M9 rental in Honolulu

[marcoinhawaii]

I am lucky enough to live in a city where a local camera rental shop, Hawaii Photo Rental, is renting the M9. I rented it for a job I shot for a major newspaper and hiked around the North Shore of Hawaii and made some pretty nice shots with my 35mm Summilux pre asph.

What a dream to hike around with such a small camera and lens. I did have my big Canon and lenses which did most of my work as I did have to roll around in the dirt and didn't want to scratch or damage the rental.

I wasn't too keen on the look the older lens gave wide open on the digital sensor. It was a bit too ghostly and the client would probably have rejected any of the images. I liked the lens when I shot film but on digital it seemed strange. If I rent the M9 more, I just might have to upgrade the lens for a more modern asph lens but who's got the money?

The images created with the M9 were just as good as any Canon which made the camera so much fun to use because it was small and lightweight.

Does anyone have any info on how older lenses react to the modern sensor of the Leica, esp when they are shot wide open?

I'm looking forward to renting the 50mm Noct lens when HPR gets it in stock. I just hope a client will foot the rental bill.

 

[Tom Niblick]

I've been shooting in Hawaii and using Leicas for a few decades. Like you, I always had a pro DSLR for helicopter and boat jobs since my old M8 could not keep pace with the action. But I ditched my Nikons about a year ago and now only use my M9 in the field. Studio work is still done with a 4x5 and scanbacks.

Older lenses work wonderfully on a M9. I'm using a 35 Summicron circa 1990, a 50 Summicron circa 1969, a 90 Elmarit M circa 1993 and a 135 Elmarit circa 1975. They all produce great shots with the characteristic "Leica Glow." I wouldn't trade any of them in on the more modern ASPH versions.

Here is a link to a few of my photos:
http://www.kauaisprintmaker.com/portfolio.php

Most were done with digital Leicas but some are film (M4 and Nikon F3).

 

[Noserider]

Hey Marco,
Well, that Pre Asp Summilux is pretty 'interesting' wide open, stop it down to 5.6 and it cleans up nicely, like you said its better on film. Also, not sure if that copy of the shop's Summilux has the 6-bit coding, which might help with in camera processing of the image. Besides, just wait a bit and Josh will be getting the Summilux Asph FLE so then we shall all see what the M9 can do!

 

[marcoinhawaii]

Agreed. I guess I just haven't used that lens long enough to really get the right feel for it. To shoot both a modern dslr and switch over the M9 along with a lens from the 60's-70's is odd.

To me, it is so apparent that digital sensors out resolve glass pretty quickly.

Sadly, I can't give up the Canons and rely on an M9. Impossible. But to be able to rent and use is a nice thing. Great camera.

Nice work by the way.

 

[marcoinhawaii]

Oh and that Leica glow, its pretty but I wonder how useful for print publications.

 

[marcoinhawaii]

Hey Marco,
Well, that Pre Asp Summilux is pretty 'interesting' wide open, stop it down to 5.6 and it cleans up nicely, like you said its better on film. Also, not sure if that copy of the shop's Summilux has the 6-bit coding, which might help with in camera processing of the image. Besides, just wait a bit and Josh will be getting the Summilux Asph FLE so then we shall all see what the M9 can do!

But to shoot wide open is to die for, even if you can't maintain that sharp focus. But alas, Josh will get those Lux lenses at some point. Leica, get on the ball and make more!

 

[marcoinhawaii]

Also, not sure if that copy of the shop's Summilux has the 6-bit coding, which might help with in camera processing of the image.

Does six bit coding help or can you just program that into the camera's settings? How important is it to have the coding? I've seen sites showing how to do this with sharpies, etc...What gives?

 

[Tom Niblick]

Does six bit coding help or can you just program that into the camera's settings? How important is it to have the coding? I've seen sites showing how to do this with sharpies, etc...What gives?

You can dial it in but it is a major PIA when you are working. Better to code your lenses under 50 mm. The coding removes vignetting and color shifts on the edges. You can do it with a sharpie but it only lasts for a few lens changes. Having the pits engraved fixes this problem. DAG is reasonable.

dagcam@chorus.net

Or you can swap out the mounts for ones with the pits already ground at ebay. I think they are around $35 for 3. But they will not work with pre 1990 lenses. The screw holes are in the wrong place. A warning though, some people are not happy with these made in China mounts. Most are, though.

 

[Tom Niblick]

http://dclindesign.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/6-bit-your-old-lens/

 

[marcoinhawaii]

http://dclindesign.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/6-bit-your-old-lens/

Fascinating. Amazing you can buy these.


I talked to one of the techs at Hawaii Photo Rental and was talking about the softness and glow of older lenses and his experience with digital vs film and older lenses is the older lenses can't resolve enough for the new sensors. The glow on the older lenses is a bit strange at times but I haven't rented it enough to really get the feel of how to take advantage of its uniqueness.

 

[Tom Niblick]

Fascinating. Amazing you can buy these.


I talked to one of the techs at Hawaii Photo Rental and was talking about the softness and glow of older lenses and his experience with digital vs film and older lenses is the older lenses can't resolve enough for the new sensors. The glow on the older lenses is a bit strange at times but I haven't rented it enough to really get the feel of how to take advantage of its uniqueness.

I was going to post a few images showing the glow but the box tells me I'm not allowed to post images. Drop me an email and I can send you a few samples.
printmaker@hawaiilink.net