How do you shoot your Leica?

[jameshays]

Just curious as to the workflow of how different people work the mechanics of their M's, specifically M6 versions.

When I purchased my 35 summicron, the manager at the store told me he keeps his shutter set to 125 and always shoots at the highest aperture possible. He told me it is faster to adjust the ap than the shutter on the M6.

I usually set my aperture between f2 and f4 and try to fly the shutter speed around for proper exposure. Not always the quickest method but I like wide aps.

Jeff Ascough uses an M6 exclusively for his wedding photography which I think would be an incredibly challenging task. It seems capturing the moment would be tough when you are setting shutter speeds and aperture.

I'm just curious how people are using their M's. Range focussing? Guessing meter or shutter speeds? Counting on the forgiveness of film? Are you pre setting aperture or shutter?
I'd like to know how you actually shoot your pictures and what method you use.

 

[aizan]

a recent thread about ascough is all about him switching to canon. look for "leica star" in the title.

anyhow, i agree, it's easier to change the aperture. you also get the sunny=deep dof, dark=shallow dof thing going. 1/125 or 1/250 will get you through the day, for the most part, and so will hyperfocal or zone focusing. when it gets dark or you go indoors, i'll bring it down to 1/30 or 1/60, and use the rangefinder more often, though scale focusing is fine for longer than about 10 feet. when you go somewhere new, meter a couple times for reference and tweak the aperture as needed.

 

[richard_l]

It depends on whether I'm shooting action, street, architecture, portrait, still life, landscape, or whatever. Usually I set a realistic aperture, depending on the desired DOF and available light, then set the shutter speed.

 

[Paula]

For me its all in the aperture setting. The only time I go by shutter speed is in low light conditions when I try to avoid using too slow a speed to minimise possible camera shake.

(A question which I posted in an earlier thread because I'm currently experimenting with how slow I can go with my 35mm summicron.)

...and on which note I'm off out for a days shooting to experiment!

Paula

 

[peter_n]

I'm with Richard & Paula. What you're shooting and aperture drive what you end up with as a shutter speed. DOF is key. I sometimes pre-set aperture/speed and hyperfocus - if I'm in the subway or on the street for example. If I'm focusing the lens I always have it set to infinity and only have to turn it one way. I recently bought an M7 and I'm mostly using it on auto. 😉

 

[simonankor]

Still Leica-less, but I shoot my rangefinders normally guessing exposures and zone-focussing during the day, and guessing exposure and careful focussing at night. And it works pretty well, especially on the Canon P.

As a general rule I work from the aperture first for DOF control, and then set shutter speed appropriately. But mostly when I shoot I'm not in any great rush, and I take a little time with each shot. 😉

 

[egpj]

I prefer to setup before I start shooting. Stuff like the aperture and shutter speed that I use will be done before hand if I can manage it. I usually do not use the MP's internally light meter because I get better results from Sekonic. As for focus, I never just use the old hyperfocal distance method. Instead I opt for focusing on what my subject is and then shoot. It really only takes half a second to focus. My aperatures I try to keep around f5.6 maximum f8 except when isolating a subject then I open all the way up.

 

[FrankS]

"It seems capturing the moment would be tough when you are setting shutter speeds and aperture."

Leica's speed of use in capturing the moment comes from pre-setting the exposure, and if possible also the focus, before "the moment" arrives.

Whenever I get myself into a photographic opportunity, I take a meter reading with my M6 of the ground or side of building, whatever is around that would provide the proper exposure of the subject. If it is not a delicate situation, for example pictures of friends or family, I can take the reading from the subject. You have to decide about the depth of field you want and how to portray any movement in the image with shutter speed. The nature of the photographic opportunity wll dictate whether you set the aperture or shuter speed first.

If this is a street shooting situation and I'm trying not to stand out, I'll also pre-focus on an object that is the same distance from me as the subject. Then I'm ready to capture the decisive moment, having pre-set all the controls on the M6 beforehand. That's what makes the Leica so fast and responsive. It is the thinking and setting you do before the moment arrives. When the moment arrives, you simply raise the camera to your eye and the camera responds instantly to your touch.

Hope this helps.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I set the shutter to the highest possible speed and the lens goes as wide open as it can be done, depending on the light. Usually, I play by the Sunny 16 rule, and work from there. Say, before leaving home, I set the shutter to 1/250 (if I loaded ISO 200 film), and the aperture at, say, f4. Once outside, I check the camera meter (I shoot with M6TTL cameras) for confirmation, and usually change shutterspeeds just to keep the lens as wide open as possible.

