Leica M-D: Pure for the sake of . . . purity?

I actually did a commercial assignment with the M-D a couple of days ago. It was for a local magazine, and it was a portrait assignment to accompany a story.

It felt good and appropriate to use the M-D (as opposed to my D4), as the subject seemed right for it. The magazine was very pleased.

Here are two examples:


Mindy6-BW by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


Mindy9 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
 
Md

Md

I would like an MD. However, I have a few older lenses , some LTM, who's focus idiosyncrocies can not be trusted. Feel the need for Live View.
 
Happy to see M-Ds in action! I've been back from Cuba for a couple of weeks now, all photos there shot with my M-D and 28 Summicron. Aiming to pack for absolutely minimal value and quantity of stuff, I'd earlier figured on taking the Pentax K-3 and a 20-40mm zoom. After the M-D arrived I changed my mind, taking it along with the 50mm and 28mm Summicrons. In retrospect, a good choice. Did not use the 50.

I don't recall ever looking at the (missing) screen; per custom, it just doesn't occur to me. I do like to see the ISO dial on the back, an immediate visual reminder or opportunity to change, like shutter and aperture. With it so easy to change, I don't miss Auto ISO. So this camera is a fine choice for me, very comfortable to use.

I made about 800 exposures on one 32Gb card with lots of room to spare. Plenty of opportunity every day to charge the battery... on 220v mains! I took a voltage converter with plug adapter, good thing as the one hotel supplied a non-working converter and the other hotel none at all. Never needed the second battery, as I commonly turn off the main switch when not actively shooting. Seeing an opportunity, I turn on the switch and by the time the camera is at my eye it's ready to go.

One question I had about file numbering got answered: When formatting a card I set the file count back to zero in another M, not being able to do that in the M-D, that file count info stays with the other camera, not the card. The M-D will name files with numbers in sequence forever! So, no point in setting it back for this camera, just use a different sequence of actions in DNG Rename later.

I did not take a laptop so all pics stayed on the card in the camera, no chance of misplacing it. I will be working on processing in a few weeks.

Oh, and as to the time for Leica to service my cameras, the M240 arrived back in January... June 20 to Jan 20... 7 months. The two M8 bodies arrived today with no notation as to what was done, nor what parts they had been waiting for while in Germany... 9 months. They both had what looked like column faults, so perhaps it was more serious and they got new sensors.
 
Doug great review of using your M-D in Cuba! I'm really looking forward to seeing your results.

I don't know about you, but I find that this camera 'meters' very well -- I'm normally keeping it on Aperture Priority and I don't recall ever having an exposure that was wildly off. I did buy a great spot meter to use with the camera, but it's as big as the camera itself, so I haven't 'paired' them as of yet.

I'm going to try to shoot exclusively with the M-D over the next couple of days (I'm heading up to Seattle from here in NW New Mexico). I've been using the Monochrom 246 for much of this trip.
 
Good to hear you are both liking your M-Ds so much. I'm absolutely delighted with it ... It and the M4-2 are now my only M bodies. The M-D's metering seems bang on the money for me and everything about it just does exactly what I want, no more and no less. It is, for me, the perfect M digital body; it's the camera I grab-n-go with the most.

I may have to buy a second M-D body while they're still available new and stash it in the closet "just in case". :)

G
 
I really want one of these, to me, it is the perfect camera, and while I cannot afford one, it sure would nice if you guys stopped making them so appealing and just trashed them for a bit. Thanks!
 
Godfrey said:
Good to hear you are both liking your M-Ds so much....
I may have to buy a second M-D body while they're still available new and stash it in the closet "just in case". :)

G
Click to expand...
Godfrey, glad you're enthusiastic over your M-D! Mine has been my daily choice even after the Cuba experience, in order to become even more familiar with it.

I've been a great believer in buying things in pairs. I recall a well-known personal-defense shooting instructor saying that when you settle on a favorite piece, go right out and buy a second one... You may need it if the first is in for service or is taken as evidence in a legal case. :)

And it's a good release for an accumulation of GAS. I have two each M8, Contax G2, Minolta CLE, Hexar RF, Bronica RF645, Pentax 67II, Pentax 645NII, MX, ME Super, LX, K2, Spotmatic ES, etc, and I can reasonably consider the M240 and M-D as a pair... So many favorites... Go for it! :D
 
Vince, hope you enjoy your travels to the "great north-wet". Congrats on your exhibition at Leica Store Bellevue! I'm far enough away that I've only been in the store once, to leave off gear for service. I've established a good relationship there with Ford, who has excellently handled the service, and shipped the finished jobs over the hill to me.

I've been pleased at the M-D's handling of exposure and white-balance. I too have a largish spot meter (Pentax Digital) that I tend not to carry.
 
Just now getting some post-processing done on shots with the M-D... Enjoying using it, reflecting that its market is a niche within a niche within a niche!

U77I1493007581.SEQ.1.jpg

50 APO Summicron
 
Nice, Doug!

I was doing a quick test of the M-D rangefinder this morning, just for giggles really, and I determined that it was spot on. My test subject was one of my other toys ...


Leica M-D + Summicron-M 50mm f/2
ISO 200 @ f/5.6​

... and here's a case illustrating that size really does matter. I need to start working on the 1:18 scale me now. :D

G
 
Size... That looks like a clothespin at left, providing some scale. The model is pretty small - enlargement through cropping? RF looks right on for the LF tire!
 
Doug said:
Size... That looks like a clothespin at left, providing some scale. The model is pretty small - enlargement through cropping? RF looks right on for the LF tire!
Click to expand...

It's 1:18 scale, about a foot long on the shelf. The exposure was cropped to approximately 50%. My focusing target was the left front tire's forward rim arc and tire tread, so you concur with my judgement that the rangefinder and lens is well calibrated for accuracy... :)

G
 
I have seen that too sometimes, and then move the Red Hue slider a ways toward orange in Lightroom. I wonder if there's some IR contamination...
 
Thanks Robert -- I have to say that it was an unusual scene indeed. I walked around to the other side to see what it was all about, and somehow I preferred this side. Something more mysterious on this side -- like are those people real or not? Believe me, I wondered as I approached it!

One shot early this morning of my loving wife during a walk in the woods:


Birdwatching Riley by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom