of thousands of images while working within several different contexts and cultures. During that time, I have developed some opinions about shooting with the M system which I’d like to share with you here.
In no particular order...
On selecting a lens for softness or glow:
In the digital age, I don’t understand preferring a lens because of its softness, vignetting, lower contrast, or glow. It is much more satisfying to go from a sharp high contrast image to a soft glowy one by using software than it is to make a softer glowy image sharper and more contrasty. Modern coatings and optical engineering should not be underestimated! If you want a special look to your images, buy a modern lens and a copy of Nik Software's Color Efex Pro; with this program, you can add glow, vignetting, increase definition, soften, desaturate, etc. in a non-destructive way and in seconds! Obviously, this does not apply if you are intending to print directly from film.
On Leica lenses vs. Zeiss or Voigtlander:
Some Leica lenses are special in that they are different in kind from the offerings of Zeiss or Voigtlander. To me, these are the Summilux 21mm, 24mm and 75mm, the Tri-Elmar classic and Wide-Angle Tri-Elmar (if you need the flexibility of multiple focal lengths within one barrel). To that list it is arguable that the current 50mm Summilux should be added, as it produces image quality differing in degree from the competition at f.1.4 to the extent that it approaches a difference in kind. The other offerings which I have tried differ only from the Zeiss and Voigltnader offerings by a very minor difference of degree. While I was loyal to Leica glass when I started shooting rangefinders, I’ve since found that I am generally just as happy, and sometimes happier, shooting with Zeiss or Voigtlander lenses.
If you’re like me, you might actually find that Voigtlander lenses will often produce superior results for you because you are more inclined to use them casually. While I try not to worry about protecting my gear, I am less concerned with protecting my Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 than I am my 35mm Summilux ASPH. As such I am more inclined to keep my Voigtlander lens out with me and conveniently at hand, or maybe shoved in an unzippered jacket pocket and without the cap to fumble with, and so it makes better images by being accessible when I need it. Its much easier to use something casually when you can more easily afford to replace it!
On large apertures:
For me, a fast wide lens is far more useful than a fast normal or telephoto lens. If I need the speed it is usually because I am struggling to get enough light rather than to add bokeh, and a 24mm is far more likely to yield decent results at 1/20th than a 50mm at the same shutter speed. Even negating camera shake: I’ve lost dozens of potentially good images either because of a focusing error or because I missed the right moment while trying to focus precisely. Normal and telephoto lenses are tedious to use at large apertures, and that takes a lot of the fun out of photography for me.
On adding light:
I’ve heard flash photography described as visual slap in the face, and I’m inclined to agree. I try to be as discreet as possible, and flash is the antithesis of this. However, if I must add light then I strongly prefer to add it by using dimable and continuously on LED light pannel, such as the LitePannel Micro, then from a flash unit. Its less abrupt and I find it also often blends better with the uncontrolled lighting in a scene. This also allows me to see ahead of time how the scene is going to look with the added light. For even better results, I throw the panel on top of a GorillaPod and place it wherever I can make the bast use of it. While not as powerful as a flash: there is no delay while the light recharges, and your subjects also won’t know the precise moment when you take an image. You also won’t get people immediately protesting that they had their eyes closed, so you’re less likely to get subsequent images of open mouthes.
The Softrelease:
I highly recommend using a Softrelease or equivalent. I have found that when shooting at 1/60th or less, my image quality will almost certainly improve more by correctly using a soft release than it will by, for example, upgrading from a Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 lens to a Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH: what a bargain! Using a soft release also makes the shutter more accessible when shooting from an unconventional position, such as from the hip. Also, If you want to make your camera look battered, then you can also rub the finish off of the soft-release without effecting the resale value of your precious rangefinder.
The leather half case:
If you’re planning on using your digital rangefinder on the street, or anywhere in a less developed country, I highly recommend adding a basic black half-case which covers the LCD to your camera. In addition to adding some physical protection from bumps and scrapes, It’ll make your camera look older and more amateur, and that means people will pay less attention to it. This provides at least two benefits: it will help to keep your subjects more relaxed, and it’ll attract less attention from people who might consider taking it from you. I’ve handed my M8 to strangers hundreds of times for group pictures, including in less developed countries like Cuba, India and Malawi where its value would have fed a family for years, and I suspect that I still have it because most or all of those people thought it was just a battered old film camera rather than an expensive modern digital. You can make it more stealthy still by scuffing up the half case, tapeing up the logo and writing on the body, and scraping some paint off of your soft release or removable Zeiss or Voigtlander lens hood: all while protecting the appearance and resale value of your precious rangefinder and lens body.
On equipment size:
My experience is that the quality of the moment captured in a portrait is often inversely proportional to the size of the camera that I use. Its harder to get people to relax and act naturally in the presence of any camera, so I try to put as little equipment between my subject and I as possible. As such: even though I like the results that the Noctilux, 75mm Summilux, and my beloved 24mm Summilux are capable of achieving, I am reluctant to use them if there is a reasonable alternative. Even though these items may seem very compact to an SLR shooter, they may still seem intrusive and intimidating to the people you are pointing them at! sometimes less really is more, and I find this often to be the case during casual portraiture.
