John McCain & my Leica

35mmdelux

35mmdelux

Veni, vidi, vici
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ALL:

went to McCain fundraiser today but since I was several thousand dollars short I went in with the press instead, where I got to talk with the man himself after lunch. Lots of journalists. Half dozen digi photographers and one Leica film photographer (Me). Never felt better. But here is the deal, my Leica was loaded with K200, which I had to ramp up the iso 400 to get enough speed with my 90mm/2.8 Elmarit-M. Snapping from five feet away.

I've read kodachrome is not friendly to push/pull. I hope its not completely a loss. What say ye?

Good argument for taking along B&W 400 that can be pushed to 3200 if needed, but never thought I would get so close to the candidate. I often carry 400 Ilford for that wildcard situation, unfortuantely, not today.

Good argument also for an M8 or RD-1 and let the camera rip.

Is it possible to save the film for this historic (for me) shoot?

Thanks, Paul
 
35mmdelux said:
ALL:

went to McCain fundraiser today but since I was several thousand dollars short I went in with the press instead, where I got to talk with the man himself after lunch. Lots of journalists. Half dozen digi photographers and one Leica film photographer (Me). Never felt better. But here is the deal, my Leica was loaded with K200, which I had to ramp up the iso 400 to get enough speed with my 90mm/2.8 Elmarit-M. Snapping from five feet away.

I've read kodachrome is not friendly to push/pull. I hope its not completely a loss. What say ye?

Good argument for taking along B&W 400 that can be pushed to 3200 if needed, but never thought I would get so close to the candidate. I often carry 400 Ilford for that wildcard situation, unfortuantely, not today.

Good argument also for an M8 or RD-1 and let the camera rip.

Is it possible to save the film for this historic (for me) shoot?

Thanks, Paul
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The NewLab in San Francisco used to specialize in Kodachrome, including pushing. They no longer do Kodachrome but there may still be some one on staff who remembers the drill -- in case you want to check before sending it on.
 
Call or message Dwayne's in Parsons. Kansas, or look at their web site to see what they do for a one-stop push. No one else processes Kodachrome anymore.
 
I think Dwayne's will still do push. I think the standard option is +1 1/3 or IE 500 for K200, and there are no intermediate pushes, because it is done by raising the temperature of the developer solutions, rather than by extending the time. As a result, turnaround time for Kodachrome push processing is usually longer--like one run per week--because it's necessary to raise the temperature of the whole line, and then bring it back to normal afterward.

K200 at EI 500 was supposed to be good for shooting in gymnasiums as I understand it, because the color shift balanced that kind of lighting well with out filtration. I've never shot much in the way of sports, so I never tried it myself.
 
I think you would have been better off go to a stop slower shutter speed. You can get pretty good results with a Leica and 90 lens at even 1/30 second.
 
I was geared to shoot outside in the blazing sun, hence my 90mm. never though I would be alllowed inside to meet the man. In fact, come to think of it, I did have Ilford 400, but in the intense heat left it at the office air conditioning

Thanks for the FYI.

Paul
 
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Beemermark said:
I think you would have been better off go to a stop slower shutter speed. You can get pretty good results with a Leica and 90 lens at even 1/30 second.
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after the Jack Nicholson Hollywood shoot, where I was caught unawares with 105mm at 1/30 F3 Nikon, I decided never to shoot long lens below 1/60. Maybe I better run some tests to determine how slow I can reasonably shoot with an M. today I was shooting at 1/60. Tks.
 
I don't think I could ever shoot my F3 with the 105 lens below 1/125. One of the great points of the Leica is that they make it possible to shoot with very slow shutter speeds. I shake like a leaf anymore but I can generally still get a good shot 1 SS under the rule (i.e. 1/30 with a 50mm lens, 1/60 with a 90 mm, 1/15 with my 28 or 35). I highly recommend you try it. Read a book on target shooting with a rifle or pistol, it's very applicable to cameras also.
 
35mmdelux said:
i am so used to my M6 and MP that i don't even think of faster. For me they are fast enough, with exposure pre-set. IMMV.

If anything I would get a digital RF. After today's John McCain shoot, what I could use is a dgital RF, not another analog.

congrats on your graduation. Paul
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[this was pulled from another thread, thought I'd continue the discussion here]

a digital RF (or any decent digital cam, one must admit) would have helped, but so would a $3 roll of Tri-X which could have been shot outdoors in blazing sun or indoors and pushed quite readily 2 stops or more, with results you couldn't get from any digi
 
leicasniper said:
Two letters: IS. While I love my Leicas, and they used to be the low speed kings, I routinely shoot handheld at 1/15 and 200mm with the IS lens on a DSLR and get tack sharp photos. There really is a reason PJ's use these things. :)
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I agree but I assumed that he didn't want the same image as all the other pj's
 
Duggal stopped working kodachrome in March. So I don't know anywhere else.

As for DSLR's handling low speed. Maybe those new IS technologies aren't bad. Especially coupled with workable high ISO's, and to top it all off, a steady hand. I once had a fairly decent 8 second exposure from a non IS lens with a canon digital rebel. And I can hold my Leica M7 consistently at 1/8 and get a sharp image. Practice gentleman. Practice.
 
retnull said:
If you posted this question a year from now, everyone would ask "John who?" </ducks, grins, runs>:angel:
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The Democrats have a history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory; in a year we might be asking "Barack Hussein who?" :eek:
 
McCain gets booed and heckled by millions of white people on the west coast, around the world and on this forum.
 
There's nothing fiscally conservative about the Republican party, they are always talking about tax-and-spend liberals, but they are spend-money-they-don't-have conservatives. Corporate welfare i.e., Bear Stearns is fine now and the present "conservative" regime has, in less than a decade, taken the most powerful nation in the world and turned it into a banana republic, if you don't believe me go see what our US pesos buy outside the US. Retiring to the asbestos bunker.
 
memphis said:
yeah, but if I heckle and boo barack, I'm a racist sob... let's play fair...

an equal number of people dislike obama ---
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You a racist? Never! Maybe a patriot? Go ahead and heckle Obama....

I and 800,000 of my closest friends are counting on you.
 
Speaking of insurance, a second body with a fast, normal lens, pulling some Fuji 800 speed is the type of insurance needed at this turn out. Like Karl Malden said, "Don't leave home without it."
 
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