DOF may be key, but it's ruined some of my street shots. If I want to do some hipshots, I try setting the aperture to f8, nothing smaller, and set the lens at a distance of some 10 feet.

That's done the trick for me...

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Full aperture. Wind at "the appropriate time". Guesstimate exposure first --that means w/o looking through the viewfinder-- (when it's dark, I do it by aiming down and just eyeing from afar the LEDs), which allows me to adjust within a stop or two when I frame. Aim and click.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Sorry, by "full aperture" I meant "wide open". I love shooting wide open. One of the reasons why I don't like the Canikon lenses sometimes (and I own various Canon bodies and lenses, and a few --choke-- Nikons).

 

[FrankS]

Obtaining an exposure setting without raising the camera to your eye is one of the strong points of the external flash-shoe mounted C/V exposure meter. A negative is the bulk (minimal) it adds to your camera.

 

[pmu]

How about the shutter...do you guys have your M's shutter ready to shoot or do you wind the shutter just before you take the shot?

Is it harmfull if the shutter is "loaded" for hours or days....??? I usually have my camera ready all the time and sometimes I can't find anything to shoot and the camera isits in the table for couple of days "shutter loaded". Sorry, I can't find the right words, but you get the idea, right?

Pete

 

[JNewell]

There is no mechanical reason not to leave the shutter cocked. The springs are only modestly more loaded with the shutter cocked than fired. There may be electrical reasons, though. If you don't turn the meter on an M6/M6ttl/M7 off, you may (depending on how you store the camera) run the battery down. If you do turn off the meter on the M7, I understand that the camera has a several second delay before the electronic system finishes its start-up routine.

 

[FrankS]

My shutter is always cocked and ready to fire. 🙂

 

[Graybeard]

With a metrless Leica, I leave the shutter at 1/(ASA) to simplify using the "sunny-16 rule (sunny-11 would be more accurate when I cross-checked with a calibrated meter).

Indoors, I shoot exclusively with ASA400 film. I leave the shutter at 1/60 and have learned to estimate aperture reasonably well with rooms using artificial light. I don't always avoid camra shake below 1/60th unless I'm sitting down or leaning against something. Not an effect of age, I've become more critical of sharpness in available light images.

If I have a meter with me I use it if there is time, but the estimates are usually correct.

 

[FrankS]

Standard exposure in household interiors at night with normal room lights using 400 speed film is 1/30sec at f2. In kitchens or other brightly lit rooms it is 1 stop faster: 1/60sec at f2.
This is an exposure that I've memorized like the sunny-sixteen one.

 

[vincentbenoit]

What you're shooting and aperture drive what you end up with as a shutter speed. DOF is key.

Agree. Which makes me deplore the poor ergonomics of the shutter speed dial on most RF cameras (not least the upcoming Zeiss Ikon, going by the pictures on www.zeissikon.com). 😕 The M6TTL and M7 with their oversize, overhanging dials seem to be better in this respect, wrong rotation way notwithstanding 😉 .

I sometimes pre-set aperture/speed and hyperfocus - if I'm in the subway or on the street for example.

I do this all the time. I always carry a small handheld meter (Gossen Digisix) in my left pants pocket so as to be able to check light levels (and adjust camera settings accordingly, if need be) without having to raise the camera to my eye.

I recently bought an M7 and I'm mostly using it on auto

... so that you don't have to worry about the shutter speed dial rotating the wrong way? 😛 Seriously, there's no doubt autoexposure makes aperture-priority shooting much easier. And with AE lock and exposure compensation, the photographer remains in control. I can't reasonably afford an M7 so I'm eagerly awaiting the Zeiss Ikon, which does feature AE, too. (I 'd be happy with a Bessa R2A if it wasn't for the horrible shutter noise - I hope the Ikon will be much better in this respect).

Cheers
Vincent

 

[Beniliam]

I 'd be happy with a Bessa R2A if it wasn't for the horrible shutter noise - I hope the Ikon will be much better in this respect

I see the Zeiss Ikon in one Photographic Event, was a first model of the production, and the shutter was similar to the R2. I dont know if this aspect Zeiss update.

 

[aizan]

(I 'd be happy with a Bessa R2A if it wasn't for the horrible shutter noise - I hope the Ikon will be much better in this respect).

If the digital M doesn't dampen the Copal shutter as well as the Hexar RF, lots of people are going to be disappointed.