_____
I hope that something I have written will prove interesting.
Good light and best regards,
Ryan
In no particular order...
On selecting a lens for softness or glow:
In the digital age, I don’t understand preferring a lens because of its softness, vignetting, lower contrast, or glow. It is much more satisfying to go from a sharp high contrast image to a soft glowy one by using software than it is to make a softer glowy image sharper and more contrasty. Modern coatings and optical engineering should not be underestimated! If you want a special look to your images, buy a modern lens and a copy of Nik Software's Color Efex Pro; with this program, you can add glow, vignetting, increase definition, soften, desaturate, etc. in a non-destructive way and in seconds! Obviously, this does not apply if you are intending to print directly from film.
On Leica lenses vs. Zeiss or Voigtlander:
Some Leica lenses are special in that they are different in kind from the offerings of Zeiss or Voigtlander. To me, these are the Summilux 21mm, 24mm and 75mm, the Tri-Elmar classic and Wide-Angle Tri-Elmar (if you need the flexibility of multiple focal lengths within one barrel). To that list it is arguable that the current 50mm Summilux should be added, as it produces image quality differing in degree from the competition at f.1.4 to the extent that it approaches a difference in kind. The other offerings which I have tried differ only from the Zeiss and Voigltnader offerings by a very minor difference of degree. While I was loyal to Leica glass when I started shooting rangefinders, I’ve since found that I am generally just as happy, and sometimes happier, shooting with Zeiss or Voigtlander lenses.
If you’re like me, you might actually find that Voigtlander lenses will often produce superior results for you because you are more inclined to use them casually. While I try not to worry about protecting my gear, I am less concerned with protecting my Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 than I am my 35mm Summilux ASPH. As such I am more inclined to keep my Voigtlander lens out with me and conveniently at hand, or maybe shoved in an unzippered jacket pocket and without the cap to fumble with, and so it makes better images by being accessible when I need it. Its much easier to use something casually when you can more easily afford to replace it!
On large apertures:
For me, a fast wide lens is far more useful than a fast normal or telephoto lens. If I need the speed it is usually because I am struggling to get enough light rather than to add bokeh, and a 24mm is far more likely to yield decent results at 1/20th than a 50mm at the same shutter speed. Even negating camera shake: I’ve lost dozens of potentially good images either because of a focusing error or because I missed the right moment while trying to focus precisely. Normal and telephoto lenses are tedious to use at large apertures, and that takes a lot of the fun out of photography for me.
On adding light:
I’ve heard flash photography described as visual slap in the face, and I’m inclined to agree. I try to be as discreet as possible, and flash is the antithesis of this. However, if I must add light then I strongly prefer to add it by using dimable and continuously on LED light pannel, such as the LitePannel Micro, then from a flash unit. Its less abrupt and I find it also often blends better with the uncontrolled lighting in a scene. This also allows me to see ahead of time how the scene is going to look with the added light. For even better results, I throw the panel on top of a GorillaPod and place it wherever I can make the bast use of it. While not as powerful as a flash: there is no delay while the light recharges, and your subjects also won’t know the precise moment when you take an image. You also won’t get people immediately protesting that they had their eyes closed, so you’re less likely to get subsequent images of open mouthes.
The Softrelease:
I highly recommend using a Softrelease or equivalent. I have found that when shooting at 1/60th or less, my image quality will almost certainly improve more by correctly using a soft release than it will by, for example, upgrading from a Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 lens to a Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH: what a bargain! Using a soft release also makes the shutter more accessible when shooting from an unconventional position, such as from the hip. Also, If you want to make your camera look battered, then you can also rub the finish off of the soft-release without effecting the resale value of your precious rangefinder.
The leather half case:
If you’re planning on using your digital rangefinder on the street, or anywhere in a less developed country, I highly recommend adding a basic black half-case which covers the LCD to your camera. In addition to adding some physical protection from bumps and scrapes, It’ll make your camera look older and more amateur, and that means people will pay less attention to it. This provides at least two benefits: it will help to keep your subjects more relaxed, and it’ll attract less attention from people who might consider taking it from you. I’ve handed my M8 to strangers hundreds of times for group pictures, including in less developed countries like Cuba, India and Malawi where its value would have fed a family for years, and I suspect that I still have it because most or all of those people thought it was just a battered old film camera rather than an expensive modern digital. You can make it more stealthy still by scuffing up the half case, tapeing up the logo and writing on the body, and scraping some paint off of your soft release or removable Zeiss or Voigtlander lens hood: all while protecting the appearance and resale value of your precious rangefinder and lens body.
On equipment size:
My experience is that the quality of the moment captured in a portrait is often inversely proportional to the size of the camera that I use. Its harder to get people to relax and act naturally in the presence of any camera, so I try to put as little equipment between my subject and I as possible. As such: even though I like the results that the Noctilux, 75mm Summilux, and my beloved 24mm Summilux are capable of achieving, I am reluctant to use them if there is a reasonable alternative. Even though these items may seem very compact to an SLR shooter, they may still seem intrusive and intimidating to the people you are pointing them at! sometimes less really is more, and I find this often to be the case during casual portraiture.
_____
I hope that something I have written will prove interesting.
Good light and best regards,
Ryan
